# Gwyneth Paltrow's Food Stamp Diet
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 14, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655 "2015-04-14T16:24:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/101 "2015-04-15T03:31:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Or maybe she miscalculated? Maybe she thinks 1,000 calories/day is reasonable? I have no idea, I’m just trying to keep an open mind rather than going into kneejerk Paltrow-hate like some of the haters on the internet.
I guess what I’m driving at is that of course she ran out of money. With more money, she would have bought more. It seemed you were complaining at how little she bought when I think she would agree that she didn’t buy as much as she wanted to.
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/102 "2015-04-15T03:39:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> You got a slap across the face? What luxury!
It puts some healthy color in one’s cheeks.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/103 "2015-04-15T15:18:18Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#):
>
> I’m baffled by Gwenneth’s single ear of corn.
Well, she separated from her husband last year…
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/104 "2015-04-15T15:53:35Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> Ordinary people eat these foods. If half the country is saying “wtf” and making up lists (like one linked to upthread) that will cost twice the limit in LA, maybe that’s a sign that half the country is being pretty parochial and narrow-minded.
Of course ordinary people eat those foods. I eat all of those foods on a regular basis.\*
There’s nothing at all wrong with her choices if it was just a “here are some healthy and delicious things to eat,” or maybe “This wonderful set of ingredients worked out to cost less than you might think.”
And I’m not sure that it’s fair to call somebody parochial and narrow-minded if they don’t know how to prepare certain things and can’t look at that group of foods and think of lots of different ways to combine them. Joe Midwest may like Tex-Mex food, but he may not know how to prepare it himself from scratch. He might be perfectly willing to learn how to cook with those ingredients, but if he doesn’t know yet, you can’t blame him for looking at that picture and thinking it bizarre.
- Or similar equivalents - spinach in lieu of kale for example.
> [@FaerieBeth](#):
>
> …but the groceries in that picture are not weird or far-fetched to me at all. I see salads, enchiladas, rice bowls, omelettes, pico, fried rice…all in that picture.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with the ingredients. There is a lot wrong with saying “this is a week’s worth of food” to the general population.
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> Well, people do say “you can’t eat healthy when you’re poor.” Then other people say that’s nonsense. Then GP went and got a week’s worth of super healthy food for $28 and it turns out it’s not nearly enough calories. …So maybe GP didn’t show that she knows how to shop well for $29 a week but she did show that you can’t eat as healthy as Gwenneth Paltrow wants to on $29 a week.
I’m not sure it shows that exactly. It does show that $29 doesn’t buy enough calories of that particular combination of foods.
That’s not to say that eating a healthy diet on that kind of budget is anything but a huge challenge, and being able to do so depends on a lot of things that may not be available/feasible for the very people who need to do it.
Also, the definition of a “healthy diet” can vary so much that it’s pretty much impossible to say what configuration of foods is truly the healthiest. Gwyneth’s definitely looks healthy, other than the fact that you’d starve on it. You could sub out a few things for additional bags of rice and beans, but someone else would come back and say “omg, not healthy! too many carbs!!”
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/105 "2015-04-15T15:54:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Well, she separated from her husband last year…
Consciously uncoupled.
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### Author:  [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/106 "2015-04-15T16:02:52Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#):
>
> From looking at the foods she selected…she deserves to starve.
>
> Limes, cilantro, avacado, an ear of corn, and Kale, let’s not forget that trendy green … and _two_ types of onions.
>
> This person has never known hunger. What a complete twit.
I don’t think the idea is that Gwenyth Paltrow is lecturing the poor on how they should eat by “slumming it” for awhile and telling everyone how easy it is. She advocates a vegetarian, organic diet. So this stunt isn’t her telling everyone how easy it is to eat healthy on a food stamp budget.
If anything it’s the opposite. She advocates a diet she thinks is healthy, and is showing people how it is difficult to impossible to eat what she considers a healthy diet on such a small budget. I’m not sure what her political leanings are, but I expect it’s far to the left of anyone who supports eliminating or slashing food stamp benefits.
Now, I don’t agree she got the best bang for her buck at the grocery store, and I don’t believe you should sacrifice calories for organic produce and herbs. But I also don’t think her goal was to teach poor people how to eat. As far as I can tell, she’s aiming this stunt at her rich friends to illustrate that what they consider a healthy diet is impossible for poor families dependent on government benefits.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/107 "2015-04-15T16:11:43Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Again, there’s nothing wrong with the ingredients. There is a lot wrong with saying “this is a week’s worth of food” to the general population.
She did not say it was a week’s worth of food. Where are you guys coming up with this? She was given a budget and attempted to come up with a shopping list based on the budget. She did not then say “And this is the way you should all eat!” She said “Holy shit, that’s not much money!”
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/108 "2015-04-15T16:17:07Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> She did not say it was a week’s worth of food. Where are you guys coming up with this?
Are you fucking kidding me? That’s the whole point of the challenge. Jesus.
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/14/what-gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-challenge-gets-totally-wrong-about-poverty/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/14/what-gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-challenge-gets-totally-wrong-about-poverty/)
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/109 "2015-04-15T16:21:52Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> Are you fucking kidding me? That’s the whole point of the challenge. Jesus.
>
> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/14/what-gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-challenge-gets-totally-wrong-about-poverty/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/14/what-gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-challenge-gets-totally-wrong-about-poverty/)
> [@](#):
>
> “all of which she bought with $29 as part of a challenge she accepted to raise awareness for the hardships faced by those who live on Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.”
Do you think her point is: “See how incredibly abundant this is”? No! Her point is “See how hard this is”!
To quote her: “This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week.”
