Happy Thursday! For anyone new here: this is The Skinny, where we serve up curated, need-to-know lifestyle news designed to entertain and save you time, which is everyone’s most valuable resource. It will take you less than 2 minutes to read and you’ll definitely learn something worth sharing that will make your morning/day/week/year/life just a little bit better.

First play: in honor of Thursday night football, you’d be our MVP subscriber for taking two seconds to answer this poll:

What we’re covering today: 

• Can dehydration make you stressed? Plus, all about hydration powders

• Giveaway alert: an Ooni pizza oven could be yours

• The best [American] football snacks & the most stylish [soccer] football kits of 2024/25

• On the Thanksgiving menu: your new stretchy pants 

• Plus: the latest snack news, Whole Foods’ new cheese pros & the gamification of boutique fitness

💡Did you know: all The Skinny editions are online and searchable—so you can easily find topics, links, recipes and items to shop that we have written about in the past. Bookmark for easy reference.

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H2O

Combat holiday stress with water

The Skinny: Does dehydration make you more stressed? The answer is YES, according to this “Sipping Away Stress” story that explains how dehydration affects cortisol levels. 

Hydration tablets, powders and liquids are what’s new/next as consumers are increasingly aware of the need for the right balance of salts and minerals in their diets. Simplest fix: add a pinch of sea salt under your tongue before drinking a glass of water (as our friends from Spicewell demonstrate on Instagram). 

Here is a good overview of when to drink hydration bevvies, and when a glass of water will do the job. Most of the time, a glass of water and a nutrient-rich meal is all you need. The exceptions are; exercise, travel, hangovers, being outside in extreme heat, stress on your body, and possibly if you’re someone who just won’t drink enough plain ol’ water because it’s too boring. Can’t choose among the bazillions of new launches and options? The Strategist has the best electrolyte powders and mixes, here. But if you want to DIY, you can “make your own Gatorade,” as we outlined with this homemade recipe from a past edition.

Giveaway alert

Own pizza night with an Ooni oven

The Skinny: We love writing The Skinny, and we’re so glad you love reading it. So since your word of mouth is our best asset, we would be forever grateful if you could please take a second and send this link to at least one like-minded friend & family who would also love this newsletter. Then simply reply “DONE” to this email to be entered into a drawing for this awesome Ooni Pizza Oven. No joke! We’ll announce the winner in a The Skinny edition during the last week of November.

Kickoff

Deep thoughts: football

The Skinny: Congrats to the LA Dodgers for their World Series win, for finally getting a parade and allowing us to focus on football Sunday. We just emerged from the “Sports Equinox,” defined as that brief period where the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA/WNBA (congrats to the NY Liberty!) all strain our attention spans. But right now, we’re squarely in football season (and about halfway through Fantasy). 

Speaking of…while in last place (right now/currently staging a comeback), Nicole is still bragging about winning her family’s league last season. She loves watching and isn’t really a hard-core fan of any team but, as an East Coaster and “if pressed,” would toss-up between these NFC East rivals: the sad sack 2-7 Giants—paying tribute to her NYC family’s team—and the 7-2 Commanders of her hometown. 

For Jill, she has lived her entire existence as a Lions fan (POV: best NFL helmet design) and has never been able to utter the words “This is our year” but truly, THIS IS OUR YEAR!! (And although she cannot get ahead of her dad Rocky in her family league, she is living the second place dream for now.) 

Now, on to the food. 

🥇 How to Win even when your team is losing: NFL stadium foods you need to try at least once (spoiler alert: cotton candy burrito). And, the definitive list of winners to make at home, the bible of football snacks, if you will, via Southern Living. 

🛒Add to cart: The only charcuterie board you need for the holidays (35% off). Buy one for yourself, and several to give as gifts. 

🥊An ode to the “Rise, and Surprising Staying Power” of the George Foreman grill, via The Hustle. Jill purchased hers in 1997 and it is STILL the kitchen workhorse as bacon cooker, panini maker, and veggie or hot dog griller. Put this in your cart and on your counter with a version under $50 and now fully submersible. A purchase you shall not regret. 

🔥HOT tips for healthier wings: Pretty much all the reddit threads on this topic, along with other sources, instruct you to a) make your own wings either on the grill, or baked (and here is a very technical how-to if you want them to be just as crispy); and b) coat with a mixture of Frank’s Red Hot sauce (while it is slightly high in sodium, only 5 calories!) and melted butter. You can also make these cauli wings, which we have tried and are totally into. 

Closing out this item with something for the “other football,” meaning of course—the beautiful game of soccer. We can’t stop talking about how much we love the sports jersey fashion trend, so for inspo: the world’s most stylish kits for 2024/25. 

Crème de la Skinny

Sizing up all the ‘Thanksgiving pants’ options

The Skinny: Oopsie (again)! We teased this topic in last week’s newsletter but didn’t deliver the goods (our cut/paste fingers were in overdrive and we forgot to “⌘V”). But, subscribers, this is good news since we’re going to unzip this topic in more detail. 

So here we are in this “magical” time of year filled with just so many irresistible things to eat and drink. We “could” offer more health and wellness tips to “fight the bloat” or “snack healthy” and we will, but today, nah. Instead, for perusal, a selection of stretchy pants that can go the distance ’til “Dry January.” Since, while we are pretty good at moderation, we’re for sure going to need these pants at least once this holiday season. 

On the menu:

👖 The humble but effective Pajama Jean and their big brother, Pajama Jeans for Men! Say what you like, but if you’re craving sweatpants that can pull double duty as jeans, for a reasonable price these guys are right here when you’re ready. 

🍗Another contender that we ordered to test, within the Bermuda Triangle of the couch, fridge, and buffet table, are these awesome wide leg sweats. We will officially give them a trial run a few days prior to Turkey Day as our “official holiday pants.” Will report back from the comfort of the couch after dinner. 

💅🏻And….if you have the appetite of reveler with the fashion sense of somebody who needs to leave the house, you’ll adore these cult-fave, trompe l’oeil versions from Rag & Bone: they look like jeans, but are made from Miramar soft cotton. (Ordered, love, but please note if this is important to you – the pockets are an optical illusion.)

OHM, there’s more

This week’s newsfeed

• Goldfish changes name to “Chilean sea bass” to increase its adult market appeal.

• Serious cheddar: Whole Foods added 40 additional “Certified Cheese Professionals” to its roster, and here are six things those CCPs can do for you.

• I Spy: Facial recognition software may be coming to a stadium near you.

  If you love boutique fitness and are competitive, here’s how some of the top brands (such as HotWorx and Pvolve) are gamifying the experience.

• Hawaiian office update: Stay tuned for our full Postcard from Hawaii, but for now…please enjoy this Mai Tai with Lilikoi Foam from Merriman’s in Waimea, Big Island (where Jill is holding down the fort for a few weeks).

• ICYM last week’s news that the “Thanksgiving Pizza” is arriving on the shelf, let’s unpack additional Thanksgiving snacking news from the good folks at Lay’s chips (below).

costcomarkhameast

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