Here are some photos of Gisele Bundchen at a gala for the Rainforest Alliance at The American Museum of Natural History last week. I just never got around to using these photos, so enjoy. Gisele went all out for the gala, wearing this Prophetik hemp gown. For hemp… that looks really nice. I’m not wild about the design, but the fabric is much better than, say, satin. Anyway, Gisele has a new interview with Food & Wine, all about how health-conscious and eco-conscious she is. Apparently, she keeps chickens and she composts…?
Making Snacks with Her Son: “Benjamin and I make his school snack together—fruit leather in our dehydrator. You can use any fruit, but I always use banana as the base because it has great texture and sweetness. My son is so proud; he goes to school and tells all his friends he made his own snack.”
Travel Tips: “For years, I’ve lived on planes. I get up and stretch in the aisle. I don’t care if people are looking at me like, “What is this crazy woman doing?”
House Lemonade: “I make an aloe-lemon drink that’s pretty healthy, but you could add tequila. Juice three lemons, peel fresh aloe, add a teaspoon of coconut nectar and a gallon of water, and blend it.”
Her Environmental Cause: “After attending the Rainforest Alliance gala, I connected with their efforts to conserve the environment and help impoverished communities. I recently joined their board, so now I can participate more in their projects that I’m passionate about.”
Zero-Waste Household: “I have a beautiful garden in L.A. where I raise chickens. We have very little waste because the chickens eat all of the vegetable scraps, and anything they won’t eat, I put in my compost pile with the chicken poo.”
Salt Strategy: “Never salt your food until the end. If you put salt on the food in the beginning, you use a lot more than you need. I like to use pink Himalayan salt.”
Her lemonade sounds bitter and puckery. I’m not saying you have to drown your lemonade in sugar, but lemonade should have some sweetness to cut the acidity of the lemons. As for her stretching on planes… sure, but I bet she flies first class everywhere, and the other first class passengers find her charming (or they’re texting friends “OMG Gis doing yoga poses in 1st class”). In economy class, there’s barely room to stretch, that’s how I know.
As for all of the composting and such in her “beautiful garden in LA”… you realize this is the same property that she and Tom Brady have put on the market, right? Dr. Dre (YES) apparently put a bid of $40 million on the eco-home and I think he’s probably going to get it. I wonder if the property comes with Gis’s chickens and her compost?
Last thing… professional chefs always say to season food throughout the cooking process. I’ll trust them over Gisele.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
That lemonade sounds terrible.
I’m a big fan of Aloe. Great on skin and to ingest. What she’s doing sounds terrible. It does not taste or smell good in it’s raw state.
I am going to disagree. I hate traditional lemonade (too sugary normally) and would choose lots of lemon in cold water over it. So this actually sounds delicious to me!
I would also add that the salt tip is great and very true!
I’m an insane fan of lemonade in every form, but I agree – it’s typically very sweet. Her version sounds tart but refreshing. I hate that I like everything she’s said in this article because I find her quite annoying typically lol
Does anyone think she looks older than her age?
I do commend her for all her environmental efforts.
She has a lot of sun damage and it’s only gonna get worse cause the real damage caused by tanning in your youth shows when you’re older. Her body will probably stay insane till she’s 90 years old but her face is already looking older than her age. 33? No way
Forgot to add – she’s one of those people who “don’t believe” in sun screens, smh
She never said she doesn’t believe sunscreens, qwerty. And how do you know she “has a lot of sun damage”? I think she looks 33.
@Miss D yes,she actually said ‘I cannot put this poison on my skin’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1353581/Gisele-Bundchen-angers-cancer-experts-saying-sun-cream-poison.html
I think it’s mostly just her bone structure – she’s always looked quite mature because of it, and now that she’s actually an adult it’s going to show more and more. I find her incredibly irritating, and not necessarily “beautiful” (she has such a horse face, and I’m sorry – I think the preying mantis look is unattractive) but she’s unquestionably a “lovely” woman with her confidence and etc. I can’t hate a girl just because she’s successful!
Didn’t she say young girls should have hormone therapy before puberty to have fuller lips and better cheekbones? I think I read that here. Same article where she talked about how she’s prettier than her siblings and they should have nose jobs or some nonsense like that.
