Growing up in Texas, mum had five girls to feed on a very limited budget so we'd end up eating the same thing until it was gone - some weeks it was carrots. My grandmother and my mother taught us to bake from a very young age and it's something that I have always done with my children. They get on their aprons and make cupcakes; they love it.

My kids are a variety of ages, from 22 to eight, so there is always someone up for a bit of baking. Elizabeth is quite a good cook, and Georgia May, my 14-year-old, is fantastic. James can cook too. Gabriel, my eight-year-old, is the one who's most keen on asking me, 'Let's bake something.' He loves icing everything and decorating it.

The great thing about baking is that you can bring in an apple pie when you have company and say, 'I baked this for you', and people love it. Men love it when you bake a pie for them. My favourite is apple pie with cheddar crust - I love fruit pies. The last time I baked for a man was last week - I'm dating but I'm discreet. You can definitely seduce a man with food.

When I was 16 and arrived in France, I discovered chocolate mousse. I was crazy about the bread, too. Every morning, I'd go to the bakery and get a fresh croissant. It made me feel very sophisticated. Now I have to be careful with what I eat.

When I was in The Graduate, I did exercise a lot beforehand, but it was such hard work - eight shows a week - that I found I lost weight. I was just so tired out. I couldn't eat enough.

I eat healthily: three meals a day, lots of organic vegetables and fruit. I think breakfast is very important. I have scrambled eggs with toast and a little bit of bacon and sausage or oatmeal or fruit. I change around depending on what I feel like. And I always have several cups of coffee. I love coffee. Day to day, I love eating soup and salad; lots of stews, fish, chicken, meat and veg. I eat everything and I don't have any fads. I like my three meals a day. I drink the occasional glass of red wine, but not excessively, definitely not. It just makes you feel ill. My motto is everything in moderation.

We never have soft drinks at home. They fill you up and you don't eat your dinner. We don't have sweets either, unless they're made from scratch. And we never have ready-made meals. I am very lucky. I have a lady who comes from the West Indies who has been cooking for us for 18 years. She is part of the family and is a fantastic cook. She makes a lot of West Indian curries, gumbo, really nice things. I love to have dinner with all my children; I do make them sit down to meals. We eat early, at six o'clock, which is very Texan. It gives you lots of time to burn it off before you go to sleep.

My kids love the food in Texas. They have delicious barbecue sausages. I've never found a sausage to compare.

· Jerry Hall is the face of low-calorie sweetener Splenda.

Fish

Despite reports that the omega-3 fats found in fish such as salmon, trout and mackerel do not have much benefit for our heart and circulation, evidence still suggests that they have potential to maintain health.

West Indian curry

Curries offer an opportunity for a diet to be spiced up with a range of health-giving compounds. Notables here include turmeric, linked with protection from cancer, and chilli, whose effects can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Oatmeal

Most breakfast cereals are rubbish nutritionally, but porridge liberates sugar slowly into the bloodstream and is less likely to trigger 'food intolerance' reactions. I'd recommend adding ground nuts and fruit.

Coffee

Coffee has been linked with a reduced risk of chronic disease. Also, a new study has found that 1-3 cups of coffee a day is associated with a 24 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Not bad for a beverage that hasn't enjoyed the healthiest of reputations.

Scrambled eggs

The cholesterol in eggs often damns them to nutritional hell, however the main type of fat in eggs is actually mono-unsaturated - the sort of 'heart healthy' fat found in foods such as olive oil, avocado and nuts.

Fruit and veg

For someone as seemingly food- and health-conscious as Jerry, I'm not surprised to find a good stock of nutritionally replete fruit and veg in her basket.

Red wine

It m ay be the favourite tipple of the health-conscious, but the science shows that alcohol, even in small quantities, is not good for us. All things in moderation is a good ploy, though, bearing in mind the bulk of her diet is likely to bring significant benefits in terms of health and wellbeing.

Meat

Barbecuing is known to generate potentially cancer-causing chemicals known as heterocyclic amines. Offset by cooking at relatively low temperatures and dousing meats in turmeric-and-garlic marinades.