Apparently, Madonna has been on a porridge diet in a bid to put on weight. It seems Guy prefers her with a bit of flesh on her bones – and there I was thinking that people ate oats when they wanted to lose a few pounds.

Anyway, there have been some exciting developments in the porridge world recently. One of them is the arrival of Grasshopper, an organic brand developed by a pair of bonkers sisters from the Isle of Wight. Fleur and Abigail Emery seem to have spent their entire lives windsurfing, playing poker and watching dodgy retro television shows, all of which they’ve survived by eating a regular diet of porridge. Grasshopper works like an organic breakfast equivalent of the Pot Noodle – add boiling water and stir. There’s a sweetly comforting Coconut & Date flavour, a spicily creamy Cinnamon & Raisin and a cheeky chocolate one. And they have less than 250 calories a pot – perfect if you’re on a January diet.

I’m also loving a new organic Fruity Date Porridge from Rude Health, the company behind Ultimate Muesli, beloved of Elizabeth Hurley and Zac and Sheherazade Goldsmith. I imagine they’re going to be tucking into this stuff pretty voraciously as well. Made with dates, apricots, apple and a trace of cinnamon, it’s so sexily delicious, I found myself eating it in gluttonous spoonfuls straight from the packet.

Grasshopper organic porridge, about £1.49 per pot, from Fresh & Wild; www.teamgrasshopper.co.uk. Fruity Date Porridge, £4.95 for 1kg, plus p&p, from Rude Health; www.rudehealthfoods.co.uk

GET CRACKING

Attention food-faddists: going to work on an egg could help you to lose weight. Boffins have discovered that eating an egg for breakfast makes you feel full for longer, so you’re less likely to snack through the day.

READY, STEADY, COOK

We spend £2 billion a year on ready meals, so it’s good news that Marks & Spencer has started selling ingredients for people who actually want to cook, rather than just switch on the oven. The range includes 10 kinds of rice and brilliant spice blends for a homemade curry, pulses, dried fruit and nuts, flours, sugars, herbs, oils, sauces, seasonings and a good selection of Asian ingredients, as well as cake and bread mixes for the lazily inclined. Many products are organic, and I was particularly impressed to find fresh fish stock, avocado oil and ketjap manis, Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Each item costs less than £4 – it makes you wonder why Marks didn’t do it before.

TAKE 3

Hieu Trung Bui, of the Viet Grill, suggests this healthy, fresh-tasting Vietnamese chicken salad.

Serves 2-4 as a starter

— 1 small free-range chicken
— 2 onions, thinly sliced
— 80g rau ram (Vietnamese mint) or ordinary mint, cut into 5cm strips

Rub the chicken with salt and black pepper. Marinate for 45 minutes. Put the chicken in 2 litres of boiling salted water, simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Set aside for a further 25 minutes.

Combine the onions and mint with the juice of a lemon, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper. Shred the meat (removing the skin) and mix with the other ingredients. Serve immediately.

Viet Grill, 58 Kingsland Road, E2; 020 7739 6686

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