Hey guys

As some of you might have noticed, last spring I finally became Master of Arts (Education) and a Home Economics teacher. For that I had to write a Master's Thesis, and I chose Marilyn's relationship with food as my subject. From the start it was clear to me that this project wasn't just going to become a Master's Thesis. I also wanted to write a MM cookbook.

Why? Because no matter how many MM books there are, not one of them is about Marilyn and the food she ate. I wonder why not even those people who do know a lot about it haven't really written a MM cookbook. As I found out during my research for the thesis, information about Marilyn and her food is out there. Now what I want to do (and what I did with the thesis) is to gather all that information into one attractive book - with recipes. The recipes would not be authentic recipes that MM used, but rather that I take the idea and create a dish that's delicious, modern and interesting. I'd also love to cover some of the restaurants she frequented as well as some of her homes, because after all, that's where she did her cooking. The name, Champagne & Good Food is a short version of the name of my thesis. Marilyn said in an interview with George Barris: "Just give me champagne and good food, and I’m in heaven and love. That’s what makes the world go round.”

I just wanted to share my idea with you. I have a lot of stuff I can use, but of course since I have written and academic study, some heavy editing is in order for it to become an interesting cookbook. I'll have to change some of the text, rewrite some, take out something and add something new... but it should be fun! Also, because my thesis covers Marilyn's life from 1942 to 1962 - the time when she was an adult in her own home - I'll have to research her whole childhood to find out what she ate then. I want the cookbook to be an interesting journey to Marilyn's Los Angeles and New York, her homes, the restaurants she liked, her kitchen.

What do you think?

I think that this sounds like a fresh and interesting topic for a book about Marilyn. I hope you decide to do it, and if so, good luck!

This is a fantastic idea Paju! I would love to read an MM cookbook...

Thanks! I'm really interested in doing it, because at least it hasn't been done before. I have toyed with the idea of writing a MM book for a long time, but the idea of writing "an ultimate biography" just isn't my thing. Food is good because I can combine two of the things that I love. Also I like to focus on her everyday life, so that's what this book would be about.

The challenge is to get a publisher. It's really very hard to get a book published here in Finland, because of course the publishers worry about whether or not it will sell enough, and Finnish is a language that isn't spoken all around the world, so they can't expect million of people to buy it. But I'm willing to make an English version as well - besides, I want you all to be able to read it too

What an original idea. Sounds great!

Excellent idea. I'd buy a copy X

I once read that Marilyn loved Fettuccine Leon but could never find the recipe. Then I stumbled upon this newspaper article on the Web:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298...pg=3940,5186813

Is it fettucine with clam chowder? Funny how this article describes Kennedy's liking for the dish ...

Thank you so much for the link to that article! I've been wondering about Fettuccine Leon - it's been a mystery for me so far. It seems that the president liked clam chowder and Leon's fettuccine - my guess is that he ate the clam chowder as an appetizer or a first course, and then the fettuccine (or if Leon gets his way, the president is not eating clam chowder at all but an Italian soup instead). From what I understand, the Fettuccine Leon is fettuccine served with an Italian cheese sauce. I think it must be similar to Fettuccine Alfredo, which is basically fettuccine with parmesan cheese and butter. Leon's restaurant, La Scala, was among Marilyn's favorites. Anyways, one mystery solved!

Everybody, thank you for your encouraging words. I promise you that I'm going to write this book. If nobody wants to publish it, I'll use a self-publishing service. But I'm really hoping for a published to get excited on this - it seems like there's a demand for this book already

This is really a great idea - I wonder why hasn't any book like this one been allready published. But why do you necessarily have to try to publish it in Finland and in Finnish ? I think you should try some english or american publisher and skip the finnish version. Very few books have been published of MM in Finland through the decades - There is by the way this german publisher that works through internet: bod.com or bod.fi

It could be one alternative for starters -

BTW, in "The Unabridged Marilyn from A to Z" (Riese & Hitchens) there are some rather long and good listings of Marilyn's favorite dinners, snacks, what she disliked and what she ate where and when; of course not complete but at least something.

I want to do a Finnish version too - one of the reasons being exactly what you said: only a handful of books have been published in Finnish about Marilyn. And there's only one Finnish book about her. I feel like we could use some more But I definitely intend to get this book published in English also.
Those listings in The Unabridged Marilyn are indeed good, I used those in my thesis

What a fantastic angle on a Marilyn book! This hasn't been done before! I'd definitely buy a copy and support you as a fan! Wow.

