Eat Better Forever: 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet

For Jess and Nikki, with immeasurable thanks for your immoderate help with this, and much else besides…

THE 7 WAYS

1 GO WHOLE

2 GO VARIED

3 GO WITH YOUR GUT

4 REDUCE REFINED CARBS

5 FACTOR IN FAT

6 THINK ABOUT YOUR DRINK

7 EAT (AND DON’T EAT) MINDFULLY

+ 7 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT

+ KEEPING WELL TO EAT BETTER

THE RECIPES

BRILLIANT BREAKFASTS

QUICK LUNCH(BOX)ES

SATISFYING SALADS

SUSTAINING SOUPS

VITAL VEG MAINS

FEISTY FISH

(LESS IS) MORE MEAT

TREATS AND DRINKS

INDEX

SOURCES

The food we eat is the most important factor influencing our health and well-being. Yet despite (or perhaps because of) a decades-long debate about diet, many of us still feel confused, unhappy, guilty and anxious about what we eat. I want to help change that. And this book is my most focused attempt so far.

More than ever, in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s vital that everybody knows how much making good food choices can do to help us stay well. It’s not just the healthy functioning of our digestive systems that’s at stake. It’s the complex web of activities in every cell of our body – what is collectively referred to as our immune system. So, when we eat well, we don’t just function well day to day, we also fight back when viruses and bacteria come to call. We are far better at fending off challenges to our body and, when we do get ill, at recovering quickly.

I believe that a helpful book about healthy eating must not be a negative thing, with long lists of banned foods and dietary restrictions. It needs to lead with a positive understanding of what the good foods are, and it needs to make it easier for us to choose, eat and enjoy much more of them. That’s my plan here.

I’m also going to talk about when and how we eat. That’s going to help us understand why we eat certain foods that we know we would be better off not eating; and it will help us replace them with the good stuff. We’re going to combine clearer understanding with achievable actions – and delicious recipes – so we can eat better, not just for a while, but forever.

Before we get to where we’re going, let’s look at where we are. Although we are living longer (on average 82 years in the UK), many of us spend our last 20 years or so in poor health, often with conditions which could be prevented through different lifestyles – primarily by eating better. 67% of men and 62% of women are above a healthy weight; a third of us are obese. Around 50% of adults are ‘trying to lose weight’, usually unsuccessfully. And the age at which our health starts to be negatively affected by our weight gets younger by the year. So it seems that our daily bread – and our extended life span – brings us neither health nor happiness. We have to change that.

I believe that the sheer volume of information about diet that now speeds its way backwards and forwards across the globe is actually part of the problem. The constant in-flow of data, advice and opinion that we are exposed to is often contradictory, unrealistic and unhelpful. A great deal of it, in fact, is flam, fashion and faddism. But that doesn’t mean we should give up, or dismiss it all. On the contrary, I think it’s vital to realise that in amongst the cacophony there is some very sound advice.

The last few years in particular have seen some genuinely useful advances in evidence-based science around healthy eating. This is actually a very good time to mine the seemingly bottomless pit of modern dietary advice for some golden nuggets of true wisdom. Or, in other words, to size up the latest good science and summarise it clearly. That’s been my mission for the last two years, and this book is the result.

I want to stress that this is a collaborative effort. I have strong views about healthy eating, based on some pretty in-depth reading and research, but also on my experiences as a chef, writer, cook and broadcaster in the food industry for over 30 years. But I also know the value of discussing those views with people for whom understanding diet and human health is a full-time job. I’ve talked to many experts in this field, including Dr Giles Yeo, Professor Tim Spector and Professor Mark Mattson, and you’ll find them quoted in the text. I’ve also asked one of the food scientists I most admire, dietitian Dr Michelle Harvie, of the Prevent Breast Cancer Research Unit in Manchester, to read (several drafts!) of this text, and comment and challenge me along the way. Her support has hugely increased my confidence that this book really can help you change.

