E7: 🇬🇷Greek Eating & Drinking Secrets, Game-Changing Sandwich Cut

Happy Thursday! Thanks for giving us a read (and, welcome back to some of you who may have been our original subscribers). 

Let’s get to today’s diet of healthy, snackable news: as always, we are dedicated to providing valuable (and entertaining) need-to-know items to improve your morning/day/week/life. What we’re covering:

Straight from the source: 

• We’re in Greece and our secrets are now yours 

• Can you be “addicted” to lip balm? 

• 11 of the most unusual weight-loss hacks

• One to try: Somatic exercise

• Finally, groundbreaking sandwich news

If you have friends who would love The Skinny or some of this week’s snackable content, please share the love by forwarding this email. And if someone already in the know sent this, you can subscribe here.

It’s all Greek

Ancient secrets: what to eat & how to live

The Skinny : We know, we know. Eating like those who live in the Mediterranean region is the way to go in terms of longevity, weight loss and healthy living (officially, for several years in a row, it’s topped the best category of this “best and worst diets of the year” list). Guess what? It’s the best for several reasons, including it being heart healthy, weight loss friendly and it’s been shown to help with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Being currently in Greece—where orange trees line the street and a typical breakfast includes roasted mushrooms, loads of fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts and homemade tiropita—we are spoiled. Of course, it’s easier to follow here but really is simple to embrace anywhere, not to mention perfect for summer. Below, our The Skinny-approved ideas and a 101.

Don’t Call it a Diet: We’re signing off on using that word simply because it implies that you’re denying yourself something. With a new mindset, just focus on finding foods and snacks you love that are part of this eating philosophy.

The Mediterranean formula: 1) Base every meal around fruits, veggies, whole grains, olive oil, beans, legumes, herbs and spices; 2) Eat fish/seafood 2-3 times per week; 3) Moderate portions poultry, eggs, cheese, Greek yogurt, daily/weekly; 4) Meat in moderation (we learned this week that ancient Greeks typically ate meat mostly at rituals and in a group) 

Beyond FetaTok (that feta pasta recipe that broke TikTok, causing a global shortage), this awesome list of feta recipes happened to arrive in our Inbox today. Baked, roasted, grilled, with eggs…pure feta pleasure.

Greek salad is a staple of almost every meal here, but if you want to be truly salad-informed, know that: The classic horiatiki salad in Greece often includes green pepper; another version to try is the Cretan version, which is almost like a “deconstructed bruchetta” with tomatoes, capers and barley rusk or whole grain bread. 

What we’re eating: Fresh grapefruit drizzled with honey and a sprinkle of sea salt; kiwis (which apparently grow in Greece), Aegina pistachios, Greek Mountain Tea (which you can and should buy for its medicinal properties and it being a fan favorite of the ancient Greeks), grilled sardines, “spanakopita salad” with spinach and filo sheets on top, lots of fried saganaki, limited edition tzatziki Pringles, octopus (of course), the best watermelon we’ve ever tasted, and salads at every meal. 

3 Easy Summer Recipes 

• Diane Kochilis’ “longevity rice recipe,” which we will be making on repeat—and in which you can use any wild greens (and here are the therapeutic benefits of all the Greek versions)  

• Grilled shrimp Greek salad has been in our arsenal for years and is the best excuse to grill pita bread we have ever tasted. A crowd pleaser! 

•  The BEST watermelon salad (yes you can buy it precut, but TikTok has ideas on how to cut your own…which is of course also cheaper than pre-cut) 

Final word: Try to live more like Zorba the Greek, who savors the pure, simple pleasures—and soak up these lessons in longevity from Greece’s wise yiayias.

Crème de la Skinny  

Packing like Joan Didion

Because we’re traveling, today’s best of the best is: Joan Didion’s packing list. We’re going to fashion our next travel edit after the style and literary icon (hell yes to the bourbon, hard no to lugging around a typewriter).

Pantry Raid  

A cut above: groundbreaking new sandwich slice

Breaking news: You may have been cutting our sandwiches wrong your entire life. Check out this new sandwich cut that some guy posted on X, and please send us your photos and feedback! Speaking of sandwiches…start thinking about which sandos you want on rotation with the 37 best “pool sandwich” recipes.

Smacked

Can you be addicted to lip balm? 

The Skinny: One of our favorite substacks is “The Review of Beauty,” written by beauty pundit/critic Jessica DeFino. DeFino also pens a column in The Guardian called “Ask Ugly,” where readers pose questions about beauty culture, and DeFino digs in. 

Remember telling your friends in high school that “Carmex was addictive?” This reader, who always has a lip balm at arm’s reach, wonders what she can do about her “addiction” and if there is a better alternative. (hint, hydrate your body, get a humidifier and eat foods with healthy fats)

In her response, DeFino reports that lip treatment sales were up 58% from last year, and that the average American woman “has more lipsticks than close friends.” But the net-net, after getting into the science of lip hydration and lip balm, (and the plastic waste), is to understand that the benefits of lip balm are temporary and aren’t really “hydrating” your lips.

Trust but Verify. Investigating this item also revealed an example of our promise - we only recommend products we believe in (either via personal testing, research, or recommendation from a trusted friend). We’re here to help you to save your cash for quality products. Here’s what happened when we followed the buzz: 

• After searching for refillable or eco-friendly lip balm packaging, we discovered Poppy and Pout and were going to include 

• The product checked several boxes: cute branding, refillable packaging, hype-y, A-list editorial endorsements 

• After some digging (and despite every product on their site having the same amount of 5-star reviews), it appears that this is likely a subpar product based on plenty of Amazon reviews (many with photos) complaining about the formula and ineffective packaging. As a top beauty editor said to us once: “It’s shocking how many terrible products are launched each year.” We’re curious to know if anyone has used this product and what the real scoop is, beyond the buzz. Please let us know if you have tried it and what you think of it.

• To learn more about the implications of this on a larger scale, read this story in NY Magazine (“How Product Recommendations Broke Google”).

If anyone knows of a refillable (or other eco-friendly packaging) lip balm that works, we would like to hear about it. You can also buy one of Vaseline’s cute lip tubs and refill it with your own DIY balm. In general, try to use just one lip balm and use it up completely (we’re accepting this difficult challenge ourselves and will report back with Part 2 of our lip balm series). 

OHM, THERE'S MORE

This week’s newsfeed

• Roll up to the world’s most unique bowling alleys, including one in the basement of the Frick.

• Of these 11 “bizarre weight loss tricks” from The Healthy, you’ll take away a couple to put into action (like: rethink your plate color).

• U.S. cities, we can do better. Not one made the “top walking cities” list, with a couple of them shamed into the worst. Side note: Patras, Greece—which we just visited—is also among the least walkable.

• Time to Unwind: Somatic Exercise is more than a buzzword. Can you get fit, rid yourself of stored trauma and improve your mental health in less than 10 minutes per day? Let’s give it a try: Here is a 30 day workout plan to put into action this summer. 

• In honor of our “Greece Correspondent” (aka Nicole, who is traveling this week to the Mothership), we have a recipe to dress like a Greek Salad. This chic fit includes: Lettuce (track pants by alo), Kalamata (bag courtesy of Clare V),  this great Feta tee and Tomato (slides from Birkenstock).

• Add to cart*: Today we learned about the benefits of candle warmers (which will make your expensive Diptyque candles last for a LOT longer, in addition to providing a more consistent fragrance heating due to even/top-down heating). We are getting one! 

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