Ferne McCann: Food Confessions, Family Life & Finding Balance

0:00Welcome to Catching Up With The Royals, a brand new show with me, Richard Coles. And me, Emily Andrews. Every week we'll be going beyond the headlines, lifting the lid on what life is really like behind the palace walls. Hello sir, good morning. I'm the Sun's new royal correspondent. Oh, he said, look at me up and down. Things are looking up. We'll be diving into the moments everyone's talking about. What does the world owe you if all of a sudden you've handed back your crown? Meghan and Harry can't keep hold of their stuff. We'll reveal the secrets of an organisation usually shrouded in mystery and explore defining moments of royal history to see how the past still shapes the monarchy today.

0:38Now, you actually knew Princess Diana. I think one of the ways she acquired power was through that relationship with the present. But before that interview, no-one had really spoken and been so open. Was that a game-changer? So, join us every week wherever you get your podcasts, on YouTube and on Saturdays on 5, as we catch up with the Royals.

1:03Today, we're joined by Fern McCann. Welcome to the podcast, Fern. You appeared on our screens first in 2020, 2020, 2013, when you were on The Only Way Is Essex, but you've since done I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, which I'm going to get into later for sure. SAS, Who Dares Wins, Dancing on Ice, and your own shows as well. You've had your own documentaries, Fern McCann, My Family and Me is the latest one. But over the last few years, you've been talking a lot about your health, your mental health and also your family. And you've now started a food and nutrition app with your husband, partner.

1:41So, yes, I have a mental health and well-being app, which I was original founder. That's called Shura. And then I've also just launched a recipe app called Food with Fern. Very exciting. And you're about to also launch a podcast called Every Cloud. Can you tell us a little bit about it? Oh, I'm so excited for it because it feels very purpose driven. I think with all the things that I've done, you know, you've listed some of them there. This just feels really exciting to host a podcast. And it's something that I haven't done before, but it brings a lot of my personal journey that I don't think people have necessarily heard.

2:22so I would describe it as a real healing podcast that is actually going to give people a lot of hope we talk about all things life really whether it's about building confidence to really discovering and showing up as your true authentic self and then we also interview I say we because I'm joined by different every cloud experts from psychotherapists to life coaches and we interview all sorts of people, different guests and celebrities to, you know, influencers, et cetera. Amazing. And they share their every cloud journey. So, you know, whatever they've been through and the silver lining moments from that.

3:05So yeah, I can't wait. I can't wait. I'm impatient. I'm like, I want everyone to hear it. But yeah, it's been a real passion project. Well, it's coming very soon, which is very exciting. But today we're going to talk a little about your journey and I always like to go back to the start yeah where were you growing up what was it like what was it like in your household and the food you were eating yeah so I would describe myself as a massive foodie like it is my biggest joy and pleasure in my life is cooking for my loved ones having people around hosting and going out for dinner with friends like everything around food and this absolutely stemmed from my childhood my mum and dad both individually incredible cooks amazing um different styles and really like our happy our happiness like the happy place was in the kitchen and my memories of um my childhood was they always had friends around I think that's where I got my hosting um my hosting from but they always had people around always was you know in the kitchen hosting a barbecue or having a roast dinner and I think my mum and dad done a great job to expose me and my sister to all different types of food although I'll never forget when I was younger my mum used to cook this I've got a real bugbear about casseroles like you know like a slow cooker which is mad because I actually use it now for my kids especially in the autumn and winter but I used to walk in I'm like oh you've cooked that casserole again um but yeah I really feel like they just done such a great job of just like giving us all sorts you know sounds like they loved cooking and they cooked you proper food but what was in that casserole oh I can't even remember like carrot it was the smell of the slow cooker but carrots and I couldn't even tell you she didn't do it that often they did do and I thought this was actually quite cool back then they we used to have a raclette do you know what that is yeah I do know what that is explain it and what I loved about that so it's like it's almost like um you're cooking in the middle isn't it and then there's like flames and you could for me as a child it felt just so cool and independent to be like putting a bit of cheese on the meat or cooking your veg on the on the stone and under the flame on the hot plate so that was really cool and I think that I love that about meals is I love social eating so if it's interactive as well like just all for it amazing it's a real social occasion and the fact that it was so ingrained ingrained in your family is really good so well done to your parents yeah they've done a good job with the food for sure amazing so were you a fussy eater or did you just love what they cooked and eat everything I don't know I don't think I was a fussy eater actually and dinner like table manners was really important my dad was quite strict on that way more than I hasn't rubbed off on me with my children because I'm far more laid back but there was like no singing allowed at the table we had to like put our knives and forks together and that that demonstrated that we was finished we weren't allowed to leave the table until they were sort of satisfied with what we we had eaten and it was a real like family occasion like we would all sit down and have dinner together unless my you know my dad used to work in the city it was it brought us all together at the end of the day um but yeah yeah happy memories memories nice so was there a favorite family tradition or takeaway you'd have every night of the week like fish and chip fridays you know what I never forget actually my dad always used to make homemade chips and I thought it was the coolest thing yeah like properly done um they were always in the kitchen I know I keep saying it but they were always making something whether it was curry night or barbecues roast dinner roast dinner was probably one of the first things that I actually learned how to cook but also when I was a child my mum always had me and my sister in the kitchen helping out helping out making taking cakes, taking our plates up to the sink and yeah, just being involved.

