The Plant Academy

Ellie Richards-Johnson

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  • Why I decided to travel Europe in a converted Sprinter camper van…

    by Ellie Richards-Johnson

    In a short space of time I went from believing my vegan cafe would one day rule the world to feeling like I needed to leave my cafe and go see the world. So why did I decide to leave my hometown to travel Europe in a converted Sprinter camper van? 

    June 15, 2018
    Comment 1
    Travel

  • What makes a minimalist?

    by Ellie Richards-Johnson

    I gave up my business, sold most of my possessions, went from having a whole room as my wardrobe to two shelves of clothing. But does this make me a minimalist?

    June 10, 2018
    Comment 1
    Minimalism

  • Gluten Free Maple & Almond Butter Granola

    by Ellie Richards-Johnson

    I love granola for breakfast, especially with some vegan yogurt or as a topping on my smoothie bowl. When I visited Edinburgh recently, a cute cafe there even used it as a topping on their porridge which was an amazing revelation to me. The only problem is most shop bought granola has cow's milk, gluten or white sugar in, and I eat none of...

    June 6, 2018
    Comments 0
    Recipes

  • Get lost with me…

    by Ellie Richards-Johnson

    I’ve been struggling to find the words recently, to tell you what I and The Plant Academy are doing. Because honestly, I don’t know. I have hit this point of feeling lost, like I’m in a huge maze and there’s so many options and I’ve just sat my bum down in the centre with no idea which direction to choose. The Plant Academy has...

    May 25, 2018
    Comments 4
    Cafe News, Self Discovery

About The Plant Academy

Hi, I’m Ellie Richards-Johnson, I started The Plant Academy in April 2017 in my small home town in North West England to help show how positive and delicious living a plant based lifestyle is.

I operated The Plant Academy in a small market as a little vegan cafe for a year before I turned my attention to the online world. Here, I hope to show how wonderful living a simple plant based lifestyle can be.

Along with my husband and dog, I’ve sold everything and moved in to a campervan where we are living minimally and eating our way around Europe.

Here you’ll be able to follow our adventures, find great plant based recipes, learn more about minimalism and alternative living, and help discover your true self through our attempts at figuring this out for ourselves.

Love & good vibes, Ellie x

Recipes

Gluten Free Maple & Almond Butter Granola

Published by Ellie Richards-Johnson

I love granola for breakfast, especially with some vegan yogurt or as a topping on my smoothie bowl. When I visited Edinburgh recently, a cute cafe there even used...

June 6, 2018
Comments 0
Recipes

From The Cafe: How to make our vegan kale, pesto & mozzarella toastie

Published by Ellie Richards-Johnson

This toastie is so simple yet so satisfying, and it's been a great success at The Plant Academy vegan cafe. We thought we'd share with you how to make...

March 4, 2018
Comments 0
Recipes

Vegan Travel

Travel

Why I decided to travel Europe in a converted Sprinter camper van…

In a short space of time I went from believing my vegan cafe would one day rule the world to feeling like I needed to leave my cafe and...

June 15, 2018
Comment 1
Travel

Liverpool’s Top 5 Vegan Eats

We’re only a stone throw away from Liverpool, and in fact, Andy and I actually like just outside Liverpool and drive to Southport to get to The Plant Academy...

March 1, 2018
Comments 0

Self Discovery

Get lost with me…

by Ellie Richards-Johnson

I’ve been struggling to find the words recently, to tell you what I and The Plant Academy are doing. Because honestly, I don’t know. I have hit this point of feeling lost, like I’m in a huge maze and there’s so many options and I’ve just sat my bum down in the centre with no idea which direction to choose. The Plant Academy has always been an honest and authentic business. I’ve shared more with you all than the average business owner shares with their customers and followers, I’ve felt called to do so, and I believe it’s been something that’s been appreciated by you all. So here I am, sharing my ‘what now’ update.

May 25, 2018
Comments 4
Cafe News, Self Discovery

The Plant Academy’s Future…

by Ellie Richards-Johnson

It's definitely important in life to look back on the good and the bad, but equally important to live in the present and not the past. With this in mind, I'm focusing on The Plant Academy in the now. I'm making plans for this month on what we can do and trying to figure out what I want The Plant Academy to be in the long run...

