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- E9: đšSpritz and Glitz, For the Love of Lemons
E9: đšSpritz and Glitz, For the Love of Lemons
Plus: Jelly sandals, 'whole body' deodorant, shower filters
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Good morning! Thanks for being a loyal reader (and, welcome back to those of you who may have been our original subscribers).
Letâs get to todayâs diet of healthy, snackable news: as always, The Skinny provides valuable (and entertaining) need-to-know items to improve your mood/mind/mojo. What weâre covering today in this âcool, fresh & cleanâ edition (which includes a summer playlist):
Lemons: in season. Cooking with them, lemon water hype, and reasons to invest in zest
All the reasons you donât need "whole body deodorantâ
Summer cocktails: the spritz is here to stay
Jelly sandals are the sweetest fashion item this season
What are the benefits of a showerhead water filter?
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In season
Lemons: a sweet and sour round-up
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Photo by Cristina Anne Costello on Unsplash
The Skinny: While the newest, and most âpopularâ ingredients often get a lot of attention in the media, today we savor and appreciate one of the classics: the lemon. While European lemons are often glorified, itâs worth noting that India and Mexico are the top global producers, and that most of our U.S. lemons are imported from Mexico or South Americaâor of course, grown in California and Florida. This updated âtop 8 European lemonsâ list includes the sexiest of all, the Amalfi lemon, which are so sweet that theyâre eaten plain with a little mint, salt and vinegar. As for Sicilian lemons, we might have to pick up this chic graphic tee (despite âLemon Girl Styleâ being so 2023, which is filed under dumb trends).
Lemon water is also a wellness darling right now, and with it claims for everything from weight loss (which it doesnât) to detox (also a myth). Anecdotally, we enjoy water in the morning with Himalayan saltâwhich is known as Sole (so-lay) water. This does seem to and this does seem to have actual benefits including stress reduction, better sleep and energy (particularly for believers in Ayurvedic principles).
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Image from âAcidâ chapter of Nicoleâs âSalt Fat Acid Heatâ book
Why you should cook with lemons is explained in detail in Samin Nosratâs âSalt Fat Acid Heat,â a book we would HIGHLY recommend to learn the basics of how to make the most flavorful dishes (and the why behind these âelements of good cooking.â Lemons, like any acid, provide a critical balance to meals and she describes them as âsaltâs alter ego.â Fun fact that we learned: the term âmouthwateringâ refers to acidâs effect on your salivary glands.
Do you need to invest in zest? If you have a regular old cheese grater, thereâs no need to purchase a zester, but this writerâmaking a bold claim to use zest as a swap for salt pretty much anywhereâinsists on a Microplane (which we also have and love). Hereâs Gordan Ramsey demonstrating how to properly zest, being careful not to scrape through to the pith. Last tip, coming from a savvy reader: Your awesome new zester works for finely grated cheese, garlic and gingerâand for other citrus (she uses orange zest in beef stew).
Last lemony tip: Freeze those lemon wedges and throw them in smoothies.
Hot take
Expanded deodorant offerings stink of over-marketing
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Image by Cottonbro for Pexels
The Skinny: Thereâs a movement to stop spending money on non essential items, and if there ever was something that fit into this category, itâs âwhole body deodorant.â And if the Economist is writing about this, the issue has clearly reached a critical mass of global proportions.
We repeat: You do not need this. Just wash more, and hit up these five spots youâre probably forgetting about. Thatâs it. If you want to get down and dirty into the topic (and the science of sweat), this Vox article is the best we found, which asks: What the funk is going on?, and also concludes that nope, you donât need this.
In summary: Because we love Reddit threads, hereâs a great one for anyone needing to vent about their hatred of Lume full body deodorant. Commenters said it best: âTAKE A SHOWER,â and â2 day old odor is cause 2 days u didnât clean.â
Sweating is a human superpower. Few other species can use sweat to avoid overheating.