7:28That's so good. I think there was a study, I can't remember, I'm going to be terrible at quoting it exactly, but there's a study that shows the biggest predictor of a kid's future success. It's got nothing to do with where they go to school, got nothing to do with typical indicators. It's got everything to do with how many chores they're made to do as a kid, interestingly. So So I think that involvement of like giving someone the self-esteem of, look, I'm making this, you're going to help. This is your role. This is what you're going to do. And figuring that process out from a young age is really important.

7:59Yeah, it's rewarding, isn't it? Really important. Yeah, it's so good. And you just see it in the little, like I literally almost like first time as a dad, probably having almost a bit of a meltdown yesterday because my son is only three and a half. He went to put like a box on the table. But as he did it, he knocked over some of my like work samples that I had on my desk and he ran off crying. And I was like, what happened? I didn't even tell him off. Yeah. It was the self-esteem thing of like he literally said, I always get it wrong. And I was like, oh, it's so bad that you need to remember to give them that moment of like, no, no, you can do this.

8:39you're in control and you can do it well and like help them teach frustration age because it's so good but like i now one of my routines is jack's wants like a warm milk every morning like it's just a little glass of warm milk but we heat heat it up on the coffee machine little frother so it goes all frothy and nice so sweet but i make him do it so i'm like go turn the coffee machine on you know get get everything ready like i have to help him get the stuff out of the fridge and whatever but like he's involved in the process yeah I think that's so important with so many people have lost in today's world and and I feel like when they're more involved they're more in kind to eat it because I've got one sort of I'd say she's borderline fussy she's getting good now Sunday who's nearly eight she really she eats a lot of variety but she's more fussier and like every dinner she'll push back on I think this is a control thing whereas Finty that's mine and Laurie's first child together and he had um a son previously that we're like trying to undo all of our wrongs do you know what I mean and like trying to make it right with Finty so she's a real foodie but with Sunday I try I've got to catch her in the right mood and when she gets involved and helps me with the chopping and what have you and you know what this is so crazy because she's now she's into vlogging even though it goes and it goes to no one it's just on her ipad how old she she's nearly eight she's vlogging at eight yeah so she's vlogging just random stuff so that the way that i can get her to like cook with me i'm like let's do a vlog and she's like okay right but it doesn't go anywhere yeah it's just but then actually i think my point is when you know like with the coffee when they the milk frother sorry when they're involved in the process like she's it feels so rewarding because she's like oh I've made this meal and then she's more likely to eat it yeah yeah yeah I mean it's I think it's a really important thing but it's hard because as parents are super busy and you just want to get stuff done quickly and that's why we often go stick the iPad on I'm just going to sort this out quickly so we've got to try and make more time I think but let's we'll get into family in a bit let's talk about when you left home first of all yes have a good understanding of cooking did your parents teach you to cook or did you go out into the world and start eating micro meals what oh no so and I I only left home because I was pregnant and my mum was like I think maybe now now you're having a baby you might need to you know flee the nest so to speak um but I left and I had this gorgeous little apartment and I was there for three months went back to my mum's whilst I had the baby like you know obvious reasons and then and then I went back to my apartment but I think I was about 28 then so I had a good understanding of how to cook and had some independence in the kitchen and yeah always had that interest in cooking and helping my mum so I was yeah pretty good nice okay so what was it like then kind of moving into TOWIE living there what was food like it's quite an unhealthy lifestyle because there's this thing called the snack box which I think most people that work in tv will know what the snack box is like and it's just so unhealthy it's like crisp chocolate but it's everything that you sort of on TOWIE that you want to like indulge and eat in uh eat and it's like just quick grab need that boost of energy um but yeah it was unhealthy lifestyle I was I guess that was like my party day so I'd be out on the weekend back filming probably ordering a domino's to make myself feel better on a hangover you know it's just like early 20s yeah you don't care but when I moved out of my mum's actually it was it was an exciting time for me because I felt like I had this freedom to be able to invite friends around and then really actually I think when you're a foodie when you're a home cook like I don't care what anyone says but I love the compliments if so if if I've like given if I've like done a big roast dinner and everyone's quiet I'm like guys guys like what tell me it's amazing um so that was exciting for me to move out of my mum's and actually have the chance to cook for my friends to lead it yeah it was it was fun times nice that's cool yeah I mean it's good you had a good ground right yeah you learned how to cook a roast was she actively teaching you then to go yeah you need to learn to cook this is what you I think I think it's because I've got some friends that you either enjoy cooking or you don't and I think I've got some friends that are just like oh I just find it such a chore and I get that like you're either into it or you're not and I think I just always and my sister she's a she's an amazing cook as well I think it definitely just stemmed from our childhood and I've always been interested in it and I know good flavors like I am a bit of a food snob I know good food and bad food well that's a good thing I think you should know good food and bad food it's so important to our body but then let's talk about flavors and I'm a celebrity get me out of here because I was watching a video this morning of you eating something on I'm a Celebrity.

14:03A spider. Yeah, that was quite cool, wasn't it? Well, lots of people didn't agree because it had so many Ofcom complaints. Complaints, yeah. Obviously, I was none the wiser and was just doing it just to actually win some food. But what did a spider taste like? I can't even remember. Like, you eat them weird and disgusting. You can't even call them delicacies. Like it's just, but it's part of the territory when you go on that show, isn't it? Of course. Yeah, I ate all sorts and ugh. I mean, you just do it just to win the stars because you're so hungry. So you're doing these trials to obviously, but then when they get you the food and that like sack comes down, it's always something random.

