Recipes from popular TV chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson are often less healthy than supermarket ready meals, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Researchers at Newcastle University analysed 100 recipes from bestselling cookbooks and compared them with 100 ready meals from Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
The study found that the chef recipes contained significantly more energy, protein, fat and saturated fat, and less fibre than the ready meals. For example, Oliver's meatball sandwich from 30 Minute Meals contained nearly 1,000 calories per serving, while Nigella Lawson's beer braised pork knuckles had 1,340 calories and 102g of saturated fat per portion.
In contrast, the most calorific ready meal, Tesco's chicken tikka masala with pilau rice, had 870 calories, and the highest saturated fat content was 21.3g in its cauliflower cheese. Neither the chef recipes nor the ready meals met national or international guidelines for a balanced diet, but the ready meals performed better on several metrics.
Professor Martin White, lead author, said the team did not intend to criticise chefs but hoped they would improve nutritional information. He noted that ready meal manufacturers had reformulated products in response to criticism over salt content. Only 4% of ready meals met WHO salt limits.
Jamie Oliver's representatives responded that his latest book, 15 Minute Meals, includes calorie and nutritional information per serving, and future books will follow suit. They also plan to update the Jamie Oliver website with nutritional data.