Correct me if i’m wrong, of course.
FLORC: What?! Your comment is nonsense. She never said these things. Hormone therapy? Nose job? You are dreaming.
She thinks her sisters look better than her and I think she is “against” nose job. She always said she would not do that so I doubt she would say they should have nose jobs.
I lightly salt my food at the end and use very, very little while cooking. My dad had heart problems while growing up and my mom scaled back our salt to almost nothing, so now I don’t miss it. I do use pepper quite often though.
Anyway, she looks lovely as always.
I’m not a huge fan of hers but I have to agree on the salt thing. I bearly use it when cooking and never when eating. When you look at packaging there is salt/sugar added to everything now so we already ingest so much without even realising it. There’s loads of other seasonings to use, I’m a big black pepper fan.
I salt a bit while cooking, and never salt after. I think I’ve added salt less than a handful of times through my life. EXCEPT I cave a bit when I’m having corn on the cob, but try to use only a pinch.
I tryyyyy to season more with other things like onions and veggies to give me flavor so I don’t need to rely on salt so much.
I generally don’t put salt on my food, and especially not if there is something already salty in the dish, like chicken stock or canned beans. Some foods taste better with a little salt, but I just think it’s healthier to go light on the salt. You actually eat as much salt as you need without adding any extra, I believe.
Which is exactly as professional chefs would have you do this. Salt drains moisture from food and that’s why you should use it at the end of your cooking.
I think if a person has health issues, they should follow their dr’s recommendations.
However, if you aren’t monitoring salt for health…Salt during cooking IS important because it plays a chemical role in cooking. For example, if you are trying to sweat onions, the salt draws the moisture out of the onion along with the onion flavor. You don’t need a lot of salt to accomplish this, but adding no salt during cooking could greatly affect how a recipe turns out.
I add salt after cooking too, and I also find I use less than if I just added it to boiling water.
Her lemonade sounds truly awful.
My college biology professor also mentioned the salt thing, saying you use less by adding at the end.
Professional chefs don’t really care about health, but taste. *edit, obviously some care about health, but I guess only if you request it or the restaurant bills itself as a super health one…..just in general obviously the taste is most important.
I guess it depends on what type of food you are making, because I have noticed just the opposite – when I add salt to a soup at the beginning/in the middle, it somehow brings out more flavour and I end up using less than whe adding salt at the end (like, if I have forgotten to add it at the beginning and am trying to reach the same level of taste).
That’s what salt does. It makes us taste more of the flavor because it activates your taste buds and you salivate.
People sprinkle salt in beer or on sandwich spreads and it really makes stuff taste better.
Can a $40 million house be eco-conscious? The water usage alone must be immense.
And everyone knows you salt at the beginning, then adjust seasoning at the end…
No, it can’t be overly eco, since they had to cut quite a few trees to build it- it’s a huge property with a moat. I don’t follow the idea of her being anywhere near environmental friendly.
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/03/inside_the_justfinished_brentwood_megamansion_that_tom_brady_and_gisele_bundchen_are_selling_for_50.php
If you want to bring out taste in your food, you would need to salt upfront or in between, otherwise you only taste the salt ON it, and not much more. Some things have to be salted at the end, so it pretty much depends on the sort of food you are cooking, and can’t be generalized. For health reasons, you probably better salt at the end. I salt in between, and very sparsely.
As far as I know, she used to fly economic class (at least, for most of her career). I think that in recent years she started flying first class.
Gisele owns her own jet.
http://www.popsugar.com/Gisele-Bundchen-Buys-Private-Jet-1706307
so much for saving the rain forest and eco-conscience…
This was in 2010. She ‘ s been a Top Model for more than a decade (since she was 18). She took pilot classes a while ago, methinks it was a matter of time for her to buy a jet.
Also, It’s her money and she can do whatever she wants. I am tired of people shading others for being rich.
@Miss M: people aren’t shading Gisele for being rich, they’re shading her for bragging about being environmentally conscious while also owning a mega mansion and a jet. Its gonna take an awful lot of compost to offset that carbon footprint.
I remember how she smoked all those years dating Leo.
You salt your food at the end for health, not what a professional chef is telling you. Americans eat too much salt (Giselle could probably salt throughout since she doesn’t eat as many processed foods as us), if you salt at the end you’re going to get the most impact in your mouth for the least amount of salt used.
