Sir Matthew Pinsent
BBC presenter Sir Matthew Pinsent, 40, lives in London with his wife Dee and their three children. Follow him on Twitter @matthewcpinsent
28 July
It’s been a wonderful month with LOVE Life. Although my diary wasn’t altogether kind, with a week at Henley Regatta and then a week in New York, I've found the LOVE Life range to be intriguing, inventive and most of all tasty!
The highlight for me has been the soups – they’re great to have in the fridge ready to go, and are easy to grab and heat when at home.
Muesli has been the perfect start to each day, and the whole family has enjoyed the fruit and nut packs.
Our children asked for ice cream the other night – they’d already had cones during the day, so my wife tipped a handful of dried fruit and nuts into bowls for them.
I thought there’d be no chance they’d eat them, but sure enough all three enjoyed the difference between the ingredients, and had fun mixing up the different combinations. Amazing.
I've felt more energized on the LOVE Life food – and the scales have told me I'm lighter too. Although that’s not the main aim it’s still nice to see.
My favourite recipe has been the Herby courgette & ricotta bruschetta - universally liked in our household!
21 July
This week has been tough – I’ve spent the week in New York, separated from LOVE Life food, and whilst the offering there is lovely the temptations are pretty immense.
Cheesecake, fries, burgers, BLTs, pancakes… the list goes on. But overall I've done well – I had to bring the comfort of a few packs of the LOVE Life dried fruit to tide me over the first days but pretty soon I had to succumb fully to Americana.
It’s actually been great – there’s lots of choice on offer if you hunt it out. Oily fish has been plentiful, especially sardines. I had a starter of kale one night and there is a much wider array of bread on offer than I had expected.
Fruit is, of course, plentiful and whilst I've had to bite my tongue at the urge to order pie or cobbler when it comes to the dessert menu it hasn't been too difficult.
I’ve been running each day despite the heat, drinking lots of water, avoiding the worst excesses of the corporate meals and having a lovely break. But I’ll be very happy to get back to the fridge, LOVE Life and the trout and crème fraîche pasta.
14 July
The week has been good so far. I haven’t had time to cook much – after the weekend at Henley Royal Regatta I’ve been manic with stuff that I pushed onto the pending pile.
Meetings, filming, catching up on paperwork and jobs that should have been done last week doesn’t make for a relaxed week at all. But I've got there.
One thing I haven’t compromised on has been exercise: three workouts so far, and I even went for a run in the rain too. Whether it’s the LOVE Life food, the exercise or something else I do feel better this week – definitely a bit lighter on my feet.
The food has been very adaptable too – my wife made a fantastic salad with goat’s cheese and sweet potato and, when in a rush, I’ve been diving into the drawer for the LOVE Life dried fruit, nuts and berries.
A LOVE Life fruit and nut pack saved me yesterday when we filmed through a lunchbreak – the only other option was the corner shop. And, judging by the speed they disappear, the children have found them too. Meanwhile, a LOVE Life smoothie helped me avoid the beer monster on a train ride. Onwards and (hopefully, weight-wise) downwards.
My favourite three things so far are:
1 LOVE Life Fruit and nut packs
Easy to grab and stuff in a bag.
2 LOVE Life Smoothies
These surprised me as I wasn’t sure I’d like flavours like peppers and carrot in a smoothie. But they’re actually lovely.
3 Hot-smoked Trout Fillets
So easy! Already cooked, good for you and quick. Perfect.
7 July
I’m spending my first LOVE Life weekend as Steward of Henley Regatta, and it feels odd to be starting something new! The place is steeped in history – the first Regatta ran in 1839 and there are trophies in the Regatta’s collection that record the names of every winning crew since that first event.
Food and drink are integral to the experience but there's only so many times you can persuade yourself that the bits and bobs floating in your glass of Pimm’s count as one of your five-a-day!
My temporary residence in Henley meant I wasn’t around for the first delivery of LOVE Life goodies, but I managed to eat in a LOVE Life way in the dining tent each lunchtime. And by the finals the waitress knew my dessert order before I turned my head to give it: ‘Strawberries, no cream.’
Dinners included salmon with crème fraîche and barbecued ribs with a peppery rocket salad on the side and a fruit smoothie to follow.
The scales say it’s been a good week – but it’s been a good week because I got to immerse myself back into rowing for the sport’s best week of the year. It’s been a good week because there were some great races with British winners and it’s been a good week because I enjoyed the atmosphere, the food and the drink without ever feeling guilty.
30 June
I’d love to be more adventurous and try different ingredients. I do try to eat healthily but when I get tired, or I’m travelling or filming, I simply eat whatever is in front of me, whether that’s a doughnut from the service station or a plate of airline food.
I’d like to know how to cater for my children’s tastes and still have the enthusiasm to cook a meal for myself and my wife. My cooking style is traditional and predictable – I wouldn’t know where to start with a Thai noodle dish, so I’d love to learn as that would be a real departure for me.
