Food & recipes

Nutrition: The Food Fairies meet Carole Vorderman

By The Food Fairies

Is Carol Vorderman clued-up on healthy eating? Our new columnists The Food Fairies dust her diet with a bit of their nutritional magic

Is Carol Vorderman clued-up on healthy eating• Our new columnists The Food Fairies dust her diet with a bit of their nutritional magic

Carol’s Diet DIARY

Breakfast:

Most days I’ll eat fruit for breakfast. Sometimes I’ll blend it a little so that it’s like a chunky fruit soup and then add oats and let them soak. Porridge is my other option, made with water, honey and milk on top.

Lunch:

After Loose Women I’ll pick up a salad or a sandwich or skip lunch. I need to sort this out though as what I’d like to do is have a big bowl of boiled veg with some mustard, that would be my choice.

Dinner:

Depends if I’m out for dinner. If I have a Chinese I’ll choose dim sum followed by fried rice and Chinese vegetables with chicken and cashew nuts or beef and black bean sauce. Other dinners include sashimi or a soup starter, then fish with lots of vegetables or fish and chips but this would not be in huge quantities.

Snacks:

I avoid bread as much as possible and I don’t ever eat puddings. Sugar doesn’t appeal to me and I don’t eat cakes or things like that – I am definitely a savouries girl.

“Carol is wise to avoid fizzy drinks. Not only are they swimming with sugar or artificial sweeteners, but they are also filled with phosphoric acid which sucks calcium from the bones” Drinks:

I drink very weak tea – about 12 cups a day. I don’t ever drink fizzy drinks and very few juices either.

Vices:

Crisps, champagne and red wine, and pasta! Carol takes Bioglan Women’s Dual Action Multi, £14.99. For further information call 0845 612 2080 or visit bioglan.co.uk.

What the FAIRIES SAY:

Fruit is a super source of antioxidants and fibre for breakfast, but it is best to combine with protein, in order to prevent a rollercoaster ride for blood sugar levels! Perhaps Carol could blend some whey protein powder or natural live yoghurt and ground nuts in her ‘fruit soup’ for a steadier release of energy.
With a hectic schedule like Carol’s, lunch requires some planning. By midday her re-fuel button is in the red. Some fresh vegetable soup with pulses and a couple of spoonfuls of brown rice mixed in would be a better option than vegetables alone. Once again protein needs to be a central focus. Carol’s wisdom is renowned and she needs to nourish her most famous asset, her brain, with amino acids from proteins like fish, lean meat or eggs – a palm-sized portion would make a great salad filling.
We admire Carol’s approach to ‘treat’ food. She savours each bite and rations portions. However, 12 cups of tea a day is excessive. Not only does tea contain caffeine, which can elevate blood pressure, but it is also teaming with tannins, which can antagonise the absorption of essential minerals like iron and calcium. Drink tea or coffee in between meals, to prevent nutrients from being flushed away. Two to five cups of antioxidant-rich green tea a day would help to preserve Carol’s youthful looks.
Red wine is a tonic by glass, but toxic by bottle, so portion control would be advised when it comes to alcohol too. Carol’s forte may be sums, but we are impressed to discover that she doesn’t count calories!

Article by

The Food Fairies

Rachel Henderson & Lola Renton are leading UK nutritionists, who have released their first exclusive anti-ageing and weight loss eBook, ‘Beauty & The Feast.’

Article by

The Food Fairies

Rachel Henderson & Lola Renton are leading UK nutritionists, who have released their first exclusive anti-ageing and weight loss eBook, ‘Beauty & The Feast.’