Happy Sunday! Welcome to The Skinny Mini, which will take you 2.5 minutes to breeze through. We designed these lighter editions to help enhance your Sunday with ideas and inspiration for the best day of the week. As one of our subscribers told us: “You’re like my favorite magazine, without all the annoying pop-up ads.” 

(And for anyone new here, this is The Skinny, a free newsletter designed to entertain and save you time, which is everyone’s most valuable resource.)

What we’re covering: 

• Go fish: how to cook fish so it doesn’t stink, health benefits of fish, and sardinecore + fisherman aesthetic 

• Man Repeller vs. Game Show Hostess: style smackdown

• Why (and how) to make your own croutons and bread crumbs

• Popcorn for Sunday night dinner, and why this is the best bedtime snack for better sleep

💡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.

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Go fish

Stink-proof cooking methods, health benefits & the cult of the sardine

The Skinny: Even though Pisces season is over, there’s always time to talk about fish (and, it’s also Lent for those who observe) with these pressing questions:

How often should I eat fish? At least two servings of fish a week will reap its overwhelming health benefits. 

 What are the best fish to eat for weight loss? Good Housekeeping asked all the most official experts all the right questions and has this list of the top 10—and guess who was dubbed the “prom queen of fish”? 

How do I cook fish without stinking up the house/apartment/van? It IS possible, and here are six techniques. The most obvious is the French way, en papillote and here are 13 delicious/fast/easy recipes from Brit+Co to try. If all else fails, peanut butter to the rescue with this random hack.

Wild caught salmon > farmed salmon, right? Yes and no. Thankfully the Cleveland Clinic looked into this faceoff and outlined which type of salmon wins in each category, from nutritional value to unsafe contaminants.  

What about shrimp? Do I have to “devein” it? The consensus is no, it’s fine to eat, and it’s not really a vein or a “shrimp poop” per se, it’s the digestive tract. And FYI, apparently the Japanese always leave it in.

As for sardines, we will start with Sardinecore, which has an origin story dating back to 2023 as a fashionable must-have (here, tops to dresses to jewelry and prints). Since then, we’ve been trying to get our hands on this “Libérez les Sardines” Clare V top, and have twice written about Portuguese sardines.

We think this charted the course for the “fisherman aesthetic” that is currently midstream. Think: fisherman sandals we love these (on sale) from FitFlop (obviously), Kule striped shirts, red accents, LL Bean canvas totes, bucket hats (like this canvas topper and Nicole’s vintage Greek fisherman’s cap. 

So, in homage to our tinned and neatly packed-in friends, some sardine-centric content to peruse.

• Add to cart (tin): h&m has a cute tee that Nicole saw in-store; you can also shop Eater’s “Hedonist’s Guide to the Best Tinned Seafood.”

• Refresher on sardine culture in Portugal, from our correspondent. 

• Facebook group Sardine Citizens (shout-out to alert reader, Jill’s brother, for the tip). For the uninitiated, these tinned fish lovers have the news, tins and stashes from around the world, and recipes to share—everything from simple tin to plate, to the more sophisticated, such as this delight:

‘Man Repeller’ fashion

That which women love, but men don’t 

The Skinny: Jill sent the best “Man Repeller” TikTok this week in our GC and it reminded us of when, back in the 2010s, Nicole saw a stylish woman strutting towards her near Union Square. 

(Inner voice): “OK, here comes someone wearing those wildly unflattering uber high-waisted ‘Man Repeller’ jeans.” 

(As she approached): “You know what…this girl actually pulls it off. I take it back: she owns it and looks fantastic.” 

(And then): “Wtf–that IS THE Man Repeller. Leandra. Of course it is.” True story. 

Back to Man Repeller fashion: it came and went, as did the blog. But, maybe it’s back, if even for a TikTok moment. If you’re curious about what’s trending in Man Repeller fashion—at least in terms of what guys hate, based on data scraped from reddit—we found: giant “bug” sunglasses, anything too baggy, super pointy shoes, too much makeup, and a variety of perceived eyebrow offenses. 

**‘1900s note’: way back when,“ Baby Doll dresses,” (likely inspired by Beverly Hills 90210-core) were the OG man repeller look, and (to quote an unnamed reviewer) “RIP my boner” remains our favorite internet comment ever. 

If Man Repeller had an opponent in the ring of fashion, we’ll put Vanna White in the other corner. While Nicole might be slowly turning into her Yaya, in that she tunes into “Wheel” while making dinner—we need to talk about how Vanna f-in BRINGS it with her style every night. Each letter-turning fit is better than the last: whether a coral off-the-shoulder number with a whisper of indie sleaze (via a fringe hem), a glorious Hawaiian-chic slit dress or a sophisticated woman-of-the-night mini, we want them all to channel our inner game show hostess. 

If you’re wondering what Vanna’s favorite dresses are, InStyle has done that reporting, and this People story reveals exactly how many dresses she has worn on the show throughout her career.

It’s poppin’

A tasty, and highly beneficial, bedtime snack

The Skinny: Bedtime snacks get a bad rap but we are rule-breakers and we say, why? What if they actually helped you bag some coveted ZZZZZs? Popcorn is one of these snacks, for all the right reasons, and delish even recommends eating it for Sunday night dinner. 

• Contains tryptophan (the turkey amino acid) which helps your body produce serotonin and melatonin 

• Good source of fiber, which helps stabilize blood sugars 

• Whole grain, nutrient rich 

• Low calorie, provides feeling of fullness 

P.S.: Jill’s got another life as a popcorn maker, and her hobby is making functional popcorn (and for The Skinny readers, who value their continued good health, get 20% off CBD or PreBiotic popcorn by replying SKINNY20 to this email).

Yes, chef

Sunday cooking with The Skinny

The Skinny: Here’s an ongoing PSA to avoid falling into “food fear” traps on social media. Example: a recent video “about how bread crumbs are made,” which was clearly a hodgepodge of “scary” footage showing dirty old bread from various unsanitary places being [allegedly] made into bread crumbs and/or croutons.

Clickbait IG reel aside, it is SO easy to make your own croutons, as Chef demonstrates here, and Spicewell is the perfect crouton seasoning blend (our favorite superfood salt) to sprinkle on? Guaranteed 10X better than store bought (and without all the extra ingredients or cost).

Last Licks

This week’s newsfeed

• We don’t live in Texas, but we do subscribe to the Texas Monthly newsletter, to which we give a five [lone] star review. Case in point: their Taste of Texas bracket this year came down to two foods which, paired together “make for a pretty decent breakfast.” 

• Related: the bags that “became Stanley Cups for Texas moms.”

• Last week’s most clicked report: Mary Jane sneakers, Hot Dog towers & cheap & chic bathing suit cover-ups (so many options). 

• For your spring cocktail/mocktail stock-up: Fresh Victor (one of our absolute fave mixers) available here—use code MAY5FRESH for 20% off! 

• Book nook: the most-read book genres by state, courtesy of RD.com; the NY Times “helps you find what to read next,” via a gifted link from copywriter Suzanne; and why “bookshelf wealth” is a status symbol.

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