The Deliciously Ella founder has teamed up with health experts on her latest book.

Ella Mills, husband Matthew, and daughters Skye and May.

Ella Mills celebrated a major milestone this year, marking 10 years since she posted the first recipe (spiced sweet potatoes with an avocado cream) on the blog she titled Deliciously Ella.

Now a multi-million pound company with a staff of 50 run by the food writer and her husband and business partner Matthew, the brand was born out of a “horrendous situation”, when Mills, now 31, was forced to drop out of university due to ill health.

“I had lots of digestive issues, I had chronic fatigue, chronic pain, I had a consistent [urinary tract infection] for four years,” she says on a Zoom call from Deliciously Ella HQ. “I was on antibiotics, I went into hospital for antibiotic drips, I was on steroids, I tried beta blockers…”

Eventually diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome and prescribed drugs that still weren’t working a year later, the then 21-year-old was running out of options. “I just hit an absolute rock bottom with my physical health, but also with my mental health,” she recalls.

Taking matters into her own hands, Mills decided to overhaul her diet, cutting out meat and processed foods, which she found worked wonders for her health, and gradually she came off all medication.

Teaching herself to cook from scratch and sharing her experiments online, the culinary seeds were sown and the novice cook’s following began to grow – today Deiciously Ella has 2.1m followers on Instagram.

early adapter

Today, plant-based cookery has well and truly hit the mainstream, but back then it was a different story.

“Ten years ago, you felt really lonely and like you’re a complete weirdo,” Mills says. “Going out for dinner, I’d be like, ‘Do you have anything that’s plant-based?’ They’d be like, ‘Oh, you can have a green salad’. That’s not dinner. Now you find amazing options everywhere, which is completely new and so exciting.”

Six cookbooks, an app, a restaurant and a supermarket product range later, the mum of two daughters (Skye, three, and May, who’ll turn two in October) is as surprised as anyone about her phenomenal success.

“My mum’s the first person to say, ‘No one expected this of Ella’,” she says with a laugh. “It’s said with love, but it’s completely true. I was really not someone who had big plans in life.”

So, what changed?

“I think I’ve realised the power of finding a purpose,” she reflects. “That has totally transformed everything I do – that sense of excitement around a meaning. I’ve been really surprised by how much that’s changed me.”

While the business has mushroomed, that purpose has remained the same, Mills insists: “I obviously started Deliciously Ella for my own needs, but I’ve always been really passionate about being useful for people. It’s all about trying to genuinely give goods and services that are helpful.”

That’s why the bestselling author’s latest title is something of a departure from the standard cookbook format. How To Go Plant-Based: A Definitive Guide For You And Your Family features advice from a range of doctors, nutrition experts, and a psychologist.

“I think what we’ve really seen over the last few years is you’ve now got this huge swathe of the population who identify as flexitarian, or are trying to be more plant-based,” Mills explains. Yet a lot of people are are still confused when it comes to swapping meat for veg-focused meals, she believes.

“There obviously are so many myths out there and so many concerns, you know, do you need to take supplements? How do you get protein? How do you get calcium? Is it safe for me to do when I’m pregnant? Can my children do it? What about my teenagers?”

flexitarian

Along with answers to those questions, the seventh Deliciously Ella book is packed with easy, one-pan dinners like roasted squash and dhal tray bake, and family favourites regularly wolfed down by Mills’ own little ones, such as the 10-minute pea and pesto orzo.

Time, the working mum knows, is of the essence, as is proving the embrace of home-cooked food on a budget. But a plant-based diet doesn’t necessarily have to be at odds with the cost of living crisis.

“You can’t hide from [the fact that ingredient are costing more],” Mills says. “But equally, lots of recipes you can make at home, like lentil-based bologneses, they can be pretty inexpensive and arguably a lot cheaper than lots of meat-based meals.”

And while a fully plant-based diet works for Mills, she stresses that munching a burger or bowl of mac and cheese – even after you’ve vowed to quit your carnivorous diet – doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the wagon.

“There is no wagon.” she says. “I am very passionate about the fact that a dogmatic approach to anything in life just doesn’t work.”

Instead, she hopes readers discover the health-giving power of plant-based meals, whether they’re vegan, veggie, flexitarian or anywhere in-between.

“It’s about trying to look after yourself for decades, not days,” says Mills. “You’re not being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, you’re just trying to genuinely nourish your body.”