Thank you

I have a pretty good outline of the cookbook already as well as some text. I've also tried to decide what recipes to include. The book will be divided into chapters chronologically:
1st chapter is about her childhood (this is the chapter I'll have to do the most work with since my thesis didn't cover her childhood)
2nd chapter is about her first marriage (poor couple, hunting and fishing, she wasn't very good at cooking at first but improved)
3rd chapter is about her life as a young starlet (not much money, trying to survive)
4th chapter is about her relationship and marriage with DiMaggio (Italian influences)
5th chapter is about her new life in New York and marriage to Arthur Miller (Jewish influences, wanting to be a good housewife)
6th chapter is about her last years (back in Los Angeles, being an independent woman)
7th chapter is about her movies (what did her characters eat in her movies)

Basically the next step is creating the recipes. Lots of trying and tweaking. I already did one last weekend (but I still have to change it a little bit), and one I've done earlier, but I've got a lot of work ahead of me. It should be fun though, and at least I never have to worry about what we're going to eat

Lovely ! - This book also reminds me of David Adler's "The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley" - a great book by many aspects; it contains original receipts that also work today, interviews of real people who were still alive when Adler made the book, pictures, enough biographical material but not too much for a receipt-book, black and white pictures both of Elvis and his places years ago plus of todays still living people (though the book was done I think in the -90's) - listings of Elvis's favorites and a list he made of what allways had to be in the fridge. Etc.Of Marilyns eatings, after the periods you've named, these kind of things come to my mind:Childhood: Something very simple and basic, fish and potatoes, sandwiches, nothing fancyFirst marriage: Picnic-lunches and it says in one book "She served raw fish to the guests" and "often cooked carrots and french beans together, because she liked the color combination"Young starlet: One hamburger per day and that's it! But I suppose Actor's Lab served meals and maybe she also cooked dinners with her room mates like Shelley Winters ? She also had that boyfriend, they went out often - I don't think Marilyn was a particular gourmet-person, probably they ate a lot of rather simple things, but there were quite a lot of chinese and italian restaurants in L.A allready by then.Marriage with diMaggio: Italian - but it's not very likely that Marilyn was so fond of italian cuisine as Lena Pepitone claims in her book.Arthur Miller: Jewish traditional dishes of course, and as they lived in north east coast, probably that area tradition too, and they ate a lot of sweet cakes.Back in LA: I wonder was Marilyn interested in any mexican or chili dishes ?-------I hope you enjoyable period with this project - I also hope you get rights to some good pictures for this book; there aren't that many of Marilyn eating, but quite a few anyhow - I suppose this serie with her and Miller by the hot dogs is copyrighted by Milton Greene, I post it next - BTW, don't be bothered with me interested in this subject, I'm not interfering any more, I just happen to be interested in cooking.I think there's about 10 pics of this situation, by the hot dog stall and later they all sit in the car eating (again !) hot dogs and drinking coke.Click to view attachment

No, I'm just happy that you've taken an interest in my little project. I'd love to have some photos of MM eating in the book. Those hot dog ones I really love, also some of these that I've attached to this post would be great in the book.

About the foods - yep, that's pretty much what I found out during the research for my thesis. During her first marriage the combination of carrots and peas was very often on the plate, and they actually went hunting and fishing, so I'm going to include some recipes that use game meat and fish. Also the picnic lunches - I remember reading that she'd pack herself something in a picnic basket and go to Santa Monica.
During her starlet years she basically lived on cheap hamburgers, coffee, crackers, that sort of thing. After she posed nude they went to eat chili. Of course she was sometimes offered meals by wealthy men. On this she commented that she'd eat, because she was hungry, but she couldn't be bought. Also she was anemic at one point.
With Joe DiMaggio she learnt to cook Italian - and I'm very lucky, because next summer I'm going to Sicily! Joe's parents were from Sicily, and I'll get to taste authentic Sicilian food. One dish I'm definitely going to try in Sicily and also include in my cookbook is Pasta Alla Norma. It's Sicilian and even if it wasn't, it should be in the book based on the name alone Also Marilyn said that she's really good at cooking steak and that even became Joe's favorite dish. And she went to Japan with DiMaggio, so I suppose they tried some Japanese food...
I'm also going to include some New York style food, and Susan Strasberg gives a lovely description of her family's cooking in her book, so that's a big help. Also some Jewish dishes, matzo balls, chicken soup, borscht soup...
When she came back to L.A. she didn't cook at first, but she started enjoying food again a bit later. She went to Mexico in 1962 so it's safe to assume that in her life she ate at least some Mexican food. She said in an interview that she loved food with flavor - and Mexican food really has flavor. Towards the end of her life she didn't care for desserts anymore, but during her marriage with Miller she did.
As for movies, they go for hamburgers in How To Marry a Millionaire, and a fancy dinner on the cruise in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Girl offers Sherman champagne and potato chips in Seven Year Itch, and Vicky mentions she wants a big steak and a salad in There's No Business Like Show Business.
I'm also going to have a list of her addresses as well as the restaurants she used to go to, and whether or not they're still in the business. I'd really love to go to L.A. and N.Y. and try some of those restaurants myself

