Ortisé Food is a subject that's close to our hearts: we are bigger foodies than any other musicians you'll meet. Unfortunately, when we're in training for a tour, because I've got the lowest metabolism, I have to go right in on my diet. I mean right in – boiled chicken breast and boiled vegetables a few times a day, after a breakfast of porridge with banana, nutmeg, raisins, cinnamon. That's it. No sauces, nothing. It's hard at first, but your body gets used to it. So if I'm training, I do that six days a week and then go all out on Sunday. Food is my passion, though. When we were in the X Factor house we cooked for everyone. I make a mean Thai green curry from scratch.
Aston My metabolism is super fast, so I can eat what I like. Breakfast is usually scrambled eggs, beans and toast. Then if we're out for lunch I'll have something like pasta, or maybe a double chicken breast in Nando's. I'm not a big veg boy, though. The only veg I'll eat by themselves are peas and carrots. I love a pudding – especially traditional apple crumble with custard. I work out so much, you see, that I don't worry about eating stuff like that. At home, my fridge is just stocked with juice: grapefruit, tropical, ruby orange. I'm juiced up, baby.
Marvin My favourite cuisine is Japanese. Be it sushi, sashimi or fish – especially that black miso cod – it's all amazing. So precise, so balanced. I'd love to learn how to cook Moroccan food, though, as I've spent a lot of time there and all the sweet, slow-cooked meat is right up my street. But it's difficult being away from home so much because I love to cook with fresh ingredients. On tour, my guilty pleasure is a crème caramel from M&S. I love them straight out of the pot. M&S is our saviour when we're on tour, let me tell you.
JB I'm a big seafood man – I could talk about it 24/7. Especially shellfish. I try to eat a lot of it, too, because it's a good, healthy source of protein. I have to watch myself with sauces – they're my weakness, and the saturated fats in them are what bites you on the ass. I have sausages, beans and toast for breakfast and that keeps me going. One of my favourite things in the world is my great aunt's Caribbean soup – it's a big, hearty broth with dumplings, plantain and chicken or pork. It's sooo good. You put anything in there and I'd eat it.
Dr John Briffa says…
Poached chicken breast
One of the advantages of eating a meal based on chicken breast for a would-be slimmer relates to its high-protein nature: calorie for calorie this "macronutrient" is generally more satisfying than carbohydrate or fat. High-protein diets generally lead individuals to eating less but, crucially, without undue hunger.
Porridge
Porridge has a healthy reputation and if based on whole oats is much better than almost any pre-packaged cereals which are usually highly processed and full of sugar and salt. On the other hand, I'm not sure this is the best breakfast for someone seeking to get ripped for touring. The surges of sugar that will tend to come from this will stimulate fat production in the body, via the hormone insulin. A better option might actually be something richer in protein, such as some scrambled eggs.
Scrambled eggs
I rate eggs very highly as a breakfast food. Not only are they very nutritious, their high-protein nature is great for sustaining energy and keeping hunger at bay for extended periods of time.
Apple crumble
Despite the presence of some fruit here, this dessert is not to be recommended on account of its rich content of sugar and flour. Even for with rapid-fire metabolisms, eating this sort of fare my induce biochemical changes that are none too healthy.
Fruit juice
Juicing a fruit runs the risk that some of its health elements may get left behind. It also results in a highly sugary solution rich in fructose which can, in excess, have adverse effects on health. Drinking fruit juice may be healthier than drinking soft drinks, but eating the whole fruit would be better all round, I think.
Sushi
The fish, seafood and vegetable matter provide proper nourishment here. It's just a shame that sushi tends to offer relatively small amounts of this compared to its prime ingredient – white rice – which is disruptive to blood sugar and insulin levels and offers precious little in the way of nutritional value.
Creme caramels
Like the apple crumble, this dessert is very sugary and can induce surges of the hormone insulin which can predispose to weight gain and type-2 diabetes in the long term. Spikes of sugar also enhance inflammation in the body and encourage blood clotting, and have links with heart disease too. Ideally, I'd advise this as an occasional treat only.
Sausages
I'm a relative fan of meat, but not necessarily if it's been blended with salt, rusk and preservative chemicals that have links with cancer. I'd advise against sausages as a regular breakfast item, and would perhaps put eggs in their place.
JLS's Outta This World is out now on Epic
