'Simply Nigella' at The Cheltenham Literature Festival

The day after the publication of Nigella Lawson's latest cookery book, the lucky residents of Cheltenham - myself included - were graced with her presence at The Literature Festival. 'Simply Nigella', which also ties in with the new BBC2 series of the same name - set to air in November - sees the domestic goddess find a "true sense of balance between lightness and lushness." In an interview with the opinionated food heavyweight, Jay Rayner, she revealed more about her philosophy of food, what she means by 'simply', and how her healthy recipes should not be confused with the current 'clean eating' trend.

* My previous post on Gizzi's Healthy Appetite will tell you how I feel about the whole situation.*

We're all familiar with Nigella; most of us probably own at least one of her books - well thumbed and splattered with olive oil, or stuck together with cake batter no doubt - and as much as YouTube takes pleasure in splicing together her "seductive" cooking clips, watching her effortlessly assemble dishes on TV inspires a whole host of people to get into the kitchen… It also encourages me to sneak into the fridge late at night for an extra spoonful of dessert, but I won't hold that against her.

'Simply Nigella', she explains, is partly about getting rid of the unnecessary frills in cooking, but it's not just as simple as 'simple cooking'. The recipes are an antidote to the busy lives that we lead and understanding that different days require different ways of eating; be it quick dinners when you just want to flop on the sofa (Thai Noodles with Cinnamon & Prawns), a dish that enables some breathing space at the end of a long week (Massaman Beef Curry), stress-free crowd pleasers (Chicken Trayabake with Bitter Orange & Fennel), or soothing suppers (Miso Salmon, Cauliflower & Cashew Nut Curry).

Whatever the occasion, she insists it should always be pleasurable, and as such, the book is also about celebrating all the food that she likes to make and eat. Both naughty and nice, this is food that is 'Simply Nigella'.

Obviously there are plenty of indulgent treats in the book - Lemon Pavlova, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pots, and not one but three recipes for Bundt Cakes (if you're going to make the effort to buy a bloody bundt tin, she insists you need more than one recipe to justify its worth) - but Simply Nigella also sees her take on the lighter, healthier side of food.

Cold pressed coconut oil has made its way in (which she also uses it on her feet - thanks for the tip), along with an abundance of avocados, and although Nigella's always been one to resist diets and food fads, things have changed. "While I have not gone gluten-free, or anywhere near, there are quite a few new gluten- and dairy-free recipes. Cooking brings me pleasure, but I also wish to bring pleasure to those who eat around my table – and since there is always a contingent in either camp, I want to make food they can eat," speaking to The Guardian.

When everyone has suddenly become more interested in the food they're consuming, health foods in particular, it would be a foolish thing to ignore. We're a nation obsessed by the aesthetics of what we eat; we Instagram the hell out of our avo toasts, vivid green juices and perfectly presented breakfast bowls. Expressing the creative beauty in food is certainly something that Nigella advocates, however, it all seems to have gotten a little misconstrued lately thanks to all this 'clean eating' chat.

With Jay Rayner's public love of piggy treats, we can guess where he stands on the situation, and he prompted Nigella to voice her opinions too.

'Clean eating' gives the impression that eating is dirty, shameful and something to be feared, she said. There's an air of smugness about the whole thing, and she's frustrated by the fact that people are claiming superiority over others just because of their virtuous eating habits. For Nigella, someone who has always been fuelled by greed (she said it - not me!), a restricted diet is not living wholeheartedly, and that's really quite sad.

So, although a number of the recipes in 'Simply Nigella' might attract the clean eaters, she states it's much more about the power of food; how different foods can make us feel well, make us stronger and give us the vitality we need and crave. Personally, I think I can get just as much 'goodness' from dipping saintly crudités into her Brocamole (broccolified guacamole if you couldn't guess from the name) as I could stuffing myself with her sage topped Sweet Potato Macaroni Cheese with a hangover.

Nigella's new book is one that will inevitably infiltrate the rhythms of our cooking lives, and healthy or not, the recipes are sure to make us feel good every time. Simply wonderful.

You can find some of Nigella's new recipes on the You Magazine website.

