#166 The Best Waters, Foods to Fight Winter Depression, February Fruits

It's a beautiful February!

Feb 06, 2026

Happy Friday! After what felt like the longest January on record, we’re now well into the New Year. I hope you’ve taken some much needed time to relax, reflect and think about all that you’re going to attack this coming year. If you haven’t, it’s still not too late. This 2026 worksheet from our last issue is a great starting point.

Some say February is when the real new year begins. The dust has settled. There’s a clear runway to put in good work before summer arrives. We’re about to have the greatest year of our lives.

Speaking of great things, I have an announcement to make!

Our first coffee table book of the year - Winter 25/26 - goes live this coming Wednesday, February 11th at 8:30pm EST. This one was truly designed to be shown off. Pure locomotion. For a deeply nourishing winter. We can’t wait to see it proudly displayed on your coffee tables! Have a beautiful weekend 🥂

Ultimate water tier list

Drinking great water is as important as nourishing yourself with the right foods. You want to be hydrating yourself with the essentials without ingesting any unwanted contaminants. This is why we partnered with @checkoasis to visualize the best waters in the world based on objective data. What's your favorite water?

You need real nourishment

Winter depression is a consequence of a lack of nourishment. Prioritize foods rich in Vitamin D. Get enough zinc. Eat red meat (including organs). Nourish yourself deeply with warm broth and soup. Get your omega 3s from real fish. Eggs. Spend hours reading while you’re tastefully caffeinated. Enjoy some soft French butter spread over sourdough. Nourishment is one (incredibly important) pillar 🥂

Citrus is Winter’s essential hydration

You need to be hydrating with citrus. Drink orange juice. Snack on mandarins. Try a kumquat. Your body will thank you for the Vitamin C and your thirst will be quenched 🍊🥂

Fruits for February

How blessed are we to live in a world of beautiful fruit? February is one of the most underrated months for fresh fruit. There’s no such thing as too many oranges! What are you having this February?

Better in pairs

The best foods are even better in pairs. Sourdough and jammy eggs. Gelato and espresso (affogato). Frothy cappuccino and pain au chocolat. Steak and raw honey. What are your favorite food pairs?

Start herb-maxxing

You need to be eating more herbs. Fold tarragon in your breakfast omelet. Sip on chamomile tea before bed. Baste your steaks with rosemary. Sprinkle chives on everything. Make basil pesto. Herb-maxxing is a lost art. You'll be protected in more ways than you imagine than you imagine 🥂

❋ Overnight Sourdough Waffles

“These Overnight Sourdough Waffles are by far the BEST we’ve ever had! The outside is crisp and buttery, while the inside is light and tender.”
Ingredients
For the Overnight Sponge
100 grams active sourdough starter
120 grams (1/2 cup) milk
140 grams (1/2 cup) plain Greek yogurt
12 grams (1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
For the Waffle Batter
55 grams (1/4 cup) butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
4 grams (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) Kosher salt
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda

❋ The Art of Being Unreachable by Alexis McElroy

“Hobbies are not frivolous. They are sanctuaries. Hobbies are where desire goes when it no longer needs approval. Spaces you create that belong entirely to you—where you manipulate reality, build worlds, master skills. There is power in that. A quiet dominance. You are not waiting for someone to make you interesting. You are actively becoming someone worth knowing.
I think about the hours I wasted—obsessing over someone’s silence, analyzing their every word, ruminating on whether they felt what I felt. What if I had spent that time creating instead? Writing. Painting. Learning an instrument. Building something with my hands. I would have had something to show for my pain. I would have transformed longing into craft, desire into skill. I would have become someone who did not need them to feel whole.
A rich inner life quiets the need for outside attention. The fuller your attention is on your own becoming, the quieter the hunger for external interest grows. A rich inner life does not just make you more interesting—it makes you immune to the games, the breadcrumbs, the intermittent reinforcement that keeps so many people trapped in cycles of longing. When your life genuinely interests you, validation from others becomes optional. You stop tolerating less because you know your time is valuable. You know what it feels like to be absorbed in something that actually nourishes you.”
— Alexis McElroy

❋ Raspberry Love Letter Cookies

“These Raspberry Love Letter Cookies are so customizable. Use whatever flavor cookie recipe is your favorite. Chocolate comes to mind. Of course, you can tint the dough with food coloring. Or use beet powder for a more natural approach. Make the dough the night before and chill it to save time. Alternatively, to save even more time, use store-bought pre-made sugar cookie dough. No judgment here. Add any flavor jam you like. However, make sure the jam is completely smooth. Annoying bits of fruit will mess up your cookie game. So blitz the jam in a blender or food processor before you spread it on the cookie. Here is another tip for spreading the jam. Use a small paintbrush. This makes it way easier.”

❋ Audiobooks Are Books and They’re Also Practice by Simon Sarris

“If you find audiobooks hard to follow, this is all the more reason to want to practice. After all: How long did it take you to learn to read well? Keeping the thread of an uninterrupted narrative, holding your concentration and attention for it against all the other forces, this is a muscle worth stretching. You might find that over time you get better at it, you absorb much more, and it will make you a better listener elsewhere, too. If you try to listen to them on 1.5x speed you are absolutely going the wrong way.
If you have tried listening to audiobooks before but find it’s hard to pay attention, I recommend you start only with re-reading. It is hard to convince people of this but I am sure it’s true: Re-reading is often much more rewarding than reading for the first time. Still, most people have an aversion to picking up a book they’ve read before. Audiobooks however make a natural entry point for re-reading your favorite books. If you cannot guarantee perfect attention when listening to audiobooks, then using them for re-reading is simply a kind of leafing-through. Even if you zone out often, you will still gain a good deal from the retelling.”
— Simon Sarris

❋ Chicken Milanesa with Mole & Roasted Poblano Polenta + Roma (2018) by Betty Williams

“It’s dinner for two plus a movie, all month! With the cost of eating out and cinema tickets constantly on the rise (whoo-eee, that has gotten so pricey now!), I love the idea of staying in to watch a movie and enjoying a cozy dinner.
Yes, it’s the classic formula for a date night at home, but it can also be a fun evening with your BFF, a favorite auntie, or your next-door neighbor.
I’m always on the lookout for a good movie, so the suggestions included are all films that I have recently watched and enjoyed. None are Hollywood blockbusters, but they are interesting and noteworthy.”
— Betty Williams

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