Unprocess your diet and up the whole foods with easy, everyday recipes
Delicious, wholesome, life-friendly recipes to help you eat well, every day.
‘Real Healthy is my kind of cooking – nourishing, easy, full-flavoured and veg-packed meals for real life. With shortcuts, simple batch cooking, time-saving traybakes and packed lunches you’ll actually look forward to(!), I hope this book helps busy people and families navigate the tricky problem of how to cut back on ultra-processed foods.’
Melissa Hemsley
We know that reducing the amount of UPFs in our diets is advised, but in our busy lives, they can be hard to avoid – they’re affordable, familiar and heavily marketed. So, what’s the solution? Real Healthy is a life-friendly cookbook for time-poor people who want healthy food that’s quick, convenient and tasty, too. Melissa Hemsley provides simple, doable, and delicious recipes to help you tackle those every day tricky problem areas – on-the-go breakfasts, al desko lunches, satisfying snacks, and easy to make sweet treats – as well as tips on what to look out for when trying to identify UPFs. She also provides helpful meal plans to stay on top of the week’s shopping and cooking, making it easy for you to pack wholefoods in, and steer clear of ‘UPF-traps’.
Melissa has long been an advocate for making wholesome, healthy food at home and is passionate about providing solutions for people who are scared by the headlines, and keen to make cost- and time-effective changes that help un-process their everyday diet.
With 90 recipes such as One-Pot Lazy Lasagne, Cherry Almond Granola, Take-To-Work White Bean Chicken Chilli, as well as ‘build your own’ recipes for UPF-free soups, sandwiches and smoothies. She also offers handy hints for freezing food, and maintaining a well-stocked, useable, and UPF-free store cupboard.
This is not a diet book nor a demonisation of ultra-processed foods. Melissa is not suggesting that completely cutting out UPFs is necessary or even possible (they are an essential option for some people), instead Real Healthy is a cookbook hoping to provide solutions for those looking to readdress the balance of what’s on their plates.
Melissa has thought about where we need the most help, and devised easy, practical ideas and swaps. As ever, her food is family friendly, doable and delicious, and her joy and enthusiasm radiate off the page.
‘A delicious guide to eating the healthy way.’
Professor Tim Spector, MD, FRCP, OBE, microbiome expert & co-founder Zoe
‘Melissa’s fantastic book Real Healthy untangles the complicated world of ultra-processed foods and puts us back into the calm and comforting space of simple, sublime and tasty cooking.
Embracing great ingredients, cooked with ease and simplicity but with Melissa’s own take of exciting and interesting twists to keep us all super interested and want to try every recipe in the book. Beautiful photography, amazing put together recipes that really are perfect for the home cook.’
Tom Kerridge, Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur
‘Melissa Hemsley’s cookbook is a practical guide to beating ultra-processed foods with easy-to-use, nutritious recipes. Essential for anyone looking to eat better and feel better. I absolutely love this book, it motivates us to step away from these foods, guiding us back to the essentials of eating, using real food that will fuel our overall health.’
Rose Ferguson Msc Adv Nut, certified functional medicine practitioner
‘Good food can be such a pleasure, but it can also be a challenge for busy, working mums like myself! I love how vibrant, simple and accessible this book is… it’s the closest thing to having Melissa pop around and help you prep a wholesome, delicious meal herself! I particularly love the How to Build a Smoothie/Salad/Tray Bake sections, a shortcut to getting it right every time and really taking the stress out of the well- honed dilemma, what to cook and how to make it easy?! This book is exactly what we need to combat the ultra-processed food juggernaut and get back to real, easy, accessible eating. A triumph Melissa!’
Pauline Cox BSc MSc, functional nutritionist, author and integrative medicine specialist
‘A practical guide for busy lives. Hemsley serves up all the delicious and nutritious solutions to our everyday eating dilemmas – recipes you’ll turn to again and again and know, without question, that they’ll make you feel great. It’s real, good food.’
Yotam Ottolenghi
‘Another wonderful book from Melissa! Jam- packed full of simple and delicious recipes – this book will become your go-to – making eating well a joy, not a chore.’
