If you know me or follow me on social media, you will know that I am a big fan of Deliciously Ella – her recipes and lifestyle! That being said, I want you to know that this isn’t a paid for review or anything. I bought the book and wanted to share with you all my thoughts. With all of the hype around Ella I thought there might be a few people wanting to know an honest review of the book, if they were’t sure about getting it. I was a super keen bean and preordered it. So I have been using it everyday for over two weeks now.
So the title is Deliciously Ella Everyday, with the aim of being more everyday foods than the first book. I have found this to be completely true. I found that with the first book, there were a lot of ingredients that were kind of random and then I’d not use them for a long time. With this book, I have found that the recipes are much more cohesive. Other than the fresh vegetables or grains, the rest of the ingredients are similar. Basically, if you’ve got a large jar of almond butter, jar of tahini, some plant-based milk and a bottle of tamari, you’ll be pretty much set for most of the recipes.
The fact that the ingredients all go together well is so useful to me and I have found my shopping bill is so low! Not buying meat brings the bill down anyway, but I am literally spending around £30 – £40 a week to feed our family of four. I have found that the desserts are the things that needs the ‘specialist’ ingredients, but I have found them all in the supermarkets that I shop at (mixture of Waitrose, Asda and Sainsbury’s), so it really is everyday food that is easy to get hold of.
I have found that the portion sizes Ella uses are massive. I made the veggie paella a few days ago. It says it serves six, so was expecting to have two portions left over. It was more than double left over! So we had it again the next night. This isn’t a bad thing as it reduces the food bill even more. Just something to bear in mind when meal planning.
I don’t suffer with any allergies but this book is perfect if you or a family member does. Unlike the first book, there are nut-free alternatives which is good. I found the first book a bit nut-heavy as they were used a lot. There are also options for adding things like shellfish to the paella for example. So you don’t need to be a strict vegan to get any use out of this book!
All in all, I love it. Really pleased I bought it. And do I prefer it to the first book? Yes – very much so!
You can buy the cookbook on Amazon for £8.99 (hardcover). I’d love to know what you think to it?
This looks fab. I’ll definitely take a look at this xx
Sarah cantwell recently posted…Healthy Pancake Recipe
I have heard so much about this lady, but never tried any of her recipes. I might just have to give it a go as we are trying to do some more clean eating and healthier dinners.
Stephanie recently posted…Our Legoland animation fun
I enjoyed listening to Ella at Britmums, and I bet her book is amazing. Great post about it, thank you. Kaz x
Ickle Pickle recently posted…Keep Calm, I am only a Threenager
What a fab overview of the book, I’ve been wondering what it’s like as we have the first book which has some lovely recipes in it. X
Steph Oakes recently posted…Review // Grandpa Pigâs Boat Construction Set
Ooh you’ve inspired me to give this a go myself. Thanks! 🙂
This looks like a great book, I had her first one and love it. Thanks for sharing.
The L’s Mum recently posted…Gorgeous nursery essentials from Joolz with an eco-friendly focus
I’ve heard so many great things about this book. The recipes looks lovely.