One problem I see looming large (and my collaborators happen to agree with me) is that the world of diet publishing and the ‘wellness’ sector continue to orbit around ‘single-fix’ ideas. Most books offer up one big commitment you can make, one diet plan you can sign up to, one headline-grabbing concept you can market the crap out of… Some of those books may help some people, some of the time. But I think we can, and must, do better than that. And we will start doing better as soon as we stop pretending that the combined complexities of what we eat, and what our bodies do with it, can be reduced to a single mantra or one neat idea, be it Paleo, Fasting, High-fibre, Zero-sugar or whatever. They surely can’t because the variables are endlessly… well, variable. We need to take that into account. I’ve written this book quite deliberately in order to buck this ‘one big idea’ trend.

I’ve been paying attention to new – and not so new – ideas about healthy eating ever since, as an undergraduate, I took steps to reduce my student beer (and biscuit) belly. I’ve always had a taste for the ‘good things’ of life – including beer and wine, burgers and kebabs, fish and chips, and chocolate, cakes and puds. But I have also tried to steer my appetite towards things I know are good for me. I used to struggle, for instance, to enjoy certain vegetables, including tomatoes, beetroot, spinach, mushrooms and sweetcorn. But as a young adult teaching myself to cook, and then a chef learning on the job, I deliberately set out to find ‘better specimens’ of these vegetables, and ways to cook them that I could first tolerate, then enjoy.

Learning to grow food myself massively enhanced this process, and now I have a love for pretty much every fruit and vegetable under the sun. This journey has taken time, but it’s convinced me that with the right help and guidance we can all make important changes to the way we eat. We can learn to eat better. And that is so much more enduring, and important for our health and happiness, than ‘going on a diet’.

I’ve always enjoyed ‘good food’, but the meaning of that phase has evolved for me. It still means pleasure-bringing and therefore good for the soul, yes, but also good for my health, my family’s health and the health of my environment. I have never stopped trying to learn more about what good eating really means, and as a consequence my eating and drinking habits have evolved over the decades. It’s been a meandering kind of road, but I am now at a place where I’m confident that I’m making reasonable decisions about what to eat… most of the time! I still make some less good decisions – a second helping of ice cream, a packet of crisps on the train – but these days I am much more aware of them. I don’t beat myself up about my poorer choices, because I know I’m making them less often than I used to.

I have developed an approach to eating and living that is working well for me. I’m lighter, healthier, fitter and less anxious than I have been for years. I sleep better and I cope with stress better too. So, I want to share that approach with you. But I am emphatically not about to tell you that if you simply do what I’ve done, you’ll become a new person and all your problems will be solved. It’s crazy to suggest one size fits all when it comes to health, or even that one ‘size’ is enough. Tackling several different things, in whichever ways are achievable for you, has got to be the way forward. And it also helps avoid the shameful spectre of ‘failure’ that haunts every One Big Idea approach. If you entrust all your healthy eating eggs to one ideological basket, so to speak, you’ve only got to drop it once to feel like you’ve totally messed up. If you’re spinning a few different plates, on the other hand, it’s not such a big deal if you take your eye off one of them sometimes.

So, you won’t find one single doctrine that sums up my approach. Rather I have a cluster of useful and entirely complementary pathways – seven of them, as it happens.

This manageable bundle of helpful facts about food and health, and the range of sensible, reasonable actions that follow from them, will have different importance for different people. That’s the beauty of them: they can be organised into a set of personal priorities that you can keep coming back to and progressing, bit by bit. To me, that reflects real life. It’s achievable. And it doesn’t leave a scary amount hanging on a single endpoint: ‘success’, ‘smashing your target’ or somehow transforming into a ‘new you’.

Each of my 7 chapters is built around a simple imperative, be it ‘Reduce Refined Carbs’ or ‘Go with Your Gut’: all things you can easily take on board that will make a genuine difference to your health. I’ve looked at the latest evidence and thinking on each idea and offered up my personal interpretation of them, and even a few of my personal struggles. We all have issues, at times, with food and drink. I’ve tried to make talking about them acceptable, interesting, even amusing (without ever forgetting this is a serious business). The idea is to help you know more, think more and understand more about food and the good and bad it can do us. And, in order to help you make some useful choices and health-supporting plans, there’s a simple summary of ‘action points’ at the end of each chapter.

