Teenage food blogger Sophie Bradshaw is followed by thousands and knows at first hand the link between good grub and wellbeing. MAXINE GORDON reports.

SOPHIE Bradshaw left school after sixth form certain of only one thing: she didn’t want to go to university. Trouble was, she didn’t have a plan B.

Stuck at home on the family farm at Hessay, just outside York, she followed on Facebook the exciting lives of her old friends from All Saint’s School. They had scattered wide and far for further study.

In contrast, she was on the road to nowhere.

“I was in a bit of a rut. My friends were all across the country doing great things. I became quite low and anxious. My weight plummeted and I got really down. I went to the doctor’s and they told me I had an eating disorder and to follow a meal plan. But it was full of really bad stuff, like two slices of white toast with margarine and jam and sugary cereal for breakfast and chocolate bars for snacks.”

Sophie knew better. “I grew up with really good food. My mum always cooked great stuff for all the family. But the doctor said I had ‘muesli disease’ and was obsessed by healthy eating.”

Sophie headed into the kitchen and prove them wrong. She had never suffered from an eating disorder and wanted to show it was possible to eat well and wisely without obsessing about weight. She began cooking, and writing up her recipes and taking photos of her dishes for a blog. Soon, she started to feel better.

“I did photography at sixth form and I loved writing. When I started cooking, I found my passion. I realised this is what I want to do. I was in a really bad place, full of anxiety, but as soon as I got into the kitchen, all my pressures went away.”

She began her blog on January 1 last year. By the summer, she had 10,000 followers. Next, she was approached by TV fashion personality Sam Faiers and asked to provide the healthy-eating recipes for her health and fitness website, Celebrity Training with Sam Faiers and personal trainer Nicole Attrill. Today, people pay a monthly fee to follow their fitness and food advice.

 

York Press: York teenage food blogger Sophie Bradshaw, left, with personal trainer Nicole Attrill and Sam Faiers from celebritytraining.co.uk

 

“It’s a good way to make a living out of what I do,” says Sophie. “There is nothing better than doing a job I really love.”

Sophie’s nutrition advice is simple. “Fill your plate with colour. Eat food that is full of colour, that way you know you are getting all your key vitamins and nutrients. Beige food is only going to make you feel bad.”

Which doesn’t mean food has to be boring or bland. Sophie often gets requests for indulgence foods made in a healthy way, such as pizza and ice-cream.

“I have a recipe for almond crusted chicken and chips. The chicken breast is rolled in ground almonds and baked in the oven with parsnip chips. It’s simple and really easy and tastes really good. The almonds when baked in the oven take on a breadcrumb consistency.

“I also make a really good chocolate ‘ice-cream’ by whizzing up frozen banana with cacao powder, which is the unheated version of cocoa powder and a pure form of chocolate, with some natural sweetener such as maple syrup and cinnamon. It’s a delicious treat and is dairy and gluten free.”

Another tip is to eat food as close to its natural state as possible. “Too many people count calories and not chemicals. If you order a skinny latte, the milk is stripped of all its goodness. We should eat food that hasn’t been processed. The key to health is to eat honest food that makes you feel good. It makes such a difference to your life.”

• Find out more at celebritytraining.co.uk where you can take advantage of a seven-day free trail. Thereafter, the programme costs £12 a month or £16 to include Sophie’s healthy-eating plan. Follow Sophie on Instagram too at SophiesBlend and Twitter @SophiesBlend

 

Sophie's recipes

Chicken and chips (Serves two)

This paleo recipe gives KFC a serious run for their money. No joke – the chicken strips taste so good when coated with the almonds which act as breadcrumbs when baked in the oven. The parsnips are just as delicious, and are packed with fibre to keep your digestive system happy and healthy. This is a fabulous pre or post work-out meal to fuel your body with packs of protein. Trust me, you won’t ever want to stop off for a saturated-fat laden chicken and chips ever again. This is life changing and so easy... so let’s get cooking!

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
250g ground almonds
2 egg whites
1 tsp turmeric
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 tsp paprika
4 parsnips
4 tbsp coconut/rapeseed/rice bran oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
Salad leaves
1 lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, line a baking tray with foil and grease with 2tbsp of your oil.

You will need to cook the parsnips before the chicken as they take about 20 minutes longer – so prep these first by washing, peeling and chopping the parsnips lengthways. Place in a roasting tray and drizzle with your oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary and place in the oven to roast.

Wash the chicken breasts, pat dry and slice in to strips.

Beat the egg whites in a shallow dish and dip the chicken breasts in, ensuring they’re fully coated.

In a separate bowl, mix the almonds, turmeric, paprika, salt and pepper together and dip the chicken breasts in. Make sure they have plenty of the mix on each side.

Place in the oven and let them bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nice and golden. Check the parsnips are nice and soft inside and serve up on a plate with greens of choice. If you like, you can add a little drizzle of olive oil and lemon to give it that final kick. Enjoy.

 

Chocolate “ice-cream” (Serves two)

This makes a perfect dessert for you and your friends as it tastes just like chocolate ice cream; but I would quite happily demolish it for breakfast or whizz it up for an afternoon pick me up. I feel so energised after eating this thanks to the cacao powder – as it’s a natural mood and energy booster!

There is absolutely no dairy or added sugar in this recipe which means this is the ultimate guilt-free treat that is so quick and easy to make. Give it a go and see how amazing it is.

Ingredients
2 large bananas
1/2 avocado
3 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cap vanilla extract
50ml almond milk
Toppings of choice (almond butter, coconut and flaked almonds are amazing)

Method

Freeze the bananas the night before by chopping them up and placing them in a freezer bag. When you come to making the ice-cream, simply add them to a blender with the almond milk until smooth. Be patient here, as at first they will be quite hard – but just use a spoon to keep them moving around.

Then it’s as simple as adding in the cacao, vanilla and cinnamon and blending until all is nicely combined! Pour into a bowl and top with the almond butter, coconut and almond flakes for an amazingly healthy and delicious treat.