Summer sips
Why we canât quit the spritz
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Jillâs âTour de Spritzâ on a recent Paris trip
The Skinny: But first, a little history of how the Spritz became the official drink of summer.
Jordan Salcito (Momofuku, Eleven Madison Park), an acclaimed master sommelier and inventor of Ramona, one of the first canned Spritzes, is quoted in the above saying that the concept of a spritz can be traced as far back as the ancient Romans and Greeks (once again!).
âBasically, it was considered very uncouth to be drunk at any meal, and the only one who was allowed to drink undiluted wine was Dionysus, the god of wine," he says. As a result, water was often splashed into wine, and it sometimes included berries, honey and flowers.
While Delish is christening the âPorn Star Martiniâ as the official drink of summer 2024, we are sticking with the more classic spritzes that never go out of style.
The reported âofficial rankingsâ are below, but we still love the OG Spritz and honestly, for a daytime cocktail, it canât be beat due to its lower alcohol content.
2020: Aperol Spritz
2021: Espresso Martini
2022: Hugo Spritz
2023: Porn Star Martini
To create at home: The traditional Spritz is three parts prosecco, two parts aperitif (Campari and Aperol being the most popular) and one part soda water, garnished with an orange slice and a black olive (more on why to add olive brine, here). And because the spritz is all about glitz, you need the perfect glass, like so.
Our favorite quick and dirty version is the humble white wine spritzer: fill any glass with ice, add 2 parts white wine (trust us, any bottle, box or bag is fine), 1 part club soda and our special touch is an orange slice. Hydrate or die, they say, so with that we can justify drinking them all afternoon.
Crème de la Skinny
Weâre jelly of the latest jellies
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Photo by Ron Lach for Pexels
Jelly sandals are back and in sweeter flavors than ever before. Whether itâs the sold-out version from The Row, or our preferred Ancient Greek Sandalsâ version, thereâs plenty to choose from for your jelly fixâincluding one that is 100% recyclable (Melissa). Jill enjoyed the original Valentino version, which was lovingly worn until destroyed, but you can pick up a solid dupe here.
Shower power
Should you invest in a shower head filter?
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Photo by kevin Baquerizo on Unsplash
The Skinny: Letâs start at the source: this Scientific American article describes the path our water takes to our homes and explains what contaminates our water, how it gets there, and how to test it.
Based on that above and assuming, like us, that you are using municipal waterâŚyou may want to consider a shower head filter. Chlorine can be a culprit, as well as heavy metals, when it comes to irritating our skin and drying out hair. A filter can help reduce the levels of these specific substances: chlorine, rust, and dirt are some of the top filtered materials. And lowering these levels in your shower water might offer health and beauty benefits over time.
Jill loves this Jolie filter, (guilty-as-charged, victim of influencer hype) but can report that her hair is easier to comb and style, and that her skin feels softer. Weâll leave you with the 10 best shower head filters to consider, courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens.
OHM, THERE'S MORE
This weekâs newsfeed
In Costco news, we have: this ânakedâ seafood item reportedly âfreaking out shoppersâ (but a TikToker gives it an 8 of 10); the Costco x Uber Eats, which essentially allows you to shop sans membership; and The Motley Fool looks at the retailerâs current/all-time high price and whether you should invest.
Add this playlist! đđźđşđźThe Skinny picks for Songs of Summer 2024 đ
From snatched to âhairstyle nirvana,â the woman with the âbest hair on Instagramâ tells all to Vogue.
In the mail: Merci to Cherry Bombe for alerting us to Franceâs new scratch-ânâ-sniff postage stamps, which smell like fresh baguettes.
Nestle launches a new line of frozen foods for users of GLP-1 drugs and as you can guess, thereâs lots to discuss.
Let us introduce you to the joy of Fruit Cutting TikTok, but also â if you learn one technique this summer, let it be âhow to cut watermelon sticks.â Youâll never go back to slices (plus, sticks are meant for dipping, which you can also read about in that link)
Boomers gone wild: The new wave of Senior Centers are bumping
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