Ella Mills (Woodward) - Deliciously Ella: Smoothies & Juices: Bite-size Collection

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Yellow Kite
An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company
1
Copyright Ella Mills 2016

Photography Clare Winfield 2016

The right of Ella Mills to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

eBook ISBN 978 1 47364 7299

Publisher: Liz Gough

Design and Art Direction: Miranda Harvey

Photography: Clare Winfield

Photo Shoot Co-ordinator: Ruth Ferrier

Food stylist: Eleanor Mulligan

Props stylist: Polly Webb-Wilson

Make-up Artist: Laurey Simmons

The advice herein is not intended to replace the services of trained health professionals, or to be a substitute for medical advice. You are advised to consult with your health care professional with regard to matters relating to your health, and in particular regarding matters that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

For more amazing recipes and inspiration from Deliciously Ella, look out for her original bestsellers Deliciously Ella and Deliciously Ella Every Day, available now from all good book shops and online, and the exciting upcoming Deliciously Ella With Friends, out January 2017.

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CONTENTS

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Both smoothies and juices are a big part of my weekly routine. I love how easy they make it to load up on fruit and veg, especially when Im really busy. Every week my diary seems to get more and more packed and I dont always have the time to make the meals that Id like, so Im constantly looking for simple ways to make sure I still get a variety of nutrients in my diet and blending and juicing is a quick way to do this. I also find that the better I feel, the more productive I am, so during crazy periods I try to make one of these every morning to take with me on the go. That way I know Ive had three or four portions of fruit and veg before my day has even started, so I dont have to worry about getting so much in at every other meal, and I start the day on a positive note that inspires me to take care of myself, even when Im totally non-stop!

SMOOTHIES VS JUICES

Ill go into more detail about the differences between the two in the chapter introductions that follow, but the main thing to note now is that smoothies are thicker, creamier and contain the fibre from the ingredients, whereas juices are smooth, thin liquids that have had the majority of their pulp removed. This means that smoothies are more filling, especially as you can also load them up with other ingredients, like oats and almond butter.

As a result, I tend to have smoothies as a whole meal normally at breakfast. I find I can make them just as satisfying as anything else Id eat for that meal, but theyre often a lot quicker and easier to take with me. However, I tend to enjoy my juice alongside something else. If I have a juice with breakfast, for example, Ill make a bowl of creamy porridge with banana and nut butter to have with it, or a chia pudding with coconut yogurt and granola. Alternatively I fill a big tumbler with juice and keep it on my desk to enjoy throughout the day, as its lovely to have something refreshing to sip on between meals.

Theres a tendency to want to go totally green with these drinks, as were always hearing so much about the benefits of green juice, but dont feel that you need to love drinking hardcore veggie mixes immediately: its normal not to enjoy sipping on broccoli and coriander straight away! I certainly didnt like those no-fruit mixes to start with and needed sweetness to enjoy the tastes (I really thought a mean green combo tasted a bit like grass the first time around!), so dont worry if youre the same. I was used to eating pretty processed, overly-sweetened cereal for breakfast and I wasnt able to go from that to blended kale and cucumber, I needed frozen chunks of mango, pineapple and lots of nut butter to get used to the concept. I always added apple to my veggie juices until my taste buds started to change but that took a while.

Its OK to start your smoothies and juices journey off gently. I think for most people its definitely a case of building up and letting your taste buds adapt. If youre already making green mixes, but not really enjoying them because theyre a bit hardcore, then ease off and let yourself enjoy some sweeter blends rather than forcing liquid kale down you! Yes, green juice is great, but its much better to make something that you love that satisfies you and that you want to incorporate into your life than it is to make something that you secretly hate and takes you hours to drink while you wish you were eating biscuits instead! Remember, theres no rush on your health journey, we all have to start somewhere and a healthy lifestyle should be enjoyable, fun and sustainable its not something where you should have to hold your nose to be able to swallow!

So please bear that in mind as you go through the book, and feel free to adapt recipes to make them work for you. Add extra apple to a juice, or a couple of dates to a smoothie, just make sure you enjoy every sip. Thats how I was able to make them a part of my routine.

Theres a great mix of recipes in this book, covering all my favourite smoothies and juices from the last few years, ranging from my new love of green-everything to my comforting blends filled with frozen banana, nut butter and cacao, as well as some lovely refreshing combinations. I hope you all enjoy making them as much as I do, and once you see how easy they are, Im sure theyll become a natural part of your life, too.

Fruit and vegetables vary a lot in size, so I thought it would be helpful to include here the list of weights that I used for each recipe, to give you a rough idea of the measurements needed to get the right flavour and quantity.

Top tips: try to use really ripe fruit; the riper a banana or mango etc. is, the better a smoothie will taste. Sweetness levels can vary a lot though, so feel free to adapt the recipes depending on the quality and freshness of the ingredients youre using on any given day.

Its a great idea to store very ripe bananas, peeled and cut into slices, in a sealed bag in your freezer. That way theyre ready to go and youll get the best flavour in your smoothie.

Apple 1 medium = 150g

Avocado 1 medium = 160g

Banana 1 medium = 100g

Beetroot 1 small = 110g

Blueberries 1 handful = 70g