I am really going to have fun with this project!

I have to add this wonderful photo of Marilyn eating an apple in front of her fridge Click to view attachment

Paju, for your information, most of the restaurants Marilyn frequented in NY are gone. The 21 Club is still in existence. You can look at their menu on their website. But how to know what their menu was in the 1950's? I went to a restaurant last week for "Restaurant Week" in NY that I'm sure Marilyn would have gone to had she lived. It's right in he neighborhood near Sutton Place and is French and if I'm correct, French cooking was becoming more popular in the US at the time it opened in 1964. The name is "Le Perigord" and is VERY old school -- the waiters are in tuxes and the diners are affluent - old money - fine dining and very delicious. It's a shame because as I was dining, I knew Marilyn would have gone there. It opened 2 years after she passed away but had she come back to New York, she would have gone there as it's only a few blocks from 57th and Sutton Place. Julia Child introduced French cooking into homes, as you know, with her TV series.

There are also published menus from "The Stork Club" I've seen on line and she frequented that with Joe, but how to know what she ate? She dined at The Four Seasons also which is still open.

From 2009:

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2...r-seasons200905

Other than that, there aren't many restaurants in NY that I've read that she frequented that are still there. 21 Club and The Four Seasons. There aren't many reports on what she ate, but you might find more info as you research. Exciting! Good luck!

Yep, unfortunately many of the restaurants Marilyn liked are now gone... I did a list of restaurants for my thesis, but for a lot of restaurants I couldn't find information on whether or not they're still open - so I'm assuming those aren't there anymore. But Four Seasons and 21 Club are still there, and I think El Morocco is too, it just moved (am I right?), and Sardi's is still there too. But that's about it. In L.A. there's Barney's Beanery, The Polo Lounge at Beverly Hills Hotel, Trader Vic's at Beverly Hilton, Canter's Deli, Formosa Cafe, Greenblatt's Deli, Cinegrill Lounge at Roosevelt Hotel, La Scala (in a new location), Musso & Frank Grill, and Villa Nova (in a new location, the Rainbow Bar & Grill is now where the old Villa Nova used to be).

It's difficult to find out what Marilyn ate at restaurants. I know she really loved a good steak, so I think it's safe to assume she had a steak at least sometimes. She had anchovies on pimento, spaghetti aglio e olio (olive oil and garlic), veal scalloppini and espresso on her first date with DiMaggio at Villa Nova, so she sometimes went for Italian food. After posing nude for Tom Kelley she had chili at Barney's Beanery.

Le Perigord sounds like a restaurant Marilyn would have liked, especially if it's just practically around the corner from her home! Also thank you for the link to Vanity Fair, it was an interesting read

You're welcome for the Vanity Fair link. Oh, yes, I forgot about Sardi's. That's still there. El Morocco is NOT, it's gone. The original El Morocco Supper Club, was on 54th Street. It's long gone. There's a new El Morocco which is on Broadway which they claim to be a new sort of incarnation of the Supper Club, but is a Latin dance club and uses some of the zebra motif. That seems to be all they have in common but I've never been to it. See the link below. It's a club of today whereas the old El Morocco belonged to that era and was on the East Side also close to Marilyn's apartment. It briefly had a life as a topless bar to survive.

