The National Portrait Gallery in London is over halfway through it’s exhibition “Audrey Hepburn portraits of an icon”, which runs until 18th October. This got us thinking about the diets and food habits of celebrities, so looked into the food lifestyle of this classic glamour girl.

Audrey was not all about champagne and in fact she kept a very strict regime when it came to eating, to ensure her weight never went above 110 pounds (approx. 50kg) and to keep her measurements the same. She used to try to drink enough water everyday (to stay hydrated) and didn’t drink much alcohol, something our doctors hope all of us will achieve no doubt. The star also had slightly unusual eating habits, preferring pasta with salad (rather than protein – think spagbol), preferring a plate of colourful vegetables as, to paraphrase ‘if a plate full of white isn’t pleasing to the eye, it can’t be good for the body’. We don’t necessarily agree with the logic or science behind this, but overall Audrey Hepburn did have a healthy diet, so we share what a typical day for her might have included:

Breakfast

• Glass of water
• 3 – 4 cups of coffee (with milk)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 slice of whole-grain toast

Lunch

• Yoghurt with raw vegetables – we had 0% fat Greek yoghurt and cucumber, carrots and yellow and orange peppers.

Dinner

• Soup, meat and several cooked vegetables or a salad with meat. In our example, we chose a simple beetroot salad with sliced, medium-rare beef fillet and a few olives.

Snacking was not indulged in and if dessert was on the table (which it was rarely), it would have been in the form of a scoop of vanilla ice cream with maple syrup. A square of dark chocolate was however prescribed after her daily nap – a perfect excuse for some Green & Blacks.