Richard Forensky posted a photo:

These mini meatloaves prove that comfort food and nutritious eating can go hand in hand. Swapping traditional breadcrumbs for almond flour keeps the recipe low-carb and gluten-free, while sautéed onion, bell pepper, and grated zucchini add moisture, flavor, and a boost of vegetables to every bite. A topping of marinara sauce and melted mozzarella makes these as satisfying as they are nourishing. Pair with whipped cauliflower mash to round out a cozy, weeknight-friendly dinner.

Active time: 15 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
• 1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 lb 95% lean grass-fed ground beef
• 1 small zucchini, grated and patted dry with a paper towel
• 1/2 cup (45g) almond flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup (237ml) low-sodium jarred marinara sauce, divided
• 1/2 cup (28g) grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef, zucchini, almond flour, egg, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to the bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or clean hands until well blended. Divide the mixture into 4 portions. Form each portion into a small meatloaf about 4 1/2 inches (11cm) long on the prepared baking sheet. Press down the length of each meatloaf with the side of your hand to create a 1/2-inch deep divot in the center so it cooks evenly and catches the sauce and cheese. Spread the top of each meatloaf with 1/4 cup (59ml) marinara sauce and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatloaf registers 160°F.

Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 1 mini meatloaf

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 390; Total Fat: 23g; Saturated Fat: 5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 131mg; Sodium: 544mg; Carbohydrate: 13g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 6g; Protein: 34g

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin D: 5%; Calcium: 19%; Iron: 24%; Potassium: 910mg; Vitamin A: 9%; Vitamin C: 89%

Originally published February 2021; Updated May 2026

The post Mini Meatloaves appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.

“I feel the answer to your question will always exist outside the world as it presents itself, beyond the matters of the day, distinct from the temporal. It will be found within the mysterious, the unsettled, and the sacred, that faraway and intangible place where truth and music and your father reside.”

— The Red Hand Files, Issue #323

Local sweets-fan favorite serves as inspiration for one of two donuts not available anywhere else in the world.

You’d think it’d be hard for a city of nearly two and a half million people to get overlooked, but that’s the position Nagoya often finds itself in. Despite having some very cool stuff (like a castle and good access to the Studio Ghibli anime theme park), Nagoya is often skipped by travelers and pop stars alike, perhaps because it can’t match the big-city glamor of Tokyo and Osaka, but also doesn’t have the same traditional mystique as Kyoto or Nara.

But you know who never forgets about Nagoya? Krispy Kreme. The donut chain’s Premium Nagoya series is a selection of special, extra-decadent donuts that are only offered in Nagoya, and specifically only at the JR Nagoya Takashimaya branch in the Takashimaya department store that’s attached to Nagoya Station.

With the weather getting warmer, two new Nagoya-exclusive treats are on their way, one of which makes use of the city’s best-loved sweets themes: an (sweet bean past) and butter.

The Krispy Kreme Nagoya Premium Lemon and An Butter is a bun-style donut that wraps around a filling of sweet and tart lemon jam, an, and butter. While many Nagoya sweets shops combine butter and red an (such as in the an butter toast served by many cafes in the city), for this donut Krispy Kreme uses white an, which has a more refined sweetness and cleaner finish. Add in the richness of the butter, and you’ve got a complex flavor profile that also promises to be refreshingly citrusy as we head into the hottest time of the year.

Joining the lemon an butter donut on the menu will be the Krispy Kreme Nagoya Premium Peach and Vanilla. Aichi actually supplies quite a bit of Japan’s produce, including white peaches, and this donut is filled with peach jam with pieces of fruit in it, and also vanilla cream. You also get a swirl of cream around the top of the donut plus a pistachio accent, making the Nagoya Premium Peach and Vanilla very pretty to look at in those scant few seconds before your willpower crumbles and you dig in.

Both donuts are priced at 389 yen (US$2.50), go on sale May 27, and are projected to be around until late August, giving us all two more reasons to visit Nagoya this summer (though if you can’t make it, McDonald’s Japan has a way to bring some Nagoya flavor to the rest of the country too).

Shop information
Krispy Kreme Donuts (JR Nagoya Takashimaya branch) / クリスピー・クリーム・ドーナツ（ジェイアール名古屋タカシマヤ店）
Address: Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Nakamura-ku, Meieki 1-1-4 JR Nagoya Takashimaya 1st floor North Block
愛知県名古屋市中村区名駅1-1-4ジェイアール名古屋タカシマヤ1F北ブロック
Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Source: PR Times
Featured image: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Let’s a-go (to Mcdonald’s)!

