Archaeologist turned nutritionist Ellie Bedford, of Upper Heyford, talks about what inspired her healthy lifestyle

Six years ago, feeling run down and tired all the time and with her family picking up all kinds of bugs, mum and archaeologist Ellie Bedford made a huge lifestyle change for them all.

Ellie, who lives with husband Will and daughters Sofia and Dorrie in Upper Heyford, is now a whole and raw food nutritionist, food writer, recipe development consultant and author.

“Since that day I haven’t looked back,” says Ellie, 36. “We quit sugar and processed foods and the results have been astounding.”

Her journey of discovery involved years of researching and blogging and she is now qualified as a raw foods nutritionist from The BodyMind Institute.

“My endometriosis has gone, I said goodbye to chronic fatigue syndrome and I see improvement in my health with every day,” says Ellie.

“Will has not had a chest infection in years, and the girls are doing amazingly well.

“Of course we get sick sometimes, but it is the recovery from these constant chronic conditions which really amazed us.”

The new way of life includes a diet filled with natural unprocessed whole foods, superfoods, raw foods and herbs.

Her passion for helping other families discover and enjoy the foods, has led her to work with schools and youth organisations running raw food workshops and she has written two children’s recipe books, How to Eat a Rainbow: Magical Raw Vegan Recipes for Kids and The Superdrink Handbook for Kids.

“Children actually, for the most part, will love the freshness and vibrancy of the dishes – they will surprise you,” says Ellie, who also has a blog about feeding a family with recipes, tips on holistic family lifestyle and healthy diets.

Originally it was mainly focused on cutting sugar from the family diet.

“Over the years I came to realise that plant based was super important to me too,” says Ellie.

Her newer recipes are vegan - with no meat, fish or dairy - but the early ones contain some dairy and eggs.

“I chose to leave these as I feel they make wonderful transition recipes for people, those recipes led me onto the path I am on now and I really hope they can do the same for others,” she says.

Daughters Sofia, eight, and Dorrie, six, have grown up on a diet free of refined sugar.

“So naturally they don’t feel like they’re missing out,” says Ellie, who home-schools the girls.

“I make sure that they have yummy cakes and treats, I just make them myself without the sugar.

“I’ll use dates or maple syrup to sweeten them. So they have healthy versions of everything I used to love as a kid, they really love chocolate cake and banana ice cream.”

When the girls are invited to parties Ellie asks the parents what is being served food-wise and makes her own version of that so the girls don’t feel left out.

“I also have some amazing friends who totally support us,” she says.

“Sofia’s best friend’s mum gave her Nakd Bars and Yoyos in her party bag instead of sweets which is amazing, we are super thankful for products like these which make things much easier for us.

“Also so many children seem to have allergies now, that it is very rare that mine are the only ones to bring their own food to a party, so it has never been an issue for them.

“Many of our friends have tried cutting out or reducing processed sugar when they have seen the health benefits that it gave us. My mum went refined sugar free last year and is loving it. It’s definitely getting easier to do now and there are more products available which makes it easier than it was when we first started.”

Ellie hopes that How To Eat A Rainbow helps to normalise healthy eating for children.

To appeal to youngsters, it’s fully illustrated - by her sister-in-law Sabrina Bedford) and has fairies sharing their “secret” food.

“I’d love to see this book stocked in more bookstores so that every home has one,” says Ellie. “That is my dream and I am looking to approach more places to stock it.”

She’s also working on another book which combines her love and knowledge of history - she met husband Will, a fellow archaeologist on a dig in the jungle in Belize - and wants to do more work teaching children the importance of healthy eating.

“If you can get it right from an early age, they’ll grow up genuinely loving these foods,” says Ellie.

“The next generation is our future so I think it’s important to invest in them.”

What Ellie eats

“I don’t eat all raw but I do eat some raw foods every day,” says Ellie Bedford.

“I think you get huge benefits just from introducing more raw foods to your diet and most people would benefit from adding more in.

“I’ll eat more raw foods in the summer when the weather is warm, but in the winter I’ll eat less raw foods.

“I found that most children naturally prefer the taste of vegetables when they’re raw, it’s a texture thing. So creating dishes with raw fruits and veggies is a great way to encourage children to eat more of their five a day, and these foods can be served up alongside their usual foods to great benefit.

“For breakfast I’ll have either a green smoothie or a bowl of porridge made with almond milk and sprinkled with seeds and a drizzle of maple syrup.

“For lunch I’ll have a soup (raw or cooked) with sourdough bread or raw crackers which are made from seeds and vegetables.

“Dinner is hugely varied. I really love Thai curries made with tempeh and veggie chilis, I like big bowl meals, real comfort food and I always serve them with a big salad. “My snacks and treats are mainly raw in my diet, such as my raw brownies or chocolate avocado mousse. That’s why I focused the book in these areas rather than main meals, so that the recipes could be fitted into anybody’s diet.

“I would recommend a refined sugar free diet full of fruits and veggies to everybody. It is definitely easier than ever before to do it, and there are so many recipes on the internet now that you can make tasty versions of your favourite recipes easily.

“There is so much information coming out now on how refined sugar effects our health, and the importance of eating enough fruits and veggies and I think people are starting to make that connection. White sugar really has no nutrition, so switching it to something like coconut palm sugar which contains minerals and has a lower glycemic index is a very simple switch for the better.”

The only thing Ellie misses from her old diet are Tunnock’s tea cakes but she is working on a refined sugar free version.

“When my husband and I quit eating sugar five years ago, we felt so much better that we would never want to go back to eating all the old stuff we ate,” she says.

“My husband loves chocolate brownies, and I make a pretty tasty healthy version of those which uses black beans, you’d never guess they were in them.”

How to Eat a Rainbow: Magical Raw Vegan Recipes for Kids by Ellie and Sabrina Bedford is available at Cole’s Bookshop in Bicester or online at coles-books.co.uk (£12.99, signed by Ellie).

Read her blog at elliebedford.com

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