A vocal health and wellbeing enthusiast (to say the least), Gwyneth Paltrow has reportedly followed a whole host of weird and wonderful diets over the years – and she's faced some criticism for her eating habits along the way. Following the revelation that she regularly tucks into a bowl of bone broth for lunch, we look into what the Oscar-winning actor, Goop creator and mother really eats, what she won't touch, and how her tastes have shifted over the years.
Gwyneth’s father, film producer Bruce Paltrow, is credited with instilling a love of food in Gwyneth. Sadly, Bruce was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, and passed away in 2002. In 2011, Gwyneth released a cookbook, My Father’s Daughter, in his honour. She also says that her interest in health and wellness was sparked as a way to cope with her father’s illness.
Gwyneth has been famous for experimenting with the health and wellness industry's biggest trends for over 20 years now. One of the first healthy eating regimes she got on board with was the macrobiotic diet: a strict diet that focuses on locally sourced, seasonal and organic produce, and dictates how foods should be stored and prepared.
Gwyneth's latest wellness obsession is a trend called intermittent fasting, which sees her refrain from eating for certain periods of the day. Her eating habits align closest with the 16:8 plan of intermittent fasting, which dictates that she can only eat during an eight-hour period, and nothing for the following 16 hours. This means Gwyneth usually doesn’t eat her first meal of the day until around lunchtime, only having water, coffee or tea beforehand.
Gwyneth is a mum before all else and, despite her busy schedule, she loves to cook healthy, tasty dinners for her family most nights. One of her kids' favourite things to eat is pasta; her daughter, Apple, loves a simple dish that she makes, bursting with lemon and Parmesan.
Even Gwyneth needs a snack or two during the day. A recent Tiktok from Goop, Gwyneth's wellness brand, showed that her desk drawer is loaded to the brim with healthy nibbles. The secret stash contained a perfectly arranged assortment of nuts, bars and dried fruits, all lined up ready for an afternoon snack break.
Gwyneth recently sent her fans into a frenzy by revealing that her lunches consist of nothing more than a simple bone broth – but her love of soup is actually nothing new. Soups and broths have always been her favourites during the colder months, as she finds them to be 'easy on the gut' and wonderfully warming in chillier weather.
Gwyneth not only waits to eat until around lunchtime, but she fasts after a certain time in the evening too. Following the guidelines of intermittent fasting, no food passes her lips after she finishes her dinner at around 6.30pm – meaning that there are no midnight snacks or late-night bites for Gwyneth. According to this strict diet, she can only consume water or tea during the evening.
Gwyneth doesn’t usually eat before midday – but on the occasion that she does (usually after completing an intense Tracy Anderson workout in the morning), she tends to opt for a refreshing smoothie full of 'lots of good fats'. In a recent Youtube video, she taught Hailey Bieber (Justin Bieber's wife) to make a healthy mint chocolate chip smoothie.
One of Gwyneth's favourite ways to make healthy takes on comfort foods is to use turkey as a substitute for other meats. A common meal in the Paltrow household is pasta with turkey ragu or turkey meatballs. Gwyneth's son, Moses, counts this Italian-inspired dish as one of his favourite things that his mother makes for the family.
In recent years, Gwyneth’s eating habits have been formed around one key goal: maximising her gut health. She avoids hard-to-digest foods like gluten, and eats according to her body's sensitivities, which she discovered through medical testing. In a video she posted in response to the bone broth backlash, she states that she follows a gut-sensitive diet to help ease her chronic long COVID symptoms.
Dill can crop up in anything from smoked salmon Benedict dishes to tartare sauce and giant jars of pickles. But, while Gwyneth loves lots of flavours and different types of food, this is one herb that she simply despises. She admitted that she 'can’t stand it' in a food diary video for Harper’s Bazaar.
