Deliciously Ella: 100+ Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Plant-Based, Gluten-Free Recipes

I hadn't heard of the Deliciously Ella blog before ordering this, but I'm always on the hunt for good whole-foods, vegan cookbooks, and once the positive reviews of this came in, I decided to order it. It's one of the loveliest cookbooks I've seen! At the start of the book, Ella shares how she switched to a plant-based diet when she was ill with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. After reading about how Kris Carr used a plant-based diet to keep her cancer at bay, Ella switched to a gluten-free, plant-based way of eating, and it helped move her into remission. My copy only arrived yesterday, but I already made the Cinnamon Pecan Granola and the Almond and Chia Energy Bites. Each came together in just over five minutes, and are absolutely delicious. (I've included pics of each one.) All of the recipes also use easy-to-find ingredients, and they are simple to make. You will want a high-quality blender and food processors, but otherwise you don't need any fancy equipment. As another reviewer mentioned, the way that the recipes are organized (by Grains, Nuts and Seeds, etc.) makes it a bit harder to find recipes. On the title page for each section, there is a list of recipes, but it would have been nicer if the publisher had created a Table of Contents for the entire book since the types of recipes (breakfasts, snacks, etc.) are all mixed in the main sections. If you're not vegan, Ella also doesn't try to proselytize or make anyone feel guilty. Instead, she encourages you to try out some of these recipes, and to even make them your own by adding meat or cheese if you prefer them that way. The recipes are so delicious, though, that nourishing your body by eating healthfully will soon become second nature. Since moving to this kind of eating a little over two years ago, I've found that I don't crave overly sugary foods, and can rely on plants for energy and all of my nutritional needs (except for B12, which I take a supplement for). In addition to this book, I also recommend The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out and Chocolate-Covered Katie: Over 80 Delicious Recipes That Are Secretly Good for You . All three of these books believe in the philosophy that you don't need to count calories, as long as you nourish yourself with healthy foods. Bon appetit! UPDATE ON 4-23-14: Last night I made the items in the third photo -- roasted red bell pepper hummus, quinoa tabbouleh salad, and falafel. All three were amazing and easy to make, and I think it was the best falafel I've ever had! This cookbook really is fantastic!

I ordered this cookbook about a month ago after my husband and I decided we wanted to incorporate more plant-based meals into our diets. I've followed DE on Instagram and made (and loved) a few of her recipes from her website so having a hardcopy, US version cook book made sense. So to start... we have loved everything I've made from this book so far. Everything has been incredibly delicious, nourishing, plentiful, and - for the most part - easy and quick. We both recommend this book if you are looking for nutritious and easy plant-based meals to incorporate into your diet! A few things to note - - Agree with another reviewer who stated order of recipes is weird. It's arranged in a way that isn't intuitive and no page numbers for each recipe. I used post it notes to bookmark the recipes I like/want to make. Hopefully her other cookbooks are laid out better! - There are a few recipes that seem to be missing a direction - lid on, lid off, etc. but it's minor and can figure it out - Portion sizes are large, we always have leftovers for lunch for at least one of us. Some of her recipes I halve (the desserts, especially) What I've made (with notes) - Sweet potato brownies - loved these, very fudgey. They were not sweet. Add more sweetener or choc chips if you want sweet! - Oat bars - quick, easy, yummy. Great to make in batch and have throughout week. I halved the recipe and it still made plenty - Quinoa fritters - SO good. Recipe makes A TON. The second time I made these I halved the recipe and we both still had leftovers for lunch the next day. These are somewhat time consuming fyi. - Veggie lasagne - amazing. Didn't miss the cheese at all. The butternut squash gets browned and crispy in the oven - Cashew cream (quinoa bowl) - I make this to use as a cheese substitute on other recipes too - Both curries & stir fry - huge portions, delicious flavor - Berry cheesecake - made for a dinner party, everyone was impressed. Looked like the photo in the book! - Banana ice cream - we almost couldn't believe it wasn't ice cream - Blueberry muffins - filling, not overly sweet (add more sweetener if needed)

