Louise Parker's beautiful, healthy recipes that can help you ditch the diet (2024)

Have you ever wished you could press a reset button and lean towards a life of great habits and health? 
I believe anyone can reset their habits, no matter what their history, age or obstacles.

As you may know, I loathe dieting and the ‘on-it/off-it’ mindset. It’s a vicious circle that keeps you in a whirlwind of setting intentions that are too hard, failing, sabotaging and repeating.

Instead I’ve always spoken about eating beautifully: good, whole, delicious food. Your food should seduce your senses, even if it’s just a bowl of porridge in the morning. It’s about putting the joy back into food and celebrating your new style of eating in every way possible.

Part of your job is to find the beauty in your meals when you prepare and present them, and make them a feast for the eyes. I’m not talking about rose petals and carving carrots here – but plate up proudly.

An extra minute spent on presenting your meals will send signals to your mind that you’re eating with joy and you’re loving what you eat. If you’re skipping the effort, you’re subconsciously telling yourself that it’s miserable and you’re deprived when you’re not.

I know the word ‘mindful’ is overused, but eating beautifully is about being conscious of what you’re fuelling yourself with. This week, begin to:

• Lay the table for breakfast before going to bed – you’ll wake up to a calmer morning. Eat at a table and never on the go, unless you really have to.
• Use your crockery, cutlery, place mats and linen napkins – don’t save wedding gifts for special occasions.
• Serve up your snacks with as much effort as possible 
– a side plate, tray and warm drink – and take at least 
five minutes without your phone to enjoy it.
• Plate up as you would for guests. Don’t overwhelm yourself with portion sizes and use fresh herbs, lemon, lime and garnishes to bring life and zest to your plate. Apply the ‘Insta-test’ – don’t serve yourself anything 
that you wouldn’t be proud to put on social media.
• In the winter months, when you’re in need of a PJ-sofa supper by the fire, lay out your coffee table nicely, including a few tea lights.
• Never eat standing up or connected to devices. Always sit down and, even if you are at your desk, turn away from the screen while you eat.
• When you’re packing snacks and lunches to enjoy on the go, choose foods that travel well and invest in beautiful containers that you can reuse.
• Make ceremony wherever you possibly can. Jars full of lovely goodies for sprinkling can turn a bowl of porridge into a thing of beauty.

‘Louise Parker: The 6 Week Programme’ (Octopus, £20) is out now, available for£16.99 atbooks.telegraph.co.uk

This citrus purée is well worth 
the effort, so batch it. It’s fab 
 spooned on thick Greek yogurt, pancakes or as a smoothie base. 
Be bold with the cinnamon, 
these flavours love it.

SERVES

1, with leftover purée

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp jumbo oats
• 150g low-fat Greek yogurt
• 4 tbsp skimmed milk
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp stevia
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp toasted hazelnuts, chopped

For the orange purée

• 2 oranges
• 2 lemons
• stevia, to taste

METHOD

1. To make the bircher, mix together the oats, yogurt, milk, vanilla and stevia. Cover and leave to soak overnight in the fridge.
2. For the purée, cut off the ends 
of the fruit and discard, then cut 
the fruit into large wedges. Pop 
into a large saucepan and add 
2 litres of water, making sure the fruit is covered (you can add 
some more water if not). Bring 
to the boil, then simmer for 
2 hours, topping up with water when necessary.
3. Drain through a colander and leave the fruit wedges to cool. Whizz in a high-speed blender 
until smooth, then stir in the stevia. Chill until ready to serve.
4. Serve the bircher with 4-5 tablespoons of orange purée marbled through, sprinkled 
with the cinnamon and 
chopped hazelnuts.
5. Store the leftover purée in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cod en papillote