To complement all this talking, I have, of course, included a raft of healthy recipes – simple ideas (often very simple) for brilliant breakfasts, healthy lunchboxes, satisfying suppers and lovely treats. If you’ve read any of my more recent books, you’ll recognise some common themes: lots of veg and fruit, plenty of whole grains, nuts and seeds, as few processed foods as possible, a smattering of fish, and not much meat. I have avoided obscure or expensive ingredients, and if you find something you consider a bit ‘unusual’ (spelt, flaxseed, farro) it’s because I think it should be less so…

I’ve kept these recipes as straightforward as I can, but I have dared to assume that you are prepared to do at least a little bit of cooking. I have to be frank and say that if you aren’t, then eating healthily is not impossible but certainly harder – and probably more expensive too. If you’re kitchen-shy, please don’t be put off by this. You have nothing to lose by giving a recipe a go. You may very well surprise yourself…

This is not a weight-loss manual – though it can certainly help you lose weight (without counting calories) in a way that is healthy and, crucially, sustainable. If that’s your goal, then my 7 Ways to Lose Weight will explain how you can use the book for that. I am writing for anyone who wants to eat healthily, regardless of their current weight. Our Body Mass Index (BMI) is a significant health-marker – but we must look beyond the scales when we think about our health.

Most of the book is about eating and drinking. But it would be foolish to take these out of the context of all the non-food-related decisions we make daily that can affect our health for good or ill – decisions about the way we manage activity, sleep and stress, for example. So, here, you’ll find a summary of the other things you can do that will enhance and magnify the benefits of eating better.

Another thing we have to do, unfortunately, is take the modern food environment as we find it – i.e. in a far from ideal state. We must learn to navigate and largely avoid the endless exhortations to eat and drink industrially processed foods that are not good for us. I want to change the environment in which these foods are so ubiquitous, so normalised – and I’m using other platforms, including television, to try to do so.

Government and industry must be held to account when it comes to processed ingredients, junk food advertising, too much sugar and salt in foods. There are, at last, some signs of positive action but we can’t afford to wait for them before we make changes ourselves.

For now, it’s up to us to make the right choices; and that, in a nutshell, is what this book will help you to do. There are far too many factors affecting our health in a negative way; but there is also a raft of things we can do to redress the balance: steps you can start taking now that, consolidated into new habits, become an effective force.

Even when the food industry is pitted against us, we are not powerless. To make healthy choices, we need science – but we don’t need rocket science. Existing and emerging knowledge, common sense and, I think, a little righteous anger, are already pointing us in the right direction.

I’ve got a pretty good handle now on the things we need to do to be healthy. There’s nothing impenetrable about them; they just had to be gleaned and sorted from among the misinformation, the marketing and the mumbo-jumbo. These seven simple insights are the backbone of this book. Take a few of them on board and you’ll be heading in the right direction. Pay attention to all seven of them – accumulatively, over time, as it suits you – and you will soon be eating better and feeling better. And not just for a while, or for as long as it takes to shed a few pounds, but for the rest of your life.

1

I believe I have seven slices of life-changing advice for you in this book. But if you take away one overarching message, please make it this: eat more whole foods. In the often-confusing world of nutrition, this is the one principle that every doctor, scientist and dietitian agrees on. Countless studies back it up. Whole foods protect our hearts and brains and bones. They nurture our gut, help us maintain a healthy weight, and it looks like they can safeguard our mental health too. That’s why this chapter is the first in the book. When it comes to a great diet – a nutrient-packed, energy-boosting, body-nurturing, disease-preventing, obesity-busting diet – everything comes back to whole-ness.

SO, WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘WHOLE’ FOODS?

The answer is very straightforward, and also much broader than you might think. Whole foods are simply those that have been processed as little as possible, and so remain close to their natural state. They are, if you like, the original versions of foods – the original and the best! – of which highly processed convenience foods, created out of refined ingredients, are an unhealthy modern distortion.

For some, I am well aware, the idea of whole foods is loaded with a sense of foreboding, an aura of austerity and self-sacrifice. There is a fear that the ‘whole food’ bracket comprises only lentils and brown rice and their close relations. And while those certainly are excellent whole foods, loaded with goodness and potentially very delicious too, they represent only a tiny fraction of the whole food palette available to us.

