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INTRODUCTION

So, here we are.

If you’re after a no-nonsense approach to home cooking, with a sprinkle of delicious recipes, a dash of reality and a ladle of EAT CARBS AND BE HAPPY, then this is your kind of book.

But before we go any further, a little bit about me. I’m an actress by trade, but I’m also a devoted foodie. And by that I mean I spend most of my spare time thinking up new recipes, writing about food, and dreaming about what I’m going to eat next. I live in London with my fiancé Mike and my miniature Dachshund Darcey, and in summer 2015 I set up a website, Milly Cookbook, to document my life in food. I had no idea then that my passion project would become a second all-consuming full-time job!

I don’t do elimination diets. I do, however, eat just about everything, so don’t be surprised if you see chicken wings or sweet potato gnocchi in here. My mantra is quite simple: Eat everything in moderation. So in this book you’ll find recipes that embrace all ingredients and food groups from pancakes to paella, salads to sticky ribs.

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, I’m sure you’ve heard of the “clean eating” trend that’s been sweeping the nation. If that’s your gig, then cool. As you were. But that’s not my thing. My primary issue with the term “clean eating” is that it insinuates that unless you follow a sugarfree, alcohol-free (God forbid), gluten-free lifestyle, you are eating dirty. Eating a bowl of courgetti instead of spaghetti is about as appealing to me as eating a sponge. I do not get a kick out of that. And don’t get me started with the raw-avocado-matchaquinoa brownies … just have a brownie and enjoy it!

The worst thing for me, perhaps, is the term “guilt-free”. In the early days, I toyed with this tagline, but it soon became very apparent that there was something fundamentally wrong with it and I asked myself the question, “Why do we need guilt-free alternatives?” This surely perpetuates the notion that we have something to feel guilty about. Why should we feel guilty for eating food that we enjoy? Why have we abandoned staples such as bread and pasta? “Enough of the self-persecuting, self-diagnosing and demonising food groups,” I thought. “It’s time to enjoy our food again.”

Not an easy ideal to stick to when you’re in my line of work, I’ll admit. I’m privy to the pressures that are put on women (and men for that matter) to fit the narrow definition of what the media think a woman (or man) should look like. Although I love what I do, I can become impatient and frustrated with the industry. It’s very fickle; judging people on their looks and not their talent. It could be very demoralising in the early days, but I quickly learnt that you have to grow a thick skin and just power through. It’s important to be yourself and not succumb to the pressures put on everyone to look a certain way. I really look up to the women who defy these rules; who’ve turned their backs and called people out on it. They’re the women who’ve made history.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking – an actress woke up one day, decided she wanted to do a book and so had an entire team of people writing it for her with her name slapped on the front, right? Wrong. Blood, sweat and tears have been poured into making this book, not only because I’m an utter control freak and wanted to be involved in every part of it, but because I was given the chance. My publisher took the rather brave step of handing over the creative reins, allowing me complete control over the photography, the food styling, the props – the whole look and feel of the book! And I think we’ve created something rather wonderful. I did a lot of research online before I stumbled upon a photographer – Susanna – whose work I loved, and I fired off an email with no expectations whatsoever. I was stunned when she emailed back to say she was available, and she wanted to work with me! Next I found a beautiful and talented food stylist – Sara – and a team of fabulous hair and makeup artists and, we then shot the book in Stockholm, Sweden, returning to my distant Scandinavian roots to take inspiration from the colour schemes, the laidback attitude, effortlessly cool interiors and food. All of the recipes are mine: I’ve created them, tested them, tweaked them and now I want to share them with you. I’ve learnt so much already and I hope this is just the beginning of my food journey.