Food & recipes

What’s in Gethin Jones’ trolley?

By Michael Van Straten

Holland and Barrett’s poster boy, Gethin Jones, reveals his eating habits to our resident nutritionist.

What’s on the menu?

A typical breakfast for me would be porridge or Bran Flakes and a banana. Sometimes I’ll have poached eggs on toast with a cup of tea.
For lunch I’ll have a big superfood salad or massive chicken sandwich if I’m on the run.
Typical dinner options would include fish (salmon, mackerel or tuna) with vegetables. My favourite is bangers, mash and beans.
I snack on protein Trek Bars if training or anything else that’s laying around!
I love Ribena but also try to drink as much water as possible – as I genuinely feel it makes a difference.
I haven’t got any intolerances except sea urchin. I tried it and it made me retch!
I think moderation is a key word. I had steak and chips last night and a cheesecake when out with my friends. But I always eat breakfast and always salad with something for lunch and a lot of fish and chicken at night. I also take vitamin C and echinacea.
The five items I stock up on are: pineapple, mango, bananas, tinned tuna and vegetables.
My vice is probably biscuits as I’m terrible in front of the telly – especially Jaffa Cakes!

Michael’s Verdict

Having worked with several ex Blue Peter presenters I know how versatile and adaptable they have to be. So, it’s no surprise that Gethin takes it all in his stride.
He’s off to a flying start with a great breakfast– both options provide slow-release energy, protein and a good selection of vitamins and minerals. When lunch comes around he is doing just as well with a large superfood salad, or massive chicken sandwich. How I love it when other people use the term ‘superfood’ as I invented it for my first book way back in 1989. Gethin is right of course, as a large mixed salad can easily provide two or three of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables. The chicken sandwich is an excellent choice for an afternoon’s work, with energy, protein and masses of essential nutrients.
His dinner of oily fish and vegetables really is superb. You may think his favourite bangers, mash and beans is not quite such a good choice, but that depends on the quality of the sausages and how they are cooked. Fried, fatty bangers are not a heart-healthy choice, but a low-fat sausage, grilled or griddled so the fat gets left behind is a different story. Hopefully there’s not a mountain of butter, cream and salt in the mash.
I am not too happy about the Ribena as it has lots of sugar. Why not juice a few fresh oranges to go with the healthy intake of water? The usual supermarket items are pretty good choices and the canned oily fish will make sure Gethin does not go short of the omega 3 fats which are needed for brain function and are anti-inflammatory.
The regular echinacea is not such a good idea as it may interfere with the natural immunity of the body. I would advise one month on and one off.
He is definitely not a goody two shoes, but what you do once in a while doesn’t matter – it’s what you do most of the time that makes a healthy diet. Most of the time Gethin does much better than most, so I reckon he deserves a night on the town with his mates.