Two Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines heads up the kitchen at luxury hotel Gidleigh Park which sits on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.
He loves his food - you may have seen him among the judges on BBC Masterchef - but he also loves his running. An honorary Zestie, in fact!
We caught up with the awardwinning chef to pick up some tips about how to fuel exercise with healthy, tasty food.
Any top tips for fitting healthy eating into a busy lifestyle?
Michael Caines: A balanced diet is crucial. It's very important to have a good breakfast, and that you eat early in the evening. Food types that you should be looking at include a balance of carbohydrates and protein and lots of vegetables and salads which are really, and of course fruit. One of the best low fat proteins you can get is fish. Fish is a fantastic ingredient. People often think of chicken when looking at healthy meat options but fish is as low in fat. Fish is a great way to eat healthily.
What does a top chef eat to fuel his running?
Caines: When I run, I'm very conscious that I should do it in the morning so I tend to run before I have breakfast. So after breakfast, I think... I need to give myself something that will allow me to get through the day, so I tend to have a granola-style cereal with yoghurt.
During the day, I try to avoid snacking, which is a real problem for a chef as you are around food all the time. I try and stay away from too many carbohydrates as they are always around and you tend to pick. Things like bread and cakes are always around too so I make a conscious decision to have more protein during the day. I tend to finish work very late and am tempted to snack when I get home so fruit, apples and a lot of water keep me good.
I also drink mint tea and peppermint tea when I get home and eat as much fruit as I can. I'm quite disciplined. I don’t tend to drink coffee during the day. The most important thing for me is finding the time to eat breakfast and I sometimes have to work very hard at that. Running gives you an appetite and I find that the more I run, the more I crave different things.
Are there any superfood ingredients or recipe ideas that you would recommend?
Caines: Things like blueberries and pomegranates and cranberries are great for smoothies and a great way to incorporate superfoods into your diet. If you are sporty, superfoods are great, leafy veg, a bit of daikon radish, anything that can be incorporated into a salad. You could also include things like fermented soy.
Wholegrains too are great. That’s why I eat a lot of things like granola. Fish that are high in oils, like sardines, are actually quite delicious. You can grill them if you buy them fresh or you can buy them in tins and chop them up into a salad. Olive oil and peppers, green tea and mushrooms like shitake are very good too. You can pan fry them off or chop them up and add them to a salad.
There many kinds of superfoods but always try and make it fun and incorporate them into your diet. Food ceases to become fun when you take it to an extreme. I would say that if you have a healthy diet, you’re obviously including healthy foods but the most important thing is regular hydration, particularly if you do a lot of sports.
Make sure you have the opportunity to eat a balanced diet. Eat superfoods where you can but make it interesting.
There are a lot of myths out there about the way you should eat and what you should be eating. You should eat that particular food or you should take that particular supplement but actually it’s all about getting that balance. Things like bananas (great source of potassium), olive oil and wholegrain bread, even baked beans could be considered a superfood.
What would you recommend for busy Zest readers to eat to make sure we stay in tip-top running shape without spending hours in the kitchen?
Caines: Pasta is great because it gives you good slow release carbohydrates but also things like stir fries and noodles; you can get some sweet chilli sauce and stir fry some vegetables, a bit of chicken and a few prawns, mix it with the chilli sauce and cook up some fresh noodles alongside that. It’s very quick to do.
Lots of lovely salads too. I love salads. Salads can encompass lots of lovely things such as crudites, vegetables, tomatoes and cucumbers as well as protein. Dress it with a nice vinaigrette, a drizzle of olive oil or rapeseed oil and then a little dash of lemon juice or vinegar, season with salt and pepper and it’s delicious.
Do you avoid additives?
Caines: I tend to. I’m much more of a natural foods kind of man. I’m very conscious that I would rather buy fresh and eat fresh produce and I like to know where things are from. I also like to buy seasonal and regional food. When it comes to additives, I’m not saying that all of them are bad for you but you have to be careful and I am conscious that additives can be, at times, not good for you.
Do you exercise to enable you to enjoy food without the guilt?
Caines: Yes, I do! I love to run. In fact I have just done my usual one hour run in 44 minutes today. I love to run near my home on Dartmoor. I run off the beaten track too, sometimes taking my GPS and going across the moor in all weathers. I also love to ski and go off-piste. Prior to losing my arm, I used to play waterpolo for the county in my youth and I also used to mountain bike when I lived in France, so yes, I would say I am a huge keep fit and general fitness fan.
Michael Caines recently hosted a pop-up restaurant at OXO2 with Fairy Platinum, serving a specially prepared menu inspired by his family memories. Diners enjoyed a two-course meal in return for undertaking the ‘Clean-Your-Own Challenge’, whereby the new Fairy Platinum dishwashing products were put to the test. Are you ready to take the Fairy Platinum challenge? Visit www.facebook.com/fairydish for further information.