14:51Like I actually had to butcher a possum. What? Yes, honestly. and it's like yay we've won the stars and it comes down it's like it's something just so like an ostrich egg and you're like what am I to and there's no instruction but actually that was really good cooking experience for me because I had to cook for 13 people yeah and to try and like spice up rice and beans was really challenging like I had this moment where because you you swap job roles and um but I always got voted to be um like the camp cook and Chris Eubank he said that I was the the best the best person at making his rice and beans because I got a little hack and I've seen them do it on previous years because it's actually 10 years since I've been in the jungle wow mental this year okay so I used to fry it make little patties out the beans and actually fry it you have no flavor spices salt or pepper but you're changing the texture big difference there you go fry your beans into bean pan yeah good shout that's really cool I mean I watch you eat that spider and oh my god I hate spiders and that was it was alive like crawling in your mouth horrendous I have got like spider legs still hanging out my mouth it didn't help with my I'm also very afraid of spiders.

16:17It didn't help. I mean, I have to say, probably the wrong phrase, but you've got balls to do that. I couldn't believe what you did. And then I watched you buried alive in a box with like 40 snakes and they were like crawling over your face and you just closed your eyes and you breathed through it. I don't think I could do it again, though. You know that. I think I'd be more squeamish now. I've had children and I think I was just more, yeah, more ballsy when I was younger. And you had to do it because it's the pressure of going back with no stars and everyone's hungry. And everyone's hungry and disappointed.

16:58But I mean, fair play. Yeah. Did it. And it was just crawling over your nose and stuff. I was like, oh my God. It was crazy time. Hardcore. But you've done I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity SAS, Who Dares Wins, which was the toughest. SAS was hands down the toughest show mentally, physically, because it's very real and they, the cameras are rigged. So you, you rarely have a producer. And even when there are, you know, cameramen and women, they are not really allowed to talk to you. So it was very real. It's completely led by the DS and you have to pay homage to like, homage yeah to the to to the realness of like what these guys go through yeah so it was really tough I was in Jordan in the Middle East away from Sunday she was four she had her fourth birthday when I was there so the mum guilt but I was like but the it for me I was like this is if if it was a real situation you know people do miss their children's birthdays and what have you so I felt so far away from home my reason for doing SAS was to be an inspiration for my daughter but then the reason why I wanted to leave was because of my daughter it was just such a mind yeah my in fact yeah food wise which was yeah interesting one very physical yes so it's a diet of um let me just remember this protein and carbs that's it and and and a little bit of salt nothing there was like a banana that was a treat one day and then you're like winning yeah crazy but what is is is is really interesting is they give you the right amount of portion to sustain and fuel you.

19:02All that exercise and physicality. But what was worse, the food in SAS or the food in the jungle? Oh, that's a really good question. The spider or the ration packs? It's just that you can't compare. They're both really challenging. I want to say SAS because... Worse. Because you want... It's just such a... It was so tough, that show. I learned the most about myself on that show it was just really challenging what did you learn well I wanted to leave every day and I I'm not a quitter I got to the very end and passed which was just an absolute miracle like the DS couldn't believe it I think just for pure like resilience they had to pass me but I was always someone who was quite impulsive and I think that when you live like that like sometimes you you make not bad decisions but maybe not the healthiest ones and then on that show I learned I love that quote um how do you eat an elephant in one day bit by bit and for me I just kept repeating that in my mind because I was like this is such a mammoth task and I was like let's just go to like let me just do the next challenge and then let me just wake up the next day and then I'll see how I feel and every day I cried and I really had to get a grip of my emotions but what it taught me was that you know life is is such a big deal but we can we can just take it bit by bit and we don't have to look at it as some like big mammoth task and we can chip away at things and not just go all in and I think that's how I lived my life is just like going all in and yes I'll do that and actually it taught me to really take a moment and make considered decisions instead of rash ones yeah one is the little decisions that compound and build up over time right so the fact and it you know it's hard when you're thinking about this thing in the future as opposed to let me just make a healthier choice today and not drink that shit coca-cola and drink this healthier thing and if you just make that today that choice and then do the same tomorrow it compounds as opposed to oh I've got to follow this really hard diet plan for six months and then I'm going to get this body yeah you know because that just you set yourself up to fail yeah so that's really good it's really really good point about healthy habits yeah like when you go like all in and set yourself unrealistic expectations and targets like you end up falling off the wagon don't you especially with diet and you end up binging because you've starved yourself or what have you.

21:47Yeah. I mean, time and time again, diets are proven to fail because they're not sustainable. They're not part of your life. So it is a lifestyle if you want to. It's all about the healthy lifestyle. It's all about the healthy lifestyle. So let's get into it. Let's talk about now, because you've been sharing a lot about your fitness, your health, your family. You know, what's one of the things you've learned, you know, building a food and a nutrition app? Like what's what's food like for you today with your family? I, well, I work out so I can eat what I want within reason. Like that is one of my main reasons.

22:24I actually said to my PT this morning, I was like, do you know what? Right now I'm sustaining. Monday to Friday, I'm healthy. Saturday and Sunday, it's an indulgence. I wouldn't say it's unhealthy, but it's like I'm adding cream to my dinners. I'm going all in. Whereas Monday to Friday pretty clean and I sustain that by working out really hard but I absolutely have to work out for all reasons like yes I want to keep in shape I want to look good but mentally how it helps me sleep how I show up as a parent it is so vital and I think with fitness like I've I've had like pre-sas I got into my boxing then I'll get into my swimming or whatever it is but at the moment I'm doing like, like it's a class called metabolic and strength training.

