As Mary Berry turns 90, a look at the food rules she swears by
Dame Mary Berry is celebrating a milestone birthday today. The ex-Great British Bake Off judge is turning 90 today (24 March) and is planning to mark the occasion in a very on-brand manner.
"There will be cake," she told Vogue, "and champagne!".
As the TV chef, who has been described by Prince William as a "true national treasure", makes a start on her tenth decade many will be wondering about her secrets to living a long and healthy life. Seeming to radiate health and vigour, some of Dame Mary's longevity could run in the family, given her mother Marjorie lived to the age of 105, but perhaps some could also be down to the healthy living and eating practices the popular chef has adopted.
From enjoying everything in moderation to steering clear of "freak" diets, here's some of the healthy food rules the nonagenarian swears by.
While discussing how she manages to stay so slim, Dame Mary previously described the benefits of eating healthily, most of the time.
"I don't believe in cutting out certain foods, a little of everything is good for you," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "There's nothing wrong with a slice of cake with tea, which I enjoy most afternoons, or strawberries with a big dollop of cream, but just don't be dipping into the biscuit tin all day. Moderation is key."
The Mary's Foolproof Dinners host revealed that despite constantly being surrounded by temptations, she tries to count the calories in her diet and resists snacks as best as she can.
"I don't snack," she told Good Housekeeping. "If I'm at home, I might have a cup of tea with my husband with a piece of toast or a small piece of cake. On the whole, I really watch calories. I always have a good meal in the evening with lots of vegetables and a smaller portion of meat or fish.
"I believe in a balanced diet, and because I'm ancient I don't need an 8oz steak."
Dame Mary doesn't believe in denying yourself treats, but she suggests keeping an eye on the size of the portion you have. "I do try to eat lots of salads and healthy foods," she told Guardian. "But cakes are healthy too, you just eat a thin slice. There's a lot of cheer in a cake."
In a further interview she confirmed her approach that it is good to eat cake, but just not stacks of it. She told The Sunday Times: "I think to eat cake is very good for us, but it's the size of the slice and how often you have it."
Dame Mary is a big soup fan, but after having bread for breakfast, she goes without it at lunch. "I have soup at lunchtime and I know exactly how many calories are in that soup. I don't have bread with it, but I might have a salad if it's very hot," she said in an interview with Good Housekeeping.
The TV chef once admitted to The Independent that if she had to choose a desert island recipe it would be "a simple pasta recipe". "First, boil some pasta in salted water," she continued. "Then cook some broccoli or, if in season, asparagus." Mary then adds pieces of fried dry-cured ham and cream to the pasta before going on to admit she could live off that dish for a while.
Instead of "freak diets", which Dame Mary doesn't believe work, she prefers to have smaller portions of the foods she enjoys eating. "It's control," she told Good Housekeeping. "Have a smaller plate. I have mountains of vegetables – green vegetables, broccoli, beans. I have twice as much as my husband does."
In a later interview with the magazine, the popular chef said she favours "eating a balanced diet" over "fad diets."
"All these fad diets – clean food and the like," she said. "It's really about eating a balanced diet. You are what you eat.
"Everybody wants smoothies, but I'd rather have the texture of vegetables and fruits. If you want to have kale and spinach made into a smoothie, you have it. But for me, I just want a balanced diet – fruit, veg, meat and fish."
In the same Good Housekeeping interview the TV chef went on to share her views on children's health, saying: "It isn't what's in children's lunch boxes, it's when they walk around the corner from school with the money they've been given and buy all the other things.
"I honestly think there shouldn't be sugared drinks. All my grandchildren drink water all through the day. I've just had to stay and at breakfast they drink water. They don't even know what sugary drinks are."