“You salt your food at the end for health”
Yes! That’s exactly what my mother always does/did.
The color/texture of that dress is amazing!
Regarding the salt commentary: I’m not sure whether she meant to add salt at the end while in the cooking process or while eating. While eating makes more sense… I don’t know what difference it would make, in terms of quantity you’d end up with, if you added it in the beginning or end of cooking.
Most professional chefs in restaurants over-salt. That is why so many feel bloated after a restaurant meal, even if they ate small portions. That is why restaurant-dining can be very difficult for people with hypertension/heart issues. Even items listed as “heart healthy” are often over-salted. Adding salt only at the end lifts and brightens the flavor.
Exactly. Plus they over-do the butter, cream, sugar etc. It’s also worth noting many chefs have absolutely appalling diets, I used to waitress in a Michelin starred restaurant and all the chefs just lived on fast food, cigarettes and coke. They can make a delicious meal, but very few have health in mind when cooking.
Everything she said sounds fine, if not a little GOOPY. I agree with the commenter who wonders about a $40 mil eco-conscious home.
I commend her on her environmental efforts, but like most uber-wealthy people, a bit of perspective is in order. Add up the size of her (multiple) houses, the energy they consume, her extensive travel, etc… and her carbon footprint is hundreds of times what it is for a regular person who doesn’t take any measures at all. I like to call this “token environmentalism” – it exists mainly for her benefit. So….whatever. The salt thing –
So she should live in a a shack? And never travel anywhere? Perhaps never give money to any environmental effort?
Haters gonna hate.
I don’t think there is hate in the above comment, is there? She’s just pointing out a fact.
It’s hard to maintain a low carbon footprint in a 20,000 square foot house, no matter how many gardens you have or chickens you raise.
@JC-No, but I think the OP’s point was that one can hardly claim to be eco-conscious when you live that kind of a lifestyle and I agree with her.
Still, at least Gisele has the awareness to try things that she perceives to be more amenable to the environment, like the chicken coop. Plus she joined the Rainforest Alliance so that’s definitely something.
I think if you’re going to create a carbon footprint that huge, it’s nice to try to offset that with some charitable efforts. I give her props on that because not every celebrity cares about the environment.
How can people throw an inflammatory word like “hate” around over something so frivolous? it’s called criticism, not hate! Gisele decided a long time ago to become a public figure; she makes her business, our business, by publicizing her life. Therefore, it’s fair game for us to comment. Some people find it disingenuous to harp on others about eco issues, while at the same time leaving a monumentally huge carbon footprint living in a 25,000 sq. foot home, and using a private jet. She should live what she preaches, and she simply doesn’t. Calling her on that is NOT hate. To hate someone, you have to care about them, and I don’t care that much about Gisele one way or the other. The word is criticism.
At what point since 1964, when I was born, were the definitions of criticism, questioning and disagreement changed to “hate”? The world is not as black & white as your “my way or the highway” perception. I said that I commend her on her efforts, but they are disproportionate to the footprint she leaves. That’s like Warren Buffet humble bragging about his philanthropy only to discover he onky gives $100 a year. It’s all about proportion and hers is out of whack. I am a little more interested in results than handing out feel-good “A’s” for effort. Sure, she “joined” an environmental group, but she’s just talkin’ the talk and not walking the walk. Too many people are like that these days. They consider themselves “activists” but really all they do is talk n’ tweet so they can bump up their own credibility. In other words, she’s just mainly doing it because it’s fashionable.
Do I think she should live in a shack? No. But I do think that 25,000 sq feet is a little much for a small family of four. If she were serious about conservation, she would consume less. Don’t get me wrong – I have no problem with her living large. She can afford it so why the hell not? She just shouldn’t patronize people with her token gestures of environmentalism. Is it better that she does it than not? Yes, the same way it’s better that billionaire Buffet gives $100 than nothing. But the proportion is still a glaring chasm.
Lauriett, I agree with your comment about perspective. It’s not “hating,” it’s just common sense.
It is. It’s simply fact, no hating at all.
Agreed. It’s like Al Gore’s house – wasn’t the electric bill on his “eco-home” ginormous?
