I’m already a great fan of Melissa’s Hemsley’s recipes and was delighted to learn that her latest cookbook is dedicated to helping people navigate the tricky problem of how to cut back on the plethora of ultra-processed foods that has crept into our daily diets. 

Research has shown that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and other serious illnesses, yet the average person in the UK gets a whopping 56% of their calories from UPFs, with an even higher figure for children! While we know that in our busy daily lives, UPFs can be hard to avoid, Real Healthy, recently published (Ebury Press at £26 for a beautifully photographed hardback) provides simple, doable, and delicious recipes from Melissa. 

She helps you tackle breakfasts, lunches, snacks and even provides ‘3 ways with’ suggestions for batch cooking and using up ingredients to stay on top of your week’s shopping and cooking. 

“Real Healthy is my kind of cooking,” says Melissa, “Nourishing, easy, full-flavoured and veg-packed meals for real life.”

About Melissa Hemsley

A former private chef turned food columnist, best-selling cookbook author, real food activist and sustainability champion who is passionate about spreading the power of feel-good food.

Feel-good food, for her, is food that not only tastes delicious, it’s food that nourishes our bodies, food that’s grown with the seasons and with respect for the people who grow it. It’s food to be enjoyed and shared, and it’s food that is used to its full wholesome, nourishing potential with nothing wasted.

She’s written six cookbooks, including this latest book Real Healthy which is full of easy, everyday recipes to help you unprocess your diet.

In addition to cookbooks, she has written recipe and sustainability columns for The Telegraph and Vogue, respectively.

She’s proud to be an ambassador of Fairtrade UK, volunteer for The Felix Project, judge of GQ Food & Drinks Awards and Soil Association (Best of Organic awards), the Guild of Fine Foods and YBFs (Young British Foodies) and host of the 2019 Sustainable Restaurant Association awards and the 2020 Veg Summit Awards (The Food Foundation).

She writes a Substack newsletter, where she shares lots of recipes, tips and tricks for loving your leftovers, interviews, recommendations and snippets of family life with her baby girl, Summer, and dog, Nelly.

Here are a couple of Real Healthy recipes to show you what she means:

Cherry almond ‘Bakewell’ granola

(Makes 2 large jars/ Takes 45 minutes) 

“The combination of almonds and cherries gives this granola major Bakewell tart vibes! If you’re as much of a granola household as we are, you may want to make double, from our experience this goes in a flash!”

250g rolled oats

125g pumpkin seeds 

100g whole almonds 

100ml olive oil

80ml maple syrup 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 

1/8 tsp sea salt

100g dried sour cherries 

Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. 

Weigh all the ingredients, except the sour cherries into a large mixing bowl. (The sour cherries don’t get baked because they would burn in the oven, you’ll stir them through the granola later.)  Mix well so that all the dry ingredients are evenly coated with the wet ingredients. Spread out on the lined baking tray and bake for 30–40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes for the first 20 minutes, then every 5 minutes for the second 10–20 minutes. 

Allow to cool completely on the baking tray, then stir through the sour cherries. Store in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks

Red lentil and tomato super sauce

Makes 12 portions/Takes 1 hour (only 20 minutes hands-on time)

8 tbsp olive oil

3 onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Pinch of chilli flakes (optional) 

3 tbsp tomato purée

200g split red lentils, rinsed

3 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

Sea salt and black pepper

“This is a tasty multipurpose tomato sauce with hidden nutritious red lentils. Blend it into a smooth, protein- packed tomato sauce for spaghetti or your favourite pasta, or loosen it up a little by adding veggie stock to turn it into a creamy (but cream-less) soup, lovely with a cheese toastie.”

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and, once warm, add the onions, then season with salt and pepper. Fry for 12–15 minutes over a medium heat until golden and  soft. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, then fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato purée and fry for 2–3 minutes until brick red.

Add the lentils and tinned tomatoes. Fill two of the three empty tomato tins with water and use the water to swill out all the last bits of tomato. Add this water to the pot and season with salt and pepper.

Bring up to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30–35 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot, until the lentils have completely broken down. Add another half tomato tin of water if you need more liquid.

Using a stick blender or a blender, blitz the sauce until smooth or, if you prefer some texture in your sauce, blitz roughly half and leave the rest chunky. Season to taste.