Barely have time to moan about how little time you have? You know you really are short on it. Amidst the manic work deadlines, school pick-up, the big shop and keeping the dog alive, it’s easy to forget to feed yourself. Well, properly, at least.
So if you’ve eaten too many fish finger sandwiches, ready meals and packets of crisps stood at the kitchen counter, and wish you had the wherewithal to actually cook something good for you, now might be the moment.
Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. Ella Mills, aka Deliciously Ella, has a new cookbook out, Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking For Busy Lives, written to make mealtimes swifter, easier and more nutritious.
“I’d never been someone who’d mapped out what I was going to cook for the week, but then suddenly, you get home and it’s like, ‘What’s for dinner?’ and it’s like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t have the headspace to figure out what’s for dinner’,” she says, remembering a couple of years ago when her business was crazy busy and she’d get home and have herself, her husband Matthew Mills (son of the late politician Tessa Jowell) and their daughters, Skye and May, to feed, and they were all getting sick of the same meals on rotation.
“I really found myself in that pattern, and it’s not that you don’t have 20 minutes to make stuff – I did have 20 minutes – but your mental load is so high that by the time it’s 7.30pm, you’re just like, ‘Toast!’”
The Rugby-born food entrepreneur’s answer was to start “gently mapping” out dinner ideas for the week ahead and doing some Sunday batch cooking. “Life was just suddenly so much easier. It was just one thing I didn’t need to worry about. I found we were eating so much more variety. There was just an ease in getting home, being like, ‘Right, tonight, we’re making fancy beans, and I have the ingredients. I know what I’m going to do. It’s going to take me 15 minutes’,” she says.
“Or, ‘We’re going to do a tray bake with rice and tofu, fajita style, with garlic yoghurt’. Everything goes on the tray, it goes in the pan, pop it together, we’re winning.”
The book is not a rigid meal planner, though; instead, it’s a rough framework to help you answer the “annoying, age-old question of, ‘What’s for dinner?’” in a way that gives you variety, flexibility, and frees up precious brain space. Expect one-pan dinners, store-cupboard meals that just require picking up one fresh ingredient on the way home from work, and dishes you can batch-cook, freeze and transform into something new (“Like stews into chunky soups”).
“I don’t want lots of washing up. I don’t want lots of chaos on a Tuesday night after school clubs, after pick up, I just want something quite seamless, that’s delicious, nutritious and quite easy to do,” says Mills, 34.
Mills began writing recipes in 2012 in an effort to improve her health after struggling with chronic health issues that left her fatigued, in pain and with digestive issues. Her Deliciously Ella blog became a pioneer of the plant-based “clean eating” movement, which has since received backlash for being highly restrictive, obsessive and for contributing to disordered eating.
Looking back – Mills has written numerous cookbooks, hosts The Wellness Scoop podcast and is probably the reason you have a spiralizer sitting at the back of your kitchen cupboard – she says it’s “extraordinary” how the food landscape has changed since her debut cookbook in 2015.
“I was here saying we need to eat more real food, more whole foods, more plants. We shouldn’t eat so many additives and preservatives. And people were like, ‘Stop telling me what to do, it’s so frustrating!’ And I understand there was an element of a young woman telling people that, it was maybe a little frustrating, but I am really excited how much the world has changed,” she says, nodding to how much more aware we are of what we put in our bodies.
However, “50 per cent of calories come from ultra-processed foods, up to 80 per cent for one in five people, yet only one in five people manage to get their five a day,” she says, warning we still have a long way to go. “In Britain, we’re eating fewer vegetables than at any time in the last 50 years. But then likewise, we have a multi-trillion dollar wellness industry, yet our health is getting worse.”
“We’re at this tipping point where we’ve got to move wellness away from powders and gadgets and gizmos, and expensive, complicated things, back into, ‘What are the little wins I can have in my day-to-day life?’ We need to not be terrified of one bite of ultra-processed food, but empowered to be like, ‘I do need to reduce that, and I do need to eat more plants,’” she muses.
She’s all for starting small, not totally overhauling your entire diet. Grab a bag of mixed seeds and nuts from Tesco and sprinkle it on your porridge or salad or soup. “The goal is to get to about 30 plants a week. But if the goal this week is to just increase it by three or four, that’s so much better than trying to change everything,” she recommends.
“With the noise and overwhelm of people’s lives, coupled with the food landscape we live in, where the vast majority of what’s sold is UPFs, it’s really, really difficult. Therefore, moving 1 per cent closer to your goal every day will get you miles closer to where you want to be.”
For the majority of people, “it’s not about good willpower or bad willpower. It’s just that life is too busy.
“If you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, you’re proven to crave sugar. Life will happen,” she says. “Have gentle foundations that can ebb and flow, as opposed to crazy diet commitments where you’re on a bandwagon or off it.”
That way, you might find a balance that works for you.
Chunky chickpea and lentil soup with tahini and tomatoes
“This one-pan soup is such a lifesaver – hearty, comforting, and packed with protein from the lentils and chickpeas,” says Mills. “You simply throw everything into the pan, and it pretty much cooks itself, making it perfect for those evenings when you’re low on energy but still want something nourishing. It also freezes brilliantly, if you want to double the quantities.”
