Happy Sunday! Welcome to The Skinny, which will take you less than five minutes to breeze through as you’re relaxing this evening. And for anyone new here: this is a free newsletter, full of snackable lifestyle news, designed to entertain and save you time—everyone’s most valuable resource.

What we’re covering:

• For lazy Sundays, we have one-ingredient recipes and all the delicious ways to top your sweet potatoes

• Inside look: the wild world of non-alcoholic drinks promising a buzz 

• Cereal bars & lounges: not just for kids 

• Plus: what’s new in athletic-inspired fashion (including how to style a sports jersey, getting ready for Yacht Rock season, how grocery stores trick you into spending more money & the impossibly chic Printemps department store debuts in NYC

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

🔗If someone already in the know sent this, you can subscribe here.

Lazy Sunday

Actual one-ingredient recipes  

The Skinny: It’s Sunday, and while we often enjoy taking part of the day making a batch of comfort food (like this delicious creamy chicken soup that we won’t shut up about), sometimes you just want to do net-nothing. Enter: actual one-ingredient recipes.

Great list here of 10 one-ingredient ideas and while calling some of them “recipes” is obviously a stretch (e.g. “black coffee”) but the no-nonsense, don’t give AF tone here is appreciated. 

No. 1 on the list, sweet potatoes, is a reminder that these are the best easy lunch that can be dressed up a million ways. They’re also jam-packed with fiber, which can help control appetite, Vitamin A and more—and here is what registered dietitians say “will happen to your body if you eat sweet potatoes every day.”

As we learned from the Glucose Goddess, you should “dress your carbs up with clothes” (fat, fiber, or protein) to help regulate blood sugar spikes, and here are our favorite ways to do so with sweet potatoes. 

• Simply delicious: EVOO, with Spicewell Sea Salt and Ayurvedic New Pepper 

• Japanese purple sweet potatoes: These classic Yaki Imo are like works of art and we learned from this chef’s blog that in Japan sometimes grocers will have them in a little oven so you can take them on the go. Get creative with your toppings but seems like the go-to is miso butter 

• Finally, if you need more motivation to buy some today, check the delish post below with four creative ways to top them. Or this recipe from the NYT, where they’re stuffed with cheese and hot honey 

Palette-cleaning, or finishing off, a one-ingredient tangerine sorbet — and while this sounds summer-y, a reminder that tangerines are in season now (and topping with shaved dark chocolate somehow gives it an all-season flair).

Buzzed

The ABCs of THC and other NA ‘buzz’ beverages

The Skinny: Let’s step into the brightly designed world of buzz-promising beverages, a wild and wonderful place where euphoria, relaxation, productivity and overall mood- and energy-boosting are just a cold beverage away. But before believing everything they claim to be, and with so many different brands and confusing varieties popping up in the cooler, we’re here to help. 

The first place to start is this comprehensive report put together by the brave testers and reporters over at the NY Post. They looked at types of buzz-inducing bevvies including Hemp-infused, adaptogens, hemp-infused with adaptogens, and kava (and for another time, Nicole will recount her experience with the actual kava at its source, Vanuatu).  

To learn more, we chatted with Lou Police, founder and CEO of hi Seltzers, to help educate us and explain why consumers can trust hi Seltzer (hemp-derived THC, 0 sugar!) when they want to enjoy a social beverage other than alcohol. 

Aside from the obvious occasions you’d want to drink a THC beverage, like at a party or at the beach, are these something that might help you focus on creative pursuits? 

LP: People enjoy THC for many reasons, and depending on the individual’s metabolism, the effect(s) can vary. I know people in the music space who enjoy hi Seltzer while they’re writing music, even those early 10 a.m.co-writes. A good friend of mine designs video games and he swears that a hi Seltzer in the afternoon is exactly what he needs to keep the creativity flowing for the remainder of the day. I even know someone who drinks one or two and goes for a long-distance run and then winds down with one or two more! We are finding that when people understand the modest effect of just 5mg (hemp-derived) THC, it’s like a whole new world opens and they are able to find their own balance between productivity, relaxation, creativity and social engagement.

How do I know how much to drink? 

