Pinch Of Nom authors Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone – whose first book became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction title since records began – are back with another helping of slimming recipes, this time called Pinch Of Nom: Everyday Light.
The pair, who are partners in business and in life, live in the Wirral, north-west England, in Allinson’s family home, which is where the idea for Nom was cooked up – first as a blog and then on Facebook, where they have 1.5 million followers.
Here, we chat to the Pinch of Nom authors about food favourites, their secret to weight-loss and not putting too much pressure on yourself…
What’s the food you remember growing up with?
Featherstone: “Mine would be ‘Tin of Praters’, which is from the first Pinch Of Nom book. It’s a bacon, onion and potato bake which is really simple, served with carrot and swede, that’s what I remember growing up.”
Allinson: “Mine would be my mum’s Lancashire hotpot, which is on the website. It was comfort food.”
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Featherstone: “Usually an expensive piece of steak. Sometimes we go beyond rib-eye and get a fillet.”
Allinson: “My weakness is probably cheese – any type of cheese.”
You lost 14 stone between you over four years of eating the slimming recipes you’ve devised. Do you have any advice for anyone trying to lose weight?
Featherstone: “You’re not alone. There are so many people trying to do the same thing. So many people we see are trying to drop so much weight in so many months – don’t do it to yourself. If you have a bad week or a bad day, these things happen.”
Allinson: “Don’t put all the pressure on yourself. When people are going through a journey on their own, there are lots of people out there in the same boat. And it’s OK to fall off the wagon. Just try to get back on it.”
How difficult has it been for you to lose weight over the years?
Featherstone: “It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever done.”
How have you lost all that weight?
Featherstone: “We don’t really think about it. That’s the secret. We don’t weigh ourselves every day. We just get on with it.”
Allinson: “We don’t pile the pressure on ourselves, we just carry on. We are quite conscious about what we are eating.”
Favourite Pinch Of Nom recipe?
Featherstone: “I like the keema pie, which is like a curried shepherd’s pie (from the new book).”
Allinson: “I’d probably go with Sloppy Dogs (from the latest book, a new take on the classic hot dog, featuring lean pork mince combined with fried onions, mustard and ketchup).”
Do you have dinner parties?
Featherstone: “No, we are not the type.”
If you were having a dinner party, what would you serve?
Allinson: “Probably creamy garlic chicken from our first book.”
Featherstone: “And for dessert, maybe pineapple upside-down cake (on the website) or the cheesecake-stuffed strawberries. They’re a favourite.”
What are your weaknesses?
Featherstone: “They’re the same as anybody else. We like a bit of chocolate. We like the odd Chinese. Kate is a cheese fiend.”
Are there times when you’re more likely to fall off the wagon food-wise?
Featherstone: “If we’re busy or emotional, things happen, eating habits can change. But we try and avoid as much noise as we can, so we can get on with what we do.”
The book has been sold into 15 countries including China, Korea and the US. Might you go down the exercise path in tandem with future cookbooks?
Allinson: “We might team up with somebody at some point, but it’s not something that we’d do at the moment. We are not a diet plan – it’s just a book of recipes.”
Pinch Of Nom: Everyday Light by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone is published by Bluebird Books, priced £20. Available now.
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