23:17So it's like kind of similar to High Rocks. But food with my family is, oh, I mean, look, it's, it's challenging in an ideal world. I'd love us all to be sat down eating the same meal, but I make little like concessions and changes for each so like we say that Finty likes sloppy dinners sorry hate that word but like you know like the lasagna and the this and the that although all of a sudden she's now she like walked off with my lamb chop the other day Laurie's like she's a carnivore I'm like calm down and then Sunday's very fussy and then she she likes to have her vegetables on the side for example tonight I'm doing like a chicken sir fry noodley type dish and then my mum well I'm not sorry my mum is currently making it she's doing me a favour and cooking it at home for me today because I'm here um and she's like I'll do Sunday's vegetables on the side and Laurie's very much like why are you doing that but I you know we just want our children to eat and I know the foods that they love Finty like I said is an absolute foodie a Sunday is really important to me like all sitting down and having friends over family and having a Sunday roast if we're around obviously but yeah it's i feel like with my children i'm very balanced like oh you're going to be really against this oh why am i trying to committed to this now no you're going to be you're going to judge me so now right okay so oh people are going to come for me no it's all right do it look we're all parents oh right we know how hard it is thursday sunday had her cross country she's like a mini athlete she is unbelievable she wins her sports day she wins her cross country and I was like crying because she got a little trophy it was first boy first girl amazing she come third so she got first girl trophy and I said to her the morning you can pick whatever you want tonight because like for me food is a reward like it is you know like what should we have for that's like my main topic of conversation like what we eating tonight I was like You can have whatever you want and it's your choice.

25:33What was her choice? She picked McDonald's, right? Yeah. This feels like a confession, right? Do you know, I haven't told anyone, I even lied to my PT this morning. He's like, what did you have? And I went, all right, I had a double cheeseburger. But I also ordered a fillet of fish. That's all right. Is it okay? Okay. No. I'm going to do it. Just go for it. Do you know what? Laurie really beat me up about it. He was like, the kitchen stinks. then I was like all right sorry I don't always have McDonald's like it was Sunday's choice but do you the reason why I think it's bad I thought you thought it was going to be bad because I'm rewarding her with the bad food yeah I mean look I think everything they have to learn it for themselves and I think if you give your kids a good grounding in food which you really do eat vegetables and give them home-cooked meals then if you're occasionally going to have a McDonald's it's not going to kill you right yeah and fine as a treat if that's what they want yeah I remember my mum always used to say to me and I never called her out on it I should have done but she was like what do you want for dinner and I was like oh I just want sweets or whatever and she would like sure okay you can have a plate of Smarties for dinner is that what you want and then as a kid you'd be like oh no maybe not right and you almost have to let them learn it for themselves is my view.

26:55So to entirely restrict it, then they're going to develop a complex layer that they've never had it. And then when they leave home, they're going to be like gorging on it. Yeah. Whereas if you show it to them and then they can have, occasionally it's a treat, but they know it's not great. And then, you know, you're cooking them real food. I don't think it's a bad thing. Yeah. So, you know, and Jesus, like Jack's asked for a bloody ice cream every day of the week at the moment. Oh, I know. You know, sometimes I give in and you just do it because you have to and you just of course what do you mean to you I'm a parent as well sometimes I just need him to be quiet for five minutes oh the confessions are going out today yeah but look I mean look you can't hide them from it but you can do things that are better yes so you you but you were at McDonald's and you ate a cheeseburger and a fillet of fish so you had two burgers it's this new burger actually I can't remember what it's called I mean it was banging but then I think I was hungry after I felt I really beat myself up because I was like I shouldn't have had the fillet of fish I didn't wait I need to clarify this because did you have the french fries and the milkshake and the drink no I didn't have the milkshake and I did have a water okay very good does that make it but I did order that that big garlic mayo oh yeah I mean whatever so you had french fries yeah yeah yeah okay fine I feel like you went you went on in No, I'm not trying to judge you, but I'm trying to give people a tip, actually, which is, you know, I have a burger sometimes, believe it or not.

28:24No, no, because I love a smash burger. I love like a fake away. Like burger is, having a smash burger is my death row meal. Oh, right. There you go. So you've got to do it. Not a McDonald's one, though. No, a proper one. But my point is, actually, a burger in itself isn't that bad. No. Because it's a good bit of protein and meat with some bread. Sure, McDonald's is like super ultra processed and loads of, like there's probably 30 ingredients in the bun instead of like. four which it should be but my point is if I go to a burger joint I love it and I'll just avoid the french fries avoid the coca-cola just have water then often I'll get like a double patty so you get the double if you go to a proper burger joint you get the double patty and one of those burgers with two quarter pounders in it that'll fill you up do you know I've I've got I've got a meal that I feel like you'll be really proud of because it is this is like our fake away Friday and it's smash burgers but I serve them they're like almost like burger tacos on the mini piadinas only four ingredients come on look at you go yes and I make like a homemade burger sauce with greek yogurt do you know what it's amazing because it's one of the fastest meals you can make like if I'm time poor and you know I've got two kids running around my ankles and I've just finished work and I'm like shit what we're going to eat oh my go-to is a burger yeah But I'll make it myself from minced meat.

29:44You don't need to put anything with it, just salt, pepper, maybe some mustard, whatever you want. Smash it together, fry it up. And the next thing you know, you've got a really healthy protein-based meal, which then you can add your gherkins to. I often just put it in a lettuce leaf. So I get romaine lettuce and stick two of them either side with some ketchup, mayo, cheese, onion, whatever you like. And you've got a healthy dinner. I feel so hungry. Do you? I'm like, we need to stop talking about food. It is lunchtime. Yes. And we haven't been fed. So no to the producers. No, I'm just kidding.

30:18But look, those moments, those treats you talk about, like you can't get away from them. Food is so entwined in our life that it's really important that you still have them, I think. And, you know, I center my weekends around food. So do I. Like I love going out for brunch. Yes. I love it. And you want to be able to have that treat and that nice thing, but you can just do it in slightly healthier ways. I mean, look, with my kids' meals and like Monday to Friday, I always say as long as there's a really good source of protein and they're having some sort of vegetable on the side and they eat a lot of pasta and this sort of thing.

30:59But as long as for me, like I'm just like, I just want them to eat. And if it's home cooked and I know what's going in and they've got they're eating good protein and they're eating their veggies then I'm happy and your little list is two right yeah starting to push back on um she has moments and I have like a meltdown I'm like oh no and that that's the thing is that um if if they if you give up like and you're like oh whatever we'll just feed them their favorites that's where I feel like it goes downhill Yeah, exactly. So I think it's consistency and persistence. Continue to give them the, you know, the veggie, the crudité before their dinner.

31:46Continue to give them, even if they're sort of pushing it around the plate. Like, it really makes me laugh. Finty, I do them tender stem broccoli and Finty just eats the little leaf and just leaves the stalks. So I'm like, fine. yeah fine jacks we called them trees for jacks and then he liked it because he thought they were trees but yeah you try everything right i mean i've gone as far as making buying pasta shells so i can like put the mincemeat inside the shell because he went through a phase where he wouldn't eat the meat and he would pick it off his plate and then he's just eating pasta so i'm not having that so i started stuffing it in the shell and i'm like oh my god the things we do yeah for our kids and my latest one is quite wild so although quite wild but quite a good hack right so I always go on about eggs being one of the healthiest things you can eat nature's multivitamin but getting my kid to eat them another story and he loves pasta like every kid so the other day I poured the pasta poured the water out cracked two eggs into it grated a load of cheese into it and just mixed it all together so it was like a cheesy sauce basically on pasta but essentially he was getting scrambled eggs yeah with a little few bits of pasta pieces oh delicious the whole thing he loved it and it took like two minutes to cook so you that's my point around we all go through the same difficulties with kids and occasions and whatever but you don't have to just give in and feed him plain pasta with cheese no way like get the eggs in there he won't even know yeah eating scrambled eggs with a bit of pasta on the side right um so that's the way i try and look at things because it's hard we have to find our little hacks as parents don't we 100 % hidden like hidden veg pasta sauces and it's funny you mention eggs because I feel like most parents have always got this like go eat eggs I've been saying to Sunday like please she used to love having just like an egg omelette and then when she started pushing back but she's overcome it now now she's having her like dippy eggs with you know with the soldiers and and fin 20, I mean, I make the, I put loads of eggs in really fluffy pancake.

33:54There's ways to get them in. I mean, you can make pancakes with eggs and banana and nothing else. You literally just mash a banana, mix it with two eggs and fry that up. And it basically tastes like pancakes because of the sweetness from the banana, no flour, super healthy. And your kids are eating pancakes for all they know. Right. Do you know what I mean? There's ways to do it. And I think it's a hard line between I find it hard to know where the line is in terms of what's kind of training bad habits versus you know where I need to be strict and where I can be cheeky and squeeze in like what's right but I think to your point you've got to keep trying yes because they go through phases I do think it's the encouragement from the parent that's why I've because I like a little bugbear is like I don't think I've ever met a fussy eating adult.

34:48Have you? Oh, yeah. There's been, I know some fussy eaters. Really? Yeah. I'm just like, you're like missing out on so much. And that's the thing, like that would be like my worst. If Finty and Sunday were fussy eaters, as they got older, I'd be like, oh, you're just missing out on so much joy. So I think that I've continuously encouraged Sunday, just try, just try. And she's got now such a wide variety. She now likes nuts and olives. Both of my girls absolutely love olives. Now Sunday's all of a sudden decided that she now likes avocado. She watched something on TV and she was like, oh, do you know tuna and sweet corn and mayo mix?

35:37So I'm like, yeah, like she's just seen it on something. I'm like, do you want tuna now? So I'm like, okay, you know, I don't mind a little bit of mayo because then she's eating like, you know, the goodness with the tuna. But yeah, I think it's all about balance, isn't it? Especially when you've got children. Well, but I think, you know, well, this is what I try and tell myself, although it's hard to remember it all the time, is like as long as we as parents set a good foundation, they will all kind of by osmosis. I think so. over to them and we shouldn't sweat the small stuff right i agree beat us up every meal but kids lunch boxes what's going in your kids lunchbox uh sunday has school dinners and if they don't like the main meal then they can have either tomato pasta or jacket potato and we've i had this thing called jacket potato gate where in the end i had to email the teacher i'm not one of their mums at all i'm very laid back but i was like subject jacket potato what happened with it well just every day she was coming back saying like oh i said what did you have and listen jacket potato isn't bad because you you know beans and and the cheese so you get the praise fine whatever i was like what are you what did you have for lunch just like jacket potato and i was like you can't have it every day like you you're not that fussy and um so that was that um but yes if she goes to tennis camp or what have you okay let's think about this i feel like you're gonna be like it's ultra processed so she'll have a marmite bagel okay bagel is not the best but yeah or like one of them yeah it is what it is i just feel like she needs to have some sort of and she's not at the age yet where she wants to i i she would have like a pasta or something or she like she actually likes sushi but i'm not gonna send her in with sushi i mean it's a bit road although she does like seaweed i've got a feeling you're gonna tell me this is ultra processed as well you know the little seaweed packs yeah so she has a pack of them um

