What Food Does Mary Berry Avoid for a Healthier Diet?

January 6, 2026 •

4 min read

At 90 years old, Dame Mary Berry is a beacon of healthy, simple cooking, and one of her core rules is avoiding processed foods. But what food does Mary Berry avoid, and why do her choices make a difference in her classic recipes and overall wellness?

Quick Summary

The esteemed cook and baker follows a diet rich in fresh produce, shunning processed foods and modern fads like kale. She also avoids low-fat spreads for superior baking and prefers retro dishes over trendy ones like avocado on toast.

Key Points

Processed Foods: Mary Berry strictly avoids processed foods, preferring fresh, natural ingredients found at butchers and farm shops.
Kale: She is not a fan of the trendy vegetable kale, once admitting she gave it to her pony, and prefers more traditional greens like cabbage.
Avocado on Toast: Berry dislikes the fashionable trend of avocado on toast, suggesting more classic uses for the fruit, such as in a prawn cocktail.
Low-Fat Spreads: For baking, she warns against using low-fat butter or margarine, as their higher water content can ruin the cake's texture.
Moderation: Instead of cutting out foods, Berry promotes moderation, enjoying small portions of treats like cake rather than excessive snacking.
Focus on Veggies: Her diet is rich in green vegetables, with smaller portions of meat or fish, advocating for a balanced intake.
No Gimmicks: She avoids overly fussy presentation styles and complicated recipes, favoring simple, well-made dishes.

Mary Berry's Culinary Philosophy: A Focus on Freshness

Mary Berry, known for her delicious and reliable recipes, maintains a straightforward and classic approach to food. Her philosophy prioritizes fresh, high-quality ingredients and simple preparation over complicated methods or food trends. This preference for natural, whole foods forms the foundation of her dietary choices, and it is a key reason why there are certain ingredients and food types she consciously leaves out of her cooking.

The Absolute No-Go: Processed Foods

Mary Berry has been vocal about her definite avoidance of processed foods. In her view, cooking should be a hands-on activity using natural ingredients, not a task that relies on pre-made, industrially-altered products. She has expressed her love for shopping at butchers and farm shops, seeking out the best meat and 'knobbly vegetables'. This approach allows her to control exactly what goes into her food, ensuring it is wholesome and free from unnecessary additives and high levels of sugar or salt often found in processed items. For home cooks, this means embracing cooking from scratch rather than reaching for a ready meal.

A Veggie Vendetta: The Case Against Kale

While many modern health enthusiasts sing the praises of kale, Mary Berry has famously declared she is “not a huge lover of kale”. In a moment of candor, she even mentioned that she used to give it to her pony, highlighting her strong personal distaste for the trendy leafy green. Instead, she champions other, more traditional greens like cabbage and watercress, which she considers tastier and just as healthy. This reveals her preference for classic, dependable ingredients over fashionable superfoods.

A Controversial Stance: Avocado on Toast

In another example of shunning food trends, Berry has dismissed the modern obsession with avocado on toast. She has stated that smashing avocado on toast is not the 'nicest thing to do' with the fruit. For her, a better application for avocado is in a classic, 'retro' prawn cocktail or served with smoked salmon. Her preference for traditional, reliable dishes over transient food fads is a consistent theme in her cooking and public commentary.

Baking Rule: No Low-Fat Spreads

For perfect baking results, Mary Berry insists on using high-fat butter or margarine with a fat content over 75%. Her reason is simple: low-fat spreads contain a higher water content, and as this water evaporates during baking, it can cause layers to bind together, preventing the light, fluffy texture she is known for. This technical detail is a crucial piece of advice for any aspiring baker who wants to avoid a dense, dry cake. This advice isn't about personal preference but about sound, scientific baking principles.

Comparison: Mary Berry's Avoided vs. Preferred Ingredients


Avoided Foods	Reason	Preferred Alternatives
Processed foods	Preferring fresh, natural ingredients; controlling additives	Fresh produce, high-quality meat from butchers
Kale	A personal dislike for the taste; considers it a 'fad'	Traditional greens like cabbage and watercress
Avocado on toast	Thinks there are better, more classic uses for avocado	Prawn cocktail or served with smoked salmon
Low-fat butter/spreads	High water content leads to dense, dry baked goods	Butter or margarine with over 75% fat content
Sugary drinks for children	Believes water is the healthiest option	Plain water for her grandchildren

Berry's Other Culinary Habits

Beyond avoiding specific items, Mary Berry follows several simple rules for a balanced and joyful approach to eating:

Embraces Moderation: She believes in eating a little of everything and not cutting out entire food groups. She enjoys a small slice of cake in the afternoon but doesn't dip into the biscuit tin all day long.
Prioritizes Vegetables: She loads up her plate with mountains of vegetables, particularly green ones like broccoli and beans, and takes smaller portions of meat or fish.
Enjoys the Process: For Mary, cooking is more than just making food; it's about connecting with family and friends. Her philosophy celebrates simple, accessible techniques and the pleasure of sharing a meal.
Stocked Store Cupboard: While she advocates for fresh produce, she also sees the value in keeping a well-stocked store cupboard with staples like canned tomatoes, beans, and good quality stock cubes to ensure a flavorful meal is always within reach.

Conclusion

What food does Mary Berry avoid? Primarily, it's processed foods, trendy vegetables like kale, gimmicky uses of ingredients like avocado, and low-fat spreads in her baking. Her dietary choices are not based on fad diets but on a timeless philosophy that values freshness, simplicity, moderation, and classic technique. For home cooks, this offers a reassuring and achievable blueprint for creating consistently delicious and wholesome meals without overcomplicating things. By following her lead, you can improve both your culinary results and your approach to healthy eating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mary Berry avoids processed foods because she prefers cooking with fresh, natural ingredients, which gives her control over the quality and ensures the food is free from unnecessary additives and high levels of sugar and salt.

No, Mary Berry does not dislike all vegetables. While she has famously said she doesn't like kale, she loves other greens such as cabbage and watercress and eats a diet rich in fresh vegetables.

Mary Berry believes that smashing avocado on toast is not the best use of the fruit. She prefers to use avocado in classic dishes like a prawn cocktail or with smoked salmon.

She avoids low-fat spreads because their higher water content can lead to a less desirable texture in baked goods. She recommends using butter with a fat content over 75% for fluffier, lighter cakes.

Her philosophy is centered on moderation and a balanced diet. She doesn't believe in cutting out foods but rather eating a little of everything, prioritizing fresh vegetables and limiting snacks.

No, Mary Berry is skeptical of 'freak diets' and 'clean food' trends. She favors a balanced diet based on common sense and using natural, fresh ingredients.

While she avoids certain items, Mary Berry enjoys classic dishes and ingredients like pasta, cabbage, and watercress. She also allows herself a daily slice of cake in moderation.