The Bizarre Eating Habits of Marilyn Monroe

In a 1952 interview with Pageant magazine, Marilyn Monroe admitted that she liked to begin her day by whipping two raw eggs into a cup of warm milk. “Before I take my morning shower, I start warming a cup of milk on the hot plate I keep in my hotel room,” she said. “When it’s hot, I break two raw eggs into the milk, whip them up with a fork, and drink them while I’m dressing.”

One of Marilyn Monroe’s contemporaries, Renée Taylor, told the New York Post how she learned about the “Master Cleanse” diet from the Some Like it Hot star. After meeting Monroe back in the ’50s, Taylor swore by a concoction of cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and maple syrup. While this strange mix has developed a small fan base over the years, there is no concrete evidence that suggests that it prevents weight gain. Generally, people aren’t recommended to adopt this diet.

According to Monroe, there was a time in her life when she would stop at the market close to her hotel every night and pick up some liver. “I broil [it] in the electric oven in my room,” she told Pageant. When you consider that the liver helps to filter out the toxins from the blood, it doesn’t exactly sound like the most pleasant thing to eat. However, this didn’t stop Monroe from enjoying it when cooked rare. Liver is full of vitamin A and iron, as well as protein.

Along with her two raw eggs and milk, Marilyn Monroe would often take a number of multivitamins first thing in the morning. Of course, back in the ’50s, these were much more basic than you’d find at the avreage pharmacy nowadays. It wasn’t until the ’60s when other popular multivitamins consisting of vitamins B12, B6, E, and magnesium popped up. Over 70 years ago, nutrition labels on multivitamin packs were extremely small compared to today. At any rate, there is no denying that the actress was a fan of nutrients.

What you will come to learn from this extensive list is that Marilyn Monroe was a huge fan of a variety of meats. However, no matter what protein she chose to have on her plate, it always seemed like one thing remained the same: Monroe would usually eat raw carrots with her meats. “I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat, and that is all,” she told Pageant. “I must be part rabbit [because] I never get bored with raw carrots.”

While there are plenty of pasta dishes that are quintessentially dairy, this one might be taking things a bit too far. Writer Laren Stover wrote in her 2001 book, The Bombshell Manual of Style, that for lunch, Marilyn Monroe apparently liked to eat half a cup of boiled noodles soaked in milk. What made the dish even stranger was the fact that the actress didn’t even add cheese to it. Maybe cream of mushroom soup could be compared to this insanely plain dish.

It seems like Laren Stover was aware of a number of strange eating habits that Marilyn Monroe lived by over the years. According to her, the actress also liked to have a slice of stale toast sometimes for lunch. Moreover, all she would have with it was a little bit of butter. It makes you wonder – what was it that Monroe liked about a slice of stale bread as opposed to a fresh one? Did she know something that we don’t?

Don’t worry though, stale toast wasn’t all that Marilyn Monroe would eat during lunchtime. This would often allow her room to enjoy some sort of dessert. One of her go-to desserts during lunchtime was a bowl of cooked fruit. While it’s unclear specifically what fruits these were, this just goes to show how random Monroe was when it came to how she liked to eat certain foods. Some foods she surprisingly liked raw while others, she enjoyed eating when cooked, like fruit.

It might not seem realistic, but believed or not, Marilyn Monroe didn’t mind getting her hands dirty in the kitchen. According to a recipe she wrote down, the actress liked putting together a specific kind of stuffing – turkey heart stuffing. It is believed that her former husband, Joe DiMaggio, taught her how to make it. As previously mentioned, Monroe also enjoyed livers so if she couldn’t get her hands on turkey hearts, she would substitute them for this other organ instead.

While this wasn’t a usual thing that Marilyn Monroe would do, it earned its way onto this list because of one funny story. When she was young, the aspiring actress was living with Shelley Winters, who apparently asked her to wash some lettuce for a salad she was making. However, when Winters went over to see the end result, she was stunned to see that Monroe was meticulously washing each leaf. In her words, she was doing it “with a Brillo pad!”