37:49yeah okay yeah there's something worse that occasionally she'll have a packet of crisps But then she'll have her pepper cucumber. She loves hummus. Yes. And I know that can be packed with, you know, all the rape seed shite and all of that. Look, I'm just trying my best. And then she will have, she doesn't like cheese, which I find quite difficult with Sunday. And then she'll have fruit. at the moment now she's gone into year three they have to take a snack and fruit so she's been taking seeds because they can't take nuts i know so seeds and rice cakes are they okay yeah so rice cakes um seeds and fruit so yeah not bad but there's no protein in that lunchbox oh yeah but but what else can i hear you go in with a rotisserie chicken darling she's at the age that she doesn't want to be open opening the tupperware with the no so it's a snack obviously please tell me i i wouldn't be i want to know what can i send her in with protein i mean but we talk about balanced diet right and you need your protein going with a boiled egg is she like i can't do that to her that would just be criminal.

39:11What's wrong with a boiled egg? It stinks. Listen, I love, that's like one of my go-to, but that's not fair. Whoever had the egg sandwiches did get bullied in school. And I love an egg mayo sarnied, but it's just, it's not on for Sunday. Opening up a little Tupperware with a boiled egg, that would be awful. No, fair enough. But like, I guess Marmite on the bagel, you could try and get some like roast chicken or something on the bagel. So it's a bit more filling. Okay, right, okay. okay for the lunchbox right like i get it they're gonna eat sandwiches everyone eats sandwiches it's easy for kids but like marmite nutritionally isn't that bad there's nothing wrong with it but you're basically eating just bread carbs it's just bread and then you've fruit and veg is fantastic that's good but it's also carbs right and then you've got your crisps or you know whatever else you're adding in so there's very little good fat or good protein in that meal got it just not really a balance meal if we're trying to think about the whole thing yeah but i i totally understand it's hard because i'm making jack's pack lunch three days a week when he goes to nursery and it's it's a ball ache right and then she so then i was added she's only just got into ham sandwiches but that's crap isn't it yeah not the ham don't do the ham often it's what about turkey slices so you can get decent turkey slices which are just turkey the thin ones it depends you've got to look at the ingredients so the cheap really thin ones are often super ultra processed and they're like reconstituted meat and so there'll be like 80 to 90 turkey with a load of additives if you buy the expensive like sliced one you can get just proper turkey breast okay and that's why ham's bad essentially it's an ultra processed meat the way most of those slices are which is a bit of shit And, you know, the World Health Organization class it as a class two carcinogen.

41:02Yet, literally everyone puts it in their kids' lunchbox every day. And what about sausages? Again, depends on the quality. Nothing wrong with a sausage if it's made properly. Some of them have got added nitrates in them. And I mean, if you look at a Richmond sausage, it's less pork than it is other stuff. It's like 46%. Oh, it's just, yeah. It's scary. So quality does matter. And it's hard. Kids' lunchbox is hard. Maybe like a little chicken sarnie next summer, a chicken wrap or something. Yeah, I mean, you said she doesn't like cheese. I do cheese most of the day. I know. That's the annoying thing.

41:35See, I find dinner's easier for Sunday, but she's not having lunch, packed lunch very often, though. No, mostly baked potatoes. She's, yeah, grown out of that now. It's all good. Well, listen, I get it. It's hard. It's not about judgment. It's just trying to figure out what we can do to give them the best start in life and actually help the little ones. Right. But we need to move on. We need to move on. So this section of the podcast is where we get into the good, the bad and the healthy of what you are doing. OK. So less of the family and more about you. Yes. One thing that's good in your diet at the moment and you're proud of.

42:13Oh, I love sardines. Oh, wow. Absolutely love anchovies and I'm relatively healthy, I'll be honest. So the good is, you know, all my delicious meals during the week, always high in protein and packed with nutrients, superfoods, colourful. Amazing. I mean, sardines are basically a superfood. One of the cheapest healthy foods. Oh, unreal. I actually love so many like store cupboard goods because they're packed with nutrients and affordable. And like some of the dishes that you can create from chickpeas or like just stuff that doesn't go off. Capers and pickles and all of that. Pickles need a moment.

43:03They need to. Oh, they're having a moment, aren't they? They are in my household. I mean, like pickled anything. gherkins eggs onions yum cabbage you name it it's just it was how we used to store food back in the day absolutely without refrigeration basically and it's just so healthy it's just salt water and vinegar it's phenomenal if some of them sometimes put additives in but like most of them are pretty clean um so they need to have a moment let's bring those back all right so now let's get into the rubbish the bad yes going on in your house what was the bad thing you're doing every week um I'm totally completely addicted to chocolate what kind and you know what I think for women I because I track my cycle and it is hormonal without a doubt like I can there's like about a four four day window in my cycle that I I don't even think about it it's so crazy and then there's other days where I'm like I need it like I finished my dinner and I'm like hunting through the cupboards like trying to find some chocolate from Christmas or what have you but yeah chocolate that's the bad yeah I mean are we talking milk chocolate are we talking oh um chocolate buttons uh dairy milk chocolate yes okay the worst kind yeah oh perfect It is the bad.