Here's a link from 1992 about that its life as a topless bar:

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/27/style/el...is-a-strip.html


Here's a link about the new El Morocco and old one:

http://www.nyz.com/2011/10/15/new-yorks-le...htclub-theater/

Btw, anything is good with garlic and good olive oil... that's my Italian descent... lol


Aren't there recipes in Fragments, the list for the party on page 179 and the two recipes on pages 181 and 183 which I'm sure you remember. Mmmm this is making me hungry.

Thanks for the info on El Morocco. I wasn't sure if it had just moved, but seems like they're two completely different kinds of places. It's sad that so much of the world as Marilyn knew it has been lost. Restaurants, houses, hotels... So much is now gone.

Fragments has been helpful, I'm glad it came out when it did

Paju, Eunice Murray in her book tells of Marilyn's eating habits/fav foods between Nov 1961 to Aug 1962. Happy to post the details if you need them.

Thank you I have that book. It's wonderful to see how many of you have taken an interest in my project and how helpful you all are

I had to share this with you.

The receipts, all written out to "Marilyn Monroe" or "M Monroe" and from either Beekman Market or A. Fitz & Sons Meat Market, based three blocks her New York apartment, show what Hollywood's brightest star was eating.

Purchases include artichokes, eggs, English muffins, cucumber, radishes, strawberry jam, cheddar cheese, corn-on-the-cob, strawberries, endive, steaks, milk, lamb chops and chicken.

The receipts are to be sold by an anonymous source at an Bonhams and Butterfields entertainment memorabilia sale in Los Angeles on December 21, when they are estimated to fetch a modest £470.


This was in 2008. I wonder who bought the receipts...

But I'm going to build something around Marilyn's list! My mind is already full of ideas

Thank you Suus!
I wish I could find out everything there is in those receipts. That would be interesting when you think of my book project, and also I could create recipes around those

Paju - it may be expensive but great if you could actually put those receipts in your book. Do you plan to include photos? May be hard to find copyright holders ...

I hope that I can have some MM photos in the book, and I want them to be related to food somehow (like those posted earlier in this thread). I really have no idea about copyrights - that's why having a publisher would be great. Also real receipts would be wonderful, but... Let's see what's possible
There will at least be photos of the dishes, hopefully of each and every dish featured in the book. What I'd love to do is to go to L.A. and have some photos of the restaurants in the book too. I don't know if it will happen, but we'll see...

Once again, I'm trying to bring my MM book blog back to life. I'll be blogging about the cookbook there too, so check out my Marilyn Monroe Book Blog

I am so looking forward to your book and can hardly wait. I was recently in Memphis visiting Graceland and was astounded how many Elvis Presley cookboks there are, `the Presley family cookbook`, `Fit for a King` and more. I just so want a Marilyn cookbook, but I don`t think you should modernise to much, but try to be as authentic to the dishes Marilyn ate as you can. In Marilyn la`moure by andre de dienes there are some references to Marilyns healthy apetite. Didn`t she use to have two raw eggs beaten in a glass of hot milk (whipped up with a fork) for breakfast around 1952? Supplemented with a multi-vitamin pill. She ate raw carrots with her broiled meat like steak,lamb chops or some liver(this is from an article I found on the internet, sept 52 issue of Pageant magazine) Article says:I never get bored with raw carrots:). She had developed the habit of enjoying a hot fudge sundae at Wil Wright`s ice cream parlor after her evening drama classes.Quote:"I`m sure that I couldn`t allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods".Wow, this is Marilyn a la`1952. Quite modern! I have also read she ate cottage cheese when dieting. I hope your project goes well, and good luck!

Thank you! Yup, that breakfast is familiar as well as her carrots with broiled meat. The hot fudge sundae habit is new to me, thanks for that She did eat quite a lot of protein and also healthy carbohydrates.

http://glamournet.com/legends/Marilyn/monthly/shape1.html
Well, in the article she says this about the hot fudge sundae, so take it with a pinch of salt. But the other info seems correct so. I have tried linking the article here for you, so you can check it out yourself. The article is called "How I stay in shape".

Thank you for the link

Now this is the kind of book that i would just love to own and carry with me all the time! Some of the other books just have a list of what she ate but no details or recipes inspired by what Marilyn loved to eat! Please keep us all up to date on its progress!

