Monday: beef, roast potatoes, beans and tomatoes Great to see Nigella using up Sunday’s leftover roast beef for lunch. Full marks for economy and zero waste. This is a nice, balanced meal – the beef is a great source of iron, the beans and tomatoes contain fibre and antioxidantsPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterTuesday: potato gratin, lemon and garlic chicken There’s nothing wrong with a little potato gratin and the slow-roasted chicken sounds delicious, but where are the vegetables, Nigella? A handful of steamed green beans would add colour to this dish and boost your vitamin intake to fight off winter coldsPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterWednesday: chocolate ice-cream Wow, didn’t we all dream of this when we were kids? But as adults, we know starting the day with chocolate won’t make us feel good. The sugar from the chocolate is easily absorbed by your body and can lead to a rush of energy followed quickly by a low. Slow-release energy from a bowl of porridge would definitely set you up better for the dayPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterWednesday: Baked potatoes, mince and cheese A great winter warmer for later in the day but go easy on the cheese. Potatoes don’t count towards that five-a-day target. Swapping the mince for low-salt beans would solve that problemPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterThursday: chicken and parmesan salad with lemon dressing; yoghurt with pomegranate This sounds a delicious and light salad with a healthy dressing. A wholegrain roll would be a great addition. We should have a starchy food with our meals as they give us energyPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterFriday: chocolate Philly “Major excitement in da house: chocolate Philly has arrived and have anointed a toasted bagel with it!”, tweeted Nigella (research tracked this product down to Kraft). Mmm, chocolate for breakfast again, this time accompanied by a white bagel. Switching for a wholegrain one would at least boost her fibre intakePhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterSaturday: saffron risotto Spot the vegetable? Definitely an area we need to work on, Nigella. Risottos can easily take vegetables and a handful of peas would complement the bacon. When it comes to fruit and vegetables, the more colourful the better. The pigments are rich in antioxidantsPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterSunday: macaroni cheese, beans and tomatoes Macaroni and cheese with vegetables definitely ticks some of the boxes. I’m happy to see the beans and tomato side, but go slow on the cheese as it’s high in saturated fat – a bad fat for our heartsPhotograph: Nigella Lawson/TwitterThe dietician’s verdict There is room for less nutritious foods as part of a balanced diet. Like Nigella, taking pleasure in the food you eat is linked with satisfaction. The more satisfying a meal, the less food you will need to eat to feel like you’ve had enough. However, a few tweaks to Nigella’s diet wouldn’t go amiss. Judging purely – and perhaps unfairly – from her tweets, many meals lack balance, with no fruit or vegetables in some and carbs or proteins omitted in others. Some meals are low on fibre and high on saturated fat. She could do with good slow-burning wholegrains for steady energy – wholewheat macaroni or a seeded bagel. She should combine a wholegrain starchy food with meat/fish or pulses accompanied by fruit and vegetables and would benefit from more good fats found in olive or rapeseed oils or oily fish such as sardines and salmon. Sasha Watkins is a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. Photograph: BBC/Pacific UK