Read more about Dame Mary Berry and healthy eating:
The best Mary Berry recipes from pies to bakes (Love Food, 9-min read)
Six ways social media benefits older generations, as Mary Berry joins Instagram (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
13 simple ways to improve children's diets as Jamie Oliver calls benefits 'profound' (Yahoo Life UK, 7-min read)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Veterans Park event will mark US Army's 250th birthday
TUPELO – On Tuesday, June 3, attorney Jak Smith had an idea, and in the days that followed, he put fast action to it. In a week's time, Smith has planned a gathering to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States Army. All are invited to pay homage to the U.S. Army on Saturday, June 14, at Veterans Park. The party will begin at 9 a.m. "I figured I might not make the Army's 300th birthday," Smith said. "So, I decided I was going to do something for the 250th. We may have five people attend; we may have 50. But this is something I wanted to do." Here's what's on tap for Saturday morning's celebration: The Tupelo High School ROTC will be on hand for the posting of the colors; Sabrina Ganaway will sing the National Anthem; and a bagpipe player will provide music. Also, there will be a birthday cake. Speakers, all Army veterans, will include Bro. Chester Harrison, Col. Roger Johnson, Brigadier General Kelly Mims and Smith. "Chester Harrison is a pastor who married my wife and I on Lebanon Mountain in Prentiss County in 1993," Smith said. Harrison will give a benediction and share some of his own Army experiences. "He was a machine gunner who served on the front line in Vietnam," Smith said. Col. Roger Johnson is senior Army instructor of Tupelo High School's Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Circuit Court Judge Kelly Mims served in the Army National Guard 34 years and retired as a brigadier general. Smith, a 1970 graduate of West Point Military Academy, spent eight years in the Army in Colorado and in the 11th Cavalry in Europe as an artillery officer. He's more than a history buff; Smith can fire off dates and events from farther back than most can even remember. And he especially knows the U.S. Army, in which he proudly served. It was May 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and delegates resolved to create an army that would represent not just New England, but all the British colonies in North America. "In June of that same year, George Washington was unanimously chosen as the commander-in-chief," Smith said. "Washington really set the tone for what the Army should be."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Building the Band' to Premiere This Summer After Liam Payne Family Approves Footage
Netflix's musical competition series, Building the Band, will premiere on the streaming service this summer. The first four episodes will make their debut on July 9, three more will appear on July 16, and the final batch is set for July 23. Netflix had previously paused production on the series following the death of one of its judges, Liam Payne. In the series, a group of singers attempts to build chemistry with each other — eventually forming a band — by singing with one another in booths. They're not able to see each other, similar to Netflix's dating show, Love Is Blind. Once the bands are in place, they meet and see each other for the first time, hoping they'll have chemistry and the choreography chops to pull off a working ensemble. More from Rolling Stone 5 Things We Learned from 'Titan: The OceanGate Disaster' 'Too Much' Trailer: Lena Dunham Directs Semi-Autobiographical Rom-Com Starring Megan Stalter Lady Gaga Channels Wednesday Addams' Gothic Glam in New 'Abracadabra' Performance Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean is the show's host. Nicole Scherzinger serves as a mentor and judge, while Kelly Rowland and the late One Direction star also appear as judges. 'Liam Payne's family reviewed the series and is supportive of his inclusion,' Netflix wrote in a statement. Payne's segment of the show was filmed last July, months before his October death. 'He remembered people's names and was chatty and approachable,' Simon Hay, the show's shooting producer-director, told Rolling Stone in an interview for the magazine's in-depth investigation into Payne's death. Another crew member described Payne as 'egalitarian and charming' on set. That crew member also recalled that Payne 'really wanted to help' the participants on the show. 'That was the extra gut punch when I heard the terrible news,' the source said. 'He wouldn't be able to help them anymore.' 'He and I immediately connected on not only a music level but a human level,' McLean told Rolling Stone, 'like we both were living a parallel life. There was a lot of funny boy-band jabs that we would take at each other. He really had a quick wit to him — that nice, dry, British humor.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The OceanGate Victims' Eerie Last Words Speak Volumes of Their Mindset Before the Vessel's Tragic Implosion
The Titan's story isn't over yet. Netflix's newest investigation documentary Titan: The OceanGate Disaster gives insight to the years and moments leading up to the tragic day where 5 people died on the way to see the wreckage of the Titanic. Netflix's documentary explores the means OceanGate used to skirt through regulations with the Titan submersible and Stockton Rush's obsession to become the next big billionaire. In the film, former OceanGate bookkeeper Bonnie Carl says that Rush 'wanted to be a Jeff Bezos or an Elon Musk. He referred to those guys as big swinging dicks, and he loved that term.' More from StyleCaster Tylenol Murders Suspect James Lewis' Eerie Last Interview Before His Death Included Him Answering 'All the Hard Questions' Are Colt & Kelsey Still Together From Sneaky Links? Where They Are Now After Their Love Triangle With AngeliqueHowever, that journey came at the expense of five lives. Rush, British aviation billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all killed in the Titan's implosion on June 18, 2023. According to the US Coast Guard, the Titan's last message to the boat Polar Prince that they were 'dropped two wts,' referring to their weights. After that message, there were no updates from the submersible. Forty minutes after the submersible dived down, the Polar Prince experienced trouble receiving transmissions from the Titan. 'I need better comms from you,' to which the Titan answered 'yes' and said they 'lost system oand [sic] chat settings,' at around 10:15 a.m. Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was believed to be the messenger. The ship later asked, 'status? do you see polar prince on your display?' The Titan wrote back 'yes' and 'all good here.' Tym Catterson, who was OceanGate's contract safety diver and submersible pilot, recounted seeing the victims right before the implosion in a BBC documentary. 'Suleman was close to the last to going in and when he came up I grabbed him by the back of his flotation device and pulled him to make sure he isn't going to go sliding off into the water,' he said. 'I helped him get in I helped him get into the sub and then I said 'have a good dive'.' Rush's wife, Wendy, who was on the support ship, heard a boom. That boom was likely the implosion. The project's development started in 2016 but had major red flags throughout the years. Experts believed that the carbon fiber wasn't up to safety regulations and end caps, made of titanium, were affixed to the hull with glue. There were clear warning signs when the carbon fiber kept popping during subsequent trips. 'I still question it every day: How could he not see this was dangerous?' former Oceangate employee Bonnie Carl says about Rush's ego. 'In my opinion, he clearly wanted fame. Stockton had his mind set. He was going to do this no matter what.' Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways