Ella in a nutshell

Ella Mills’ background story is that she was seriously ill in her twenties and healed herself by completely changing her diet. She took us along on her health journey and started sharing her recipes. Together with her husband Matthew – she built her brand and company ‘Deliciously Ella’ up from the ground. They not only publish cookbooks and a weekly podcast, but also own a plant-based restaurant, sell healthy snacks and have a hugely successful app ‘Feel Better’ which includes even more recipes, workouts and mindfulness exercises.

Why I bought this cookbook

Ella has been around for quite some time and I’ve been seeing and ‘pinning’ her recipes for years. I already own plenty of plant-based cookbooks and wasn’t necessarily looking for more knowledge on plant-based eating. The main reason I bought this cookbook is: the recipes look delicious. 🙂 I follow @deliciouslyella on Instagram and she posts a lot of recipe video’s there. They all look so incredibly easy to make. Spoiler alert: they are!

A quick overview of the contents

To give you an idea of the contents of How to go plant-based:

• The recipes truly are very accessible and very very family friendly!
• All recipes come together really fast, most are perfectly doable on a weeknight.
• You don’t need to buy a million exotic replacements for regular ingredients. The ingredient lists are short.
• Lots of pasta dishes, like spaghetti Bolognese varieties for every season.
• Lots of one pot dinners from the oven, or salads.
• We did find the portions a bit on the small side, so double up.

What we’ve cooked so far

Roasted walnut and red pepper dip

A beautiful and delicious appetiser to serve for vegan friends (or yourself). Grilling and peeling peppers is always a bit messy, but totally worth it! But you could of course also use grilled peppers from a jar. I love these small effort, big effect dishes!

Simple summer tray bake

We already made this twice. It’s very hands-off cooking. Just roast everything in one tray. All you have to do is chop the vegetables and soak the bread a little. I made it even easier on myself, by using store-bought pesto. This is truly so effortless and healthy at the same time!

Orzo veggie tray bake (with pesto)

My love for orzo is very big. It’s pasta, but so easily scooped up and comforting! I really have to be careful not to buy every cookbook that features a creamy orzo dish… So naturally this recipe was one of the first I tried from How to go plant-based. It’s lovely. I’m not a fan of nutritional yeast, so I always use good old parmesan cheese. I made the rocket and pistachio pesto which was amazing! Can’t wait to make this again.

Courgette and herb fritters (with salsa verde)

This is a slightly more involved recipe but mostly because of my fear of fritters. I’m always afraid they will either be soaked in oil, or fall apart. Not these beauties! Making the fritters is very straightforward: just mix everything together. There’s no deep layer of oil involved: just bake them in a non-stick frying pan. I did struggle to not let them get too dark, but hey: they still tasted great! I served them with the excellent salsa verde. I halved the recipe, but wish I hadn’t. 😉

Speedy mushroom spread

How simple can life be? I already love mushrooms on toast, and this is just another lovely way of devouring this wonderful autumn ingredient. Ready in like 5 minutes. Wish I had this in the fridge at all times. Top with lots of arugula and red pepper flakes.

Creamy beetroot and walnut spaghetti

Being a lifelong lover of pink, this pasta dish immediately screamed my name! I had a lot of fun making it, and the colour of the sauce was even more bright in real life. However, the sauce is on the sweet side, which is no surprise because: beetroot. I simply like my pasta dishes very salty and savoury. Also: the coconut milk obviously gives the sauce a different flavour profile than more traditional creamy sauces made with creme fraiche or cream. So while this was a beauty, I probably won’t repeat it.

10-minute pea and pesto orzo

I was so hungry when eating this that I forgot to take a picture. 🙂 Suffice to say it was very satisfying and very green. 🙂 A real winner, because the only fresh ingredient in this is basil. The rest – the frozen peas, a tin of beans, pine nuts, garlic and pasta – you might keep at home at all times.

How does it compare to other plant-based books?

The recipes in How to go plant-based are not the most innovative out there. But this book’s target audience are families with small children, busy people and people who are maybe new on the plant-based front. So for those audiences this cookbook really delivers what it promises. Ideal for those nights when you’re finishing up work at 5 pm, inspiration is low and you realize you have an empty fridge at home. Ella’s recipes are so straightforward – they truly help you to still make a home cooked meal, instead of going for take-out. I already find myself reaching for this book again and again.