Princess Diana, the "People's Princess," remains an iconic figure admired for her grace, compassion, and style. Beyond her public persona, she also prioritized her health and well-being. After separating from Prince Charles in 1992, she embraced a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise.
Overcoming Bulimia and Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle
Princess Diana openly discussed her struggle with bulimia, hoping to inspire others to seek help. According to her former head chef, Darren McGrady, by the time he started working at Kensington Palace, Diana had confronted her bulimia and was committed to getting her life back on track. She exercised at the gym every day and adopted a healthy eating plan.
A Glimpse into Princess Diana's Daily Diet
Princess Diana's dietary preferences reflected her commitment to healthy eating. She generally avoided red meat and pork, opting for chicken, fish, or vegetarian dishes. She also avoided heavy sauces and creams.
Breakfast
In 1989, Diana's typical breakfast consisted of grapefruit, muesli, and a piece of toast. Later, she incorporated richer foods, such as Egg Suzette, which was a baked potato scooped out and filled with wilted spinach, topped with a poached egg and a small amount of hollandaise sauce, garnished with piped potatoes. On gym days, she paired her black coffee with Heinz baked beans, a pink grapefruit, and orange juice.
Lunch
One of Diana's favorite lunchtime meals was bell peppers stuffed with courgette, mushroom, rice, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese, served with a scoop of smoked tomato pepper sauce. She also enjoyed salads, emphasizing the importance of vegetables and whole foods for digestion and overall health.
Read also: Body Image Evolution
Dinner
According to a response from Diana's private secretary in 2020, her go-to dinner was a bowl of Ukrainian beetroot soup. She preferred lighter options and avoided heavy meats.
Indulgent Treats
While Diana generally maintained a healthy diet, she occasionally indulged in her favorite dessert: bread and butter pudding. However, she only ate a small portion and only when her sons, William and Harry, were at home.
Princess Diana's Favorite Foods: A Detailed Look
Beyond her regular meals, Princess Diana had a wide range of favorite foods, from everyday staples to more unique dishes.
Tomato Mousse
Tomato mousse was a dish that Princess Diana loved. McGrady would serve it with lobster tails, flavored with dill, chives, salt, and pepper. The light, restrained flavor profile made it ideal for days when she wanted a lighter meal.
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed bell peppers were a favorite, filled with rice, mushrooms, garlic, zucchini, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses, finished with a smoked tomato and pepper sauce.
Read also: Holistic Fitness Approach
Stuffed Eggplant
McGrady's stuffed eggplant was another favorite, filled with zucchini, bell pepper, celery, mushrooms, tomato, and basil. She would often ask for an extra serving to reheat and enjoy on weekends.
Salads
Diana enjoyed healthy salads, recognizing the health benefits of vegetables and whole foods.
Vegetable Juice
Diana was an early adopter of the vegetable juice trend. She was particularly interested in beet juice, although she eventually preferred it combined with other ingredients like apple juice.
Eggs Suzette
Eggs Suzette consisted of a baked potato filled with wilted spinach and topped with a poached egg with hollandaise sauce.
Lychee Fruit
Diana loved lychee fruit and would eat entire bowls of it.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Lamb with Mint
Lamb with mint was a meat-centric dish that the princess enjoyed, especially when prepared with a yogurt-y sauce.
Borscht
Borscht, an Eastern European soup containing beets, onions, milk, sour cream, and chicken stock, was another favorite.
Princess Diana's Exercise Routine: Building a Strong and Healthy Body
Princess Diana was committed to regular exercise. She typically engaged in at least three 30-minute sessions of vigorous exercise each week.
Variety of Exercises
Diana's former personal trainer, Jenni Rivett, noted that she enjoyed a variety of exercises, including step aerobics, power walks, and roller blading. She also enjoyed swimming.
Maintaining a Consistent Routine
Diana integrated exercise into her daily life, often starting her day with a swim or attending to her children's needs.
The Virgin Active Sweatshirt
Diana famously wore a Virgin Active sweatshirt to her gym sessions, a gift from Richard Branson. She wore the same sweatshirt to every session to distract the media.
Princess Diana's Kitchen Habits and Down-to-Earth Nature
McGrady recalled that Diana preferred a round table for meals to connect with everyone. She would often eat lunch in the kitchen. She appreciated good food, even though she couldn't cook herself. She would leave special plates of food for the weekend in the refrigerator with sticky notes marking the exact number of minutes she should leave the dishes in the microwave.
Recipes Inspired by Princess Diana's Diet
Several recipes reflect Princess Diana's dietary preferences.
Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off the peppers, and clean out the seeds and membranes. If the peppers won’t stand up, cut a little piece off the bottom to level them. Place the peppers on a baking sheet, and drizzle with the oil. Bake for 25 minutes, or until they start to soften.
- Pour the oil from the peppers into a frying pan, and add the onions, mushrooms, zucchini and oregano. Season the vegetables with the salt and pepper to taste, and sauté over high heat until they start to soften. Add the tomatoes, rice, water and bouillon cube, and simmer for about five minutes.
- Fold in the bacon, basil and mozzarella, and divide among the peppers.
Tomato Mousse Recipe
- In a food processor, puree the tomatoes with the chopped onion. Strain the pulp into a bowl, pressing on the tomatoes to push as much as possible through the sieve into the bowl. In s a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, heavy cream and tomato paste. Fold into the tomato/onion puree. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the finely chopped dill.
- Place the gelatin into a small saucepan, and moisten it with the juice of 1/2 of the lemon. If the lemon doesn’t have a lot of juice, you may need to add up to a tablespoon of water. Reserve the remaining 1/2 lemon for the lobster vinaigrette. Melt the gelatin over a very low heat until it dissolves. Let it cool a moment, and then pour the gelatin over a very low heat until it dissolves. Let it cool a moment, and then pour the gelatin into the tomato mousse, mixing as you pour.
- Pour the finished mixture into the ramekins and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Toss the split lobster tails with the olive oil, remaining lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped chives.
Bread and Butter Pudding Recipe
- Soak the raisins the night before in the Amaretto and cover with cling film.
- Cut a quarter of the bread into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the bottom of the dish. Then top with the raisins adding the juices, too.
- Place in the oven in a roasting tray 3/4 full of hot water. Cook for about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and roasting tray and sprinkle with the extra sugar.