We take five minutes with Jennifer Irvine, the founder of gourmet dietary delivery services The Pure Package and its sister brand Balance Box. Designed to bring healthy and tailor-made diet delivery boxes to your doorstep, Jennifer Irvine helps to put back the fun into eating healthy.
Can you tell our readers a little bit about Balance Box?
Sure! It’s an easy, fresh, no-fuss meal-delivery service, which delivers your (almost!) ready-to-eat food straight to your door twice a week. It’s packaged in cool little pots which are bursting with nutrition and health, designed by our team of experts to help you shed pounds and gain energy. Simply choose from our light or our market menu, veggie or not, and leave the rest to us!
With juice bars opening on every street and fitness becoming a fashionable focus. Why do you think London has suddenly become a very health conscious culture?
I think a large part of it has to do with the predominance of the younger generation in these types of businesses – people who have been exposed to a greater variety of cultures, who are educated about health, interested in food and fitness, and most importantly not afraid to take risks and invest in their projects.
How has your childhood influenced your career?
Oh goodness, my childhood is the absolute foundation of my career! I grew up on a self-sufficient farm on the West of Ireland, and all our lives centred around food – real food. We grew it, raised it, caught it – even milked it! My parents make award-winning cheese (Milleen’s) and as a result love of, and respect and appreciation for, food is in my blood.
You launched your first business The Pure Package and it has grown into a multimillion-pound company with many celeb fans. What advice would you give our readers who want to start their own business?
Spend time working out what it is you really love – what do you feel passionate about? – and pursue that passion. The early days are hard – there will be obstacles and distractions (and a lot of self-questioning!) – but just stay focused on your goal, and remember that you’re doing something which you love.
How does Balance Box differ from The Pure Package?
Well, they’re both from the same family (in particular, they have the same “mother”!) and have a lot in common, but with noticeable differences. The Pure Package offers clients a wider selection of ordering choices and a greater range of menu options, and the meals are delivered every day. Think of it as the sophisticated older sister in the family – the one who wears couture and drinks vintage champagne!
Balance Box, on the other hand, delivers a few days’ worth of meals in one go (eg, weekdays, or weekends) and your store them yourself, then just follow our heating – and eating! – instructions. There are two alternatives – a lighter plan (for kick-starting weight-loss) and our market plan, each of which is also available as a vegetarian option. This is the cheekier, slightly edgier meal-delivery sibling – the one who wears cool high-street brands and drinks artisan ciders!
You’ve also launched best selling recipe books, when you’re not busy with your fingers in all the pies (literally) what do you like to do to unwind?
Honestly, I am the busiest person you’ll ever meet! I don’t get to unwind too often – which doesn’t really bother me too much, because I really love what I do – but when I do I just veg out with my family. A good family movie, a homemade-pizza, a glass of wine – and my husband and kiddies all around me, snuggled up in front of a fire while a storm blows outside. Either that or pottering about in my vegetable garden!
Can you clue our readers in on any exciting projects you may be working on?
The team is always bandying around ideas, some we take further than others. I’ve had interest from television production companies, which might be something I consider when I have more time, and of course there’s always another book which needs to be written!
London is very much a social city. What are some of your favourite healthy spots across the capital you like to eat and snack at?
I love Japanese food – it’s so fresh and pure – and so if I need something on the go, I’ll try to pop in to a Leon restaurant and grab one of their delicious superfood salads. I’ve always had the utmost respect for Prets – it changed the face of lunchtime in England – and they have a great range of healthy options (especially their miso soup!), so I find myself there often also. On the rare occasion when I have time for a more leisurely lunch, or if I’m up “in town” with my husband, we’ll go to Zuma – their seafood is always spanking fresh and I have a weakness for their tempura which is an essential part of traditional Japanese cuisine.
You’re also a mum of four, how do you balance running multiple businesses and mummy duties?
