Get Deliciously Ella’s Healthy & Hearty Fall Recipes
British food blogger and entrepreneur Ella Mills switched to a plant-based diet in 2012 to help manage an illness that impacted her nervous system.
Fast forward to today, Ella has a successful food blog titled Deliciously Ella, owns three delis in the U.K., has her own line of breakfast cereals and energy balls and has just released her third cookbook: Natural Feasts: 100+ Healthy, Plant-Based Recipes To Share And Enjoy With Friends And Family.
Click through to learn more about her cooking techniques, entertaining tips and get four recipes from her latest cookbook!
House & Home: Has cooking and creating new recipes always come naturally to you?
Ella Mills: Not at all. Before this I never really cooked. It wasn’t something I thought much about, but once I started playing around in the kitchen, I loved it. I find cooking so creative and incredibly relaxing. Although when I first started experimenting, my recipes were terrible and incredibly bland, so it’s definitely all been a work in progress!
H&H: How is this cookbook different from your previous two?
EM: It’s all about celebrating veggie cooking, natural ingredients and healthy meals made delicious. There’s always a preconception that healthy food will be boring, bland and unsatisfying, and therefore it could never be something to share with friends. I wanted to show that this doesn’t need to be the case. Some of my favorite recipes are the spiced potato cakes and the Indian-inspired Chana Masala (pictured).
Get Ella’s recipe for Chana Masala.
H&H: What’s your secret to making vegetables taste good?
EM: Herbs and spices are so important, as are cooking methods. They’re both such easy way to add flavor, texture and something different to your meal.
Get Ella’s recipe for Pea, Zucchini & Coconut Risotto.
H&H: What is your favorite hearty fall dish from this cookbook?
EM: I love the Tomato & Eggplant Bake. It’s always a real crowd pleaser with the toasted hazelnuts and “cheesy” cashew layer.
Get Ella’s recipe for Tomato & Eggplant Bake.
H&H: Can you share your best entertaining tips?
EM: I love doing a mixture of dishes, so that everyone can try different things and always find something that they love! I love candles and tea lights, and laying all the food out on the table so that it speaks for itself. I normally sprinkle the finished dishes with a mix of fresh herbs, toasted nuts and seeds, lovely dressings, great olive oil and chopped chilies to add a touch of color and texture.
H&H: Do you have any advice for someone switching to a plant-based diet?
EM: I think it’s all about doing what works for you. I always describe Deliciously Ella as plant-based, and that’s how I eat myself as it’s important to me that anyone feels they can dip in and out of what we’re doing. We all have to find the right balance for ourselves and there’s no right or wrong way to do anything.
Get Ella’s recipe for Chile & Ginger Pho.