We sure love a viral salad. From the Cowboy Caviar to Kate Middleton's go-to recipe and the (albeit delicious) one that it was wrongly claimed Jennifer Aniston munched on for ten years, there's never been a more fun variety of ways to dress up your five-a-day. Which is why our ears pricked up upon hearing that Drew Barrymore had followed suit - however, while we're her biggest fans, we're not sold on her toppings of choice.
In a post on TikTok, the actress, 47, revealed that she likes to repurpose pizza toppings for her salad. The video, which has been viewed more than 2.7 million times, shows her scraping off ingredients like black olives and green peppers from the bread and cheese-based takeaway. The clip - captioned 'wait for it' - sees her then mixing them with some fresh veggies plus a pesto dressing.
Many of Drew's fans were rather horrified - suggesting that she should have just eaten the meal as it was. One commented: 'Just eat the pizza love!!!!! For pizza's sake.' Another shared: 'Drew I’m filing a lawsuit on behalf of pizza.' And a third added: 'Life’s too short, eat the pizza.'
However, the idea inspired another social media user on the site, who filmed an easy-to-follow breakdown of how Drew made her unusual salad. The @thesaladlab made the pesto vinaigrette, by blending up olive oil, spinach, cheese, salt and pine nuts. She then added iceberg lettuce, as well as chopped-up vegetarian pizza toppings, green peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions and olives.
The one big problem we have with Drew's salad isn't her refusal to eat pizza, because she can fuel herself how she likes. But it is because it means that, by default, the majority of the pizza is left over. While someone else might have eaten the leftovers, her recipe is arguably encouraging people to contribute to food waste (one of the worst things for the environment, not to mention the cost of living crisis).
However, some of the viewers of the latter TikTok video suggested a clever way the pizza could still be used up alongside the salad. 'You could bake the crust again in little pieces and use as croutons?' wrote one. We'd take a pizza that!
Lauren is a lifestyle journalist with digital and magazine experience. Find her covering all aspects of wellness - from fitness, nutrition and mental health, to beauty and travel. Morning HIIT, a lunchtime oat latte and evenings ensconced in a hyaluronic acid-infused sheet mask are her own personal feel-good pillars.
