Advertisement

Meghan Markle's day on a plate

Photo credit: Giphy
Photo credit: Giphy

From Harper's BAZAAR

Meghan Markle has long extolled the virtues of yoga and pilates, but she also appreciates the importance of a well balanced diet. The former Suits actress is no stranger to the odd bowel of chips, but she also knows that a green juice will give you more energy at 4pm than a coffee.

She always eats breakfast

Her wake-up dish of choice? Steel-cut oats with bananas or fruit topped with manuka honey and bee pollen, washed down with a hot water and lemon. When she's not working, she mixes it up, instead choosing an omelette with fresh herbs and cheese, and toast.

During the week, she follows a vegan diet

"I try to eat vegan during the week and then have a little bit more flexibility with what I dig into on the weekends," she told Best Health. "But at the same time, it’s all about balance. Because I work out the way I do, I don’t ever want to feel deprived. I feel that the second you do that is when you start to binge on things. It’s not a diet; it’s lifestyle eating."

The best dish she ever ate in her life was pad-thai

"There's no Michelin star, it's not fancy," she told Delish. "I took a bite and said, 'oh my God, what have I been eating all my life?' This is what pad thai's supposed to taste like?"

She steers away from the gluten

Markle isn't gluten-intolerant, but she has a noticed a difference in terms of energy levels and in her good her skin looks when she avoids it. But that said...

Pasta is her kryptonite - especially on holiday

"When I'm travelling, I won't miss an opportunity to try great pasta. I come back from vacation every year with a food baby, and I've named her Comida. I get to the set and I'm like, 'hey, Comida's here, and she's kicking.'"

She has a "filthy" pasta recipe

A friend once convinced her to cook courgettes for four to five hours until it turns into a "filthy, sexy mush" to toss into pasta. "The sauce gets so creamy you'd swear there's tons of butter and oil in it, but it's just zucchini, water and a little bouillon," Markle said.

Chips are her favourite lunchtime food

"I'm always hoping I'm having lunch with people, so we can share fries. It's its own food group for me," said Markle.

She swaps coffee for green juices

Rather than have a 4pm coffee, Markle has a green juice as her late afternoon pick-me-up. "It's easy to fall into the trap of rushing for a coffee when you hit that 4 pm slump," she told Today. "But if I blend some apple, kale, spinach, lemon, and ginger in my Vitamix in the morning and bring it to work, I always find that sipping on that is a much better boost than a cup of espresso."

She's into healthy snacks

Forget crisps and chocolate, her go-to snack comprises apples with almond butter and sea salt.

She has a big lunch, but a light dinner "typically soup"

"I'm more peckish at lunch, so I usually go lighter for dinner."

Her favourite wine is from Italy

Markle loves Italian red Tiganello so much that she named her now defunct blog, Tig, after it. "Of course I'm going to have that glass of wine - it's delicious and I enjoy it," she told Best Health. "Do the things you enjoy within reason."

She's loved cooking since she was young

"I grew up on the set of a TV show called Married with Children, where my dad was the lighting director," she told Best Health. "Because of the content of the show, my dad would have me help in craft services, which is where they make all the food and nibbles – that’s where I started to learn about garnishing and plating. After being there every day after school for 10 years and seeing the appreciation of food, I started to learn the association between food and happiness and being able to entertain – I think that’s where the seed was planted."

Sunday lunches are a big deal to her

"I am a big fan of Sunday suppers. Whether we're eating lamb tagine, pot roast or a hearty soup, the idea of gathering for a hearty meal with friends and family on a Sunday makes me feel comforted," she told Today. "I enjoy making slow-cooked food on Sundays, like Filipino-style chicken adobo. It's so easy-combine garlic, soy (or Bragg Liquid Aminos), vinegar, maybe some lemon and let the chicken swim in that sauce until it falls off the bone in a Crock Pot."