Creamy Beetroot And Walnut Spaghetti Recipe

This plant-based pasta dish is vibrant and full of flavour. “This bright pink spaghetti is a real winner,” says Ella. “The mix of walnuts, pine nuts and white beans gives it a lovely texture, the coconut milk makes it beautifully creamy. The beets bring the colour, and the garlic and parsley really add to the flavour. The result is sweet and mild, almost like a korma sauce.”

Serves 4

Ingredients:

∂ 100g walnuts

∂ 50g pine nuts

∂ 300g cooked beetroot, drained, peeled and roughly chopped

∂ 25g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

∂ 3tbsp olive oil

∂ 1 red onion, finely sliced

∂ 1 garlic clove, finely sliced

∂ 1 × 400g tin of small white beans (cannellini or haricot), drained

∂ 200ml tinned coconut milk, shaken well to disperse the cream

∂ Lemon juice, to taste

∂ 4 servings of spaghetti or other long pasta (75g per person)

∂ Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

1 Toast the walnuts and pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a high heat until the pine nuts are golden, then transfer to a food processor along with the beetroot, parsley, two tablespoons of the olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Blitz until you have a thick purée.

2 Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large casserole and fry the onion for five to seven minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and fry for another minute.

3 Transfer the beetroot purée to the pan along with the beans and coconut milk and mix everything together. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes to heat everything through.

4 Check the seasoning then stir in lemon juice to taste.

5 Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the pack, then drain well and return to the pan.

6 Stir the sauce through the pasta and serve immediately.

Cauliflower And Cashew Pilaf Tray Bake

Try this one-tray wonder for an easy midweek dinner. “The ginger, garlic, bay leaves and spices give this cauliflower and cashew pilaf loads of depth, with a nice pop of colour from the green beans,” says Ella. “To vary this, you can swap the cauliflower for squash or sweet potato – just peel and chop into bite-sized pieces and add it in the same way.” She advises one slight change for kids: “If you’re cooking for very young children, omit the cashews from the roasting tin and sprinkle over the adults’ portions when serving.”

Serves 4

Ingredients:

∂ 1 onion, finely sliced

∂ 1 cauliflower, tough outer leaves discarded, cut into florets

∂ 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

∂ 2 garlic cloves, crushed

∂ 1½ tbsp coconut oil, melted

∂ 1 cinnamon stick

∂ 2 bay leaves

∂ 1tsp cumin seeds

∂ ½tsp turmeric

∂ 1tsp ground coriander

∂ 50g cashews, roughly chopped

∂ 40g sultanas

∂ 250g white basmati rice, rinsed and drained

∂ 200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 4–5cm lengths

∂ 500ml hot vegetable stock

∂ 1 lemon, halved

∂ Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped

∂ Harissa, to serve (optional)

Method:

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

2 Put the onion, cauliflower, ginger and garlic into a large roasting tin. Add the coconut oil, cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin, turmeric, coriander and cashews. Mix everything until well combined and spread out in a single, even layer.

3 Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the onion and cauliflower have taken on a little colour.

4 Take the tray out and add the sultanas, rice and green beans. Stir them through the veg, then spread everything out in an even layer. Pour over the hot stock.

5 Cover the tray with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cauliflower and rice are tender. Season and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste, then serve with a generous sprinkling of coriander, and a drizzle of harissa, if you like.

Banana And Olive Oil Loaf

With no added sugar, this nutty loaf is a guilt-free sweet treat. “I make this recipe all the time for the girls, it’s brilliant and they absolutely love it,” says Ella. “It’s soft and spongy and the prunes or dates make the loaf lovely and sweet – you really don’t miss sugar at all. It’s perfect on its own, but equally delicious as a pudding with coconut yoghurt.”

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

∂ 200g self-raising flour, sifted

∂ 1tsp baking powder

∂ 3 very ripe bananas, mashed

∂ 4tbsp coconut yoghurt

∂ 75ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing

∂ 1tsp vanilla bean paste

∂ 100g prunes or medjool dates, chopped

∂ 1tbsp ground flaxseed

∂ 75g sultanas or raisins

Method:

1 Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.

2 Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment.

3 In a large bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.

4 In a separate bowl, mix together the banana, coconut yoghurt, olive oil, vanilla, prunes and flaxseed. Stir in the sultanas.

5 Add the banana mixture to the flour and mix well – it will seem dry at first but it will come together.

6 Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, level out the top and bake for 50–60 minutes, until risen and golden. Test with a skewer – if it comes out clean the loaf is ready.