44:31No, it is the bad. But I mean, chocolate is such an easy one to get right, I think. Do you like dark chocolate? Yeah, but it just doesn't have the same. I do like dark chocolate. So can you like upgrade a little bit maybe to like a 70 % or 75? What about the protein chocolate spreads? Because I like dipping dates in them in the jar. Interesting. can I change that to so the best way to sort out a chocolate spread craving or habit is you can now get um even Pippa nut which is one of the main peanut butter brands do a chocolate spread now you can get it in all supermarkets but it's mostly nuts and hazelnuts particularly so it's like a hazelnut butter with cacao added so you get that same chocolate hit but instead of all the palm oil and the sugar you're getting mostly nuts and all the good fats ordering it as soon as we stop recording amazing you need to do that honestly it takes they taste amazing and that is a really simple fix a lot of the like proteiny ones will stuff it with maltitol and whey protein which in itself isn't bad but they'll put a load of additives in it um so the more you can get like a natural one based on nuts and then with just cacao added carry on okay delish that can sort your cravings out nice and then eat more dark chocolate yes because it's wild how much there's 56 sugar in buttons so right it's too much you've got to cut that out but let's talk about the health what's one swap health hack something you've learned recently that you're enjoying and that made a difference oh do you know what i've got loads of hacks i think my my favorite one is without a doubt my mayonnaise substitute which is greek yogurt i make because i'm i'm a condiment queen you should see the top of my fridge it is like outrageous but i again during the week i will swap any sauce out with greek yogurt so like i said the the burger sauce we have lamb chops and we mix a little bit of mint in and have like a yogurty dressing tatsiki sort of vibes and yeah yogurt with all of my dinners because I think that if you like that you know dipping something in which I'm like absolutely love then it's it's a great healthy swap high in protein get a really good one well it's so versatile right you can make it any which way like just a bit of cumin and lemon juice and salt sorts it out transforms it into like a middle eastern style dish what's your favorite yogurt flavoring favorite yogurt or like dip that you create from it i really think it is the i'm gonna go for the bur the burger like the burger sauce out of yogurt come on talk us through it okay i wouldn't even know i'm getting into this and then i'm like oh goodness now it's not but we talked about burgers being one of the healthiest things and now you've got the burger sauce to go with it okay but there's a few bits that aren't so healthy that's fine okay so you have your greek yogurt yeah bowl of that if you like do you know what i like to do if you're sort of halfway down of the yogurt pot make it in the yogurt pot yeah sustainability there for you yeah it off, less dishes.

48:10Exactly. So then a little squidge of ketchup. Yeah. Yeah. Don't kill me. Little squidge, little squidge of the yellow mustard. Yeah. Okay. Salt, pepper, bit of smoked paprika, chopped gherkins, a little bit of the gherkin juice to sort of, because Greek yogurt can be quite thick. Mixy, mixy, mixy. Stun believable. I love that. That is so good. But that is good. There's nothing unhealthy about that. I mean, a tiny bit of ketchup's not killing anyone. I know some of them are quite high in sugar, but I mean, with the amount of... I've got another one. Healthy Caesar. And I'm partial to an anchovy, right?

48:50So loads of chopped anchovy. Yeah. Because that is actually one of the main ingredients, even though people are, anchovies, no, it's like packed with flavour, so delicious. So Greek yogurt, grated Parmesan, healthy. Yeah, very healthy. um your chopped anchovies a little drop of white wine vinegar salt and loads of cracked black pepper because you know in a caesar it's sort of got all the black yeah that's it that's it and a splash of water because you want to make it drizzle yeah salad and again greek yogurt can be quite thick it is so good my sister made a salmon and king prawn caesar and i recreated it and it's just unreal with that dressing really healthy i feel like i know you're a busy woman and you've got a lot of ventures going on but i feel like you need to launch a range of yogurt based dressings because you've got it down can you cut this bit out of the edit just in case anyone copies calling my agent now right yes you're right because i'm really into it aren't i you're so into it and the aisle is full of crap right like most of those dressings are just like 70 % water and seed oil and there's a tiny bit of oh and a little bit of olive oil sorry in the Caesar one yeah so um yeah that's a really good shout actually you can take that one yeah for free I would ask we could do a joint partnership but you've got all your you're an entrepreneur you've got all my vitamins going on so I'm not entering the dressing game it's not my forte really I am the condiment I could call it condiment queen don't I'm getting excited I'm gonna be standing the train home on like chat gpt planning my whole business venture you've got the name now we just need a website let's buy the domains later and you're good to go condiment queen high high high in protein condiments i mean why not i can see them flying off the shelf right so i love it we digress all right let's get into the quick fire round yes i want to know the truth behind everything so what's your favorite go-to healthy snack cottage cheese on rice cakes with sliced beetroot strong and cracked black pepper come on that is really good that is a great cottage cheese is again one of those traditional underrated foods that everyone needs to bring back to have a moment favorite hide the veg meal hack for your kids yeah like a a tomato hidden veg sauce and sometimes I like it in there well like grate everything and then with a stick blender are you properly blend yeah proper blend absolutely everything I can never be bothered with that it's a good tip I just grate it yeah okay right okay yeah well it's just perfect because it's smooth and delicious no it's great great shout okay do you have cheat days with your family yes yeah we love a takeaway and we all look forward to a takeaway so it might be a Thai or an Indian or we we never eat Chinese though we do in a restaurant I just feel like there's a difference there is I mean I I just have bad associations with Chinese takeaways yeah greasy I feel really like after.

