As a mother-of-five, Frida Redknapp knows that getting dinner on the table isn’t always straightforward. That’s the thinking behind Frood, her new cooking blend brand designed to help busy families create meals in minutes.
We spoke to her about healthy eating, raising children with a positive relationship to food and why balance matters more than perfection.
Women’s Health: Tell us a little about Frood
Frida Redknapp: I call it my sixth baby. I’d been creating food content for about a year as a creative outlet, but I still had this urge that there was something more I wanted to do, a project of some sort, involving food and wellness.
About two years ago, I was at a children’s party, and a mum said to me, ‘Frida, I love your content, but please save me. I have three kids, I’m very overwhelmed, I work full-time, and I don’t have time to cook.’ That conversation planted a seed.
A few months later – August 2024 – I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea. My husband thought something was wrong because I literally was like ‘aah!’ I thought: what if I turned my family’s favourite recipes into physical blends that would help busy families, individuals, young adults (my daughter is at uni, so I thought about her as well) to cut down the prep time and just whip up meals in around 15 minutes?
WH: How did you turn that idea into a physical product?
Frida: It started with recipes my family already loved. Obviously Swedish meatballs, being Swedish, are a big thing in our house. I thought about all the fresh ingredients I use and how I could transform them into dry blends using dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables.
I bought dehydrating machines on Amazon and lined my entire kitchen counter with them. For months I tested everything you can imagine — vegetables, fruit, pulses, cereals. I was constantly experimenting.
At one point I had dehydrators covering one side of the kitchen and sachets of prototypes covering the other. That was when I realised I might actually have something.
It’s a very innovative product. It doesn’t really exist anywhere, which is also exciting. So, I then started researching how you commercialise product at home, and how you can turn that into a business. I didn’t really have any background in that.
WH: What was the most ridiculous thing you found yourself dehydrating?
Frida: Onions were definitely a problem. The smell would waft through the entire house. We live in a tall house, and it goes all the way to the top. The kids would come in complaining that their eyes were watering, saying, ‘Come on, no, not onions again!’
But honestly, I tried everything. I even experimented with making healthy cereals by making a bean paste full of apple and seeds, and creating little hoops. I became fascinated by the process because freeze-dried and dehydrated foods retain a lot of nutrients.
WH: What has been the least glamorous part of launching your own food business?
Frida: The least glamorous, but probably the most fun, has been spending time in the factory – you’ve got your hairnet on, funny shoes, coat. I obviously developed the product with love in my kitchen, but to ensure they’re replicated as closely as possible to the original, I’ve spent a lot of time in the innovation kitchen, where we cook and trial things on the spot. I’m 44, and it’s the first time in my life I’ve been so confident about a project.
WH: Have you always loved cooking?
Frida: Always. 100%. My mum worked incredibly hard to make ends meet when I was growing up. She had multiple jobs at once – she worked in care homes, she was a housekeeper, she even cleaned apartment blocks – so I would go home after school and cook. I’d open the fridge and start experimenting with whatever ingredients we had.
I’m sure some of it was horrendous. But that’s where my love of cooking came from – from spending time in the kitchen on my own as a young girl. And I genuinely loved it.
My grandparents also had a vegetable patch, apple trees, plum trees and a greenhouse. We’d pick vegetables straight from the garden – we would literally go and grab potatoes and tomatoes and carrots, cook, and then eat 30 minutes later. I grew up understanding where food came from and I’m incredibly grateful for that.
WH: What makes Frood different from other convenience food products on the market?
Frida: I think people are becoming much more aware of what’s in their food. They’re looking at ingredient lists and asking questions. What I wanted to create was something that genuinely saves time without compromising on flavour or nutrition.
I want to redefine the convenience food space because it’s often associated with preservatives, microwavable meals and products that don’t last very long. With Frood, the beauty is that it’s a dry blend, so it lasts longer while still helping people create something that feels homemade.
It’s also super versatile. So you can add the bolognese blend to beans, vegan mince or beef. The meatball blend could become meatballs, but it could also become a meatloaf. You’re still cooking the meal yourself – we’re just taking away some of the prep. It’s not like putting a ready meal in the microwave.
WH: Has becoming a mother changed your relationship with food?
Frida: I think becoming a mum changes your view on food and nutrition a lot. I became a mum at 24, and suddenly it isn’t all about you anymore – you have to focus on growing this little human. It’s really important to make sure we feed the future properly.
I would never say to my kids, ‘Don’t eat that’. I’d rather focus on adding things in – making sure we have extra vegetables and encouraging balance. Coming from a modelling background, it’s so important that you have a healthy, positive relationship with food.
We had pizza night on Sunday, and then tonight the kids want me to make chicken burgers. We have the occasional Five Guys – for me, it’s very important that food isn’t about restrictions. Kids should not think about food. I don’t think kids and teenagers should spend any time thinking about food. I’d rather my kids spend time just living life and being active.
WH. What’s your non-negotiable when it comes to feeding your family?
Frida: Breakfast is hugely important. I want my children to leave the house with a belly full of fibre, some protein and a balanced breakfast. Once they leave for school, you don’t always know what they’re eating during the day, so I feel it’s important to start them off well.
I love making pancakes and waffles, but I stuff them with as much goodness as possible. I’ll blend mixed nuts into a nut flour, add oat flour, chia seeds, flaxseeds, Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, vanilla and cottage cheese for extra protein. I’ll cook them in a little olive oil and they’re so quick and easy and nutritious.
I also make what I call ‘Rise and Shine’ breakfast cookies at least four or five mornings a week – I have the quickest recipe and they’re full of fibre and omega-3s. And I also make a family smoothie, for the whole family, with kefir and mixed berries.
WH: What does a genuinely chaotic weekday dinner look like in your house?
Frida: When you have teenage boys, they sometimes require two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners. So even if I’ve made a decent amount of food, all of a sudden it’s gone, and they come back in after 30 minutes, say, ‘Mum, I’m still hungry’. So I always make sure I have a solution or something ready to go – even something they can whip up themselves.
We eat a lot of bolognese, meatballs, curries and salmon teriyaki. One of my sons loves a lentil salad with halloumi, so I always make sure I have halloumi in the fridge. I also pre-cook quinoa, lentils and beans and then keep them in jars in the fridge so you can just throw together a quick salad.
WH: What does healthy eating mean to you now?
Frida: I really enjoy eating a wholesome diet, because I feel like I then do better with work and exercise, and I’m a better mum.
It’s never about restriction. It’s about balance and consistency. Most of the time I make nourishing choices, but there’s absolutely room for beautiful bread and butter, chocolate and enjoying life.
WH: If someone opened your kitchen cupboards, what would genuinely surprise them?
Frida: You’ll find Swedish crisps, Swedish sweets and usually some liquorice somewhere. It’s nostalgic for me.
I also have every bean and pulse imaginable, kefir in the fridge at all times and tart cherry juice, which the whole family drinks in the evenings. And my husband loves M&S Percy Pigs, so they’re always in the cupboard.
Frood is launching with four cooking blends; Swedish Meatballs, Bella Bolognese, Golden Curry and Mexi Fiesta, and is now available in M&S Food Stores, on Ocado and Frood.com
