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Healthy made easy – Q and A with Jamie

Jamie Oliver shares his exclusive recipes and tips as he joins Tesco as an ambassador to help make healthier choices more accessible and affordable.

  1. What's the aim of the partnership?

    "Cooking from scratch is the best way to look after your health, and I want to help make that as easy as possible by giving you lots of delicious, inspirational recipes, tips and helpful little swaps that won't break the bank. Together, we want to empower Tesco customers to eat better food, and promote real change in the eating habits of the nation. It's about embracing beautiful, fresh produce to ensure we get maximum goodness in every meal. We want to help you feed your family with good, wholesome meals, so you know exactly what's in the food that you're eating. I don't think anyone would argue with that."

    What's the aim of the partnership?

  2. What does 'health' mean to you?

    "On the food front, my philosophy is to get it right most of the time. It’s all about balance: I tend to eat well Monday to Thursday, then it’s all a bit more relaxed at the weekend. For me, vegetables and fruit should be at the heart of a healthy diet – then it’s just about ticking off a few extras like understanding portion sizes, drinking plenty of water, getting a good night’s sleep and a bit of exercise. Ultimately, food is there to be appreciated, shared and enjoyed. Healthy, nourishing food should be colourful, delicious and, most importantly, fun."

    See Jamie's Sunshine egg salad recipe

    What does 'health' mean to you?

  3. Do you think cost and time are barriers to cooking from scratch?

    "Time and money can seem like big barriers, but I promise you, cooking healthy food can be affordable, quicker and much tastier than you might think. There are also more subtle challenges, like how many ingredients you need for a recipe. That’s why writing 5 Ingredients was such a revelation – everything just clicked, and it was amazing to see how many people loved being able to pick up just a handful of ingredients and smash it in the kitchen without having to spend a fortune!"

    See Jamie's Easy fish pie recipe

    Do you think cost and time are barriers to cooking from scratch?

  4. What are some healthy, easy ways to add flavour to food?

    "Instead of adding extra salt or fat, use spices and a squeeze of lemon to flavour your food. I like to use my freezer like a flavour library: freeze little flavour bombs of blitzed herbs, chilli or stock in ice cube trays. It’s a really handy way to cut food waste, and also means you can drop in an instant hit of flavour without using the unhealthy stuff."

    See Jamie's Root veg hash recipe

    What are some healthy, easy ways to add flavour to food?

  5. How can I avoid food waste using my freezer?

      1. "Freeze chillies or ginger before they turn. Grate them over curries, salads and grilled meat or fish."
      2. "If portioning things out in reusable freezer bags, lay them flat and stack ’em up. You’ll fit loads more in!" 
      3. "Freeze flavour bombs of blitzed herbs or stock in ice cube trays. It’s a handy way to cut food waste, and you can drop in an instant hit of flavour."

     

    See Jamie's freezable Super simple chicken curry traybake recipe

    How can I avoid food waste using my freezer?

  6. What drives your health mission?

    "Tackling childhood obesity is my major focus for the next 12 years. We know it’s a big challenge, but there are some really exciting ideas developing about how to make our whole environment healthier – like stopping advertising junk food to kids, introducing price promotions for healthy ingredients (not just unhealthy food), and giving schools proper support to teach kids what healthy looks like. It’s going to be an interesting time, but I’m up for the challenge!"

    See Jamie's Mighty mushroom traybake recipe and more Healthy recipes

    What drives your health mission?