Thanks! I've sent the idea to some publishers, let's see if they're interested Meanwhile, I'm working on some of the recipes, trying to decide which ones I'm going to try first etc. I've also thought about the photos - my boyfriend is a very good photographer and he's agreed to do that for the book, and my mom has said that I can use her plates and forks and whatever I might need in addition to my own of course. There's so much to do but it's something I love to do!

Just found this thread. Paju, I hope you know I support you! It's amazing you're doing this. It's a lot of work but I know you can make it happen! The concept is amazing - who wouldn't want to know what Marilyn ate? After all, her body was amazing and surely "her secrets" interest people, women especially. If I were you, I would perhaps emphasize this great side to the book in the promotion (to publishers), it might interest them because there's a huge market there. I can already see women's magazines getting all excited: "Read where Marilyn wined & dined, what she ate to indulge herself, try out her recipes - and learn exactly what she ate to keep that famous body looking fit!"

Marilyn's diet was very close to today's low carb diet - she ate quite a lot of steaks, salads, fresh vegetables, eggs, milk.
Not much bread, pasta, pastries, candies or junk food.

Sirkku, in regards to styling the food - I'd ask publishers what they like. Such as using china and cutlery from the 50s and 60s or simple white china so the food really stands out. Sourcing items from vintage stores might add a nice touch?

Thank you Tiina I hadn't thought about it but it's true - what she ate also affected her beautiful body and that might interest some readers a lot!
M Berton, my mom has some vintage items and so have I - they're Finnish but they're from the 1950's, so that might be a nice touch like you said

Click to view attachment


Wondering about the progress of your book,I have been thinking about it quite a bit and hope that you have made a lot of progress.
I have included pictures of Marilyn eating and drinking that i have colorized myself, please feel free to use them in your book if whatever publication company decides that that they do want pictures of our girl eating and drinking. I would be over the moon but if you decide not to that is fine as well.
My name is Andre Smith of Long Beach New York, A Marilyn fan since the age of 13 and I am sure a going to be a big fan of yours the day that your wonderful idea becomes a reality. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at my personal e-mail address mmfan.as.1@gmail.com
All the best to you!

Thank you very much Andre, this means a lot to me

I have made progress with the cookbook, tried some new recipes and fine tuned some others. A Japanese Onion soup recipe is the next one to try. Pasta alla Norma has been perfected, and I still need to work on the Beef Bourguignon - just to give some examples. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a publisher yet, but I'm going to keep on trying.

Wow that sounds great! Have you discussed your idea with any publication companies in other countries? I will actually ask around to the few people that i know in the business and let you know what they tell me about the options that you may have and not be aware of. But again just wonderful! Whats funny is that every time that i eat; make dinner or go out to eat I always think to myself "Is this something that Marilyn would have liked?" Hehe! it's become such a habit that i i don't realize it, however i have all my fingers crossed for this wonderful and heart felt project of yours.

From http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955...g=4143,1900944:

Click to view attachment

Funny, I thought Marilyn was more of a tea drinker.

I haven't been in touch with publication companies abroad. But if you're willing to ask around, that would mean so much. Thank you!
I know what you mean, sometimes when I eat out I think to myself "this is a dish Marilyn would have loved"


I've understood she drank both coffee and tea (I'm the same way).

Mary, thanks for the article!

Here is another article I ran across: (http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/life/comments/what-marilyn-monroe-ate-no-olives-for-norma-jean)

What Marilyn Monroe Ate [No Olives For Norma Jeane]
Posted Aug 6, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Aug 6, 2012 at 12:56 PM



