An interview with….Deliciously Ella
I was lucky enough to interview healthy girl of the moment Ella Woodward, best known for her beautiful blog Deliciously Ella. In 2011 Ella was diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. The illness had a huge impact on her life. She was sleeping for 16 hours a day and was bed-ridden 95% of the time. She decided to take matters into her own hands and over hauled her diet in the hope that it would help heal her body. She adopted a whole foods, plant-based diet and gave up meat, dairy, sugar, gluten, anything processed and all chemicals and additives. She is now healthy, happy and thriving. You can read more about her journey on her blog, where you will also find some totally delicious recipes that taste good and do you good. I mean, anyone that can create salted vanilla peanut butter cups gets my vote!
What does healthy mean to you?
Healthy is all about feeling good. It is absolutely not about dieting or deprivation. It’s about filling your body with good nutrition to help you be the best version of you. Your lifestyle has to be sustainable and so balance is so key. Telling yourself you can’t have something is just going to make you want it more so finding healthy alternatives is much more effective in building a lifestyle that you and your body will love. For me, it really is about whole, natural and unprocessed foods put together to create something delicious and feeling amazing as a result.
What three things are always in your fridge?
Avocados, dates and almond butter. Avocados are my go to favourite thing. They are so amazing for your skin and hair as they are packed with good fats which we really need to keep our bodies working well. Dates and almond butter is my favourite thing to snack on – you get that sweet fix without your blood pressure spiking so you won’t experience the energy crash you get from most sugary snacks.
What is your ‘go to’ meal?
My go to meal is my black and kidney bean chilli. It’s a recipe from my new book and it is honestly so warm and comforting. I usually make a big batch and keep it in the fridge when I have a busy week ahead so that I have something easy for dinner after a long day.
Where are your favourite foodie spots in London?
I absolutely love Nama in Notting Hill for a lunch or dinner with friends when I have time to sit down and enjoy it. It really is amazing – each dish is like a work of art and they are seriously talented. If I am on the go, I often stop at Juicebaby on Kings Road – their juices are so delicious and the kale salad is one of my favourite things!
If you could convince 10 people to change one thing what would it be?
Moving away from processed food. There are so many amazing ingredients out there that are so full of goodness. Processed food fills us with nasty ingredients with no nutritional value. It is so easy to throw together something delicious with very little preparation and it really will help you to feel more energetic, lighter and healthier.
I am healthy because…it makes me feel my best.
Thank you so much Ella, I am off to make your raw brownies X
