The Celebrity Shopping Trolley - Sally Gunnell

Trolley Spy questions:

1. Describe 2 typical breakfast options (you might want to list last two days’ menus) –

Muesli with natural yogurt and strawberries or raspberries
Chocolate croissant and coffee

2. Describe 2 typical lunch options –

Chicken sandwich on whole meal bread
Soup - carrot and coriander is my favourite

3. Describe 2 typical dinner options –

Spaghetti bolognaise
Teriyaki chicken stir fry with veg and noodles

4. What do you snack on?

Crisps

5. What are your favourite non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks? How often do you drink them?

I make my own fresh juices 3-4 times a week
White wine, 3-4 nights a week

6. Do you have any intolerances/diet restrictions?

No, I just try to eat healthily

7. Would you say you eat healthily? Why?

Yes, as much as possible. I appreciate how important your diet is in the way you feel and I’m aware of health problems that can arise if you don’t eat healthily

8. Which 5 food items do you always stock up on at the supermarket?

Chicken, marmite, McCain oven chips, humus, fruit

9. What are your top 3 food vices – how often would you say you indulge them?

Crisps and dips (once or twice a week)
Chinese, especially duck pancakes (once every couple of weeks)


That’s what Sally Gunnell puts in her shopping trolley

But what do i think of it?

After watching Sally being smarter than a 10 year old it would be obvious to anyone that she was a clever lady and even more so for me as I have had the pleasure of working with her in the past.

To become a Gold Medal athlete needs guts, determination, hard work and endurance beyond the understanding of most of us, but as I have looked after many world class sports men and women I probably understand their needs more than most.

Reaching the pinnacle of sports performance is 50 percent mental attitude, 30 percent training and 20 percent good nutrition, but without the right food all the rest is just a waste. Even though Sally no longer competes at Olympic level she is still in very good shape, so it is no surprise to discover that she continues to eat well.

Muesli with natural yogurt and strawberries or raspberries is a perfect breakfast as it provides slow release energy, bone building calcium and the protective antioxidants in the fruit. I’m not quite so happy with chocolate croissant and coffee

Lunch time is sensible for someone who is constantly on the go. A chicken sandwich on whole meal bread or soup - carrot and coriander is her favourite. I have to say that since moving to France I have come to admire the idea that everything stops for lunch. Shops, banks, offices and factories all enjoy a 90 minute break and a full meal. For the price of Sally’s snatched snack they get four courses and a glass of wine.

Spaghetti bolognaise or Teriyaki chicken stir fry with veg and noodles are regular and pretty good evening meals, more so the chicken, but there are better snacks than a bag of crisps – in fact there aren’t many worse than these fat and salt filled favourites. Fresh nuts, dried fruits or a slice of good bread and organic peanut butter would be better.

Sally makes my fresh juices 3-4 times a week, which is always a health bonus and there is nothing wrong with her white wine, 3-4 nights a week.

Happily she has no allergy or intolerance problems, doesn’t stick to any of the crazy diets advocated by all the unqualified celeb health gurus and appreciates how important diet is to the way you feel.

Chicken, marmite, McCain oven chips, hummus and fruit are the five things that always go in to the supermarket trolley and are good nutritious buys, except the oven chips, but even they have less fat than fried.

Sally thinks her three worst food vices are crisps, dips (once or twice a week) and Chinese food, especially duck pancakes (once every couple of weeks), but are they real vices? No, apart from the crisps they are not. Dips can be very nutritious if you choose avocado guacamole, yoghurt based tsatsiki or hot tomato salsas.

Some Chinese dishes are not such good news, but crispy duck is excellent protein and rich in iron. The pancakes are made from nutritious buckwheat and steamed and if you resist the crispy skin, the rest of the duck is fine.

All in all, a Gold Medal diet.