Three easy steps: prepare, prepare, prepare! I get up as early as I can – around 5am most days – which gives me a precious hour or two to myself before the house is up. During this time I organise my day, respond to any letters or emails, and sort out the girls’ day. I’m also a huge believer in having key people in my team, to whom I delegate as much as I can safe in the knowledge that it’ll be attended to brilliantly.
What inspires your recipes?
Whatever’s in season. I really believe that Mother Nature knows best, and that we shouldn’t ignore the rhythm of the seasons. I’m fortunate to have a wonderful garden where I grow a whole range of herbs, berries, fruits and vegetables, so I get inspired simply by looking out my kitchen window.
What’s the best way to encourage little ones to get excited about healthy eating?
I think there are two key elements: firstly, introduce a variety of fresh, natural, healthy foods from as early an age as possible, so that it’s not a huge leap for them once they get older. But more importantly, don’t fuss about it. Children will often look to use some type of friction as a bargaining tool, and as much as you can, steer this away from food. If they don’t want to eat it, don’t force them, and don’t act like it’s a big deal. Chances are the next time you serve it, they’ll have forgotten what it was they didn’t like in the first place!
When we are feeling run-down and lethargic, it’s a hard battle to not reach for a chocolate bar. What inspires you to stay motivated?
Two things. The first thing is seeing the physical effects that our food plans have on our clients. It’s terribly vain, but it’s hard not to be motivated when you know just how great you’re going to look! But even more than that is just how great I feel when I eat sensibly and properly. It takes only a few days before those mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy slumps disappear, and once you feel like you can take on the world, you never want to turn back!
Do you have you have any guilty pleasures? (We won’t tell…. Our secret)
Oh God yes – it has to be potatoes! I am Irish, after all! And while potatoes are not bad for you, the way I love to eat them – dripping with fresh butter, a pinch of sea-salt and some fresh chives – is probably not the healthiest!
More and more people seem to be looking towards their diet and nutrition to help find answers to improve their wellbeing. Why do you think there is more of a demand for this?
I think that we have become more educated about self-empowerment – that if we want to be more content and fulfilled, we need to take control of it ourselves. For so many people, the first step in this journey is with food. It is our fuel, after all, and so if we want to have the energy to control our own destiny, we need to fill up with the best possible produce.
What advice would you give to new mums wanting to shift the baby weight quickly?
Honestly? I’d say “don’t”. As the saying goes, “nine months on, nine months off” – which I think is such sound, sensible advice. Focus on getting your energy levels as stable as you can, and cherish the special time which is early motherhood. You’ll enjoy it so much more if you have the energy to take it all in your stride. When the time is right – 9 months, or a year, after birth – you will probably find that your body naturally reverts back to its prior shape. And if it doesn’t – often as a result of quick-fix pick-me-ups (choccie biscuits mid-morning, a gobbled bowl of sugary cereal at 6am) – then is the time to take stock of your eating and moving habits. We have some great menus for new mums, but they’re all about energy levels, not about weight-loss.
What advice would you give our readers what want to get beach body ready for summer?
The same advice we give all our clients who want to change their shape and their energy levels: eat three meals and two snacks a day; eat real food – food as close to nature – as possible; eat the rainbow – incorporate as many different colours of food (naturally coloured) as you can; and finally, remember the rule of palm: portion sizes of each component of your meal (one protein, one carb, and one vegetable) should be no bigger than your palm.
Please please please don’t ever starve yourself for any reason (other than a medical one). No bikini or beach is worth the damage to your health.
There’s been a big juicing and spiralizing trend, can you clue our readers on what to look out for next in nutrition?
Sea vegetables – or sea-weed, to most people! (But it’s so much more than just sea-weed – honestly!) It’s nature’s true superfood, an incredible source of minerals, fibre, and anti-oxidants. It’s also one of the few non-animal sources of Vitamin B12, making it a great food for vegans and vegetarians. In Japan, where it’s a staple ingredient, it’s accredited with low rates of cancer, thick lustrous hair, gorgeous glowing skin, and their famed longevity. We’ve got a meal package dedicated to sea vegetables, and the feedback we get from clients is incredible. You heard it here first!