I’ll admit that I have sort of an odd fascination with what celebrities eat.
I’ve rationalized it before as a curiosity built on the foundation that seeing a famous person eating somehow humanizes them and gives fans a common bond with their favorite stars. A photo of a Kardashian or a Snookie coming out of a Starbucks? Ho hum. Seeing Gene Simmons in full demon regalia in the craft services buffet line at a Kiss concert? That’s like manna from heaven to me.
In reality, I’m just a food voyeur. Plain and simple. What people choose to enjoy and why they choose to do so is just fascinating to me. Fame is just sprinkles on the cupcake.
So it makes sense that on the week of the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe‘s death, questions about what she ate and drank would arise.
Apparently, I’m not alone.
On this site, a British fan explores her occasional diets, her favorite stuffing recipe (complete with a hand-written copy), and suggests a blond cocktail in her honor.
The anniversary also has spawned discussion about her body type, her eating disorders and how 50 years later, she would have been considered borderline obese by modern, bone-thin Hollywood starlet standards.
At 5 feet 5½  inches, Marilyn veered from 8½ st to just under 10 st. Today’s stars seek to remain child-sized (Victoria Beckham can famously slip into jeans designed to fit a seven-year-old, with a 23in waist).
In these pictures, Monroe glows with radiant health like a goddess, while modern pin-ups, with sharp hipbones and corrugated ribs, seem sapped of all vitality.
But, then, Marilyn was also a product of the post-war era in which she grew up. Mercifully few Westerners go hungry through poverty now, yet more of us starve ourselves to conform to some perverse bodily ideal.
Norma Jeane Baker, as she was then, grew up so impoverished that there was rarely enough food on the table, and her robust approach to eating reflected a desire never to be hungry again.
‘Frankly, I’ve never considered my figure so exceptional. My biggest single concern used to be getting enough to eat,’ she remarks in the book.
The words appear next to a photograph that shows her propped up in bed, fixing breakfast while naked between the sheets, presumably adorned in nothing more than a spritz of Chanel No 5.
Today’s warped female role models associate hunger with power rather than poverty. Kate Moss notoriously announced that her motto is ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’. And even purportedly healthy celebrities such as Beyoncé and Gwyneth Paltrow torture themselves with maple syrup diets and punishing juice fasts.
On the Tumblr blog Missing Marilyn, there’s a fascinating list culled from the comprehensive pages of “The Marilyn Encyclopedia” of what she enjoyed eating during various parts of her life.



During the modeling years:Raw hamburgers, peanut butter, hot dogs, chili, crackers
Typical breakfast, 1951: Warm milk, two raw eggs, a dash of sherry
Typical dinner, 1951: Broiled steak, lamb chop or liver, raw carrots
On first date with Joe DiMaggio: Anchovies on pimento, spaghetti al dente, scallopini of veal
For her 1952 birthday dinner at the Bel-Air Hotel: Steak
Favorite appetizer circa 1952: Tiny tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese and caviar
While filming “River of No Return,” 1953: Lobster
For her DiMaggio wedding dinner: Steak, cooked medium-well
While in Korea: Cheese sandwiches
At the Romanoff’s party in her honor: Chateaubriand
While filming “Bus Stop,” 1956: Raw steaks
Typical breakfast, 1957: Three poached eggs, toast, a Bloody Mary
Typical lunch at the Roxbury farm, 1957: Salami and cheese sandwiches
What maid and confident Lena Pepitone cooked for Marilyn: Spaghetti, lasagna, sausages, peppers
On New Year’s Eve, 1960: Spaghetti with sweet Italian sausages
While filming “The Misfits,” 1960: Buttermilk, borscht
Typical breakfast, 1961: Egg whites, poached in safflower oil (Marilyn had Eunice Murray regularly save the egg yolks to use in the holiday pound cakes.)
Typical breakfast, 1962: Hard-boiled eggs, toast
Typical lunch, 1962: A broiled steak
Favorite Italian dinner, 1962: Fettucini Leon and veal piccata
Favorite snack when not dieting: Hot dogs
On a 1962 picnic in the backseat of her Cadillac: Cold steak sandwiches
What Marilyn especially disliked: Olives
The last breakfast, on August 3, 1962: A grapefruit

These photos accompanied the above article:
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

From Jezebel: (http://jezebel.com/5686638/marilyn-monroes-daily-diet)

Full size

THE MARILYN DIET
BY SADIE STEIN NOV 10, 2010 6:44 PM 31,951 239 Share

Marilyn Monroe’s Daily Diet
The revelation of an elaborate stuffing recipe in the icon's own hand has led to speculation that perhaps Marilyn was, in fact, a domestic goddess.

The stuffing recipe, which appears in Fragments (the compendium of MM ephemera) is an elaborate one: a multi-step mix of sourdough bread, nuts, meats and herbs that, say writers Matt and Ted Lee, required no fewer than 15 vessels to reproduce. They also deemed the stuffing — which they theorize may be rooted in Marilyn's marriage to the Italian Joe DiMaggio — scrumptious and say it "bears the unmistakable balance of fussiness and flexibility that is the hallmark of an experienced and confident cook."