In reality, the term ‘whole foods’ means every edible fruit, vegetable, nut, seed and herb on the planet, as well as eggs, fish, meat and milk. (We’ll get to butter, cheese and yoghurt later.) You can buy plenty of whole foods in any supermarket. Roast chicken and three veg is a whole food dinner; strawberries and cream is a whole food pud; a vegetable curry, made in the right way (with healthy fats and not too much salt), can even be a whole food takeaway. I hope the idea of embracing whole foods is starting to sound a little less daunting…?

WHY ARE WHOLE FOODS SO IMPORTANT?

The obvious and instinctive answer is that these foods are pretty much as nature intended them; they are what our bodies have evolved to digest and use. Packed with the good stuff, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, whole foods give maximum healthy bang for your buck. That’s why studies into many different aspects of diet continually reinforce the whole food point.

One review in 2014, for instance, by researchers at Yale University, looked at all of the most popular mainstream diets, including low-carb, vegan and Paleo, in order to see which was most effective at improving overall health. After comparing the health outcomes associated with many different eating regimes, the scientists agreed there was no overall winner. But, by noting certain common elements among these diets, they drew one clear conclusion: ‘A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention…’ they said. These are my italics. You should make them yours too!

More recently, exciting research from the 2017 SMILES study in Australia showed improvements in depression when people adopted a healthy whole food diet.

The thing I love about the unambiguous principle of ‘Going Whole’ is that it is so positive. And it offers real hope. For example, a major piece of international research called the Global Burden of Disease Study concluded in 2019 that bad diets now kill more people worldwide than tobacco. The study estimated that one in five deaths globally is associated with poor diet. Just pause to digest that for a moment. It’s a pretty grim statistic… until we decide to flip it. Because the authors went on to say that the biggest issue, even beyond the terrible stuff we eat, is the great stuff we don’t eat.

The worst damage to our health is done by the absence of healthy foods. Embracing this insight can change everything. It means our first step should be to increase our intake of fantastic whole ingredients, before we worry about anything else.

GOING WHOLE IS ABOUT MORE, NOT LESS

Going Whole is about deliciousness, not denial. It means piling into a smörgåsbord of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, unrefined whole grains and healthy oils. It can absolutely include meat and dairy too, if you like; it just means eating them in moderation and switching to whole (or wholer) versions, like unprocessed meats and unsweetened natural yoghurt. (Wholeness is not absolute, but relative, as we’ll see.)

Of course, Going Whole also means eating less of some things: less of the foods that aren’t whole, the junk foods and refined ingredients that are making so many of us ill and overweight. I’ll go into more detail on that later. The key point here is that focusing on the positive – on eating more of what’s good – means you won’t have so much room, in your shopping basket, kitchen, fridge or stomach, for foods that are nutrient-sparse and that may be actively harmful. In short, if you start building your meals out of whole ingredients, you will automatically start eating better. You won’t be able to help it.

Going Whole doesn’t have to be instant, and it doesn’t have to be total. My diet is healthier than it’s ever been but I still snaffle the odd bag of crisps, and the occasional chocolate bar. The difference is that now, when I do, I’m more conscious that they are not contributing to my physical health. I acknowledge the short hit of pleasure they give, which is appreciated as just that, while reminding myself they do nothing good for my body. And so, I’m determined that they should be the exception and not the rule. In the end this is about balance, and about shifting the balance. For far too many, junk is now routine, and whole foods just an occasional encounter. It’s time to flip that around.

WHOLE AND WHOLER

Many ingredients come into our kitchens entirely whole and unprocessed – vegetables and fruits are the most obvious. But I’m not proposing a diet consisting entirely of totally unprocessed fare. There are plenty of ingredients that have undergone a bit of processing that we can definitely include in the healthy whole foods bracket.

The ‘processing’ of such foods usually has history on its side, and is relatively simple. You could say it’s mechanical, rather than industrial or chemical: the grinding of whole wheat into wholemeal flour; the crushing of seeds into ‘cold-pressed’ oils; the mixing of fresh milk with live yoghurt to produce… more live yoghurt.

By contrast, it’s the highly refined, ‘ultra-processed’ modern foods that we need to be wary of. Most of these owe their existence to sophisticated industrial techniques, and are often modified and preserved by a plethora of industrially produced additives.

