Gwyneth Paltrow’s holier-than-thou attitude hasn’t won her many friends over the years (except Madonna, but I don’t consider that any kind of character endorsement). Gwyneth continued telling everyone how good and pure she is on her new website Goop.com. She sends out a monthly email (though hasn’t updated the website at all) with advice, including not to eat for 12 hours and a list of foods to avoid. Yet she also just sent out an email with her favorite Thanksgiving recipes that focuses on a lot of the aforementioned bad foods.

Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. I love when everyone comes together and celebrates the idea of gratitude, something we all mean to do every day, but seem to lose sight of most of the time. I also love the cooking - the days of planning and chopping and basting. This year, I decided to work out three variations on the traditional meal: a big group, a small gathering and a cozy dinner for two.

Turkey will always be the main event of Thanksgiving (at least in my house) and a whole turkey is the way to go if you’re feeding at least 12. But if your party is smaller, the stuffed turkey breast turns out to be a great halfway point. Brining it overnight insures that you don’t need to baste it and it has a quick cooking time. Why should things be any less festive if dinner is just for two? I came up with these stuffed turkey burgers which were a giant hit in my house. They are the perfect solution for anyone who isn’t feeding a big group (or for a big group that wants to try something different!).

Mostly, make sure that no matter what type of meal you are having, you take a moment to think about how much you do have (health, love, friendship, passion, perspective, appreciation, intellect, reason, kindness) and reflect on how you can share more of it with others.

— Gwyneth Paltrow

[From the Huffington Post]

Oh barf. So according to her original email from Goop, you should avoid all white foods, including flour, dairy, sugar. This also includes hidden sugars like high fructose corn syrup. You’re also supposed to avoid any foods with chemical preservatives or flavorings, and focus just on “real” foods. This isn’t bad advice in and of itself and Gwyneth is quoting others on most of it. But it’s pretty extreme for most people.

Ironically, her suggested Thanksgiving recipes have a lot of these ingredients in them. For example the cranberry chutney has 3/4 cup sugar, and the classic bread stuffing has 15 cups of 1/2? bread cubes (she recommends challah, wholegrain, or ciabatta). There’s also roasted sweet potatoes with maple syrup, and a pumpkin ice cream with a cup of graham cracker crumbs. I have yet to encounter a whole grain graham cracker, though Gwyneth and I probably shop at different grocery stores so who knows. That particular recipe also calls for 1 tablespoon sugar, 5 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 pint vanilla ice cream.

And then there is the cranberry ketchup. It’s only ingredients are 2 spoonfuls of cranberry chutney and 2 same-sized spoonfuls of ketchup. I’m not going to argue about the contradictory nutrition. I’m just going to point out that it sounds freaking disgusting.

I think most people relax their diets around the holidays. I certainly plan to on the actual days. Of course I also plan to be incredibly sick the next day, but it’s totally worth it. It’s just annoying that Gwyneth doesn’t make any, “it’s okay to treat yourself,” kind of comment. In her original email it sounds like she’s recommending being unrealistically strict. You don’t get the impression that there’s any flexibility there. And yet in the next email it’s all, “Eat all the crap I just told you not to!” with nary an explanation.

Personally I think Gwyneth might want to eat that Thanksgiving type diet a little more often. That crash after a sugar high might tone her down a bit.

Here’s Gwyneth at the French premiere of ‘Two Lovers’ in Paris on November 4th. I have a joke apron that looks very similar to this. Images thanks to WENN.

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