Serves: 2 – includes 9 plants
Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 × 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 × 400g tin of cherry tomatoes
750ml hot vegetable stock
60g red lentils, rinsed
2 tbsp tahini
½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 15g), roughly chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, to finish
For the speedy croutons (optional):
2 slices of sourdough
1 garlic clove
Method:
1. Warm one tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and celery, and cook for five minutes until just softened.
2. Tip the chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, stock and lentils into the pan, add a generous pinch of salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
3. Once the liquid is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are soft and the lentils are cooked.
4. To make the croutons (if using), toast the bread, then rub the garlic clove on each side and cut into bitesized pieces.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the tahini, parsley and season to taste. If you’ve made croutons, stir them through the soup or scatter over the top. To serve, divide into bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Creamy white bean and mushroom orzo risotto
“When I want something cosy and comforting but super easy, with almost no washing up, this creamy, zesty white bean and mushroom orzo is my go-to. Everything comes together in one pan, making it the perfect fuss-free meal for busy days,” says Mills. “With earthy mushrooms, hearty beans and velvety orzo, it’s rich and satisfying, with umami hints of miso in each bite for extra depth and lemon zest for brightness. Doubling the recipe is a great option for quick, delicious lunches too, as the flavour only gets better with time.”
Serves: 2 – includes 7 plants
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
250g mixed mushrooms (such as, chestnut and shiitake), sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed or sliced
100g orzo
1 tsp dried thyme
1 × 400g tin of white beans, drained and rinsed
300ml hot vegetable stock
100ml oat or almond milk (unsweetened)
2 tsp white miso paste
1 large handful of baby spinach (about 50g), roughly chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
Method:
1. Heat one to two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan set over a medium heat. Add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for five minutes, until softened.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook for another eight to 10 minutes until golden. Stir in the garlic for the final one minute.
3. Stir in the orzo and thyme, letting them toast for a minute, then add the beans and vegetable stock. Simmer for seven to 10 minutes (with the lid off), stirring occasionally, until the orzo is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Add the milk, miso, spinach and lemon zest and juice, and let it cook for a final three to five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has wilted and the dish feels thick and creamy. Season to taste (I like lots of pepper in this recipe), then serve and enjoy!
Make it your own: Add toasted walnuts for crunch or swap spinach for cavolo nero or kale. Add a handful of rocket on the top for extra greens. Add nutritional yeast at the end (with the lemon) for extra richness, or Parmesan if you’re not plant-based.
Pulled aubergine tortillas with crispy roasted cabbage
This is a two-parter of a recipe, which makes the most of leftovers. Start with Deliciously Ella’s pulled miso aubergine ragu. “A hearty and flavourful pulled aubergine ragu with lentils, perfect as a main dish on its own or served over pasta or grains. The aubergine is roasted until tender, shredded, then combined with lentils and a spiced tomato sauce to create a rich, satisfying sauce.”
Then “Pile your leftovers of the pulled miso aubergine ragu into lightly toasted tortillas with thin slices of roast cabbage and a dollop of yoghurt. The cabbage adds texture and a smoky flavour that works brilliantly with the rich ragu.”
Pulled miso aubergine ragu
Serves: 4 – includes 8 plants
Ingredients:
4 aubergines
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 onions, finely chopped
1 × 400g tin of beluga (or green) lentils, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp almond butter
500g passata
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp white miso paste (optional)
2 tsp maple syrup
Sea salt and black pepper
Pasta or grains, to serve
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Pierce the aubergines all over with a knife to stop them from bursting and place in a deep baking tray. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning halfway, until softened and collapsed.
2. Meanwhile, warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan set over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for two to three minutes, until fragrant. Add the onion, along with a pinch of salt and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.
3. Stir in the lentils, tomato purée, almond butter, passata, lemon juice, miso and maple syrup. Half fill the empty passata jar with water and add this too. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until glossy and thickened. Turn the heat right down, cover with a lid and leave to simmer very gently until the aubergines are ready.
4. Let the aubergines cool slightly then carefully cut in half and use a fork to scrape out the soft, silky flesh – it should melt away from the skin. Stir into the sauce and season to taste.
5. Serve half the ragu with your favourite pasta or grain and keep the other half for later in the week to make tortillas.
To store: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days or store in the freezer for up to three months.
Make it your own: Stir in a spoonful of tahini for extra richness or add a sprinkling of dried red chilli flakes for a little heat. If you’re serving it with rice, a dollop of yoghurt makes a delicious addition, as does basil.
Pulled aubergine tortillas with crispy roasted cabbage
Serves: 2 – includes 14 plants
Ingredients:
2/3 cabbage, thinly sliced
½ tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of dried red chilli flakes
Olive oil
4 small wholemeal tortillas (or use 2 large ones)
1 lime, halved
1-2 avocados, thinly sliced
2 servings of pulled miso aubergine ragu (above)
Handful of coriander (about 20g) roughly chopped
Sea salt
Plain yoghurt, to serve (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. On a large baking tray, toss together the cabbage, paprika, chilli flakes, a tablespoon of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and spread out in a single layer.
2. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until crisp and lightly charred.
3. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas in a dry pan or in the oven for two to three minutes. Squeeze the juice from half of the lime over the avocado.
4. To assemble the tortillas, spoon a generous amount of ragu on to each tortilla, then pile on some crispy cabbage, avocado, coriander and a spoonful of yoghurt (if using). Squeeze over a little lime juice and serve straightaway.
‘Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking For Busy Lives’ by Ella Mills (Yellow Kite, £25).
