[Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater]
Actress/lifestyle guru/newsletter hustler/cleanse practitioner Gwyneth Paltrow has a new cookbook coming out called It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great. The book is styled to look like a J. Crew catalog and aimed at working moms trying to get their kids to eat stupid vegetables, but it is wildly deceptive in that it promotes a ludicrously horseshit vegan diet that rules out pretty much everything. Under the advice of doctors who push nonsense like "psychospiritual nutrition," that means something called an "elimination diet." Specifically: No coffee, alcohol, dairy, sugar, shellfish, deepwater fish, potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, corn, wheat, meat, gluten, soy, or anything processed at all.
It's All Good is drenched in a chatty faux-populism that could only come from a rich person fearlessly boasting about her life of privilege. While her first cookbook, My Father's Daughter, was jammed full of absurd lines and celebrity friend name-dropping, Paltrow toned it down a bit on her second attempt. But this book is still more of the same: From mentioning that she frequents trendy New York City restaurants like Frankies, Empellon, and David Chang's, to namedropping her celebrity BFFs like Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale and Cameron Diaz (who's a "master popcorn maker"). Paltrow also casually writes that she overnights homemade vegan cookies to her manager and often has a surfeit of apples from the trees on her $5.4M five-bedroom Hamptons summer home. There's also a recommendation for a $500 blender. Here now, the best lines from It's All Good:
[Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater]
On life's essentials: "We basically can't live without Vegenaise—it's a little out of control."
On vegan avocado toast: "...but really it's the holy trinity of Vegenaise, avocado, and salt that makes this like a favorite pair of jeans..."
On the way things were meant to be: "For a long time (after I read about factory farming) I didn't eat birds or meat. I am a firm believer in raising animals right and eating only organic, heritage, grass-fed, free-range ones—or even better, game birds from the wild, the way it was meant to be."
On meat: "Gwyneth eats zero red meat and Julia eats a tiny bit here and there, but we both often make it for other people in our lives (mostly men...)."
On an egg white omelet: "This is what to make in the morning if your boyfriend is a body builder. Or you want him to look like one. We got the idea to partially whip the egg whites from a Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe."
[Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater]
On an arugula salad: "The maple syrup adds another layer of autumnal yum."
On what's in her blood: "My grandmother's father was a chicken farmer on Long Island back in the day; so needless to say, chicken soup is in my blood. My version (page 82) in the stove all winter..."
A subtle mention about whether or not she used a ghostwriter: "[Julia Turshen] was my biggest supporter while I created every recipe for My Father's Daughter, standing over my shoulder, taking notes, approximating amounts, and being the best company ever while I worked."
On men's needs: "I don't eat red meat, but sometimes a man needs a steak."
On fish: "You'll also see striped bass called for in a lot of the fish recipes—that's because it swims in the waters close to Gwyneth's summer home, where we do a lot of cooking."
On apple sauce: "We have apple trees at our house in Amagansett, New York, and in October they're bursting with fruit."
On a beet, fennel, and apple soup: "We have apple trees, so we love this recipe."
On a salmon burger recipe: "Burgers are my favorite food in the world, which is ironic because I don't eat red meat." (Ed note: Well except for that one time, documented on camera, when her BFF Jamie Oliver made her eat a hamburger.)
On Ironman: "I got this idea to roast bass 'baked clam style' when I was in North Carolina during the Ironman 3 shoot."
[Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater]
On what's a "no-no": "Fish tacos are always amazing with battered and deep-fried fish, a no-no for this book on many levels."
Chef name dropping: "Anyone who knows me knows that I love a Brussels sprout, especially a crispy one. One night at one of David Chang's spots, crispy sprouts came out with bacon and sriracha. This is my version, minus the bacon."
On food that is scary: "Fish sauce can be scary, it has so much flavor. And that's why I love it."
Recipes that go against the concept of the book: "Yes, eggplant is a nightshade, so this isn't a recipe for times when you're on an elimination diet."
On her inspirations: "This recipe was inspired by a meal I had made by [Bush lead singer] Gavin Rossdale (yes, he looks like that and he can cook)."
On a banana shake: "My old assistant, Cleo, insisted we include her secret afternoon shake."
[Photo: Raphael Brion/Eater]
On the recipe for Cameron Diaz's "Camerino's Popcorn": "Our dear friend Cameron is a master popcorn maker — and this is one of the many reasons she is Apple and Mosey's favorite house guest."
On almond butter cookies: "I once overnighted a batch from London to my manager in Los Angeles who was doing the clean program and was dying for a cookie! They did not disappoint."
On the "Spicy Cashew Moment:" "Inspired by the smoked cashew salsa at a great Mexican restaurant in Manhattan's West Village called Empellon, this condiment is also an homage to the all the rich cashew blends beloved by vegans and raw foodists, bless their hippie hearts."
Citing her sources, and being geographically helpful: "One of my favorite beet salads, especially during the summer, is based on a popular salad served at Frankies restaurants in New York (there's one in Brooklyn and one in the West Village)."
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