When Ella Mills created her plant-based recipe and wellness platform, Deliciously Ella, in 2012, she had no idea it would catch on – let alone become a multi-million-pound business. But that’s exactly what happened.
Following a spate of ill health while at university, Ella – the daughter of former MP Shaun Woodward and supermarket heiress Camilla Sainsbury – was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome – when your heart rate increases very quickly after standing up – among other things, and began exploring healthier ways of living to ease some of her symptoms.
“I was only 21 at this point and the condition almost destroyed me. It unravelled everything I knew about myself and took me to absolute rock bottom,” her website reads.
Of the business venture, she states: “I was making it up as I went along, trying new recipes in my parents’ kitchen and finding new ways to make simple foods taste great. I couldn’t cook when I started, so I was jumping in at the deep end.”
But even though she sold her wellness empire to Swiss food group Hero for an undisclosed number last year, she still remains the face of the brand – and hasn’t given up on the industry just yet.
In fact, in an interview with Good Housekeeping (GH) this week, the wellness mogul shared her honest thoughts on what she calls a “bizarre” shift towards “expensive powders and wildly elaborate routines.”
Rather than promoting these viral trends – such as TikTok’s “morning shed” routines, when people remove all the beauty products they slept in overnight to improve their appearance, and intense fitness challenges – she’s calling for a return to simple, evidence-based lifestyle choices.
Here, we look at five of Deliciously Ella’s refreshingly health and wellness tips.
1. Avoid ultra-processed foods and opt for whole foods instead
Ella told the publication that part of her despair when it comes to TikTok trends is that while it’s fine that “people swear by taping their mouths shut”, among other things, “it’s the algorithms I worry about”.
She continued: “People start thinking they must buy this powder, that product, this gadget. Meanwhile, eating well remains less sexy than ever…”
When it comes to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), she added: “We’ve normalised a totally alien way of eating: 60-80% of our calories are ultra-processed; one in five of us get 80% of their calories from ultra-processed food; only a quarter of us get our five a day; 90% of us don’t get enough fibre – but eating more chickpeas isn’t very sexy. People desperately want to be told what’s good and bad to eat.”
She also notes on her website, which is full of plant-based recipes, that in May 2012, she “changed my diet overnight, swapping my standard western diet – lots of quick convenience foods, not much fruit and veg – for a wholefood, plant-based diet.”
Read our guide on the 5 ultra-processed foods you shouldn’t stop eating, and the best and worst UPFs for kids.
2. You don’t have to go vegan, though
That’s not to say she thinks everyone should turn vegan. In a 2024 interview with Women’s Health, she said: “I never set out to try and say ‘Everyone needs to become plant-based’ or ‘Everyone needs to do this 100% the time’. It’s like, let’s get more people to eat more vegetables more often.
“And debunk the myth – because I’d gone into this thinking ‘This food is going to be disgusting. I’m going to do this for as long as I need to until my health is better. And then why on earth would I keep eating this food, it will be terrible’. And then I suddenly had this realisation that it made me feel so much better. It tasted amazing. And then the community grew and you realise how important it is.”
3. Forget ‘morning shed’ routines and chinstraps
“Wellness, to me, is doing a 10-minute exercise class online, not going to bed as ugly as possible and waking up as beautiful as possible,” she told GH.
She also shared concerns around gimmicks such as “expensive powders” and other social trends, claiming that “as our collective health gets worse, the wellness industry gets bigger, noisier, more confusing and more.”
4. Take it back to basics
“I’d say it’s enough to go for a walk during your lunch break, not drink or smoke too much and eat many, many more vegetables,” she continued. “It’s quite rudimentary and it’s all evidence-based. But if you go online, people are following these extreme morning routines, achieving so much by 9am.”
5. Find what works with you
In an Instagram post shared on New Year’s Day, Ella stressed that “true wellness isn’t about impossible goals or perfection”, but, rather, “finding joy in what works for you.”
She went on to say that “small, meaningful choices that nourish your body and mind”, as well as “daily(ish) habits that make you feel happier, healthier, stronger and calmer” are key.
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