6 Healthy Foods Martha Eats on the Regular

One simply doesn’t become the first octogenarian Sports Illustrated cover model by accident. Martha Stewart takes great care in what she eats—and we’re taking notes. Read on for the foods that help Martha maintain the energy, intelligence, and vision that make her who she is today.

Green Juice

Martha starts each day with a green juice. “This is what I recharge my batteries with every single morning,” she says. “I don’t leave my house without it.” After years of practice, she’s landed on a recipe that’s as tasty as it is nutritious. Her version is made with pear, celery, cucumbers, parsley, ginger, and orange. Use her recipe as a starting point and substitute whatever you have on hand.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Extra-virgin olive oil is Martha’s go-to oil—she even has a dedicated olive oil cabinet in her kitchen to hold her collection of different olive oils. Not only does she use it for cooking, but she likes to finish a dish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and it’s the key ingredient in her favorite vinaigrette. This heart-healthy, plant-based fat source is incredibly versatile.

Salmon

Protein is an important part of any balanced diet, and choosing lean fish over meat can boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Martha is a seafood fan and says “wild caught, natural, and sustainable seafood is delicious and a great source of protein and nutrients.” Pan-seared salmon is one of her go-tos—it makes an easy weeknight dinner or a crowd-pleasing entree for a party.

Eggs

Martha’s kitchen is never without freshly laid eggs from the chickens on her farm. She uses them for steamed eggs (an alternative to hard-cooked eggs), French-style scrambled eggs, and omelets or frittatas, and says she enjoys one or two eggs pretty much every day.

Vegetables

It won’t surprise you to know that Martha loves fresh vegetables and they are the cornerstone of her diet. She always eats with the seasons so it’s hard to pin down her absolute favorite vegetable. Eating what’s in season is key for her, from asparagus and English peas in the spring through Swiss chard and turnips in the fall. She has long touted the importance of variety in your diet and leads by example.

Tuna

Martha enjoys tuna salad and often eats it for lunch, a meal for which she likes to eat a lighter option. She says, “I make a really good tuna fish salad,” and explains that she uses Italian tuna packed in olive oil, with celery, crispy apple, maybe half of a shallot, a lot of lemon juice, and a little bit of mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.

Fish is a key component of the Mediterranean diet, which studies suggest is associated with lower risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and cancer.