How nutritionist Emily English is making healthy eating fun again

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In the four years since she filmed herself making a salad from her locked-down kitchen, Emily English has amassed more than a million followers, written a bestselling cookbook and launched a probiotic brand. But from cooking meals for her four siblings from the Bedford council state where she grew up to recovering from a debilitating episode of disordered eating, her meteoric rise has been simmering for decades. As she prepares to publish book two, WH meets the woman behind the glossy grid posts.

Hearty fare
An understanding of the Emily English approach begins in Bedfordshire in the 90s where, amid the chaos of being an older sibling in a five-child family (brother Ollie is 31, twins Will and Alex are 23 and Mary is 20), Emily learned skills for life. ‘I’m financially sensible because I come from a massive family [and] not a lot of money,’ she tells me, correcting a common ‘misconception’ that she comes from wealth. ‘People think I’m silver-spoon fed. [But] I grew up on a council estate.’

Having to tell my dentist that I chipped a tooth on a pomegranate seed is as 2025 wellness as it gets. Not least because of the identity of the woman who’s made my lunch. ‘This is my prepable tuna protein mix,’ Emily English continues, before reeling off the ingredients (tuna, yoghurt, harissa, tomatoes, red pepper, spring onion, dill, pomegranate seeds, feta, lemon juice and a ‘tiny little bit’ of mustard).