Friends is widely considered the most popular sitcom of all time, even though some believe that it supported systemic racism due to its lack of diversity.
During the years Friends was on the air, between 1994 and 2004, the main cast became so famous that everything they did became headline news. Weddings, breakups, children, and even diets became matters of public interest if the golden six were involved.
One thing that garnered major public interest—and still does to this day—was the salad that Jennifer Aniston reportedly ate every day on the set of Friends.
It all began when Courteney Cox revealed in a 2010 interview (via Elle) that Aniston used to eat a “doctored up Cobb” salad every day on the set. As Aniston was/is also a style icon, millions of fans believed that if they could eat the same salad, their lives would resemble Aniston’s in some way.
What Is The Famous Friends Salad?
Recently, a recipe that claimed to be the very salad that Aniston ate every day on set has been making the rounds on social media. The salad, which has been printed across multiple media sources, consists of bulgur wheat, chickpeas, parsley, mint, diced cucumbers, red onions, chopped pistachios, and feta cheese.
Fans have been delighted to finally have the recipe for the famous salad. There’s just one problem: Aniston has since come out and confirmed that the chickpea concoction is not the salad she used to eat on the set of Friends.
“That’s not the salad that I had every day on Friends,” Aniston told Elle. “I feel terrible because it’s literally taken off like crazy, and it looks like a delicious salad, by the way, but that’s not the one that I had on Friends.”
She added that she would never consume an entire can of chickpeas in a single salad: “Not good for the digestive tract.”
What Was Jennifer Aniston’s Real Salad?
So if the viral salad recipe isn’t what Aniston ate on the set of Friends, what did she eat? According to Marie Claire, the authentic Jennifer Aniston salad did have some garbanzo beans, AKA chickpeas, but only a handful.
The publication reports that the real salad consisted of shredded lettuce, egg whites, chicken, bacon, and a basic vinaigrette. The chicken needs to be cooked through, and the beans can be cooked to your liking. Then simply add all the ingredients in a bowl and add the vinaigrette.
While the salad was definitely a staple, Aniston cleared up that she didn’t eat the salad every single day, as has been widely reported. She also revealed that she sometimes added percorino cheese from an Italian restaurant that was located near the set of Friends in Los Angeles.
What Does Jennifer Aniston Eat Now?
The Friends salad is just one facet of Jennifer Aniston’s eating history that has become a subject of global interest. As she’s considered one of the most conventionally attractive celebrities in Hollywood, fans are naturally fixated on her diet and exercise regime.
In a feature on what Jennifer Aniston eats in a day, Life and Style reports that Aniston starts her day with warm lemon water.
For breakfast, she then has a shake or avocado and eggs with toast and a sprinkle of coconut oil. In her shake, she’ll add pure protein and then fruits such as bananas, blueberries, and frozen cherries. She’ll also sometimes add green vegetables, maca powder, cacao, and stevia.
Sometimes she has a sweet breakfast, which usually consists of puffed millet cereal with banana or oatmeal with whipped egg white, which she has warm in the winter. The whipped egg white was a tip from her ex Justin Theroux, who taught her to add the egg as a way of getting extra protein.
When describing her daily lunch to Elle, Aniston confirmed that her midday meals are usually basic and consist of “some form of vegetables or salad with protein."
She also shared that her dinner is “probably the same” as her lunch, and she tries to stick to healthy snacks in between meals such as apple and almond butter or apple and nuts. Her refrigerator staples include hard-boiled eggs, chopped raw vegetables in Tupperware containers, butter lettuce, and protein such as pulled chicken.
Overall, her philosophy is to eat as healthily as possible without being too extreme: “I don’t let eating habits get out of control where I need a reset button. My general philosophy is to eat healthy. It’s pretty clear: eat as much organic fruits and veggies as you can, keep sugar [intake] low, drink tons and tons of water, and get good sleep.”
She does stray from her normal eating plan occasionally, though she generally tries to keep “white foods” to a minimum: “I allow myself to indulge once in a while. I’m good at keeping my starches to a minimum. I don’t like ‘white’ foods, and I’ll always cut back on some breads if I’m trying to slim down for something special.”
Despite sticking to a mostly healthy diet, Aniston confirmed that she doesn’t give herself rules anymore when it comes to food.
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