52:13Yeah, but yeah, we love like doing sushi night and love a takeaway. What's your go-to? Got to pick one. Oh, it's got to be, it's got to be curry night. Good curry. Oh, yes. I would eat it for breakfast. In fact, we went to India for our mental health app and we had to meet the tech team out there and they took us to the most unbelievable restaurants and I was having it for breakfast and it was just, yeah, unmatched. So good. So yummy. What's your curry choice? Oh, well, I think we'll be here all day. But I love, I absolutely love, because I know this is a really big thing. Laurie doesn't like to share.

53:01He likes to have his curry. And I'm like, there's no fun in that. So when my mum comes and joins us, whether we're in a restaurant or a takeaway she loves like the okra the sag paneer and then we'll get like a dal and um a like a chana masala and then i always have i love the prawn is it prawn puree the starter because the bread yeah is unbelievable so i'll have like a little prawn starter maybe some garlic prawns um which is a curry and then all the sides i'm like i like the bread and the the side oh the naan bread's the best bit for me i don't even order rice but you know what oh really no i'm just like give me the naan let me dunk it in i'm good to go oh yeah so what's your go-to naan choice i used to love peshwari but then i realized how much sugar was in it so i started so good i know i started doing garlic garlic oh nice i really like a um is it paratha yeah oh my god so basically i've watched on instagram how they made so they like they roll it out and then they like roll it and then they roll it again so it's like almost flaky kind of tastes a little bit like pastry like but it is diva please try it can you dm me when you when i've tried it yeah it's unreal paratha and do the kids eat it as well because when i order it the kids hate oh it's just just a winning one like they love the obvious chicken korma sunday sometimes has like a chicken ticker which she it really depends and i think that actually if you want to eat out with your kids like for me i love going to restaurants that is the best place to sort of start because there's yeah because it's like chicken pieces and bread and rice yeah so it's separate yeah make it simple and like mild flavors yeah that's a good shout i've never tried that and they love the poppadoms don't they they love the poppadoms but i basically gave up going out for dinner i just do brunches instead because i feel like the place where we live just has a kid's corner with toys and then they're going to eat some eggs and maybe pancakes or whatever else and you can kind of just have a bit of a morning i find it easier than dinner because with two one and three like oh carnage impossible well you just like we we did do it actually about a month ago me and my wife we went out for dinner with both of them and bodhi's just learned to crawl so he just wouldn't sit down oh it's not fun for you guys well basically either me or anya were outside the restaurant the entire meal so it was like going out for dinner on our own sitting there just eating on their own while one was with the kids outside so you might as well be at home yeah exactly so we don't do it that much but yeah you've got to do what you've got to do with kids right it's crazy um okay so you're on a desert island what three ingredients are you bringing even though you can eat the possum the spider and all that because you've nailed that but like what would you bring with you it's a great question some sort of flavor spice salt can you get it from the sea oh my god i'm having a blur you can get oh you can you'd be all right with that one okay not the salt then i don't want to waste an option some sort of spice let's go i'm gonna go with paprika because i feel like that's quite versatile flavor yeah um what else i'm gonna go because i feel like it will last like a stalk okay oh i feel really under pressure that's the point is quick fire around okay um we need a like countdown clock did it okay no i'm gonna go for a jar of gherkins nice like it they'll keep for a long time paprika and then maybe some chocolate buttons i'm sorry i'm doing it your one thing was chocolate so you're gonna so you're gonna put them all together chocolate buttons on your gherkins with a bit of paprika sprinkled over the top i do you know what if i was pregnant i'd probably crave that all together all together now wow and a bit of sea salt from the sea naturally very good okay so who had the best catering i'm a celebrity dancing on ice or who dares wins or tower you've been dancing on ice their catering was amazing and i made sure not that I was on the show for very long, but I made sure that I went in.

57:25I was like, this is unreal. Like I actually would get the runners to send me the menu the night before because they receive it. And because I get excited, I'm like, what am I going to eat tomorrow? It was very good catering. Really? Yeah, they smashed it. Good work, Dancing on Ice. I like that. Okay, so lastly, if you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Can't say buttons. Yes, no, it wouldn't be that. Oh, yeah, I think I'm going to say a really banging smashed burger. Good choice. Yeah. It's a fellow choice. It's just something. Oh, I don't know. Maybe a curry. Yeah, I think like just an unbelievable smashed burger, but it has to be like wrapped in the like greaseproof paper and the foil because then it's sort of like really delicious with just like unbelievable meat and just all of the everything in it onions lettuce do you know the secret to a juicy burger no but i feel like you're going to tell me yeah cover the when you're frying your burger in a pan cover it with a lid so all the moisture stays in then it goes in and makes it super juicy my mouth is salivating Yeah.

58:45Yum. Delish. That's a really good hat. Yeah, because otherwise people often overcook it and then it gets a bit dry and a bit bleh. Like you want the juice. Like you were saying about wrapping it up, it keeps the juice in and locks it all in there. I do love steak, though. We've been cooking our steak under the pizza oven, which sounds a bit rogue, but it is just so delicious. So we buy a big T-bone under our pizza oven and it cooks it to perfection. It's unreal. Amazing. Yeah. Good work. Yeah. How did you cook the possum? Oh, with much difficulty. I can't even remember. No one needs to know how you cook the possum.