An electric bill can be as high as the sky as long as the energy comes from renewable sources. I believe his had wind turbines and solar to cover more than half to all of his energy needs.
I use a pretty large amount of electricity, but it all comes from my solar panels.
Aw, that’s nice, she dressed as pond scum, which was a very thoughtful approach as we all need reminding what an important part that icky looking slime actually plays in our ecosystem.
Well done Gisele, and thank you for reminding me of the little things I can do to decrease my environmental footprint. I already sold my mega-mansion and downsized to a tiny two-bed terraced house, because realistically that’s all I need, and next I will trade in my private plane for chickens because we all have to do our part.
I think I get enough salt throughout the day without having to add it to any of my food at all. After sugar, it is probably the worst for you. Companies that make processed foods need to be brought sharply to task and fined heavily if they don’t reduce the horrific amounts of sodium they are adding to the products consumers buy. Soups and cereals are two of the worst offenders.
Did they even live in that house? It seemed like they had it built, had it in a magazine, and put it up for sale. And while there are a lot of sustainability elements in it, I still feel like the sheer size of it undoes a lot of that good.
She does seem to care about the environment and it’s good she’s helping organizations to benefit it. But she is sounding a bit Goopy here though.
Well, it IS Food & Wine doing the interview. They’re all about the goopiness.
Most of this sounds pretty innocuous to me. I don’t currently have a home with a yard, but am sort of interested in owning chickens in the future. One of my high school friends had them growing up even though we lived in the city. Does anyone own chickens or have any advice?
Then again, I have a phobia of birds so maybe it’s not the greatest idea…
Several family members and friends keep chickens, most of them are in the suburbs but some are in the city. Several have pointed out that caring for the chickens is calming and it teaches their kids responsibility.
People love dogging on Giz for being uppity, but I have to say I agree with everything she said, wished I had space for chickens and think that lemonade sounds awesome.
I wonder how much of the aloe flavor comes out in the end but the lemonade doesn’t sound bad to me either. I tried drinking aloe once and almost puked, it brought back memories of childhood sunburns and peeling skin and that is just not appetizing.
I’ve cut out most processed sugar from my life and it’s amazing how sweet citrus fruit has become. I can squeeze out a whole lime into a glass of water and it tastes sweet to me, with a pleasant tang of sour. Lemons too. I can’t imagine drinking sugar loaded lemonade anymore.
Exactly. People love to trash things they can’t-or won’t-bother to understand themselves. Therefore, BAD! Caveman mentality at its finest. The aloe mixed in with the lemonade is a very healthy addition. The Chinese herb name for aloe is Lu Hui, and in addition to being fantastic for constipation issues, and clears what is called “excess fire” in the body~which decreases toxicity levels. It also helps with healing as a topical application, and kills certain types of intestinal parasites.
I love sour foods and have a low tolerance for sweet and salty things. I’ve only had aloe in store bought drinks but I feel inspired to try this fresh at home. And the coconut probably sweetens it a bit and is very healthy.
As mentioned by many others before, professional chefs use a lot of salt. I watch a daily cooking show, where professional chefs rate meals cooked by amateurs and their #1 suggestion to improve a meal is “this needs more salt”. That’s no problem in a restaurant, where the food needs an extra bang, but it’s too much for a healthy daily diet. The WHO recommends 6 gram salt per day for an adult – that’s nearly a teaspoon full of salt. If you eat processed food only, you most probably consume double that amount of salt every day.
Btw: Many dishes with meat or fish must be salted at the end only, because the salt drains moisture out of the meat or fish and drys it out.
Ugh. I don’t understand why this chick bugs me so damn much. I find her insufferable — and I’m a health nut!
She acts above it all. Her **** does not stink kind of attitude. Her children love vegetables, learning, and never misbehave while she is a billionaire working mom who still finds time to have a compost and chicken coop. She lays it on very thick.
It doesn’t take much scratching to break through her facade and see the cracks. She tries too hard. Like Goop did.
I dated a top level chef, and he taught me to always put the salt in at the end as well. IIt works beautifully~
That’s my preferred salting method, for sure. And I *do* like pink Himalayan salt – when I can afford it.
She was responding to interview questions, not randomly offering advice. The woman doesn’t even have a web site or any other web place where she tells people what to do.
