Ella Woodward, aka Deliciously Ella, the food blogger who started a revolution with her gluten and dairy free eating method, is back with another book; Deliciously Ella Every Day. And, if you're the kind of person who's intimidated by the whole concept of £8 flax seeds, nut butters and cooking anything other than soup midweek (hello) then this book's aimed squarely at you.
We spoke to Ella to find out just how easy it is to fit healthy eating into your busy life or whether you might as well drown yourself in your soaked oats.
Hi Ella! Why did you want to write this book specifically?
I wanted to eat well but I work a lot and it’s all a bit mad. When you’re at home and you’re tired you’re not gong to start faffing around with a hundred and one ingredients where you have to go to Whole Foods to get all the stuff right?
Right. I would always choose a sandwich over any of that.
Right, and I have met people who have said that they’d like to do healthy eating but the concept is a bit intimidating.
Enter your book… Obviously you changed your habits quite radically overnight for medical reasons but is that how you’d recommend other people jump on the healthy eating bandwagon?
No…
So best to do things gradually?
Yes. It does depend on who you are though. There’s not a complete answer for everyone. I was close to desparation but if you’re not and you’re a normal person then I think it’s so much better to make small changes over time. You incorporate it into your life so it doesn’t feel like a diet and doesn’t feel overwhelming.
How long did it take you to stop craving all that crappy food?
It took three to six months.
Wow
So quite a long time to be honest. But once I learned to cook it suddenly because a lot easier. Healthy eating isn’t a diet at all though, so you shouldn’t be craving things or be tired. In order for that to be the case you have things to fill the holes. If you want loads of sweets you need to be able to make something sweet and healthy.
So I found myself walking around (fancy health food store) Planet Organic today. The amount of seeds and grains I’d never heard of was terrifying. What ‘new’ ‘health’ foods are you into?
I’m a big believer in healthy eating being about the foods you eat your whole life rather than fashion ingredients. That’s really important for me. It can seem overwhelming when there’s like 101 new things that people are talking about but they’re always expensive and hard to get hold of. Don’t worry if you’re not eating those things.
Phew. So I don’t have to learn what spirulina is? Because it’s expensive. Any tips for keeping costs down?
Yeah this is where it comes to focusing on the normal ingredients. The carrots, the chick peas, the butter beans, porridge for breakfast… I think it’s really important to focus on those familiar ingredients that you can get anywhere.
How strictly do people need to adhere to healthy eating?
I mean for me, it’s different. I have to eat like this all the time otherwise I have symptoms with take away my quality of life. There’s no reason though why anyone should feel like they’ve got to do healthy eating 24/7 and if not they’re failing.
I heard once you said you still get people who don’t believe that you struggled with a medical condtion…
Yep sometimes. But you know what? To be honest I meet people and I hear from people every day that have been inspired to try healthy eating and changed the way they eat with incredible results and it leaves them feeling amazing. So, you know, if someone wants to criticize then it doesn’t really matter because if I’m making a difference to someone….
So it all equals out in the end anyways?
Completely!
Thanks Ella
Bye!
Deliciously Ella Every Day: Simple Recipes And Fantastic Food For A Healthy Way Of Life is out now on Yellow Kite.
You might also be interested in:
Here's The Most Bonkers Health Foods You're Going To Be Eating In 2016
Make Yourself A Quick And Comforting Fish Pie In 6 Minutes Tonight
Follow Jess on Twitter @Jess_Commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.