Into the Fridge 👁️👄👁️
Anna Newton on Ritz crackers and going to bed early
Anna Newton 👁️👄👁️
Anna Newton is a UK-based content creator, who has been blogging / YouTubing / you name it for the past 15 years. She’s a Sunday Times bestselling author of An Edited Life, and her newsletter,
, is a top 10 fashion Substack. She lives by the seaside in Brighton with her husband and their three-year old son.Anna is someone who I believe strikes the perfect balance of aspirational and relatable — her content is beautifully crafted and makes you feel like you’re hanging out with an old friend.
What is your fridge philosophy?
We always go shopping with a list, and try to buy food for the next 3-4 days. There was a show in the U.K. growing up called ‘Ready Steady Cook’ where chefs made meals with random things people bought them, but that just ain’t me. I’m a Virgo! I need lists! Recipes!! The only thing I’m lax with is seasonings. That’s got to come from the heart you know? You won’t catch me faffing around with teaspoons.
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
Plenish Almond Milk. My friends always laugh when they see my stash, but I have it every morning in my smoothie so it makes sense to bulk buy. Need a milk-alternative? I’ve *always* got your back.
Greek yoghurt - everything’s better with a dollop of green yoghurt.
Berries - we have a toddler. It’s all they eat.
Eggs - every morning I am a pancake Chef. I swear I can make banana pancakes with my eyes closed now.
Broccoli - it’s just the easiest green veg to rustle up. And it roasted? With lots of salt and oil? Heavenly.
Cheese - give me a nice ol’ bit of Cornish quartz any day of the week.
Top 5 condiments, go.
Tomato Ketchup. Preferably Heinz. I would eat this on pretty much everything.
Whole grain mustard. I’m late to the mustard game, but I like the sweet/subtle flavour of whole grain. I love rustling up salad dressings with a big dollop on this.
Chili jam. Chili jam, a slice of a Cornish quartz cheddar on a salty little cracker? Heaven.
Balsamic glaze. I’ve just got my kid into this. We just sat there dipping big bits of bread into it until we couldn’t feel our tongues anymore.
Mayonnaise. Sometimes a meal just needs a drizzle of mayonnaise and sometimes with chips you need ketchup AND mayonnaise.
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:
Medjool dates. I’ve got a sweet tooth so I’ll fashion these into energy balls (I just blend dates, cocoa powder and mixed nuts with a bit of orange or peppermint essence).
adorable and delicious! two for one! Rice packs. I know cooking rice from scratch tastes so much better, but we easily break into these Tilda rice packs like twice a week.
Ritz crackers. These are heaven to me.
Baked beans. Because sometimes it’s just a beans, poached eggs and toast kind of night. That’s our lazy ‘we can’t be arsed, but we need to feed our kid’ meal.
Super dark chocolate. I’ve trained myself to like that super dark 80% stuff and I’ve lived to tell the tale. It’s not that bad!!!
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
I’ve been on a bit of a *gut healing journey* this year — I know, could I BE even more internet girlie. But one good thing that’s come from it as our ‘go-to’ meal is far more nutrient dense than it’s ever been.
One of us can cook this in the time it takes the other to pick up our little one from childcare so it’s EASY. I’ll chop up some sweet potatoes and roast them in a little oil and salt and pepper. Then I’ll lay two salmon fillets on a baking tray and sprinkle over some oil, salt and pepper, garlic granules and paprika. Then I’ll pop that in as the potatoes finish off, chop up some broccoli and steam it and then it’s good to go. 30 minutes flat and you feel like you’re getting some health™️ into your day. We’ll have it once or twice a week. If not I’ll whip up a pasta dish and throw in some greenery and protein.
Let’s go a little deeper…
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
‘Never complain, never explain’ - is that a Kate Moss one? LOL. I feel extremely grateful to be living a life that teenage me wouldn’t even be able to fathom. People online do not need to listen to me moaning.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?
Early nights — my word I am AWFUL, physically and mentally if I haven’t got enough sleep. Our little one wakes us up early, so the only chance we have to get enough sleep is to clock in early.
Form Nutrition Protein Powder - I’ve been using this protein powder for years now. It tastes good! And thickens up my morning smoothie.
For my morning smoothie I keep all my powders portioned out and ready to go and I do the same with my frozen fruit and veg, so all I need to do is add milk. It makes it so quick and easy and means I actually get something healthy in me first thing.
And your physical?
LED Masks — I love the one from CurrentBody and Beauty Pie. They work! You just need to be really consistent with them. I wear mine probably five times a week before bed.
What do you think is the most underrated part of wellness?
Workouts you love. I know there’s always a workout split that’s going round that’s trendy, or a new workout that is having a moment, BUT, the workout that you actually enjoying is the best for *YOU*.
If 45 minutes on a StairMaster is your personal hell then it’s just not something you’re going to stick with. Consistency comes from enjoyment. Right now I’m really into reformer, so I try to book in classes 3 times a week and then do walks on my walking pad so I can do admin and write whilst I walk — it’s been a huge game-changer to upping my step count.
… and overrated?
Morning routines. As a Mum I find morning routines quite triggering — HA! — and pre-baby I *definitely* contributed to this. I used to wake up VOLUNTARILY at 5:30am to start work. What was I thinking?!
You’ve just got to get through your morning however works best for you. Even if that involves screen time for all first thing. Now I take those ‘wellness moments’ throughout the day, where I can get them in.
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:
I try to cancel/back-out of whatever I can. If my battery is low then my ability to be calm and collected in a social setting is zero. So seeing as few people as possible is the key.
Back in the day I would have tried to trick myself into feeling better by being productive, but these days I just lean into the rest. A dream day in this scenario would be dragging all my bedding to the sofa, eating a frozen pizza for lunch and spending the day binge watching some Nicole Kidman drama.
By the end if I’m feeling up to it a shower ALWAYS makes me feel better — with a hair wash is the cherry on top. I’d smooth over a body oil, do my skincare and try to have an early night. There’s always tomorrow!
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
A tongue scraper — I feel like this gets mentioned all the time here, but it’s such a low cost/high reward buy. My mouth just feels SO clean.
An exfoliating mitt — a million times better and a million times cheaper than any other exfoliating product. I’ve had mine for years and just lob it in the wash after every use.
Those little stick toothpick things — I’ve actually kept up with them and my oral health feels improved!
AG1 — I’m an Athletic Greens convert. It’s so darn pricey, but I love that it’s practically everything in one and I’ve grown to quite like the taste!
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:
It sounds high-maintenance, but every morning I do a full body moisturise. I alternate. One morning I douse myself in peanut oil (good for my psoriasis apparently?!), and the next morning I do a head-to-toe coating of Tan-Luxe The Gradual. Having a little bit of sun kissed glow makes me feel like 5% better each day. Whenever I get lax with it I feel like a turd.
Whose taste inspires you?!
My Grandma’s. What a woman. She’s 84 and still sprints by foot to do her weekly food shop. Her and my Grandad bring it all back in BACKPACKS. I’m in awe. She cooks delicious food, loves to bake and has a cracking jewellery collection.
Big, big thank you to Anna for showing us a taste of her beautiful life. I’ve been following Anna’s content for a while now, and watching her YouTube videos truly feels like home to me. To join me amongst the rest of her lovely fans, you can read her writing at
, follow her on Instagram, and find her fridge favorites + more here.Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you.
This was such a treat as Anna is the sole reason I have a sense of style, thanks to her YouTube videos. Perfect edition of ITF!
Loveee Anna - now even more that I see Hellman's Vegan Mayo in her fridge