As Mary Berry turns 90, a look at the food rules she swears by
"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)
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