Last month, the cast of the Chiikawa anime/manga showed up at McDonald’s Japan, but now it’s time for a new group to take their place. With Chiikawa being one of Japan’s most popular franchises these days the next batch of Happy Meal toys has some very big shoes to fill, but next up are some of Japan’s very brightest pop culture stars, Super Mario and friends (and some enemies too).

Specifically, McDonald’s Japan’s new Happy Meal toys feature Nintendo’s characters in their The Super Mario Galaxy Movie forms.

今日6/12(金)から！
マリオたちと大冒険にでかけよう！

詳しくは画像をタップ！

— マクドナルド (@McDonaldsJapan) June 12, 2026

Starting June 12, Happy Meals come with one of 12 Super Mario Galaxy figures. As has become the standard policy for high-profile Japanese Happy Meal toys, the lineup is being released in stages. Round one runs from June 12 to 18, during which Mario, Frog Luigi, Yoshi, Rosalina, Birdo, and Bowser Jr. figures will be available.

▼ Rosaline, Birdo, and Bowser Jr. are named Rosetta, Catharine, and Koopa Jr. in Japan, by the way.

Round two kicks off the day after round one ends, and from June 19 to 25 your Happy Meal will contain either a Fire Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, Luma, or Wonder Bowser Jr. figure.

▼ Meanwhile, in Japan Toad is called Kinopio and Lumas are known as Chikos (the Mario renaming rabbit hole is surprisingly deep).

An extra-cool touch is that the figures come in boxes that look like Mario question mark blocks…

…and the star-shaped bases of each figure also let you use them as key chains or bag strap clips too, as shown in the video here.

Finally, from June 26 all 12 toys will be a possibility when purchasing a Happy Meal, ostensibly drawing from any leftover stock from the first two rounds. In total, McDonald’s Japan expects the Super Mario Galaxy Happy Meal toys to be available four about four weeks, though with demand likely to be astronomical, it’s probably a good idea to try to get one as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if you’re a hungry gamer who’s more of a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest fan, there’re options to satisfy your appetite too.

Source: McDonald’s Japan (1, 2)
Top image: YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s）
Insert images: McDonald’s Japan, YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s）
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Instant ramen maker shows that even hamsters will fall in love with Cup Noodle, if given the chance.

Pretty much everyone loves Cup Noodle, from hungry kids to busy college students to adults who don’t want to go through the hassle of cooking after a long day at the office. As a matter of fact, it turns out that the instant ramen brand’s appeal transcends humanity, as a new video shows the massive untapped potential of a new Cup Noodle fanbase: hamsters!

Now, we should be clear that the Cup Noodle manufacturer is not recommending letting your pet hamster eat instant ramen, as the nutritional needs of humans and hamsters are entirely different. Instead, they’ve created a Cup Noodle hamster wheel.

ハムスターがてけてけ夢中になる
カップヌードルを作りました。 pic.twitter.com/BLpQ50FBLg

— カップヌードル (@cupnoodle_jp) June 1, 2026

“We’ve made a Cup Noodle that hamsters love running in,” says the post from Nissin’s official Twitter account, along with an adorable video of a hamster taking it for a spin. However, look closely and you’ll see that isn’t a repurposed ramen container. To make the running motion as natural as possible, the apparatus is a straight cylinder, unlike Cup Noodle packages that widen as you move from the base to the brim. The interior of the cylinder also has little notches to give the hamster better traction as it runs.

The exterior design, though, is an exact match to the classic, iconic Cup Noodle packaging, and with the video representing a meeting point of Japan’s love of instant ramen and its love of cute animals, the online reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and envious.

“I want to let my pet ham-chan run on this too!”
“This…this would be a huge seller!”
“Please offer these for sale. I’ll do anything for one.”
“Add a noodle pattern to the inside, and it’ll be perfect.”
“I want to hook this up to a generator and use the power to boil water to cook my Cup Noodle with.”

As we’ve seen before, Nissin likes to let its design team share photos of its crazy and/or creative prototypes, and sometimes what starts out as just quirky fun actually does end up making it to market if the response is strong enough. That’s what happened with the Cup Noodle Measuring Cup and Cup Noodle Squid Fork, and considering that Japan is a country that has Final Fantasy scratching pads for cats and Dragon Quest dog houses, it seems like there’s probably a market for Cup Noodle hamster wheels too.

Source: Twitter/@cupnoodle_jp via Hamster Sokuho
Top image: Twitter/@cupnoodle_jp
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

If you were thinking this was a zoodle lasagna, think again! However, making lasagna in the slow-cooker yields lovely browned edges and a convincing baked flavor. It’s also easier than traditional lasagna because there’s no need to cook the noodles before layering them with the sauce and zucchini; they become deliciously tender during the extended cooking time.

