TGIF! 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.

What we’re covering today: 

• All the Thanksgiving news that’s fit to eat including: the golden rule of holiday airline travel, relish trays & all the latest Thanksgiving dinner deal bundles 

• Giveaway alert: an Ooni pizza oven could be yours

• The stylist-approved Spanx pants we see in your post-Thanksgiving future

• We called it: here’s what’s trending in flavors, ingredients & snacks for 2025

• Plus: Lake Como in a can, a possible link between travel and longevity, the running vs. walking debate & taking a bite of the Crumbl cookie reddit

💡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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Let’s talk turkey

A cornucopia of must-read holiday headlines  

The Skinny: The glut of Thanksgiving-related food news is real and upon us, so we’ve sorted through it and grabbed a heapin’ spoonful of helpful links—from travel to food shortages, recipes, and anything else that needed to be stuffed in. 

If you’re arriving at your destination by plane, something to remember: For anyone who has been asked to bring a dish from out of state (which, really, seems like a lot to ask, but maybe you just want to tell the tale of your casserole in the overhead), please enjoy our definitive guide to Thanksgiving dishes you CAN bring on the plane, per TSA. Hint:  Green bean casserole and baked goods, check. Cranberry sauce (even canned) and gravy, hard no. 

This is apparently the golden rule to follow while booking your holiday flight, if you want the best chance at avoiding delays.

We’ve all seen the inflation headlines, but it turns out that this year’s feast will in fact cost a tad LESS than last year. (ICYMI, the highest price-per-guest in recent years was 2022, where it was reported you’d need to spend $64.10 for a dinner for 10.) Anyway, this writer put in the hard work and shopped at three different grocery stores for Thanksgiving dinner, and calculated the costs. Another idea: Epicurious compiled this delicious menu that’s unique (smoky carrot dip, a no-pie-plate-needed galette) and budget-friendly.

Or, head to Aldi and pick up a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 10 for only $47. But wait, there’s more: seems like a host of grocery chains are dropping their meal boxes, with some as low as $4.85 a person. We also are sharing this quick primer for the 41 best Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving products to add to your menu (and, don’t forget, TJ’s is not open on Thanksgiving).

Fan fave: your annual “favorite X dish by state” report, where everyone then argues that it’s totally, 100% untrue.

A staple dish when in the Midwest, is there any reason not to feature a relish tray at this year’s feast? As this story points out, which is a must-read for its mention of cottage cheese “atop crushed ice,” relish trays are “like snowflakes, in that no two are alike.” 

Yet, there is one common denominator: A fancy tray itself. Behold, a relish tray for every personality:

• Coastal chic 

• Boho vibe 

• Contemporary foodie 

• Architectural aficionado 

Finally, for relish tray virgins, a how-to.

Add to cart: And also we finally actually tried the Peloton Tread. Did not expect to LOVE it, but really did. Take a look and try it for for 10% off. 

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.

Crème de la Skinny

Three ways to get Spanx’d

The Skinny: This item is short and stylishly sweet, because we’re just going to talk about one pair of pants. As our “Thanksgiving Pants” item was the most-clicked last week, we have another pair to try on—and this one comes highly recommended by our ever-chic and stylish friend, Alyssa Dineen. We’re also going to be talking to her more in-depth this month on other pressing fashion topics, but for today…the focus is on these Perfect Fit Pants by Spanx. Shown here styled three different ways, Alyssa “can’t stop talking” about them due to their versatility, style and comfort (perfect for plane rides). These are a cropped flare, so she advises to make sure you get the right length. If you have questions, shoot us an email and we will ask her directly! 

BTW, for any singles out there looking to up their game, Alyssa offers a unique (and highly effective) service where she styles you for your online dating profile (men, too!).

Pantry raid

From agar-agar to za’atar, what’s trending

in-aisle

The Skinny: We love to seek out what’s new and next—especially when it comes to eating & drinking—and since we are competitive, we also like to be right. Whole Foods recently shared their forecast for 2025 food and beverage trends, and while some of these might be new to you, we have predicted and/or covered several throughout the year thanks to our instincts and finger-on-the pulse reporting (but sadly, we’re not making the salary of WF’s “Ambassador of Food Culture”). Let’s get into the ones we’re tracking: 

“International Snacking”: This is another angle of what we covered over the summer coming out of the Fancy Food Show: the evolution of the salty snack, which focused on chips made out of fruits and vegetables like snake fruit, figs, & shitake mushrooms. Here, they’re talking more about fusions of global flavors and rich ingredient storytelling. We love this and, as discussed, the humble potato chip has some catching up to do. Two we’re excited about, mentioned in the WF report: Sosi’s Spinach Jalapeno Armenian Yogurt Dip and Tamalitoz by Sugarox Divine Watermelon Mexican Candy.

“Plant-Based Aquatic Ingredients”: Seaweed, sea moss, duckweed, agar-agar…healthy food manufacturers shall leave no sea stone unturned. According to Whole Foods, these types of aquatic ingredients are being infused into more products and promoted as sustainable sources of protein, and for their nutritional and digestive benefits. 

“Protein Power-Up”: Readers, we have touched on this thanks to our unfailing love of cottage cheese, but while this trend report does note CC as the impetus for this movement, this is next-level: think products like “Primal Blend Ground Turkey” that incorporate organ meats as protein packers. 

“Hydration Hype”: We drank this Kool-Aid early on and have been writing about Hydration 10.0 since February, and also in last week’s edition discussing how hydration is an Rx for holiday stress (including: when/why you need electrolyte powders and how to choose the right one). 

The moral of this item is: read The Skinny to be informed/entertained first, all without the annoying video and pop-up ads!

OHM, there’s more

This week’s newsfeed

• Crack open a can of Lake Como: instead of a snow globe, you can bring home a can of air. Quanto e’ fresco…

• A collab between the W Hotels and French artist Thomas Lélu with a distinctly The Skinny vibe. 

• While there’s never a hard and fast right or wrong answer we’re still up for a debate about which is “better”: walking or running for “lasting health?” Also: running advice we wish we had known sooner. 

• Rabbit hole: the Crumbl cookie subreddit, where a group of folks hate a product so much, they have to keep eating it. 

• New study: does traveling slow the aging process?

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