OK, I LOLed.
Last year just about this time of year for a good part of the US the cost of limes - which are normally more expensive than in California - jumped between 400-600% IF you could get them at all. Many stores were limiting how many limes each customer could purchase. They went from a relatively inexpensive fruit to one that was costing $2-3 each in some locations.
Thus, many people perceive limes at this time as a luxury item when in fact they aren’t in most years and certainly aren’t in places like Southern California where they grow in backyards.
Yes, sortof, yes (I can’t ever find it), and maybe?
I can do it too. It helps that I like beans, polenta and rice. But I know how to stretch a chicken, have a full kitchen at my disposal, and time. I like to bake bread (although I’m gluten free, so that money saver is out the window - but when I did, making bread with sourdough starter was a huge money saver). I’m a huge fan of soups, and chicken carcasses, ham bones, and lamb chop leavings all end up as soup eventually. With pickier spoiled teenagers and multiple schedules, I couldn’t do it now though - I can spend $30 a week EASY at the drive through after baseball games right now just getting calories into a sixteen year old boy. I’ve have done $50 a week for a family of four (staples not included - and that’s big - I have cumin, bay leaves, salt, garlic, ketchup, etc.).
There are some other things about Gweneth - chances are she HAS gone hungry for a week, not due to food insecurity, but because her body in a dress on the red carpet is under constant scrutiny - and as an actress, she’s probably done strange things to her body to prep for a role. So she can probably live off that for the week of the challenge - she probably has lived off that few calories for a week before. And for her, its a week, not a life. Six more days and she can splurge on vegan organic cookies or whatever.
While the hate has been huge, she has done quite a bit to raise awareness of what $30 a week will buy - and she’ll inspire others to give it a try. Some simply to prove her wrong - and while I’ve done it, it isn’t necessarily easy to do - decide to splurge on soda and your budget can go to hell quickly. Some people may even, in their disdain for Gweneth, gain a new appreciation for groceries on a budget. Because its doable, but its often boring, its difficult with tweens and teens, and it does take effort. For people who don’t bother to really think about their grocery budget - thinking about it is a step.
All in all, its going to be very successful - the Gweneth hate will gain attention - which is the purpose, and she probably won’t suffer any more than she does Oscar’s week - even if her grocery list was JUST six limes and an avocado.
(Cory Booker did this three years ago or so. Made some similar mistakes: Cory Booker: Food Stamp Challenge Resulting In Hunger Pains, Caffeine Withdrawal | HuffPost Latest News )
I just priced out her list at our local grocery store. It came to $27.66. And that was including a pound of tomatoes, a pound of garlic, a pound of sweet potatoes, and a pound of yellow onions. (I didn’t try to weigh them to see what one of each would cost).
And I couldn’t get a stalk of romaine lettuce, just a largish bag for 2.59.
Sure, I’ll bite. (ha!)
For the comparison, we’ll assume that each diet will provide adequate calories for my needs (2000+)
Verdict: The Broomstick diet wins.
The primary reason for this is that the Broomstick diet looks satisfying. Both grocery lists look nutritious and tasty. I’d be very happy to let Gwyneth feed me lunch, but if I had to live on either diet day in and day out, I’d be much happier and healthier if Broomstick was feeding me. Gwyneth’s may be more perfectly “healthy” on paper, but even if I had enough calories, I’d end up feeling so damn hungry and unsatisfied that I’d spend extra money on extra food and wind up fatter and broke-er than before.
Then maybe she should have chosen a menu that had some sort of “connection” to what ordinary people might eat. The first thing to come to mind when seeing that picture is “I couldn’t live on that,” but not in a way that says “$29 is very low for food for a week.” Unfortunately, it’s more “Maybe I COULD live on $29 per week because I’d definitely get a lot more food value out of it than she did.” She just had to go for something that would look pretty in a picture and more importantly, reinforce the image that she’s some sort of rarefied health and lifestyle goddess.
She says she’s trying to raise awareness, but the main awareness that she’s raised is that she doesn’t eat the same food as mere mortals. I doubt that was an accident.
Whether limes are cheap or expensive where you are is irrelevant. If she was trying to make a good point, she shouldn’t have chosen items that make half the country go “WTF???”
