The founder of Deliciously Ella, 31, on plant-based food and moving in with her now husband a week after dating.
How did your new book, How To Go Plant-Based, come about?
It was a long project. When I started Deliciously Ella over 10 years ago [publishing plant-based recipes online] it was still very niche. Now 48% of the population are buying plant-based food products on a regular basis. A huge number of young people want to be flexitarian, vegetarian or plant-based and parents are thinking, ‘What do I do?’
What are the biggest misconceptions about plant-based eating?
Protein deficiency. Protein is the fundamental building block of our body and essential but almost nobody in the developed world is deficient in it, whereas almost nobody’s getting enough fibre. Most people in the UK are getting 17g of fibre a day when we should be getting 30g. Fibre creates a healthy gut, which in turn is critical for your mental and physical health.
Is it also a problem that people think it tastes awful?
Yes, or they worry it’s not filling. When I changed my diet, people would ask, ‘what do you eat?’ My father-in-law, who’s the ultimate omnivore, said, ‘How do I feed you?’ He loves plant-based food now. Preconceptions have changed but some still think it’ll be like rabbit food, so you’ll get a little bit of soggy lettuce, grated carrot and a raw tomato. I want to get rid of those stereotypes.
In 10 years you’ve started four businesses, have 40 products in seven countries, written seven books, had two kids, moved house and offices. How are you still standing?
I feel there’s a glamorisation of owning businesses and entrepreneurship – it’s hard, and then you throw in lockdowns, Brexit and inflation. But changing the way I lived my life saved me.
Would Ella 10 years ago be shocked by what you’ve done?
I had no self-belief before I got ill [Ella was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome in 2011] and then when I got ill, my mental health was at rock bottom. I was also not someone you’d think was going to own my own business and be a success, nor would my mum. I’m one of four and when I was 11, my teacher said that applying to be a prefect would not be a good use of my time.
There have been so many exciting moments but some really dark ones as well. I went back to work four weeks after my daughter was born because I was contracted to do things and I had extreme postpartum anxiety. But we’ve kept going and over the next 12 months, we will launch just over 100 products as part of a new brand with Waitrose based on our restaurant, Plants.
Do you get recognised?
We went to Barcelona this weekend and a lady standing next to me in the queue at a supermarket said, ‘I’m a massive fan, I’ve been following you for years.’ That really shocks me and it’s so humbling. Last weekend we walked past Sainsbury’s where they had our dipped almonds. We walked past Waterstones and it had our books. We walked past Waitrose and I bought a yoghurt we just launched. Then we bumped into someone who said, ‘I love your products!’ It’s quite surreal.
Jamie Oliver and Joe Wicks also bring healthy living to the wider public. Do you all support each other?
I’m a big fan of them both. Jamie is the ultimate pioneer in making cooking feel so simple and accessible that we can all do it at home. Whereas Joe has done so amazingly well with exercise and it’s so powerful.
What do you do for wellness?
I love yoga, it’s amazing for my mental health so I keep going back when I’ve got spare bits of time. Some days, I cook a really healthy meal and others I eat toast for dinner, and that’s just life. I make space for my mental health – you need to feel calm before you do anything else. We’ve got two girls, aged two and three, who wake up nearer 7am, but we get up at 5.30-45am so we get a solid hour before they do.
You work with your husband, Matthew…
We’re identical to each other in lots of ways. We moved in together after a week and have similar values. But our skill sets bear almost no resemblance to each other. He is the CEO because I can’t build a financial model, and he can’t cook. We’ve enabled each other’s careers in so many ways.
Didn’t you grow up 15 minutes apart?
We led these crazy parallel lives. Our parents were working together [Ella’s dad is ex-MP Shaun Woodward, Matthew’s mum was Tessa Jowell MP]. He’s eight years older but we’ve got a lot of the same family friends, we went to the same playgrounds and Little Chef roadside cafe. We met when I was 23 and he was 31.
How To Go Plant-Based by Ella Mills is out now. The Feel Better app by Deliciously Ella is £2.99 per month
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