Something amazing is happening to Ella Woodward, creator of the healthy eating food blog Deliciously Ella. Her momentum is unbelievable. Not only has she amassed a huge following (with over two million visitors on her blog every month), she is also publishing her first cook book and as of last week is The Telegraph’s new food columnist. She is becoming hard to ignore. The Times even dubbed her as “the new Nigella”. Sorry did I mention that she is only 23? Certainly got me to reflect on what I had been doing in my twenties!
Her first cook book, also called Deliciously Ella, is being published today. To talk about it I first have to take you through Ella Woodward’s incredible journey.
Ella’s story starts as a sugar addict, when she spent years avoiding most fruits & vegetables. Having been generally healthy, she never gave much thoughts to her diet. Then in 2011 her life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS). In chronic pain, she could not walk down the street and was bedridden 95 percent of the time. After many months of hospital visits, drugs etc…she realised that unless she took matter into her own hands, she would never have a “normal” life. After researching holistic and natural approaches to healing, she turned her diet around giving up meat, gluten, dairy, sugar and all processed food. Not knowing how to cook, put more obstacles on her way, obstacles she choose to turn into opportunities by starting her blog, Deliciously Ella. Today she is the picture of health and has amassed a huge following on her blog and social media.
With over 100 new recipes, Deliciously Ella is mostly a gluten-free vegan cook book, except for some of the recipes that include honey. Because Ella’s journey has been centered around health, you will find no mention of animal welfare and environment in her book. Her plant-based recipes are about health and her mission is to get us to love eating plants.
A “No meat, gluten, dairy, sugar etc…” cook book can be intimidating to most people, yet I found Deliciously Ella very accessible. No complicated recipes, no scary ingredients, there is even a helpful chapter on which healthy staple to stock up on. Most recipes are easy and straightforward, a direct consequence of Ella herself not being too keen on spending too much time in the kitchen. One of my favourite thing about this book is the fact that Ella demonstrates that you do not have to be an experienced cook or confine yourself to the kitchen to prepare and eat healthy food.
The chapters are organised by ingredients such as Grains, Nuts and Seeds, Legumes and Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, Smoothies and Juices. There is also a nice additional chapter about how to entertain and plan meals when your guests are not specifically following a plant-based diet.
So what can you expect from a cook book containing no meat, gluten, dairy, sugar and processed food? A lot of delicious meals quite frankly. Some of my favourites include: coconut thai curry, lentil, courgette and mint salad, superfood crackers, gnocchi with pea pesto, avocado chocolate mousse, sweet potato brownies. And while you might not switch entirely to Ella’s diet, there is plenty in her book to give you some wholesome and healthy ideas to dip in and out of. Certainly a great addition to the flexitarian lifestyle.
Thanks to Ella Woodward & Yellow Kite for very kindly offering 1 copy of Deliciously Ella. See details of the competition below. Good luck!
Notice: Thanks to Kyle Books for sending a complimentary copy of this book. I was not paid to review this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
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