Why Diane Sawyer’s Approach to Food Is Surprisingly Old-School
Susan Sarandon has never claimed to follow a complicated diet. What she’s described publicly over the years is closer to one steady principle, applied loosely rather than a strict set of rules.
Her Whole Philosophy Comes Down to One Phrase
Sarandon has said she avoids extreme diets entirely, including things like Atkins, favoring a more moderate approach instead. Nutritionist Rania Batayneh, who has commented on Sarandon’s habits, summed up that instinct simply: “the idea of limit, don’t eliminate, is really important.”
That distinction matters. Nothing in how she’s described her own eating suggests a food she considers off-limits entirely, just foods she’s scaled back over time.
A Daily Green Powder Does a Lot of the Work
Rather than tracking every meal closely, Sarandon has relied on a simple daily habit: a couple of spoonfuls of a powdered vegetable blend she calls her “Green Stuff,” made from broccoli, kale, parsley, wheat grass, flaxseed, and root vegetables. It’s a low-effort way to make sure produce shows up in her diet even on busy days.
“Beauty comes from inside, it has to do with what you take in,” she’s told WebMD, tying that daily habit directly to how she thinks about aging generally.
Menopause Changed How She Eats Carbs, Not Whether She Eats Them
Sarandon has said her metabolism shifted enough after menopause that she can’t handle the same amount of carbohydrates she once could. Rather than cutting them out, she’s said she still allows whole grains while steering away from white bread and pasta specifically.
That’s a meaningfully different approach than outright restriction. It’s a recalibration based on how her body actually responded, not a blanket rule applied regardless of results.
She Tried Vegetarianism and Got Bored
Sarandon was vegetarian for a stretch earlier in her life before deciding the meatless lifestyle simply wasn’t sustainable for her. “I don’t eat a huge amount of red meat,” she’s said, describing her current approach as more moderate than a strict label would suggest.
That honesty about abandoning a stricter diet, rather than pretending it worked perfectly forever, fits the same pattern running through everything else she’s described. Whatever gets in the way of actually sticking with something eventually gets adjusted.
One Test Result Became Proof Her Approach Was Working
Sarandon has pointed to a specific colonoscopy result as validation for her eating habits, saying she was told she had “the colon of someone in her twenties.” That anecdote has stuck with her as a concrete data point behind an otherwise fairly loose set of habits.
It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of result that reinforces a philosophy built more around consistency than restriction.
Her Own Kids Remember It Differently
Not everyone in her orbit describes her food habits the same way she does. Her daughter Eva Amurri has said Sarandon was a strict “almond mom” growing up, once calling Cheerios “junk food” and shopping almost exclusively at one of the only organic grocery stores in New York City at the time.
That’s a different picture than the moderate, “limit don’t eliminate” framing Sarandon has used to describe her own current approach. Both accounts are likely true at once, a stricter household years ago giving way to a looser philosophy she talks about now.
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