What families HAVE TO LIVE ON FOR A WEEK. She’s not saying “And that’s super and plenty!” She saying THIS IS ALL THEY HAVE.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/110 "2015-04-15T16:31:00Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> Do you think her point is: “See how incredibly abundant this is”? No! Her point is “See how hard this is”!
>
> To quote her: “This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week.”
>
> What families HAVE TO LIVE ON FOR A WEEK. She’s not saying “And that’s super and plenty!” She saying THIS IS ALL THEY HAVE.
You already outed yourself as having no idea what the challenge was all about. Might be nice if you admitted that before you continued to lecture us.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/111 "2015-04-15T16:33:18Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> She did not say it was a week’s worth of food. Where are you guys coming up with this? She was given a budget and attempted to come up with a shopping list based on the budget. She did not then say “And this is the way you should all eat!” She said “Holy shit, that’s not much money!”
she’s famous, so we’re using our God-given right to interpret what she says however we like.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/112 "2015-04-15T16:36:01Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> You already outed yourself as having no idea what the challenge was all about. Might be nice if you admitted that before you continued to lecture us.
Gwyneth Paltrow posted a picture of what she could afford to buy with $29 dollars. Alongside that picture, she posted “This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week.”
If you think that her point was “And that’s super” then I have no idea what to say to you. She was very clearly trying to point out how incredibly difficult it is, and that $29 isn’t enough. It makes no sense to say that she’s claiming that her $29 dollars was plenty. It makes no sense to say that she’s claiming it’s sufficient. It only makes sense to say that she’s trying to show it’s not enough money and that it should be higher.
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### Author:  [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/113 "2015-04-15T16:44:48Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> Gwyneth Paltrow posted a picture of what she could afford to buy with $29 dollars. Alongside that picture, she posted “This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week.”
We know. You still opined without knowing that she said she was going to live on it for a week, and scolded the rest of us who knew.
> [@](#):
>
> If you think that her point was “And that’s super” then I have no idea what to say to you. She was very clearly trying to point out how incredibly difficult it is, and that $29 isn’t enough. It makes no sense to say that she’s claiming that her $29 dollars was plenty. It makes no sense to say that she’s claiming it’s sufficient. It only makes sense to say that she’s trying to show it’s not enough money and that it should be higher.
Straw man. Nobody said any such thing. Try again.
Look, **jsgoddess**. I’m not trying to be argumentative with you. Your posts earlier in the thread were based on incomplete information as you clearly demonstrated. It’s okay to make a mistake and it’s okay to admit it.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/114 "2015-04-15T16:50:23Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> We know. You still opined without knowing that she said she was going to live on it for a week, and scolded the rest of us who knew.
We are operating under different definitions of “a week’s worth of food.”
I never said she said she wasn’t going to eat it for a week. I said she didn’t say it was “a week’s worth.” For me, “worth” in this context implies “this is sufficient for a week.”
In her commentary on her picture, she very strongly implied that it was insufficient for a week. For me, “insufficient for a week” cannot be represented by “a week’s worth.”
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/115 "2015-04-15T17:07:34Z")
It should go without saying, in context of her challenge, it means, “a week’s worth of food [on food stamps]”.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/116 "2015-04-15T17:14:51Z")
> [@cmyk](#):
>
> It should go without saying, in context of her challenge, it means, “a week’s worth of food [on food stamps]”.
That’s fair. Modifying the phrase makes all the difference to my ear.
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/117 "2015-04-15T17:15:15Z")
If Gwineth Paltrow thinks that this is the kind of thing you should buy when you have $29 a week to spend on groceries, then Ms. Paltrow is an air-headed bimbo who wouldn’t know a bargain if her personal assistant made an entry on her calendar to have the housemaid hit her in the face with it.
‘If you shop at Whole Foods, $29 doesn’t go very far.’ Gosh, what a valuable insight.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/118 "2015-04-15T17:15:36Z")
> [@cmyk](#):
>
> It should go without saying, in context of her challenge, it means, “a week’s worth of food [on food stamps]”.
And that is also entirely consistent with “she did not say this is a week’s worth of food [nutritionally].”
I don’t know why people are jumping all over jsgoddess about this.
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/119 "2015-04-15T17:29:54Z")
For her next challenge she’s going to stop going to beauty clinics and will only steam her vagina over sidewalk steam gratings.
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### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwyneth-paltrows-food-stamp-diet/717655/120 "2015-04-15T17:30:33Z")
> [@emacknight](#):
>
> In California, where I believe she lives, the list she posted is incredibly cheap because what she bought was fresh and local in Southern California. Avocados can be as cheap as 4 for $1, limes can be 5 for $1, and yes they’re probably organic.
I live in Southern California. To get those prices you have to buy them in season from a local grower selling shit tons of them on the corner at the gas station. Out of season if avocados go on sale for 2 for $3 I snatch those puppies up.
> [@](#):
>
> Green onions and cilantro are practically free.
At my store they are $1.50 a piece. It must be nice being so rich that $3 is free to you.
> [@Cheesesteak](#):
>
> How dare she try to buy foods that have flavor and are healthy.
She either purposefully bought expensive food to make a point or she has never shopped for herself.
> [@](#):
>
> If you’re poor, you should eat this shit every day, if you want flavor, put more salt on it.
Or you could, I don’t know, do something crazy like grow your own herbs.
> [@Green\_Bean](#):
>
> It’s okay to make a mistake and it’s okay to admit it.
Not on the Dope it isn’t.
> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> For her next challenge she’s going to stop going to beauty clinics and will only steam her vagina over sidewalk steam gratings.
And she would probably charge me to stand there and watch her do it too.
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