Gizzi Erskine: A healthy attitude towards food at Cheltenham Literature Festival

'Clean eating' can sod off. 

After attending two fantastic events last week at The Cheltenham Literature Festival, I'm both inspired and full of preachy rage about this stupid buzz-phrase. Sure, I'm not adverse to healthy eating, eating well, and trying to lower my calorie intake - I've gone on juice cleanses (see my post on The Core Chelt), I own a NutriBullet, and I've eaten spiralised 'courgetti' just as much as the next person has - but I'm sick of the frankly quite bullying promotion of #cleaneating.

Food events at the lit fest are always my priority (you can read my previous #cheltlitfest experiences here), and with the likes of Cornish king Rick Stein, wine buff Oz Clarke, and London heroes Honey & Co and Spuntino making an appearance, there was so much to choose from. I would've sold an arm and a leg to be able to get tickets to all of them (it gets expensive business), but with two of my all time fave ladies in the world of food, it was easy to make my decision. And happy-frickin'-days, both Gizzi Erskine's and Nigella's new books speak the truth about all this obsessive attitude over 'clean' foods.

I've owned Gizzi's latest book 'Gizzi's Healthy Appetite' since the day it came out, and FYI it's still a purse friendly £7.99 on Amazon. I went mad over the recipes in 'Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts' - the Pork Bun Xao is a firm staple in our house and I've wowed people dishing up the Braised Veal Shin Bourguignon for Sunday lunch - but her new book is something I'm completely obsessed with. Not a week goes by where I haven't made at least one thing from it. Just look at some of my efforts...

'Healthy Appetite' is a clever double entendre; she's really interested in health foods and food that will keep you in shape - note the superfood salad and smoothie recipes - but it also describes her indulgent side - the best ever Black Velvet Cake, truffle pappardelle using leftover hollandaise and her famous Korean fried chicken. In her discussion with Red Magazine's Pip McCormac, she proudly outed herself as being a little piglet that could easily take anyone down when it comes to how much she can eat. I salute that! Though anyone who follows her on Instagram would already know this; if it's not photos of her cute kitties - Kimchi and Ponzu - it's all the mega food she likes to cook and all the shit-hot places she likes to eat out at. I'm pretty much green with envy and constantly craving London; arghh.

"Having a healthy appetite means having a healthy lust for life," she says. If you're beating yourself up over having a slice of bloody cake at the weekend, then get a grip. Gizzi believes that all these new diets and the rise of 'clean eating' is putting too much blame on food. We know that things like alcohol and refined sugar are bad for us - fine - but to exclude whole food groups to eat saintly raw meals is a little extreme. I've lost count of the amount of people I know who have gone dairy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, blah blah blah, and whilst I can totally understand if these people have an actual problem, just to cut them out believing it makes you 'healthier' is pretty misguided. Luckily, Gizzi is here to help, and from what I gathered from the event, her new book is just the start of her food education revolution.

Not naming any names, she discussed the problems with the popularity of health food bloggers on social media; the dishes tagged with #cleaneating or #fitfood might look delicious, and no doubt they are, but "spiralised courgette with pesto made from whizzed-up avocado is not dinner. It's a salad." Her idea of nourishing the body is about understanding balance and why we break up our plate into proteins, carbs, vegetables, fats, and the right volumes of these things. She's made friends with new techniques such as spiralizing veg and making rice out of cauliflower, but feels that it's very much misrepresented by those who aren't trained in the world of food and nutrition.

As we tucked into her dishes cooked by the Relish Events team at the Literature Fest (Ox Cheek Goulash with Spatzle followed by Maple Syrup, Orange & Rosemary Tart), it was evident that it's time to start loving our food again. Gizzi, along with others like Jamie Oliver and his latest food programme and indeed Nigella, are bringing back the emphasis of cooking fresh food from scratch and giving people a different attitude to healthy eating.

If you just do one thing this week, buy 'Gizzi's Healthy Appetite'. Oh, and "do cover your vegetables in butter; it's actually good for you!"... It tastes pretty damn good too.

**Keep your eyes peeled for my round up of Nigella's 'Simply Nigella' discussion with Jay Rayner.**