Dr Rupy Aujla, MBBS, BSc, MRCGP, The Doctor’s Kitchen
‘Melissa has produced a wonderful book stuffed with healthy and nutritious recipes which will help people cook healthy and sustainable food.
We live in a time when every aspect of our food system is designed to drive us towards unhealthy options and that needs urgent Government action if we are to reverse the devastating effects of diet related disease. What’s good for us is also good for our planet.’
Jo Ralling, head of campaigns at The Food Foundation
‘Melissa leads us to ingredients that will help us feel well, and dishes them up in ways that will make us lick our lips. That’s just what I want from a cookbook.’
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, cook, writer, broadcaster and founder of River Cottage
‘This has everything you want from a cookbook: nourishing and scrumptious meals with accessible ingredients. I want to dive in and devour everything Melissa makes!’
Dr Amir Khan, GP and broadcaster
‘As an immunologist deeply invested in the intricate relationship between nutrition and our health, Real Healthy masterfully navigates the complex landscape of modern nutrition. Melissa’s approach emphasises nourishment, ease and finding joy in food, and gently offers practical and accessible information on UPFs.
Perfect for anyone looking to improve their diet, and a beacon for those striving to mitigate the health impacts of ultra-processed foods in our hectic daily lives. Real Healthy is more than a cookbook; it’s a guide to embracing food as a source of vitality and wellness, demonstrating that eating well can indeed fit seamlessly and deliciously into our real, everyday lives.’
Dr Jenna Macciochi, immunologist
‘Joyful food at its finest, and just as importantly healthy and supremely practical too – Melissa’s recipes are my go-to for mid-week healthy meals that nourish body and soul.’
Dr Emily Leeming PhD, RD, nutrition and microbiome scientist, registered dietitian and chef
‘In a time when ultra-processed foods are all too common, Real Healthy stands out by bringing whole food cooking back to life. This cookbook isn’t just a set of recipes; it’s a guide that educates and provides practical support for those looking to avoid processed foods and embrace a healthier, more natural diet.’
Sarah Ann Macklin, ANtur, registered nutritionist, founder of Live Well Be Well Podcast and the Be Well Collective
‘Everyone needs this book in their lives! A game changer in the kitchen!’
Laura Whitmore, broadcaster
‘Joyful rather than judgmental. A genuinely pleasurable way to eat better with zero compromises on flavour.’
Felicity Cloake, food writer
‘With her joyful approach and simple to follow recipes, Melissa has created the ultimate kitchen companion for young families looking to maximise everyday ingredients to create beautiful, delicious & healthy meals. I want to give this book to everyone!’
Skye Gyngell, chef
‘A deliciously informative and inspiring book, full of hacks and advice. I’m drawn to all of the vibrant veggie recipes.’
Mary McCartney, photographer, food writer and TV presenter
‘A delightful guide to shifting the focus onto eating more plants, cooking more intuitively and fostering a more sustainable and wholesome approach to mealtimes’.
Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, NHS gastroenterology doctor, author and MasterChef winner
‘Melissa is one of the most trusted people around. This book is so simple and helps us to understand so clearly why we all must make changes. And then the recipes… As always, they are all easy to follow and the best. I actually want to live with her because she’s THAT wonderful and her cooking is so delicious.’
Gaby Roslin, broadcaster and author
‘What a joy of a book! You’ve done the very difficult thing of hitting a great balance of encouraging healthiness without compromise on flavour and pleasure, and a total lack of worthiness while being serious about the issues and how to eat in a healthier way. Such appealing recipes and I loved the ‘How To Build’ pages!’
Mark Diacano, author and food writer
‘Melissa Hemsley’s Real Healthy is a treasure trove of delectable and approachable recipes, making it effortless to savour nourishing and wholesome meals in the comfort of your own home.’
Rachel Khoo, food writer and broadcaster
‘Ultra-processed foods have been dominating the health headlines for some time now and we are all becoming acutely aware of how damaging they are for our health. This has led to many people rightly trying to cut them out, but often being unsure what to replace them with or what to fill their diet with instead. Well, Melissa has got you covered. She has demystified and simplified that journey towards rebuilding your diet around health giving whole foods. With simple hacks, swaps and cooking method tweaks, the Hemsley magic returns to make that transition easy.
