My life on a plate - Mel C

My mum, Joan, always found time to cook from scratch when I was young, even though she worked full time and sang in a band. She was really organised: she’d do her shopping and would know what we were going to have every day, and used leftovers wisely.

A lot of people from Liverpool will know scouse. It is basically Irish stew and I think it originally came to Liverpool with Irish immigrants – there are many in my family tree. Lamb or beef, potatoes, carrots and onion are cooked slowly together, and you have it with red cabbage or beetroot. When scouse is on the stove, there’s no smell like it. It’s like a warm hug.

Try making your own warming scouse stew.

I joined the Spice Girls when I was 20 and it was an insane time. I developed an eating disorder; I was in the spotlight, being photographed constantly, and I started to become selfconscious of my body image. I was in denial for a long time but I always wanted to get better – I had talking therapies and holistic therapies, like acupuncture. Sport became really important to me too.

I love to be physically fit and, obviously, to really push yourself, you have to make sure you eat the right things. I like to think I have a healthy relationship with food now, and I love to cook. We’re so much more aware of nutrition nowadays. When I was a teenager, I didn’t know the difference between a protein and a carb. We need to get back to realising that we are what we eat.

The recipe I'd like to pass on...

This raw lemon cheesecake is a winner and kids lap it up. It's a dairy free and gluten free with just a little agave syrup to sweeten it. My daughter Scarlett is seven and a half, and sometimes she'll want to get involved with the cooking: other times there are more interesting things to do. As a parent, it's important to give your children life skills, so when they do go off, they can at least boil an egg!

Make your own raw lemon cheesecake.

What are the recipes you couldn't live without? Let us know in the comments below...