Princess Diana Was 20 Years Ahead of This Trend and "Stole the Recipe" for Her Healthy Breakfast from a Swiss Health Clinic
Former palace chef Darren McGrady revealed the secret behind Diana's favorite morning meal.
From Queen Elizabeth's healthy two-ingredient lunch to Prince Louis's love of beetroot, fans have forever been curious about the Royal Family's eating habits. Former palace chef Darren McGrady—who worked for Princess Diana from 1993 until her 1997 death—often shares tidbits from the royal kitchens, and in a video on his YouTube channel, he showed how to recreate the late princess's surprising favorite breakfast.
Overnight oats became trendy in the United States around 2012, and these days, you can find a number of prepared versions of the healthy dish if you don't have time to make it yourself. But it turns out that Diana was a fan of the breakfast decades before people were searching Pinterest for their favorite overnight oats recipes.
"She actually went to a Swiss health clinic, and there she had these overnight oats," McGrady said, noting that they "were actually called bircher muesli, they were invented by a Swiss nutritionist."
Princess Diana is seen in 1985.
"She stole the recipe, came back, and said Darren, I want these for breakfast every day," he said.
Noting that oats are "rich in fiber," McGrady went on to demonstrate how to make the late royal's favorite meal. Rather than soaking the oats overnight in milk or oat milk, the former chef revealed that he used orange juice instead.
In the morning, the former palace chef folded in Greek yogurt—"an incredible protein"—along with raw honey to taste and lemon juice. While he noted that you can dress the oats up however you like, Diana liked Honeycrisp apples, walnuts and blueberries mixed into her oats.
McGrady admits that when he was making breakfast for Diana, he "used to double the recipe" and eat the delicious overnight oats himself, too.
