Actor Tracy-Ann Oberman: how I eat

Tracy-Ann Oberman: ‘I went four years without coffee, but I like it so much that I find it really hard to avoid.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Breakfast

I start with a healthy concoction: an iron tonic, an aloe vera and neem, and Molkosan with 10 drops of devil’s claw mixed with fresh juice (greens and apple). And then I promptly have a double espresso – just to, you know, retoxify the system. I went four years without coffee, but I like it so much that I find it really hard to avoid. Always with a little hot oat milk and some honey. I know I should eat, but I’m not usually hungry.

Lunch

Salmon, a Greek salad, some soup. If I’m feeling wild, a spicy tuna sandwich. I used to be very careful about bread, but my friend Dr Ellie Cannon tells me few people are actually gluten-intolerant and, in moderation, bread is fine.

Snacks

At 11am I often have some muesli, with berries and milk – oat or normal; I’m not fussy. The 4pm slump is a killer, though – I’m just craving sugar to get me through. I’ll have a banana, or some dark chocolate with ginger, or an Om raw chocolate bar, if I’m feeling pious. I go through phases of being very disciplined. I used to be more faddy and do detoxes, until Ellie told me the body does that anyway, every day, with the liver and kidneys … I drink a litre of water and lots of herbal tea – green and jasmine. I like normal tea, too, sometimes – really strong, a bit like coffee, with a little milk.

Dinner

At the moment I’m really into the Detox Kitchen Bible cookbook. I did MasterChef a few years ago – I wasn’t very good, but it taught me to be confident and adventurous in my cooking.

• Tracy-Ann Oberman stars in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter, 20 April-12 May, Festival Theatre, Chichester