JAMIE OLIVER HEALTH IS EVERYTHING!

The British chef is back and making healthier eating easier than ever

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Last May, Jamie Oliver turned 50 and along with it came the inevitable wake up call that he could do with losing a bit of weight, getting more sleep and generally prioritising his health. As with all his pursuits over the years, from training disadvantaged people in his restaurants to his campaign to ban unhealthy food in schools, Jamie threw himself wholeheartedly into transforming his life and now he's back to show others how to do it. Here he tells Woman's Day why healthy living became the subject of his new book.

Back in your Naked Chef days you taught us how to cook the fried one-pan brekkie – how many of those are you having these days, Jamie?

If I have anything that wonderfully indulgent it's mainly on a Sunday. It's more about balance and certainly within a day or the week there is more than enough room to have some things you truly love. There's no need for guilt.

And what does eating healthy mean to you now?

You've got to find a way to fall in love with beans! It's the holy grail. Let's call it meat-reduced. And more oily fish, vegies, herbs.

Are you getting more sleep these days?

I have an unusual job, I'm up very early and I work fairly late. It's a work in progress. But it was bad for a number of years, like four hours, sometimes less. Now I have the tools to fix [bad sleep] quickly. I do a version of meditating where I review the day and show gratitude for all the wonderful people in my life and the nice things I can do. I think Jools would certainly love to have a slightly easier sleep – she definitely has a racing mind. She always has a long list of jobs to do and I think there's a little bit of neurodiversity that we're becoming aware of as we're [getting] older.

How is being a parent at 50?