Could be — although we don't know that the star actually made the elaborate dish. Said People, "She was a good cook. It was hard for her to go out so she cooked." She is known to have owned well-thumbed copies of both Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking — both sold for astronomical prices at auction — plus Le Creuset cookware, yet other anecdotes from the star's life tell another story. Says the Bombshell Manual of Style,

Marilyn Monroe told Cosmopolitan that when making homemade noodles for a dinner party, the cookbook failed to mention how long they took to dry. "The guests arrived; I gave them a drink; I said, 'You have to wait for dinner until the noodles dry. Then we'll eat.' I had to give them another drink. In desperation, I went and got my little portable hairdryer and turned it on. It blew the noodles off the counter, and I had to gather them up and try again."

So, take that for what it's worth — at the very least, she had ambitions! Of course, homemade noodles are an undertaking even for an experienced cook. She's also said to have enjoyed good food, a favorite cocktail nibble being little tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese and caviar.

From a late shopping list, we know her diet was wholesome and that she cooked for herself — if simply. Clearly, she liked to eat proper meals. Even her weight-loss plan was not insubstantial. Again, via Loren Stover's paeon to the bombshell:

Breakfast:
8:00 A.M. Orange juice or stewed prunes
Cereal, well cooked
Toast (white), 2 slices, crisp, with butter
Milk or weak cocoa, 1 cup

10:00 A.M. Milk, 1 cup, and 1 cracker

Lunch or Supper:
1:00 P.M. Choice of:
Egg, 1 (boiled, poached, shirred or scrambled)
or cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons

Choice of:
Potato, 1, baked or mashed
or spaghetti, boiled with tomato or butter (no cheese)
or noodes, 1/2 cup (boiled), add milk (no cheese)
Toast or bread (white), stale, 1 slice, with butter
Jell-O or cooked fruit

3:30 P.M. Milk, 1 cup, and 1 cracker

Dinner:
6:30 P.M. Choice of:
Lean beef (boil, broil or roast)
or chicken
or lamb chop
or sweetbread
or fish
or chicken liver
Potato, 1 (any way but fried)

Choice of:
1/2 cup tomatoes, beets, carrots, spinach, string beans or peas, pureed or strained
Bread (white), 1 slice with butter
Dessert: junket, custard, tapioca pudding or rice pudding or baked apple

11:00 P.M. Eggnog

Of course, like everything else about Monroe, we'll never really know anything beyond what we want to, and what we decide to project. Is it a more appealing vision of total femininity if Marilyn cooked — or does it not jibe with our notion of the ultimate sex symbol? Was she trying to be someone's notion of a "wife" (probably DiMaggio's) with elaborate recipes and homemade noodles — or was this fun or therapeutic for someone who didn't need to do anything domestic? All we can know for certain is that 1950s dieters ate well: and the sight of that menu today would send any contemporary Hollywood star to sprint from the room shrieking in horror.


One more: (http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/marilyn-monroes-protein-drink)

Marilyn Monroe is a legend and is considered one of the most beautiful women who ever lived. She had a glamorous life in many ways, but she also had many personal demons to fight, including unhappy marriages and love affairs.

With that in mind, I appreciated this light-hearted article in which she shared her workout routine and eating habits at the time. I found her breakfast interesting. This is what she has to say about it:

"Breakfast: I’ve been told that my eating habits are absolutely bizarre, but I don’t think so. Before I take my morning shower, I start warming a cup of milk on the hot plate I keep in my hotel room. 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. I supplement this with a multi-vitamin pill, and I doubt if any doctor could recommend a more nourishing breakfast for a working girl in a hurry."

I was curious how nutrient-dense this breakfast was. Using Nutritiondata.self.com, I found that the eggs alone gave her morning drink 12.6 grams of protein, plus an array of other vitamins and minerals (they are a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B 12, and phosphorus, and a very good source of selenium). A cup of whole milk (considering this article was written in the early 1950s, I am assuming the milk was whole) gives another 7.9 grams of protein, as well as vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B 12, calcium and phosphorus. You end up with a drink with a whopping 20 grams of protein, plus other important minerals and vitamins.

Compare this to a serving of cornflakes, which only adds 1.8 grams of protein. I’ll take eggs over cornflakes for a protein-rich breakfast!