This magazine is awful like any other magazine dedicated to food, do not even mention the physical fitness magazines I think they are all stupid. They all offer unrealistic advice coming from questionable people.
To the people here who show interest at Gisele’s ridiculous mega huge mansion should search for the answers of their questions which are available on internet.
I compost, keep chickens, run a community garden and grow as much of my own as I can. My kid eats fresh from the garden, and I didn’t have to teach her to eat fruit and veg because of it. Most of the people I know here do the same. As for seasoning your food throughout the cooking process, you really only do it minimally at the beginning, say before searing meat or during a saute. You’re not supposed to salt your stock or any other dish that requires a long amount of cooking, because salt concentrates a LOT over time and certain greens have naturally occurring salts as well. No shade here: I think most humans in the west could benefit from being closer to how their food is grown and more mindful of the resources used during the process.
I only salt at the end unless I’m cooking eggplant or mushrooms – a bit of salt before you cook helps them release water so they don’t turn mooshy as they cook. Other than that, I prefer a bit of sea salt (not pink Himalayan Giselle, I can’t afford it and can’t taste the diff.) at the end because a little goes a long way. The salt flavour tends to cook out when you add it at the beginning so you have to keep adding more and more.
As to her eco-friendly lifestyle, can you imagine the cost of electricity to heat/cool 30,000 sq. feet? Or does she heat her mansions using chicken poop? Puhleeze…once again, STFU Gi.
I married into our place in the Bahamas, which is eco-friendly – pretty much off the grid, in fact. We have chickens and gardens, solar power, a wind turbine, a rainwater cistern reverse osmosis thingamabob, a grey water irrigation system, and incinerator toilets. There are backup conventional systems, but we’ve never needed them. One of the inhabitants of the cay is a pilot and has a jet, but I kind of think that having virtually no carbon footprint whilst on the cay offsets the occasional jet travel (there’s no airstrip on the cay, too small, but there’s an airport on Abaco)
Wow…I am impressed but I don’t know what an “incinerator toliet” means. Can you please educate me. I love when people really walk their talk and lucky you for living in the Bahamas!
an incinerator toilet is an electronic toilet that you put a paper liner in before you do your business, then you flush it. When it’s time to get rid of the crap, you press a button and the waste and paper is incinerated. No water, no septic, and a small amount of biodegradable ash left at the end. We have a rule that when you use the toilet, you replace the liner, so no one is ever stuck without a liner in a potty emergency. They take a bit of energy, but since we’re solar powered and off the grid the majority of the time, it’s fine.
Solar power, wind turbine, Rainwater cistern and incinerator toilet – oh man, does all this sound awesome to me. Esp the incinerator toilet.
Oh my god..I want to BE you.
Do you do house swaps?
I wish we lived there all the time! Most of the time I’m in New York due to my practice. We vacation there and we will retire there when we’re ready (provided I’m still married to my husband at the time since it’s his cottage). Hmmm… house swap…
She makes me STABBY. We get it – you’re perfect & Never go to the beach/use salt/use sugar/Eat!! Now go. Away. G, you are not making any friends with this crap!!! Go hang with Gwenyth!!!!
Plenty of people do all three of these things. Still, not really newsworthy.
I’m like the salt monster from classic Star Trek. Don’t know how my blood pressure stays so low!
There is WAY too much salt in American food, it’s no wonder so many people have high blood pressure. It’s not even something you can avoid most of the time. Anyway, salt causes water retention, so it’s no wonder she avoids it if she’s concerned about maintaining her physique. As usual with Gisele, I appreciate her intentions, but she’s really out of touch. I’m glad she has all kinds of servants to help her with chicken-raising efforts in L.A.
That’s how I salt when I cook, and I use way more unsweetened lemon in my water than that. I will try adding some aloe to it. The only thing we use sugar for in fact is to make hummingbird nectar.
I would love to have chickens but the mr said he,d worry too much about bears and raccoons getting them and when it is cold out he’d want to bring them in the house so I nixed the idea of chickens. I can get fresh eggs from our neighbour anyhow.
She has also proven that her body operates at 100% efficiency, so she never poops, and therefore cuts down on contributing any waste to the environment.
*SNICKER*…