Retired athlete Denise Lewis reveals how she keeps her kids active and healthy

She's a household name for her incredible sporting achievements, but nowadays Denise Lewis' children just know her as 'mum', and her top priority is getting the best performance she can out of them.

We called her up for a chat to find out how she fuels her three sporty children and keeps them interested in the kitchen.

"I’m busy, they're busy, my husband’s busy," she explains. "So we can't always sit down together for a family meal every night.

"We do try to make sure we share our meal times a few days a week though, especially on a Sunday. That really is family time and we all participate in helping to get everything ready and preparing the food -  even the littlest one, who's just five."

Setting a good example, both she and husband Steve Finan cook, and Lauryn, 11, Ryan 7 and Kane, 5, help by with the chopping and preparing, as well as getting involved in the weekly shop.

"They get to see dad in the kitchen doing the big dinner – a proper roast with all the trimmings. We have some light music on in the background and it's a great time to chat and catch up."

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Fussy eaters

Denise takes a relaxed attitude towards what her children choose to eat and won't go near.

"Kids will always go through phases, so I try not to get hellbent on making them eat something if they're not keen.

"They don’t love, broccoli, and sweetcorn was really in and out quite for a while! But what I’ve tried to do is introduce lots of flavours and textures and we rotate meals quite well in the home, so they're always experiencing something different to keep them interested."

Family favourites include lasagne, fajitas and strangely, asparagus.

"I'm very lucky that they eat most things, but I’ve worked hard to do that. When we travel around the world, I feel pretty safe that there is always something they’re going to eat.

“One example that stands out was my kids' first experience of traditional Japanese Teppan-yaki-style cooking at Teppan Edo in Walt Disney World. The chefs come to your tables and chop and stir-fry dishes on grills right in front of you and the kids’ faces just lit up.

"I think it’s so important to experience different types of cuisines and the culture behind them for kids and it helps ensure that they are more willing to try new types of foods.”

Sports

"Realistically I would say I manage to do a proper workout two or three times a week. As you can imagine, my children are quite sporty so we have a very busy schedule. Monday to Saturday it's full of football, tennis, gymnastics, netball... and one of my kids is doing a bit of French as well!"

But despite her success on the track and field, Denise is keen for her children to experience other sports.

"They do know what I used to do but I try not to make it a thing. It's more parents and people around them who will focus on what their mum did.

"To them I’m just mummy and I try to encourage them to do the best they can at whatever they do. If anything I probably stayed away from athletics because I wanted them to experience new sports."

And though it's a bit early to say if they'll be following her footsteps, she's happy that they've shown a natural interest in being active.

"I think it's natural for parents to want kids to be active and good at things, like I want them to be able to swim so they can go to water parks and that kind of thing and be safe."

"I think the best thing to do is make it a natural part of life. We go for bike rides at the weekend and there are loads of lovely parks near where I live.

"And encouraging competition in the family helps. My youngest boy, who's in reception, wasn't very strong on the bike so he had to go on mine for a while - so he hated that and practised really hard so he could get his own bike.

"Giving them goals without them realising."

By the sounds of things we'll be looking out for Denise's three in a couple of Olympics time!

Denise Lewis is an ambassador for Walt Disney World in Florida's Free Dine offer, where families booking a 2014 holiday before 5th November can dine for free. Terms and conditions apply. For more information visit http://www.disneypackages.co.uk.