I heard about Ella from a youtuber named Anna. I trust her opinion, so went to Amazon to order her cookbook right away. I read some of her blog and really loved her style of cooking. The cookbook is great! I like that she uses the measurement "mug"; as I am in the US and she is from the UK. I only have to measure grams on my kitchen scale once in a while. I really like the fact that most of the recipes call for similar ingredients. It makes it easy to open the book and make something. If you read the first part of the book, she lets you know what to fill your pantry with so you can cook her recipes. A lot of the ingredients, such as dates, quinoa, nuts, buckwheat, brown rice, etc. can be bought in bulk to keep costs with eating healthy/clean low. Buckwheat was the only difficult thing to find in my city. The one healthy place I can find it, it was sold out. I love how she explains that it takes time, but it is time well spent on your health. Everything I have made so far has been great! I love how simple and easy the recipes are to make. I look forward to eating more of her recipes. They all make it easy to tweak them to your taste. I add onion or garlic to some of them; or coconut flakes, chia seeds to others. I love that she shares the same sweet tooth as me! I love finding clean eating sweet treats to make. I feel like eating things that make you happy are part of well-being. But people like us have to be careful to feed our bodies good, clean foods rather than real, useless junk. Cooking from the cookbook makes me feel like I'm part of a growing culture of people who believe in eating whole, clean, healthy foods for a better life. I read some of the negative reviews that say that it is laid out a little weird. I recommend reading it cover to cover to get a better feel of why it is laid out why it is laid out. I did this, and it makes a lot of sense. If you didn't read it this way, it would seem a little odd. Most cookbooks these days are meant to be read, not just browsed. Especially cookbooks that are targeted toward a newer way of eating.

There are a handful of food / lifestyle blogs I follow and the Deliciously Ella Blog is one of my favorites! As a brief back-story, the author, Ella Woodward was diagnosed with a rare condition called Postural Tachycardia Syndrome at the age of 19 which left her bed ridden, exhausted, with heart palpitations and when no relief was found through convention medications; she looked to changing her diet to be a whole food, plants based diet which did indeed alleviate her symptoms. The good: The great thing about all this is Ella is self taught, so, if like me you are not the world's best cook - no worries as these recipes are largely uncomplicated and easy to follow. You do not need to go wild and buy a bunch of kitchen gadgets though honestly a good blender and good processor do lend well to many of these recipes. Also a lot of her recipes use basic foods that are easily found, and though there are some ingredients the average cook may not have in their pantry (Nutritional Yeast, Maca, Cacao, Baobab powder to name but a few ) there are often substitution or the ability to omit such ingredients. The beginning of the book features a pretty comprehensive guide to building your pantry as well as a guide to the properties of many of these ingredients; and this follows through in each section. Though I have tried many of her recipes from the blog., it was great to finally have her recipes accessible in one spot. The book is organized into sections that highlight the ingredients : Grains, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, vegetables , fruit followed by a smoothie / juice section and a guide to her eating mantra along with resources. I also liked the fact that she added personalization to the book detailing her story at the beginning . There were a lot of new recipes here that I had not previously seen on the blog ; so I was happy to get so many new recipe ideas. That said, I spotted several dishes I have made in the past such as the Chia breakfast pudding, the coconut porridge (which is delicious and great pre workout) the spicy roasted chickpeas and the raw brownies. All were simple and tasted great! The steps are simple and minimal and do not require precise cooking skills; and its really easy to follow. The bad: The only issue I have found consistently with the recipes, is sometimes they lack seasoning or a depth in taste. This could be due to the fact that she is not a professional chef or it could be a Brit thing...I am British and growing up there found beyond curries (which oddly British people enjoy very spicy and bold) people tend to hold back on seasoning and spice. This came through in many of the things I have made such as the cannellini soup and the black bean chili which was too obscured in taste by tomato paste ; and I found myself having to add more of the given seasonings, or add different types of spice / herb to give it any flavor at all. So far my husband has not been impressed with any dish so if you have someone with a bold palette you might want to taste carefully before you serve and adjust seasoning to taste. The other thing to note is this dish is rather dessert /snack heavy but missing balance with enough main dishes that contain a protein element. For example chick peas, potato wedges or cucumber rolls are sides or snacks but not really a main dish; there are a lot of breakfast choices, or sweet snacks along with smoothies, sides, dips etc . I personally really liked the mix of recipes but it's worth nothing to top heavy sweet element if you are looking for more in the way of savory or main dishes. Finally for those that like their cookbooks traditional: Breakfast then lunch, dinner and snacks, you might struggle with this as with the recipes being sorted by ingredient type there is little rhyme or reason what to expect , for example turmeric fritters and risotto are followed by porridge which is then followed by scones and cookies . It is honestly a little hard to follow and hence my reason for 4 stars not 5 . That said, as a fan of the blog, I am excited to finally have this cookbook. Like her blog, the pictures are stunning and plentiful ; and there are a lot of new recipes in here I am excited to try! From a home cook to the home cook makes these recipes attainable for us all , bringing healthy, sometimes, raw, always plant based, recipes to the masses; and yes as a parent, I can attest to the fact that the kids will enjoy many of these recipes too and with their simplicity, can even join in making them! A great book, just wish it was a tad more organized!

