Already have an account?
Get back to the
Royals

Princess Diana Had a Flavorful and Healthy Favorite Meal

She enjoyed this dish two or three times a week.

Tags:

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be flavorless or overly complicated. No one knew that better than Princess Diana, who, according to her former chef, preferred eating nutritious, vegetable-packed meals.

Unlike her sons, Prince William and Harry, who craved richer comfort food like cottage pie, former palace chef Darren McGrady claims he would tweak his recipes to make Diana’s plates less heavy. For instance, if they were having Sunday roast with chicken and potatoes, McGrady says the boys would get their spuds with the fat they were cooked in oozing out of each bite. Diana’s potatoes, on the other hand, were cooked in egg whites and a sprinkle of paprika to keep them lighter. She’d also go without the crispy skin on her chicken breast, which was sliced and baked. 

The rest of the week, Diana steered clear of meat and ate vegetarian meals “for the most part,” according to McGrady. He also put an end to the rumor that cooks were forbidden from adding garlic to their meals. “It was only the Queen, out of all the royal family members, the queen was the only one that we couldn’t use garlic,” he explains. He doesn’t go into why Elizabeth has this aversion, but hey, not everyone can be a fan of the pungent flavor. 

McGrady remembers one recipe he whipped up for Diana more often than others: Bell peppers stuffed with zucchini, mushroom, rice, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese all piled onto a scoop of smoked tomato pepper sauce. Sounds absolutely delicious to us! No wonder she would frequently come in and request that he make it for her. And, always the sweetheart, she would offer to make a cup of coffee for them both as she watched him cook.

Take a look below to see exactly how McGrady made the scrumptiously nutritious meal for Diana, plus hear a few more delightful stories about his time working for her and the family:

We would have loved to sit down to this meal with the lovely princess! Sure, we could say that about pretty much any plate Diana would have put in front of our faces, but this one definitely looks extra tasty.

Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items. Use right arrow key to move into submenus. Use escape to exit the menu. Use up and down arrow keys to explore. Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.