When you’re deciding whether or not to put something in your shopping basket, consider the following:

Ask yourself: what has been done to the raw ingredient in order to produce this? If it’s a whole food like a potato, an egg or a fresh chicken, the answer is going to be ‘not much at all’. If, on the other hand, you’re looking at a packaged muffin or a box of batter-coated chicken nuggets, the answer is ‘quite a lot’ – i.e. it’s not very ‘whole’. Generally, the less foods have been altered, rearranged or combined with other foods – the better.

The number of ingredients listed on the back of the pack is a useful pointer. The more ingredients there are, then very likely the more processed that food is. Completely whole foods like fresh fruit and veg have no ingredients lists at all!

Ingredients that sound industrial, chemical or baffling – such as hydrogenated palm oil, ‘lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids’ or ‘copper complexes of chlorophyll’ – are clear indicators that the food is highly processed.

Wholegrain breads and pastas can be a really good source of fibre and healthy carbs. Of course, even these ‘brown’ versions are processed to some extent, but some are far more processed than others. Look for those that contain fewer ingredients, and, in particular, fewer additives – things like palm oil, preservatives, emulsifiers, colours and flavourings.

WHOLE V PROCESSED

The following table shows the difference between some everyday whole foods and the processed products that are distorted versions of them. To boost your whole food tally, base your shopping, cooking and eating on the sort of foods listed in the green column rather than the blue one. For some, that might mean quite a major shake-up. But I’ll also bet there are foods from the green column in almost every kitchen in the land. If you can lay your hands on an egg, an apple or a carton of milk, you’re in whole food territory already.

If you start with whole foods, you will often have to do some ‘processing’ yourself, of course. That’s what cooking is. But home cooking is not usually the kind of processing that takes away good stuff and adds bad stuff – as with the refined and processed foods I have highlighted. It’s the simple preparation, combination and assembly of good, whole ingredients.

So, whole grains need cooking, fish needs baking, tomatoes need slicing. But eating whole foods does not have to be a labour-intensive business. It’s true that I cannot offer you a healthy lunchbox recipe that’s as easy as unwrapping a Big Mac. But I can offer you one that’s ready in 10 minutes, tastes amazing and will do you a whole world of good.

CAN’T WE JUST POP PILLS?

Maybe you’re thinking the idea that we all need to go ‘back to basics’ and eat whole foods is a bit retrograde. Can’t we just buy supplements to add back the good bits that are missing from junk food? Can’t we get our vitamins and minerals, maybe even the increasingly elusive fibre, from pills and ‘fortified’ foods?

The short answer is no. It’s true that some supplements may be useful for specific problems and deficiencies. If your doctor tells you that you need to take a specific supplement, then you should take it. But the idea that a battery of pills can replace good food is completely bogus. There’s little evidence to support the effectiveness of many vitamin supplements, and some have even been shown to be harmful. Taking high-dose supplements of vitamins A and E can increase the risk of cancer, for instance.

When you eat a whole food you are invariably getting more than one good thing. There is vitamin C in oranges, but also fibre, folate and antioxidants. Walnuts give us omega-3 but also vitamin E, fibre and phytonutrients (see here) with anti-inflammatory properties.

In addition, we know that the interrelation between different nutrients in a food is very significant – one nutrient will often assist the absorption or metabolisation of another. Nuts, for example, which contain lots of unsaturated fats, also contain lots of antioxidants, which keep those fats stable and stop them oxidising. The iron found in some fruits and vegetables comes packaged up with natural vitamin C, which aids its absorption. This complex interrelationship is called ‘food synergy’ and it’s something we can’t hope to replicate in a pill, or even a shelf full of pills. It’s one more powerful argument for a diet based on whole foods.

SOME SIMPLE WHOLE FOOD SWAPS

Instead of a sugary breakfast cereal…

Have a portion of jumbo oats or medium-coarse oatmeal – cooked as porridge or soaked overnight with orange juice (see here).

Instead of a bag of crisps…

Try unsalted raw nuts. Or take a completely different route with a couple of ‘hard-boiled’ eggs.

Instead of a shop-bought smoothie…

Just have a portion of whole fresh fruit.

Instead of heating up pasta sauce from a jar...