I loved the book, I have the app which is also great, but on the book I could find many new recipes that weren't on her app which are great also, I basically fall for her recipes last year when I decided to start to "eat clean", I was feeling very tired and I got very sick to the point that I had to decide to make a change of my eating habits, When I found out about Ella, I was looking for some recipes on google, then I got to her blog, I follow her on facebook, I bought her app and I really loved all her recipes, it's true that few ingredients are difficult to find and bit expensive, but I just dedicate some time during weekend and I found out that the cheapest store for few ingredients is Trader's Joe and then few other things online and it's great! I am able to eat muffins and chocolate mousse with very familiar taste like the regular ones, but this are totally healthy and it's amazing!, I have been sharing her recipes with many people already and everyone loved them. So I am very happy with this book!

Great recipes

Ingredients are expensive for the ones we’ve tried. We don’t hardly use the recipes because of the cost of ingredients. They’re frankly kinda bland too.

Love, Love this book!!!! So practical and easy!!! Especially healthy and if followed the results are what she states, you will no longer crave foods and candy that are bad for you. Your taste buds change and you begin to crave the good stuff!!! Amazing!! Feel great!!!!! Love her blog too and follow her on instagram!!! She has helped us all by sharing her journey!!! Highly recommend!!! One of my fav books!!!

Enfin un livre de cuisine à la fois beau, bon et simple!!!! Chaque recette est hyper facile à faire et ne nécessite pas d'ingrédients rare. Pour quelqu'un qui comme moi souffre d'intolérances et de sensibilités alimentaires , ce livre est parfait, sans gluten, "vegan" et sans sucres raffinés. Tout est absolument délicieux et les desserts exquis... Un vrai régal, ce livre est devenu ma bible de cuisine!

Amei! Uma boa dica para quem precisar mudar o estilo de alimentação! Achei as receitas fáceis e práticas! Super indico!

Lovely book!

Great recipes and ideas that are healthy and nutritional

I bought this last week as a result of wanting to eat 'clean' and generally be more healthy. I hadn't really expected much but I felt like writing a review the minute I flicked through it as the recipes are so inspiring and delicious looking. But I held off until I'd cooked a few different things from it. Now, having used it for a week I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone. Pros -Delicious recipes that work - So far I have made the Chia Seed Pudding (delicious and filling for brekkie), the fudge (yummy but expensive to make!), kale salad, nut pesto, chickpea wraps and falafel which were all lovely! - very easy - no skill required - nothing I made took very long so it's quick - beautiful, inspiring book and also she has a you tube channel where she makes some of the stuff in her books if you would like to couple the two. Cons -If you don't have a lot of the ingredients it is costly at the start. Everything is easy to get either via supermarket or online but I spent a small fortune in the health food shop last week. I think now that i have so much in my store cupboard I won't have to spend the same again for a long time. -Not a con for me but it is a VEGAN cookbook even though it is not marketed as such. I dont think i saw a single animal product in this book. - While its all gluten free, clean etc, you shouldn't be under the illusion the recipes are all low cal. Many of the sweeter ones are packed with medjool dates which are delicious but essentially still sugar! And lots of (good)fats. It isn't a con for me but something to be aware of. I can't wait to continue making recipes from this fab book :)