So he gave up "dairy, gluten, meat, shellfish, condiments, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and an entire class of food (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers) called nightshades."
As a lactose-intolerant vegetarian who despises eggs, with a gluten allergy and needed to quit caffeine for health reasons, I can vouch for the energy burst of such a diet. Seems weird, but it's true. There's definitely something in the Great Cosmic Goop and GP is a swell gal who is far too In The Moment to seem real to the world at large. But she lives it up and who can fault that?
@ytuhermanotambien: She's does do both, just not all the time. She was actually pretty relaxed about what she ate on the "Spain on the Road" show. I think she just doesn't eat them during a "cleanse".
gives up "dairy, gluten, meat, shellfish, condiments, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and an entire class of food (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers) called nightshades.
Gwyneth, I gotta tell you something. TOMATOES are GOOD for me. Why you gotta act like you're the queen and we're the sorry people?
@sympathyforthebasementcat: Yeah, that's the macrobiotics thing. I seriously looked into going macrobiotic for a time (I have serious stomach issues and no health insurance and thought it might help) but the whole "nightshade" category really turned me off. So many of my favorite veggies are in there!
@erika: I know! I don't like shellfish, I have cut way back on meat because of its cost, and cut way, way back on drinking. But potatoes? Potatoes are life! Cheap, filling, keep forever! Tomatoes? So easy to grow yourself for next to nothing, full of lycopene, potassium, vitamins, and fiber. Condiments? What the hell? What the fuck is wrong with ketchup? Soy sauce? Horseradish, Worcestershire, hot sauce? Does she just want to be miserable?
Why do people take what she says so seriously? I'm a cynic, but the way I see it, Gwynnie is like every other wealthy woman I've ever met, comically out of touch with reality, trying to assert herself through veiled attempts of judging others to avoid actual introspection, turning whatever is going on in her life into a lecture on How To Live in order to try to convince herself that she has something to offer to the world, and in perpetual search of a "meaning" that eludes her because she doesn't know how to validate herself beyond the tangible. I've seen this before, and it always makes me laugh. I don't think this is different, so I really don't get why people take what she says at face value. She certainly opened herself to all the mocking when she decided to create a public forum to say out loud what she thinks, but like every other ridiculous thing out there, you can either ignore it or see it with a critical eye and take with you something that you find worthy of your attention.
And I must say that the "My Life As Gwyneth" piece is pretty damn involuntarily hilarious.
So these two writers basically validated Gwen's quest to make people feel good despite her outlandish methods and showed that her heart is in the right place. Sounds like a win for Gwen.
@ZemarSea Urchin: Her heart may be in the right place, but the writers also suggest her mind is exactly where we thought it was - floating through the clouds amid modern mid-century sinks and $200 cheese knives. It's fine to have great ideas, but if they're this impractical, it's useless since they can't feasibly be put to work by most people.
You know, I appreciate what she's trying to do here, but I get a little tired of celebs and their obsessive diets. It's absolutely fine to have sugar and processed foods sometimes. It doesn't make you a bad person or unhealthy. I mostly eat veggies and brown rice and tofu, too. But it won't kill you to have some ice cream.
Plus, a lot of this stuff is time consuming to do. Which is fine is you only work a few months a year and spend the rest of the time doing whatever you like. But most of us don't have that.
I don't dislike her, mind you. I think she means well. It's just a lifestyle that requires more time and money than most of us have, and sometimes she seems overly oblivious to that.
@tiredfairy: Oh, I don't think she means well. I think she means to inflate her sense of self. Altruism, you know, is a complete bullshit idea that does not exist. It is also very easy to live in the most health-conscious, luxurious and eco-friendly way when every menial task is already taken care of by a team of workers. Regular people cannot live like this, because regular people have not staffed private armies of servants.
ReadsCrime and Punishment, gives herself a sugar-and-coffee scrub, drinks 2 tablespoons of EVOO nightly, does a Seven-Day Detox, gives up "white foods (bread, pasta), preserved foods (chips, cookies), toxic foods (candy, ice cream), and foods containing heavy metals", negativity.
Oh, man. Save for the Dostoevsky, I'd sooner jump off the roof of my building than do any of this crap.
I salute Gwyneth for being able to give up "toxic" foods without getting the shakes like a junkie.
@TexasCrude: I want to eat better, but I actually whimper when contemplating giving up pasta and ice cream. I think my boss thinks I am stabbing myself with a pencil.
Wait, she advises giving up nightshades, including potatoes? Didn't she cook chicken and potatoes in her video? Oh Gwynnie, what am I to make of your mixed messages!? Are you trying to help me nourish my inner aspect by forcing me to ponder the contradictions of GOOP, of the world, of Life Itself?! Clearly my burdened brain needs a detox. But first I'll have another cup of coffee. With Sugar. And Cream.
@bluebears: I don't like tomatoes much at all but I finally discovered the BEST way to make tomato sauce, so now I kind of like them. But only a little bit.
@Penny: I must admit my BF makes a really good tomato sauce and (because I'm such a whiny picky baby) he boils it a really long time so it's basically down to paste. My biggest tomato issue is the texture of them, ew! slimy.
@lonewolfer: Got this from Hazan's cookbook. Basically, blanch the tomatoes so you can peel off their skin. Take all the seeds out (you'll need a lot of tomatoes) and throw in a pan on medium-high heat. I cut an onion in half and put it in slice-side down, pulling it out at the end (I hate onions but like the flavor) and put in about a tablespoon of butter. Let it cook down, smashing the tomatoes occasionally, salt and pepper.
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Um, WHAT DID HE EAT?!
09/16/09
It's all very funny, really.
09/16/09
This seems so off the wall that it may as well have read "rub paprika on your earlobes during a waning crescent".
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Gwyneth, I gotta tell you something. TOMATOES are GOOD for me. Why you gotta act like you're the queen and we're the sorry people?
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Conspicuous consumption is not a religious practice.
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And I must say that the "My Life As Gwyneth" piece is pretty damn involuntarily hilarious.
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Plus, a lot of this stuff is time consuming to do. Which is fine is you only work a few months a year and spend the rest of the time doing whatever you like. But most of us don't have that.
I don't dislike her, mind you. I think she means well. It's just a lifestyle that requires more time and money than most of us have, and sometimes she seems overly oblivious to that.
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Oh, man. Save for the Dostoevsky, I'd sooner jump off the roof of my building than do any of this crap.
I salute Gwyneth for being able to give up "toxic" foods without getting the shakes like a junkie.
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That's enough to make me commit a felony! I love buying grocery store "French" bread loafs and eating them by myself while I'm watching the X-Files.
I don't know how these hippy dippy people do it. I'd die.
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And fresh basil! I'm a sucker for basil.
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