Toss cherry (or other) tomatoes in a tray with a little oil, garlic and herbs and roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes or so, until they burst and release their juices. Stir into wholemeal pasta.

Instead of a white bread sandwich with cheese and pickle…

Try a wholegrain flatbread with hummus and sliced pepper or grated carrot.

Instead of a chocolate biscuit...

Eat some whole almonds or raw cashew nuts with a couple of squares of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids).

Instead of grabbing a sugar-sweetened cereal bar…

Carry a little pot of nuts, seeds and raisins or dried apricots.

Instead of a curry ready-meal…

Roast a trayful of chunky chopped veg (e.g. sweet potato, cauliflower and onions) with bashed garlic cloves, curry powder and a dash of oil in a hot oven. Finish with flaked almonds and serve with brown rice and natural yoghurt.

THE ‘WHOLE’ FAMILY

It is important to remember that a good diet – a diet of whole, healthy, unprocessed foods – is no less vital for a young person than an older one. There’s a perception that we only really need to start worrying about our health when we hit 50, our waistlines expand and our cholesterol heads north, and that youngsters can ‘get away with’ eating any old crap they fancy. It’s just not true.

There are a few differences in precise requirements: children need a bit less fibre, for instance; and some foods, such as whole or chopped nuts, are inappropriate for the very young. But the basic message is simple – our children need healthy food just as much as we do. They need it now, and to help them build healthy habits for life.

Good health is built day by day, from the moment we are born. Children who don’t get plenty of fresh veg, fruit and other whole foods are missing out on essential nutrients during their most crucial stage of development. Diets high in sugar, fat and salt can impact a child’s immune system and lead to obesity and the ill health that comes with it. The better the food you feed your kids while they are growing up, and the more you can help them maintain a sensible weight, the greater their chances of a healthy adulthood, right into old age.

That’s not to suggest any of us of more advancing years have missed the whole food boat. Far from it. These changes will help everyone to have a healthy, balanced immune system, and as Covid-19 has grimly insisted, that benefit can be literally life-saving. The Go Whole project needs to be family-wide and age-deep.

Helping kids to love the good stuff

You don’t have to tell me that it’s generally harder to get kids to eat chickpeas or cabbage than coco pops or chicken dippers. We find it hard not to tussle with them as they reject anything green, or anything crunchy or anything leafy, refuse sauces or ‘wet’ food, or don’t like different foods ‘touching each other’ on their plates! Convincing youngsters to limit their consumption of refined, processed foods – and eat more fruit, veg, whole grains, pulses and all the other good foods I’ve talked about – is not easy. Not at all. But there are ways and means, dare I say ‘tricks’ even, that can help us succeed.

Play to their strengths: if your kids only like raw carrots and peas, say, don’t despair, that’s two great whole foods they do like. So, let them have their fill as often as possible, even as you offer up new foods for them to try alongside.

Here are a few observations and suggestions that might come in useful:

Be a good role model. A parent who baulks at broccoli or says ‘yuk’ to sprouts is not helping their child. Focus on the fruit and veg you do love, and let them see you loving it! The more, healthy whole foods you tuck into, enthusiastically, in front of your children, the more normal and desirable those foods will seem.

Let them play with their food. This can build children’s confidence around new foods and encourage them to accept healthy ingredients. One study has shown that 3–4-year-olds who were encouraged to play with fresh fruit and vegetables – picking them up with their hands, squashing or bending them, making pictures with them on a plate, with no pressure to actually eat them – were more willing subsequently to taste not only those fruit and veg, but also others that hadn’t been part of their play.

Take the pressure off. Encourage kids to try healthy foods but don’t force or bribe them. The old, ‘you can have ice cream once you’ve finished that cauliflower’ ploy is hugely counterproductive, creating conflict and reinforcing the idea that veg is a trial to be undergone. Take the pressure off yourself too – if one particular mealtime hasn’t gone the way you wanted it to, shrug it off and move on.

Understand the biology. It’s perfectly natural for small children to be cautious, even fearful, around new or unfamiliar foods. In our distant past, this trait would have been highly desirable – an inbuilt instinct that protected newly mobile young humans from ingesting poisonous or dangerous foods ‘in the wild’.

Get them shopping, prepping, cooking and growing with you. This is a key way to