Overhauling her own approach to food saw Madeleine Shaw’s energy soar and cleared up her IBS. The nutritionist and blogger tells Keeley Bolger why she’s now sharing her secrets with the world
Chef and nutritionist Madeleine Shaw’s diet plan doesn’t just help her clients become healthier in the kitchen – it’s improving their relationships too. “One of the things that comes up all the time, is that people on the programme say they’re less irritable,” reveals the 25-year-old, laughing. “They say, ’My boyfriend or my husband or my partner, or whatever, is so happy because I’m less of a moody cow!”’
For Shaw’s most famous client, former Made In Chelsea personality Millie Mackintosh, it’s her luminous skin that’s drawing attention, not the inadvertent marriage counselling. The pair worked together before model Mackintosh married rapper Professor Green in September 2013, and have remained friends ever since.
Hiring Shaw as a nutritionist may not be realistic for all of us, but at least her first book – Get The Glow – ensures we can try her methods at home instead.
“The programme’s really holistic,” says Shaw. “It looks at cutting out sugar, eating healthy fats and also thinking positively – not only about your health, but about food.
“It talks about mindfulness and meditation to combat stress. The last chapter is called Live Your Glow, which is of huge importance to me; it’s not just about these six weeks, it’s about living it long-term.
“People think a diet plan is going to be really boring and plain. When it’s like that, you start to hate food and hate dieting, so this programme’s about enjoyment. Every meal is delicious. I think you should enjoy everything you eat, you shouldn’t have to put yourself through something torturous because you think it’s healthy. I hope it’s something people really take on and think, ’This is something I can do forever’.”
If you’d like to give your meals and vitality a boost, here are three Get The Glow recipes to try at home …
LEMON SOLE, PANCETTA, PEAS AND SALSA VERDE
SERVES 2
50g flat-leaf parsley
50g basil
100ml olive oil
1tbsp capers
1tbsp cider vinegar
1tsp mustard
2 lemon sole fillets
4 pancetta rashers (or Parma ham)
Half tbsp coconut oil
100g petits pois
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Make the salsa verde first by blending the parsley, basil, olive oil, capers, vinegar and mustard. Blend until you have a smooth paste, and then set aside. Salt and pepper the fish fillets and set them aside. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and grill the pancetta for one minute on each side, until crisp, then set aside. Heat the same pan with the half tablespoon of coconut oil over a medium to high heat. Wait until the oil starts to bubble, then fry the fish for two minutes on the first side, then one minute on the second. Put the cooked fish to one side. Throw the petits pois into the pan and saute them over a medium heat with the lemon juice for a few minutes, then serve to the side of the fish with a smear of salsa verde, the pancetta and a sprinkling of lemon zest.
SUMMER SALAD
SERVES 2
150g runner beans, ends cut off
2 nectarines
30g watercress
30g rocket
100g parma ham
50g feta cheese, cubed
2tbsp sesame seeds
3tbsp honey and mustard dressing (see instructions below)
Salt and pepper
To make the honey and mustard dressing, mix up:
(Makes enough for 8 servings)
8tbsp olive oil
Pinch salt
1tsp English mustard
1tbsp runny honey
Pop the beans into a pan with a little water and a pinch of salt, and steam for five minutes. Cut the nectarines into eighths, put them on a griddle pan over a medium heat, and grill for two minutes on each side. Put the watercress and rocket into a bowl and mix them together. Scatter the rest of the ingredients over the top, then pour over the dressing and finish with some cracked black pepper.
RAW CHOCOLATE AVOCADO MOUSSE
SERVES 2
1 ripe avocado, stoned and flesh scooped out
1 ripe banana, peeled
3tbsp coconut oil
4tbsp raw cacao powder
Pinch sea salt
100ml almond milk, coconut milk or rice milk
1 handful frozen raspberries
Put the avocado, banana, coconut oil, cacao powder and salt in a blender, and blend. Slowly add the milk until the mixture becomes creamy and easily moves around the blender; add a little extra milk if the mixture isn’t creamy enough. Pour the mousse into two ramekins or cocktail glasses, then put them in the freezer for 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge.
When ready to eat, crumble the raspberries in your hands over the top of each dessert, and enjoy.
Get The Glow: 100 Delicious And Easy Recipes That Will Nourish You From The Inside Out by Madeleine Shaw is published by Orion Books in hardback, priced £20 (£10.99 for eBook). Available now.