While eggnog is traditionally drunk during the festive period, it seems like Marilyn Monroe liked to drink the eggy beverage all year round. According to Laren Stover, the actress would enjoy an eggnog nightcap towards the end of the day. In fact, it would usually come close to midnight – specifically around 11.00 p.m. Whether it was raw eggs with milk or a nice cup of eggnog, eggs seemed to be Monroe’s choice of drink, from a non-alcoholic point of view, at least.

It might seem surprising that someone as proud of her figure as Marilyn Monroe was would be so laidback when it came to treating herself. While she was never particularly strict about what she ate anyway, Monroe had no trouble diverting from her “diet” every once in a while. One of her guilty pleasures in life was an English muffin. She would often include this on her weekly shopping list, along with cheddar cheese and strawberry jam.

As previously mentioned, Marilyn Monroe enjoyed her pasta, albeit in unorthodox ways. The following recipe is another example of a dish close to Monroe’s heart, despite the fact that many don’t really know what it is. According to YouTube channel How to Be Awesome Sauce, “Leon” is often used at the end of “fettuccine” to suggest that there is something significantly unique about it. The video speculates that Monroe would have had the fettuccine with seafood in an Alfredo/white wine sauce.

While it appears that Marilyn Monroe had a healthy intake of protein in her life, there were times of her daily routine where what she was eating seemed frighteningly simple. In what is believed to be a weight-loss plan she put together, Monroe specified that at 10:00 a.m., two hours after her breakfast consisting of raw eggs, she would have the following: one cup of milk and one cracker. She didn’t even specify putting anything on the cracker…

In her interview with Pageant back in 1952, Marilyn Monroe did admit that she wasn’t much of a cook in the kitchen. According to her, she liked to keep her meals “startlingly simple.” Known for always having a healthy intake of protein in her life, Monroe would regularly cook herself a steak with her tradition of four to five raw carrots. Like her liver dishes, she would broil her steak in her electric oven. We imagine that she carefully trimmed the fat from the cut of beef…

There were often times when Marilyn Monroe would be sick of her usual noodles in milk dish. While she knew she needed some carbohydrates in her life, she also knew that she could add some variety to this aspect of her diet. Sometimes, she would put pasta to one side and go for a potato-based dish during lunchtime instead. At times, she would simply bake a potato. However, she was more likely to mash potatoes as she generally found it easier to consume.

To accompany her lunch, if she wasn’t in the mood for mashed potatoes, Marilyn Monroe would opt for spaghetti with tomatoes and butter. Apparently, the actress refused to add cheese to this dish (and many others) because she was conscious about having excess fat and dairy intake. Ultimately, Monroe couldn’t stick to a strict paleo lifestyle and every once in a while would require at least some processed carbs. She wanted a balanced diet – one of moderation.

While Marilyn Monroe was known for avoiding cheese and dairy products, for the most part, this didn’t mean that she prevented herself from eating them completely. This has already been proven in her love for a variety of desserts. However, the actress also enjoyed having cottage cheese during lunchtime. With that said though, it was an extremely limited amount. For Marilyn, it would either be an egg or two tablespoons of cottage cheese, which isn’t much when you think about it.

While the specifics of the following item are not so clear, it is believed that Marilyn Monroe had plenty of raisins and walnuts in her diet. Both are full of energy and rich in fiber, with the former being a naturally sweet substitute to candies. It is also believed that the actress would use raisins and walnuts in her trademark turkey stuffing that she learned from ex-husband Joe DiMaggio. She would also combine these with hard-boiled eggs.

Amazingly, Marilyn Monroe has never specifically claimed to have lived on a paleo diet. While it is clear that her dietary choices were pretty flexible, many of Monroe’s eating decisions fitted the criteria of a paleo lifestyle. Not only were many of her meals protein-heavy and she consumed a lot of fruit and vegetables, but she made a concerted effort to keep carbohydrates to a minimum. You could say that Marilyn Monroe was an early adopter of a paleolithic lifestyle.