April 23, 2018
Comments 3
Self Discovery

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We had a sit down and regroup last night as this crazy high pollen count has been making me feel 🤧😷🤢 Living in a van when you're allergic to the outdoors was beginning to feel like my stupidest idea to date. We booked a hotel for the night, washed all our clothes and sheets and had our first proper showers of the trip (including 🐶) in an effort to have a pollen free night. We spent all night making the most of the wifi to do some research and decided to reroute and use those wheels of ours to travel to pollen free lands. We are going to spend the next week driving thousands of kilometres to north Sweden, where we had always intended to travel to, just not quite so soon. The grass pollen levels are so much lower there, and the heat more bearable. We will enjoy the scenic beauty of the north until the pollen levels are less extreme and then slowly make our way back south, heading to Spain in autumn via The Netherlands and Belgium again for a better explore than we've been able to this week. We are excited again rather than frustrated. I've said this before but I've spent a lot of my life trying to pretend I don't have certain illnesses such as my PMDD and hay fever because society has you believe you should persist and carry on no matter what, but now I am changing my thought patterns to believe that I should work with my ailments and limitations and not against them. To admit my hay fever is causing me distress and suffering might seem small to some, but I have to accept that being around grass pollen makes me feel very ill, and there's no point staying here out of stubbornness and suffering when I could work with the situation and find a way forward. Fingers crossed all goes to plan this time 🤞 See you soon Sweden 🇸🇪🚐🗺
My meals whilst traveling in my campervan are really not so different than when I lived in a flat or at my parents house. I generally stick to whole grains and veggies with some kind of delicious sauce made up of whatever I have in. I like to buy cheaper veg, usually whatever is in season, as it's not only friendlier to my tight budget but also tends to be more nutritious and tasty when it's in season. This was a one pot wonder and super easy but also very healthy - ideal for keeping my PMDD under control and also keeping my immune system in tip top condition whilst traveling. I'm missing some decent gluten free pasta, though. I'm a total brown rice pasta snob and I'm struggling to adjust to the corn pasta in the supermarkets in France and Belgium 🤦‍♀️😅 I know... I'm a spoilt first world millennial who's biggest problem is finding decent gluten free pasta, I'll go seek some perspective now 🙈
We are back in Belgium today somewhere near Antwerp as we make our way to a different part of The Netherlands on the non toll roads (didn't fancy the €18 toll road 😱). Belgium is so much more than I expected, though, so I'm glad the universe pulled us back this way. Everywhere is so charming and the streets here are so clean and the houses so well presented. The locals we have met have been kind and helpful, and of course demanding we try Belgian beer. I'd been here once before when I was 19 and didn't fall in love with this country, but 7 years later it looks totally different through my eyes 😍
I knew having a good sized kitchen was important to me when we decided to buy a campervan. I have a small fridge, two big baskets for dry food storage, two gas hobs, a big sink, and enough counter space to prepare everything I need. It's one of the benefits of having a larger campervan, I don't think long term I'd be comfortable in a little VW or similar. I like to spread out when I cook, to make a mess and enjoy the process. One thing I've learnt on my minimalist journey is that living with less is not about suffering, it's about knowing what you value and making more space in your life for those things.
Traveling with my best buddy is such a treat 🐶 It's been a bit surreal being a tourist with my dog today in Bruges. I'm not sure she's aware that she's been in 3 countries today, or that she's surrounded by such beauty and culture. But she is loving all the new smells and meeting new dog and human friends. When we decided we wanted to travel I was adamant I wasn't doing it without my best buddy and I'm so excited for all the adventures we are going to have together 🗺 ✨
I am officially traveling full time in my campervan and I've just published a blog post on why I decided to travel Europe in a converted Sprinter camper van (link in bio: @theplantacademy ). I thought I'd share a 'before' picture from when vanlife was just a crazy idea... 🚐🗺
I love nothing more than to eat out at amazing restaurants but more often than not, I make the most of my own culinary skills. Partially because I love my own cooking 🤓 but also because I hold a lot of anxiety around eating out due to my allergies. We were supposed to set off on our travels a couple of days ago but our poor dog came down with an infection, maybe kennel cough or hopefully just a throat infection. She went to the emergency vets and it was clear we had to wait around a little. So we postponed our start date by a few days (hopefully setting off tomorrow). This has actually worked out fine as I've been having such trouble getting hold of new adrenaline pens for my allergies. Today my dog, Peanut, is starting to feel better and my pharmacy did the impossible and tracked me down some adrenaline pens! So I can be a little less anxious whilst we are abroad. I have an intolerance to gluten that I've only really taken seriously the past 6 months, I've also realised since stopping eating gluten that quinoa gives me stomach aches. But I am quite seriously allergic and have anaphylaxis from sesame and (weird one) food colouring! Sesame is become increasingly difficult as it's quite fashionable particularly in vegan food! Chinese restaurants have gone from being one of my favourite places to eat out to being anxiety inducing situations. Mostly I find it embarrassing having to tell waiters and chefs that not only am I vegan and gluten free but I also can't eat that quinoa salad with the tahini dressing on top, and don't even think about serving me hummus. Do you have any allergies and do you find it difficult eating out?
10 facts about me you might not know: 1. I went vegan 3 years ago after watching Gary Yourofsky's 'best speech' on YouTube. 2. I am a huge Harry Potter nerd #Hufflepuff 3. I'm slightly addicted to coffee. Only slightly. 😶 4. I have a masters degree in religious studies and completed a year of a PhD in the same subject before dropping out. 5. My dog is called Peanut because when I first got her she was the colour of peanut butter. Over the years her fur has turned white and so her name no longer makes sense 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️🐶 6. My favourite food is pizza. Vegan, of course! 7. I called my vegan cafe The Plant Academy because the only other names I could think of were Ellie's cafe or Veg. Both were equally uninspiring and unoriginal so my family spent a whole day saying different random words at me until something stuck. Andy wanted it to be called the purple dolphin but luckily The Plant Academy stuck... 😝 8. My favourite season is autumn because I love the colour of the trees 🍂 🎃 9. Andy and I met 10 years ago and I adored him from the first moment. It took him 9 months to agree to go out with me. He apparently has no regrets except wishing he had agreed to go out with me earlier 😍❤️👫 10. I am a huge fan of marvel movies and saw the latest Avengers movie twice in the cinema 😅 Comment below with something I might not know about you! Let's get to know each other a bit better ☺️

A thoughtful quote...

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us...”

Helen Keller

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Ellie Richards-Johnson

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