Active time: 15 minutes | Total time: 6 hours

Slow Cooker Turkey Sausage and Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini (1 1/2 lb or 680g), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz. (340g) bulk Italian turkey sausage
• 1 24-oz. (695g) jar low-sodium marinara sauce 
• 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped and loosely packed
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 10 uncooked dry lasagna noodles (not the no-boil type)
• 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 6 tbsp (60g) Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

Lay the zucchini slices out on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let sit for 20–30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels before layering

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spatula, for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through with no pink remaining and an internal temperature of 165°F.  Stir in the marinara sauce and remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, basil, egg, lemon zest, nutmeg, and black pepper and mix well.

Lightly coat a 6–6½-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Ladle ¾ cup of the meat sauce evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker. Add a layer of noodles, breaking them as needed to fit. Top with a layer of zucchini, ¾ cup meat sauce, and ¼ cup mozzarella. Add another layer of noodles. Spread the entire ricotta mixture evenly over the top. Add another layer of noodles, a layer of zucchini, and ¾ cup meat sauce. Add a final layer of noodles and zucchini. Ladle the remaining meat sauce over the top and sprinkle evenly with the remaining mozzarella and all of the Parmesan.

Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours, or until the noodles are tender and the lasagna is set. Turn off the slow cooker and let stand, covered, for 30–45 minutes before serving.

Serves: 8 | Serving Size: 1/8 of the lasagna

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 374; Total Fat: 19g; Saturated Fat: 7g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 78mg; Sodium: 465mg; Carbohydrate: 32g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 6g; Protein: 20g

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin D: 2%; Calcium: 34%; Iron: 12%; Potassium: 567mg; Vitamin C: 16%

Originally published: October 9, 2018; Updated May 2026

The post Slow Cooker Turkey Sausage and Zucchini Lasagna appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.

With its slogan “Melt the Rule,” Cool Fuel offers a new kind of five-layered ice cream-eating experience centered on Mascarpone cheese flavor.

New ice cream brand Cool Fuel opened on May 29 in the Yokohama Hammerhead shopping complex. We’d heard rumblings that it was supposed to be an ultra-luxurious dessert experience, far different than eating regular ice cream. Never ones to resist an icy sweet treat, we paid the new shop a visit on the morning of the fourth day it was open.

▼ Yokohama Hammerhead shopping complex

Lots of new stores had opened in the mall recently so it was bustling with people as we made our way through the space.

We made a beeline to our goal and were greeted by the cool blue tones of the new store. There was a little bit of a line, which was a little surprising since it was a weekday–but we weren’t in a rush.

We asked the staff which flavors were the most popular and they replied that the chocolate and caramel ones were selling well.

We decided to spring for chocolate (called Velvet Chocolate in English on the menu) this time for 780 yen (US$4.90). The menu explained that each cup was structured with five layers, which we were curious to see with our own eyes.

Upon placing our order, we received a numbered ticket and stood off to the side until our number was called.

The concoction handed to us was very round, top-heavy, and had an overflowing flaky topping! We quickly sought out a place to sit before there was any spillage.

Here’s the ice cream’s glamor shot. It sure looked like a work of art while posing.

The very top of the cup was a Mascarpone-based soft serve covered with crispy chocolate corn flakes.

Taking a large spoonful off the top revealed the interior cross-section. We could see what the menu meant by five layers–the inside was filled with a rich chocolate sauce and crunchy chocolate cookie bites, which made for a tantalizing texture.

▼ If only high school science classes offered ice cream dissections…

As we dug deeper, layers of freshly whipped cream also appeared from the bottom, giving the whole thing the impression of a very rich parfait or sundae. It was definitely decadent and we could see how people who enjoy “lighter” desserts like kakigori shaved ice might reach their limit very quickly. We, however, had absolutely no problem downing the entire thing in true form.

In conclusion, Cool Fuel ice cream is incredibly rich, delicious, and has found a formula to perfect the balance of taste and texture. At 780 yen it also feels more like a special reward than a routine dessert, so we recommend saving your visit for a very special occasion.

Now that the days are getting hotter, we’ve definitely got ice cream on the brain. Check out Mr. Sato’s recent visit to classic American/Japanese ice cream brand Blue Seal if you just can’t get enough brain freeze this month.

Store information
COOL Fuel Yokohama Hammerhead store / COOL Fuel 横浜ハンマーヘッド店
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama-shi, Naka-ku, Shinko 2-14-1 Yokohama Hammerhead, 2nd floor
神奈川県横浜市中区新港 2-14-1 横浜ハンマーヘッド 2F
Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (weekdays), 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (weekends)
Website

All images © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!