Whether it is time that you are pushed for, your
kitchen confidence needs a boost, or you simply want to carry on eating good enjoyable family food that cares for your health too, Real Healthy will give you everything you need.’
Dale Pinnock, nutritionist and chef on Eat Shop Save
‘I love this cookbook! It’s a beautiful example of how you can use food as medicine to nourish your body. The recipes are wholesome, colourful and full of plant points. I will be recommending Real Healthy to clients and will be using it myself.’
Farzanah Nasser, nutritionist and certified functional medicine practitioner
‘Melissa provides a nourishing, kind solution to reducing UPFs in our diet. Her recipes and approach are achievable, and rooted in the wisdom and science that whole plants are the cornerstone of a healthy diet.’
Dr Federica Amati PhD MPH RNutr, author and head nutritionist at ZOE
‘I have never met anyone who screams “real food” more than Melissa Hemsley. Little says “real” like Melissa Hemsley’s abundant, vibrant, in-full-flow approach to food. I’ve had many meals cooked for me in her kitchen. The experience looks (and tastes) exactly like the glorious images in this book.’
Sarah Wilson, author of New York Times bestselling I Quit Sugar
‘Real Healthy encourages and shows us that meals made from scratch are inherently nourishing and full of flavour… and also totally achievable. The recipes and ideas here are lip- smacking and joyous, but there’s pragmatism too – you’ll actually cook and use them. Melissa’s message that vegetables, fruits and other whole foods can be just as convenient and a whole load tastier than the UPFs we’ve become accustomed to is so important (and useful!).
It’s real food! And Real Healthy is the perfect, practical guide to resetting our routines and diet.’
Ed Smith, author
‘With the wealth of evidence showing that UPFs are harmful to our health, the way we feed ourselves and our families is more important than ever. With Real Healthy, Melissa provides delicious, easy to prepare recipes and helpful tips that will inspire you to cook – and eat – more real food. As importantly, this book provides parents with nourishing recipes that their children will actually eat and enjoy; a feat in itself! I will be recommending it to everyone.’
Rhian Stephenson, nutritionist and naturopath
‘This book isn’t going on my recipe bookshelf. No, it’s going to live open, on the kitchen counter. Colourful, nourishing and beautifully do-able recipes with a humongous side-order of valuable, passionate guidance on how we can unprocess our diets and better nurture our bodies.’
Anna Mathur MBACP (Accred) psychotherapist
‘Another smash-hit from Melissa’s kitchen! Love her real-life take on making healthier food easy and accessible.’
Liz Earle MBE
‘I have always enjoyed Melissa’s cookbooks and there is no doubt about the damage that ultra- processed foods are doing to our health and that of our children. To find a cookbook that makes it easier to return to real food cooking in a way that does not seem overwhelming is paramount. I look forward to incorporating these new recipe ideas into my repertoire for healthful food and an increased variety of plants for the health of my gut, brain and skin!’
Dr Tara Swart Bieber, neuroscientist, medical doctor, bestselling author of The Source, podcast host, and brand ambassador in beauty, health and wellbeing
A cookbook for every kitchen. Amazing message. Amazing recipes”
“I love this book, which will help families put healthy, delicious food on their tables”
Dr Zoe Williams MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP
‘I’m loving this beautiful book by Melissa. Families are always in need of recipe inspiration and this book really delivers. In my work I talk a lot about adding “extras” into family meals to help up the veggies and also increase the nutrition of our family foods – this book offers plenty of extras with plenty of fresh and nutritious ingredients, but in really simple recipes with plenty of store cupboard ingredients too. I can’t wait to try out some of these recipes at home.’
Charlotte Stirling-Reed, the baby and child nutritionist
‘Your passion for combating the prevalence of ultra-processed foods shines through in your book, and I’m confident that its message of promoting wholesome nutrition will resonate deeply with readers seeking a healthier lifestyle. As a mum of two, it has been a concerning trend for ultra-processed foods. Your dedication to this cause is truly inspiring.’
Romy Gill MBE, chef, broadcaster and author
‘A book I’d recommend to anyone looking to ditch ultra-processed food and enjoy real healthy food.’
Adrienne Adhami, wellness coach and author
