Eating Like a President (so far)

Ranking the daily diets of the last 13 presidents

Salisbury steak. Buttermilk. Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. Ketchup.

These are a few of the highlights of eating like the last 13 presidents of the United States. I figured that since we’re about 25% of the way through the entire American presidency, I’d stop and rank ‘em in a highly subjective, deeply personal list.

From best to worst:

1. LBJ

   1. Best part - Spoon bread and spinach soufflé

   2. Worst part - Cutty Sark is a terrible Scotch

2. Dwight Eisenhower

   1. Best part - Cornmeal pancakes, DAMN those are delightful

   2. Worst part - nobody needs that much ground beef

3. George W. Bush

   1. Best part - Huevos rancheros

   2. Worst part - Cheeseburger pizza (just remove the ketchup)

4. Barack Obama

   1. Best part - homemade chili

   2. Worst part - a lack of indulgence

5. Jimmy Carter

   1. Best part - fried chicken, especially knowing he lived to 100 eating it

   2. Worst part - drinking straight buttermilk

6. Bill Clinton

   1. Best part - peach pie

   2. Worst part - the sheer amount of food

7. John F. Kennedy

   1. Best part - lamb chops

   2. Worst part - having expectations of greatness

8. George H.W. Bush

   1. Best part - Butterfinger for breakfast

   2. Worst part - caffeine poisoning

9. Gerald Ford

   1. Best part - Butter pecan ice cream: underrated

   2. Worst part - cottage cheese topped with A1 and raw onion

10. Joe Biden

    1. Best part - A protein bar

    2. Worst part - Extreme orange Gatorade levels

11. Ronald Reagan

    1. Best part - chicken piccata

    2. Worst part - the HUNGER

12. Donald Trump

    1. Best part - how dinner tasted

    2. Worst part - how dinner felt, especially the next day

13. Richard Nixon

    1. Best part - chicken cordon bleu

    2. Worst part - ketchup on cottage cheese, obviously

If you want to know more, well, that’s what the videos show in gory detail on TikTok, Instagram and bit by bit, YouTube.

The Weekly Recap

• Got sad with Rep. Frank Pallone’s Depression Cake, recipe on the website.

• I ate like Mittens “Mitt” Romney, the former senator with a love of Twinkies and hot dogs

• A disabled military veteran and a software engineer — those were my two subjects for my Eating Like America series and they brought drastically different diets, both enjoyable.

• Exciting NEW series coming up:

  • Eating Like First Ladies (free for everyone on every platform)

  • Eating Like Royalty (for paid subscribers only, I’ll be posting the videos here!)

Finally, before I go, I had to share this recipe — not from a politician — but a classic 1950s recipe I saw that I have to try:

• 1 part 7-Up

• 1 part cold milk

• Mix. Drink. Scream.

Anyone had that one?

Stay fun out there,

-Bennett