Padma Lakshmi on Instagram: "When I lived in Italy in my 20’s, I remember everyone making lentils around New Year’s Eve for good luck. If 2026 is going to be anything like 2025, we will need it! 😂 I hope you enjoy this warm and soothing dish!"

For anyone closing out a hard year. Some years take more from us than we expected. They stretch us, change us, and leave marks we didn’t plan for. But if you made it to the end of this one, even tired, even unsure, that matters. You don’t need a perfect reset. You don’t need big resolutions. You just need permission to try again, carrying everything you learned the hard way. If this found you at the right moment, stay close. More words like this are coming.