I always start my day in the same way. I am devoted to tea; it's something I've always loved ever since I was really quite little. I remember my mother singing, 'Tea, tea, oh it makes a new woman of me', when I was young, and now my own daughter sings it at 5am. American tea is simply awful - their best effort is to give you a cup of warm water and the bag: I can't tell you the number of times I've had to instruct someone how to make it properly. I am absolutely fascistic about how my tea is made. I only use Williamson Magor, which has been running since 1869. I like to eat oatcakes for breakfast - I warm them up and have them with a bit of honey. My husband Greg [Wise], is a coffee drinker. His idea of breakfast is espresso and a fag.
Lunch is always on the hoof. I'll eat a salad or something. I don't eat bread really, it makes me feel so blah. Although, of course, when I'm abroad I can't possibly resist French bread and things. I think it's so mad now, all these posh shops selling granary loaves for £5. I remember reading that Henry VIII's first wife felt that being made to eat brown bread was an awful put-down.
We often get cod or halibut from our fish man Arthur, and just bung it in an earthenware dish with some basil, tomatoes and cheese for 10 minutes. Lovely. I'm not terribly keen on oily fish so we eat lots of hemp oil, which is made by the Good Oil Company [from Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury's], which gives us what we need. When I was filming Nanny McPhee we constantly nibbled on GOC salted hemp seeds, which are sort of nutty. There's generally a roast chicken night too. It's comforting on a dull night to have it with vegetables and gravy. I am tremendously keen on gravy - I use the jus, some saved-up stock and Bisto, but very sparingly so it retains its true character.
My mum [the actress Phylidda Law] is a great cook, and I was brought up knowing how to make proper Yorkshire puddings. My dad [Eric Thompson, who wrote The Magic Roundabout] would have them for afters with syrup. When I was born, rationing had only just stopped, so she was feeding me at a time when things were changing so fast. I can give my little one so much more than she could give me, although arguably that's a bad thing, a bad thing for all of us, to be able to have everything that we want all the time.
Greg's mum, who is Hungarian, is also very good at cooking and makes very, very beautiful creamy, silken soups out of pumpkin, parsnip or apple. All her recipes are in a little notebook, and it's like a wonderful family history via food, which I find absolutely lovely. Goulash is Greg's signature dish, and he also does rosti potatoes, which are an absolute bugger to make, given that you have to grate the darn things, dry them and then cook them as little cakes.
His mum is also a great baker - she makes sugar biscuits that melt in the mouth. You simply can't face a bought biscuit after you've had one of hers. She lives in Yorkshire, thank God, otherwise I would be the size of a house.
Oatcakes with honey
Emma's response to bread suggests she may be intolerant to wheat. This can manifest as fatigue and tummy bloating. Experience tells me that oats are better tolerated.
Williamson Magor tea
The flavinoids in tea can protect against heart disease and cancer. But the caffeine can also induce symptoms such as insomnia. Emma should keep on such symptoms, and adjust her intake accordingly.
Hemp oil
20 per cent of hempseed oil comes in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat. Emma may also like to supplement her diet with flaxseed oil (about half of which comes in the form of alpha-linolenic acid) and flaxseeds.
Rosti potatoes
Potatoes offer little in the way of nutritional value. I recommend cabbage as an accompaniment: brassicas are believed to have potent cancer-protective properties.
Cod or halibut
As Emma hints, these white fish lack the so-called omega-3 fats that have been linked with benefits for body and brain. Stocks of Atlantic cod and halibut are also low. Go for line-caught varieties.
Sugar biscuits
These are wheat-based, a grain to which Emma may be sensitive. The refi ned fl our and sugar will also tend to cause insulin surges, which can predispose towards weight gain. A remote mother-in-law may be a good thing.
Pumpkin soup
Pumpkin is rich in several 'carotenoid' nutrients including lutein and zeaxanthin that have been linked to a range of health benefi ts including a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and improved eye health.