Gwyneth tends to try to avoid drinking alcohol these days, instead opting to make mocktails using Goop's range of Superpowder supplements and a selection of non-alcoholic spirits. She likes to shake her drinks in a cocktail shaker with ice, then add mint and raspberries to the glass to 'trick' her brain into thinking she’s drinking a cocktail.
Gwyneth used to be partial to to octopus, but not anymore. She's stated in many interviews that she no longer eats octopus because the creatures are 'too smart' – explaining that she fell down an internet rabbit hole, found out about the sea creatures' intelligence and vowed never to eat them again as a result.
Despite her love of European culture and its relaxed attitudes to dining, one European habit Gwyneth will never fall into is eating late. She likes to eat dinner at about 6-6.30pm, as she says she sleeps better when she's not too full – in fact, she's become quite 'geriatric about it'.
Gwyneth has teetered between being a vegetarian and eating meat for most of her life. Her recent diet incorporates more meat than previous ones she’s tried throughout the years. There are a few types of meat, however, that she will always stay away from – the main two being lamb and veal, as she doesn’t like the idea of eating baby mammals.
Gwyneth has been drinking less over the last few years but, when she's in the mood for a tipple, she certainly has her go-to drinks. She’s known for drinking Gibson Martinis (garnished with pickled onions) and adores Japanese whisky on the rocks. She loves it so much, in fact, she even keeps a tiny bottle in the drawer at the Goop office.
Gwyneth loves to stay hydrated and top up on her vitamins through intravenous vitamin therapy, or IVs for short. These IVs range from simple daily vitamin boosts to complex vitamin cocktails that claim to cure a plethora of ailments. She says that when she's had a little too much to drink the night before (likely the Japanese whisky), it's the perfect remedy.
Gwyneth has a love of French fries, which is something that she’s mentioned in many interviews throughout the years. Although they’re a side dish, she admits that she would happily eat French fries as her entire meal, given the chance. Her favourite fries are from Santa Monica Seafood, a grocery store in the Californian beach town. "They have this little counter where you can go and just have oysters and french fries or a delicious salmon burger they have,” she revealed in her videos for Harper’s Bazaar – adding that they also do a lovely dry white wine.
Gwyneth met her husband, Brad Falchuck, when she was guest-starring on his show Glee (which he co-created). When they were dating, she cooked him breakfast every Saturday morning, referring to what she rustled up as 'boyfriend breakfasts'. To this day, she continues to cook Brad breakfast every Saturday, featuring it on her Instagram most weeks.
Speaking of Gwyneth's husband Brad, he sticks to a mostly Paleo diet, consisting only of the foods humans would have eaten during the Paleolithic era. During the week, Gwyneth's main meals are Paleo-minded because of her husband’s eating preferences, and include plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Meanwhile, grains, refined sugar, legumes and added salt are on the banned list.
One of Gwyneth's favourite go-to dinners is a classic roast – and she's revealed that one recipe her family particularly enjoys is chicken roasted over winter root vegetables. As far as her husband, Brad, is concerned, his favourite meal of Gwyneth's is roast chicken with lemon and caramelised onions.
When she needs a boost, Gwyneth loves to do a detox, simplifying what she eats in order to reset her system and feel refreshed. Sometimes these detoxes will last a few days, or sometimes a few weeks. She's even gone so far as developing a 7-day Detox Kit for Goop, which she reportedly loves to use herself. It’s certainly not for everyone, but she swears that it keeps her feeling healthy and happy.
Gwyneth is known not only for promoting Goop’s skincare and detox lines, but she's also a vocal fan of the wellness company's Superpowders: sachets of vitamins and flavourings that can be mixed into water and claim to give you glowing skin. Gwyneth has one Goop Morning Skin Superpowder mixed into her water every day, and says it’s just what she needs to get going.
Gwyneth relies on quick, easy, protein-packed salads when she's running low on time to cook lunch or dinner. She'll often pre-prepare ingredients like roasted tomatoes and red bell peppers to store in her fridge. That way, she always has ingredients on hand to make her salads colourful and exciting.