If her breakfast drink sounds strange to you, consider it unsweetened eggnog or that a similar drink was recommended to pregnant women around that same time period. I have been off of dairy, as it bothers me some, but I’ve had homemade “eggnog” in the past made with whole, raw milk, and pastured (real free-range) raw eggs, with a little bit of nutmeg and vanilla, and it was delicious! Raw milk tastes sweeter, so doesn’t need any sweetener in my opinion. Without the nutmeg and vanilla, I am sure my eggnog tasted a lot like Marilyn’s breakfast.

I agree with Marilyn Monroe that it is hard to think of a more nourishing breakfast for a “working girl in a hurry.” What do you think? Was her breakfast was “bizarre” or “nourishing”?

Marilyn seemed pretty well omnivorous and unfussy to me.

Marilyn did not "grow up" Post War. She was a teenager when it started.
The postmortem gives Marilyn as 5' 5".
Wide variations in her weight were as much due to bloating and fluid retention caused by her illness as anything else. She could go up a dress size over a weekend, then have to purge it off.

Being hungry during childhood does not necessarily make one eat a lot later.
I grew up just before and during the war, living in a heavily bombed and poor area. Rationing was strict, and did not guarantee that the food was available anyway.

I have never knowingly overeaten. My instinct and that of friends in later life, was never to waste food. It is the postwar baby-boomer generation that wastes food and consumes to excess - just because it can!

Thank you Alan, those are very interesting articles
And I agree with you, people born after the war tend to eat more than those born before or during wartime. Like you said, just because they can!

There is also one dimension in Marilyn's eating - she did not overeat carbohydrates, pasta, pizza, junk food or various "light" products, and that was also one reason why she did not gain excess weight too much; few pounds now and then is so much different than becoming really fat because most of the food is more or less just carbohydrate-junk and sugarloaded yogurts, smoothies; eating all the time while doing what ever.
In Marilyn's times people, when they ate, mostly ate proper food - meat or fish, proper meals, vegetables, salads, too; beans, milk, etc - those are the kind Marilyn ate when you read of her diets.

Her costumes for TPATS were made in 2 or 3 different sizes because of the bloating Marilyn suffered. I don't know if this was the case at other times.

Margherita is quite right about people eating "proper" foods in those times. Certainly here in the UK! There wasn't much else !
One rarely saw anyone overweight. In the late 50s we started to get US style milk-bars,ice-cream parlours and hamburgers - all new and exciting stuff to us - and people started to eat for pleasure and comfort - so on went the pounds.....

I have to disagree with this because between the years 1957 (late) and 1960 she was heavier than prior and that had alot to do with her depression and she did indulge in carbs. Her maid and part time cook Lena Pepitone made pasta dishes. She also like chocolate pudding as well. During a period before Some Like It hot she did begin ers strike to over eat because she did not want to film that movie.
Lets Make Love she was slimmer but during the writers strike she gained weight and the weight continued to till The Misfits. Like every woman her weight fluxed. Really never mattered to me, We love her regardless!!!

Yes, Blondealways - she did gain some weight of course, but I was talking about excess weight gain, like 40 pounds or more, the kind of obesity that is seen nowadays allover the "western" world - caused mainly with the stuff I mentioned.
Marilyn's varying weight, IMO, was not that dramatic - it was something that most women experience, it was normal and never any risk for her health. She did not develop a bear-belly, didn't look "fat" in real sense - just fuller than before, and even when she was , say, 20 pounds fuller, her body and face features didn't basically change so much.

What comes to her loving pasta dishes and the stories of Pepitone - well they are a bit controversial. Pepitone, whom Marilyn obviously didn't like that much as she never talked about her with anybody in a particular sense that they would've been real close as Pepitone claimed (or her ghostwriter ?)- Pepitone also claimed that Marilyn adored everything italian, italian men above anything, italian opera, had always wanted to travel to Italia, wanted to study italy, so of course italian food, too.
Of course Pepitone prepared pasta, but if she was a real italian and she was, she must have prepared other dishes, too, of the rich italian cuisine - meat, fish, various filled veggies, intestines - Or I don't know, was she only into pasta...
I don't know if Marilyn talked so much of having loved pasta uber alles - Maybe there was a period she did indeed -
and so what
But then Pepitone - or whoever wrote the book - tells that when Marilyn wanted to lose weight she would only eat vegetables for a few weeks and lose quickly 8 pounds in 2 weeks.