"People have said I'm too fat to be a pop star. But this whole size zero debate is such crap, I've ended up going the other way. I come from a big Irish family who force-fed me as a kid, so not eating was never an option. I did think that being in my position I'd be paranoid about my body, but I'm also aware that girls are looking to me to make them feel secure so I try to promote a healthy approach to food.
That's why I love Jamie Oliver. He really cares about getting people to eat properly. My mum gave me Ministry of Food for Christmas. I love it. All his books are good, but when you've followed his campaigning work on TV, this one means something. He just wants to use his power and position to help people. How amazing is that? I used to be afraid of Twitter but I joined so I could stalk his tweets. I want to be his friend.
I went veggie last September. I've got an OCD about karma so when my rabbit, Fluffy, had to have an operation on his "bits", I was so worried I promised to whoever was listening that I'd stop eating meat if Fluffy was OK. He was, so I stopped. I'm also allergic to lactose and wheat. I chose Jamie's lasagne as my favourite recipe because I love Italian food and this is a really easy recipe to adapt. In this recipe I swap mince for Quorn mince, use lactose-free cheese and spelt pasta and it still works. I tend to use a lot of spelt, goat's cheese, halloumi, Quorn mince and vegetables in my cooking. I've also started to sack off Tesco and buy ingredients locally. You can really taste the difference. On tour it's hard to be vegetarian, especially in Europe because vegetarianism is basically unheard of. They think you're either joking or mad. I stick to tofu on the bus – anything else is pushing the boat out.
When I'm not touring I really enjoy the ease of cooking at home. I've just bought a flat with my boyfriend, Ryan, and I'm pretty domesticated. He loves the lasagne I make. I do feel better since I've stopped eating meat, wheat and dairy but I still miss French baguettes and brie. But because I changed my diet so drastically I can occassionally eat that sort of thing and feel fine. My off-duty treat? Cheese on toast on a Saturday morning. I don't think Jamie has a recipe for that, though."
