Some people eat to live, I live to eat. I particularly like the social aspect of food. I prefer to cook for eight than for two.
Bread: Any lovely fresh bread . Hot bagels would do perfectly.
Baked potatoes: Just with loads of butter and sometimes with coleslaw.
Lamb: I love my lamb slow roasted in the oven until the meat is practically falling off the bone.
Beans: I adore two types of beans. Baked beans on toast with a cup of tea. And green beans, which I dress with lots of butter and plenty of garlic.
Chicken soup: My soup is the best in the world - not your mum's or anybody else's. What I put in it depends on how ill is the person I'm cooking it for. The secret ingredient is a large lump of ginger.
By choosing bread and potatoes, Jeni wisely endorses complex (starchy) carbohydrates. Mistakenly maligned, they are a valuable source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Good choices include multigrain and granary breads, and those made from rye. Eating the skin of the baked potato will provide maximum fibre. Alternative lower fat fillings include baked beans, cottage cheese and ratatouille. Beans are an excellent choice.They are a good source of fibre,vitamins and minerals, and provide low-fat protein.
Jeni can lower the saturated fat content of her diet by choosing the leanest cuts of lamb and removing any visible fat, as well as by skimming any surface fat from her chicken soup.
Chicken soup with chicken, vegetables, and lokshen offers a balanced meal in one dish. Ginger contains the anti-inflammatory antioxidant gingerol.
Jeni Barnett is a presenter on LBC radio. You can see her in ‘An Audience with Jeni Barnett' at the Radlett Centre tomorrow night. Details on 01923 857546