One of those many proteins that Marilyn Monroe was so deeply passionate about having in her diet was sweetbread. This is the culinary term for meat that often comes from either the thymus or the pancreas of a lamb or a calf. While it might not be the most obvious source of protein on her weight-loss plan, Monroe was just as likely to eat this for dinner as she would eat anything else. Personally, we would prefer a steak or some lamb chops.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Marilyn Monroe was a fan of Jell-O. Consider the fact that the following line was in one of her most iconic movies – Some Like it Hot: “Look at that! Look how she moves! That’s just like Jell-O on springs!” In her weight-loss plan, Monroe specified a number of different desserts she would have post-dinner. While it wasn’t one of them, Jell-O was one of her lunch desserts. It was between this or cooked fruit.

By this point on this list, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Marilyn Monroe was also a fan of lamb chops. The actress was not too picky when it came to what proteins she would eat. As previously established, she was a huge fan of chicken liver and steak. Monroe also had a soft spot for lamb chops and would regularly select them as her protein for dinner during her daily trip to the local market.

Seeing that Marilyn Monroe was, for the most part, very disciplined and had a healthy intake of protein, she could afford to treat herself every once in a while. The late actress admitted in an interview with Pageant that she would indulge in ice cream or hot fudge sundaes, from time to time. “I have developed the habit of stopping off at Wil Wright’s ice cream parlor for a hot fudge sundae on my way home from my evening drama classes,” she said.

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Marilyn Monroe would stay away from cake as much as possible. Despite her sweet tooth and openness to a variety of desserts, cake was often past her limit. It would take a special occasion for Marilyn to feel comfortable having a slice of cake. Take this photo, for example. At the following event, the actress humbly accepted this cake as a kind token of appreciation from The Bakers of America.

The following might not be the most surprising food/drink that Marilyn Monroe consumed throughout her golden years. According to Laren Stover, the Some Like it Hot star would often start her day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Of course, this healthy drink is rich with vitamin C, amongst other health benefits. It is no secret that Monroe enjoyed other kinds of drinks that were not necessarily as healthy. However, rarely would a day pass when Monroe didn’t drink some O.J.

Marilyn Monroe’s dinners weren’t always protein-centric and inherently basic. There were often evenings when she would have room after her main course and honor her sweet tooth. One dessert that she enjoyed having every once in a while was a junket. This suited her to a tee, especially since it allowed her to have a modest intake of dairy and fruit. It might not be recognized as the most obvious choice of dessert in this day and age, but it was more popular back then.

By now, it is no secret that Marilyn Monroe’s favorite vegetables were raw carrots. However, that doesn’t mean that she didn’t mix things up every once in a while. Moreover, she also enjoyed preparing her veggies in more ways than one. Some pleasant alternatives she enjoyed having with her proteins included beets and spinach. She would often have this pair either strained or pureed, which shows that her meals weren’t always as simple as we’d come to expect.

Back in 2008, one of Marilyn Monroe’s old shopping lists surfaced and people were obsessed with her choices. One item she included on the list was endives. Due to their nutty bitterness, endives can be something of an acquired taste. However, due to the fact that one can eat them raw or cooked, this type of food certainly piqued Monroe’s interest. It should come as no surprise that the actress probably ate her endives raw, possibly as a substitute for carrots.

As previously mentioned, Laren Stover wrote in her book The Bombshell Manual of Style that Marilyn Monroe liked to start her day with some freshly squeezed orange juice at around 8 a.m. However, she also liked to accompany that drink with some stewed prunes. While this choice might be surprising for some, Monroe did have her reasons. According to Stover, Monroe used this dietary habit in order to lose weight. Otherwise, she would enjoy some raw eggs, milk, and multivitamins.