I could live on that, though, and I’m a public school teacher in Arkansas (pretty ordinary, huh?). Could I make it a whole week? Nah, maybe three or four days, and I’d have to add some meat (we’re not vegan, and I can only do a day or two of vegetarian before my husband and son -age 13- plan my overthrow), 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.
Plus, I’m just not getting the lime hate. As previously discussed in this thread, the limes were probably cheap enough, and I can literally pair their flavor with every item in that picture except the eggs. In addition to that, I’m assuming she’s drinking water since no beverages are pictured, and for my own children a squeeze of lemon or lime juice in the water makes it far more palatable than straight out of the tap.
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. According to the Slate article that **TroutMan **linked to, Newark mayor Cory Booker found that his “challenge” menu ($33/week) left him hungry and light-headed.
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.
Or maybe she should pick things that are available in one of the most expensive parts of the country that still fall within the budget and that absolutely reflect the cuisine of a really big segment of the population here.
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.
There’s nothing wrong with Gwyneth’s food choices - as noticed, there are enchiladas, omelets, etc. in there - my main gripe is there is not enough. Then again, it is entirely possible I burn more calories in an average day than Ms. Paltrow. Every item pictured in her grocery cart is also featured at my house with the exception of the tomato, limes, and avocado, because no one in the house eats those. (Obviously, we’ll fill out our selection with something else).
Given her location in Southern California there is nothing exotic in her choices.
I will say that when eating on such a limited budget you very much need stuff that’s filling. One of my recent go-to’s is popcorn. Not microwave popcorn, the old fashioned kind and I pop it in a pot on the stove. Filling, but with relatively few calories. Also helps keep you regular. That’s also the reason for the bread. Eating just vegetables will tend to leave you hungry shortly after, the whole grains really help with that. (Our main ones are whole wheat products, brown rice, and oats) If you don’t get that satiated feeling you’re far more likely to keep snacking on carbs which helps pile on the weight.
Or, maybe she ran out of money.
That’s a possibility.
I’ve said more than once that most people screw up the food budget the first month or two they’re on food stamps. There is a definite learning curve here. Given Gwyneth’s lifetime of ample money it shouldn’t be surprising if she did just that. She might never have needed to purchase food on such a restricted budget before.
I’m baffled what you think the other possibilities are. Are you thinking she had lots left over that she just randomly decided not to spend?
I agree. If you can buy avocados for twenty-five cents in California, they’re a good buy. But one avocado won’t feed you for a week. She should have bought a half-dozen of them.
If you’re on a limited budget, you need to start by buying enough food to make a week’s worth of meals. And you need to keep in mind the amount of calories, protein, and vitamins you need to consume to stay healthy. Only when you’ve accomplished this minimum, should you start thinking about extras.
Paltrow appears to have spent a week’s worth of her food budget and only bought about three days’ worth of food.
I’m still coming to terms with chicken breasts at $1 a pound. Here (Ontario) the typical price is about $5 a pound, but sometimes it goes on sale for $3 a pound.
(The buying power of the currency difference is about 4/5 currently. But still, that’s $4 and $2.40 respectively.)
That list had pretty much nothing that was accurate for where I am.
No relevant health issues, thank Heavens. I’ve been eating this way for a few years now, and I haven’t had any deficiency issues show up. And if I went any further north, I’d either be hypothermic or in Canada.
My typical breakfast is a bowl of cereal and milk. My most common lunch is a baloney and cheese sandwich (two slices of each, plus mustard and mayo, on home-baked bread), plus a granola bar, and maybe a banana. For an afternoon snack, I’ll usually have a handful of chips and dip, a handful of peanuts, and/or a cup of yogurt. Supper varies: Common choices are a can of baked beans, fried eggs, frozen pizza if I’m lazy that night, or a couple of hot dogs, plus some ice cream for dessert. Today was a three-egg omelet, with cheese, salsa, and some ham left over from Easter. Once a week I eat out, usually at a very cheap local diner. Every three or four weeks I make up a big batch of something (chili or stew or a casserole of some sort), and eat that for lunch and/or dinner for a week. In the summer I eat a lot of garden vegetables.
I’m baffled by Gwenneth’s single ear of corn.
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.
Soup or something, maybe? I’m not really into vegetarian cooking to know what’s practical.
Or maybe it was like the old prize showcase on Wheel of Fortune: “You have 79¢ left…” “Ok, I’ll take the single ear of corn.”