LP: Because THC metabolizes differently for about everyone, the guideline we share, is that one (1) can of hi Seltzer is the equivalent of about 1-1.5 glasses of wine. And due to the proprietary nature of the water-soluble nano THC, our product can usually be felt within 7-10 minutes, which is faster than traditional alcohol. This provides a simple and predictable method for people to understand their tolerance and safely consume what works for them. 

There are a LOT of these on the market. What makes yours different? 

LP: hi Seltzer is the first hemp-derived THC-infused beverage to utilize a cutting-edge nano-emulsified base ingredient. This is testament to hi Seltzer’s commitment to innovation and quality, allowing it to pour clean and clear every time. It is a science-backed beverage company, with a PhD on staff to help lead the formula and innovation.   

THC vs. CBD for dummies: can you explain the difference?  

LP: Excellent question, and the difference between THC and CBD is important. CBD is one of the cannabinoids found in hemp plants, and is used as a prophylactic, which means it must be in the bloodstream at all times to be effective. Some people take CBD as an anxiolytic or anti-anxiety, others try CBD for its known anti-inflammatory or anti-arthritic properties, while some others try CBD for its possible sleep benefits as a natural allosteric inhibitor. Pursuant to the CDC, NIH and WHO, CBD is considered well-tolerated by all ages and is non-psychoactive, which is why kids, adults, seniors, athletes and so many others enjoy CBD as a daily supplement. THC on the other hand is strictly for function, and products containing THC should only be consumed by adults 21+. THC is not a prophylactic and will normally take effect within minutes of entering the bloodstream. Moreover, there are many notable benefits of THC for patients who are under the care of a physician, which is why medical cannabis is now legal in 38 states.

Cereal operation

A creative take on your breakfast box

The Skinny: Whether you want hype (eg, Kith treats), mainstream, or somewhere in between, there seems to be a cereal bar around every corner lately. While many of your favorite and most nostalgic boxes are currently on the front lines (for their high sugar content, processed ingredients & dyes), based on these new bars & lounges there’s clearly still an appetite for cereal in its many whimsical forms. What’s new in cereal hotspots: 

• Day & Night cereal bar has now expanded to eight cities including LA, Boston, Washington DC, and Charlotte.

• Denver is home to several cereal bars including Freddys Cereal Lounge, which boasts stellar reviews such as, “Freddy, I wish you well in this endeavor - Someone”).

• Super Bowl Champs the Eagles can fly into Philly’s “Cereal Cocktail Bar". Yes, that’s the name (straightforward like our Philly friends), and if you like your cocktails on the sugary side, this may be the dawn of a new and glorious cocktail era for you. 

• On the West Coast, dip into Cerealism cafe, which has cereal on the menu for coffee, entrees and dessert. 

Still, if you’re looking for the healthiest cereals per a dietician, click that link—but for anyone daring enough to take down a bowl of sprouted ancient maize flakes or straight-up Grape Nuts, we commend you.

Last licks

This week’s newsfeed

• C’est vrai! French department store Printemps is opening in NYC this month, and WWD has all the pics of the swanky interior design, inspired by Parisian apartments. Can we move in?

• Yacht Rock season is approaching, so now is the time to think about your playlist—and you can start by doing like Jill has and watching Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary five times.

• Grocery report, for your Sunday shopping! “Nontoxicdad” claims this is the “cleanest and most nutritious marinara sauce” at Costco; in Florida, you can sail to this Publix, which has a dock; and Taste of Home explores the ways grocery stores trick you into spending more money

• Sunday is sports-watching day, hence the perfect time to look at what’s hot in sporty fashion: 

  1. Harper’s Bazaar has inspo on how to style some new fits with sports jerseys (above, a vintage soccer jersey story in Midtown).

  2. A closer look at the “intangible cool” of Hartford Whalers gear and the Carolina Hurricanes nailed the nostalgia with a giveaway last week (yes, a Whalers Zamboni popcorn holder)

  3. Sporty style from the runways courtesy of Vogue, including pieces to complete the look

*If you purchase something linked in The Skinny, we may get an affiliate commission—but at no additional cost to you.