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The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes
Vegan chef of one of the top 50 food blogs on the Web, HappyHerbivore.com, Lindsay Nixon, gives hundreds of thousands of her followers recipes each month, showing that the vegan diet is not only healthy but delicious, too.
Now, Nixon combines some of her tastiest recipes in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook, each made with no added fats, using only whole, plant-based foods. It’s easy to make great food at home using the fewest number of ingredients and ones that can easily be found at any store, on any budget.
The Happy Herbivore Cookbook includes:
•-A variety of recipes from quick and simple to decadent and advanced
•-Helpful hints and cooking tips, from basic advice such as how to steam potatoes to more specific information about which bread, tofu or egg replacer works best in a recipe
•-An easy-to-use glossary demystifying any ingredients that may be new to the reader
•-Healthy insight: Details on the health benefits and properties of key ingredients
•-Pairing suggestions with each recipe to help make menu planning easy and painless
•-Allergen-free recipes, including gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free, and sugar-free
With a conventionally organized format; easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions; nutritional analyses, colorful photographs; funny blurbs at the beginning of each recipe; helpful tips throughout; and chef’s notes suggesting variations for each dish, even the most novice cook will find healthy cooking easy—and delicious!
Now, Nixon combines some of her tastiest recipes in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook, each made with no added fats, using only whole, plant-based foods. It’s easy to make great food at home using the fewest number of ingredients and ones that can easily be found at any store, on any budget.
The Happy Herbivore Cookbook includes:
•-A variety of recipes from quick and simple to decadent and advanced
•-Helpful hints and cooking tips, from basic advice such as how to steam potatoes to more specific information about which bread, tofu or egg replacer works best in a recipe
•-An easy-to-use glossary demystifying any ingredients that may be new to the reader
•-Healthy insight: Details on the health benefits and properties of key ingredients
•-Pairing suggestions with each recipe to help make menu planning easy and painless
•-Allergen-free recipes, including gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free, and sugar-free
With a conventionally organized format; easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions; nutritional analyses, colorful photographs; funny blurbs at the beginning of each recipe; helpful tips throughout; and chef’s notes suggesting variations for each dish, even the most novice cook will find healthy cooking easy—and delicious!
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 18, 2011
About the author
Lindsay S. Nixon
22 books785 followersAuthor of the Happy Herbivore Cookbook series and CEO of Meal Mentor, the first and best vegan (plant-based, no oil) meal planning and recipe app!
Start your free trial at http://getmealplans.com
Start your free trial at http://getmealplans.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
July 7, 2022
My new definition of torture? Reading this book while hungry, and it was only slightly less painful to read when not hungry because almost everything looks so delicious. As I read, I started making shopping lists of ingredients I’d need to buy in order to make a few of the recipes. I can remember doing that with only a couple other cookbooks.
I stayed up very late at night (early morning) to finish this book. That’s how engrossing it was for me.
And I loved the adorable little elephant that appears on many pages. So cute.
Recently, I filled out a survey for an upcoming book, a survey about what vegans eat, and one of the questions was what were my three favorite cookbooks. I own over 100 vegan cookbooks and have read several I don’t own, and found that question impossible to answer well; I could have probably answered fairly accurately had I been asked to name my 30 favorite cookbooks. Now, I’m prepared to add this book to that list, and I wish I’d read this book before I answered the questionnaire because I think I’d have included it as one of my three favorite cookbooks. It’s certainly in my top 30 (Of course, I don’t know which book would get displaced from the short list I gave) and in my top ten. I actually wrote a f/u email and mentioned this book as my new favorite. I didn’t know if my email would do any good because I wasn’t sure if the deadline for submissions had passed, but the co-author promptly emailed me back and said they’d have a look at the book; I am so happy about that.
I’m really glad the author is already a Goodreads author member because otherwise I’d have expended the effort and invited her to join.
This is a gorgeous book: beautiful layout, mouthwatering inducing photos, many photos; there are even photos within the index pages.
I so appreciate that the author is cognizant of such things as cost of food and complexity of recipes and ease of finding ingredients.
She’s personable and her notes at the start of every recipe are entertaining and useful. She also has an additional chef’s note on some of the recipe pages, also including very helpful information. These notes definitely contribute to making this book fun to read. I appreciate all the recipes where she includes suggested variations to the basic recipe. She also tells a bit about her background, an inclusion I enjoyed.
This is an ideal book for novice cooks, new vegans, vegans who cook for omnivores and/or children, anybody who wants to eat lower fat versions of favorite foods, anybody interested in healthy vegan eating, and there are quite a few decadent and comfort food recipes included, which should please almost all eaters.
One thing I noticed is that she uses a lot of non-dairy milk, and she even includes a homemade recipe for brown rice milk, which I doubt I’ll use, but it’s cool that it’s there. I’ve rarely use milks, but I’m willing to use them to try out some of these recipes. I love that she uses whole grains because that’s what I like to eat.
She has icons at applicable recipes for: no cooking required, quick, fat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, kid-friendly, and omni-friendly. The latter she explains are recipes that were particularly enjoyed by omnivores. All of the recipes were taste tested by vegans and omnivores, overall positively I assume, but the omni icon are ones best liked by the omnivores. I think these icons at recipes are important information to have for most cooks. For people with allergies or food sensitivities, people who have children, and for those who need to cook to please both omnivores and vegans, this information is indispensable.
Each recipe has nutritional information and, unlike most other cookbooks that include these numbers, here a disclaimer is provided make clear that there are variations and the numbers are not likely to be exact. I appreciated that honesty. Stats provided are calories, calories from fat, total fat in grams, cholesterol (I love it when vegan cookbooks include this because the number is always 0!), total carbohydrate in grams, dietary fiber number grams, grams of sugars, and protein number of grams.
There’s a plethora of recipes I want to try! The taste testers for this book were so lucky. The author has a food blog and some of the recipes have been available there. The recipes in the book that follow are the ones that most appealed to me and I do plan to make some of them (listed in general order of my reading them, not in order of most compelling): gingerbread mini-loaves, cinnamon buns, Nomelet, maple muffins, banana bread, French toast, pumpkin bread, pancakes, creamy carrot soup, African kale and yam soup, curried sweet potato soup, red lentil dal, black bean burgers, hippie loaf, easy macaroni and cheese with the cheddar cheesy sauce (I can’t emphasize enough how thrilled I am to find a recipe for vegan cheese sauce/vegan cheese that doesn’t include mustard!!!), broccoli pesto pasta, corn pudding, baked onion rings, dirty mashed potatoes, Charleston red rice, dirty rice, traditional stuffing (probably for next Thanksgiving/winter holidays!), chocolate chip cookies, black bean brownies, single-serving brownie (perfect for when I don’t trust myself with an entire pan of them!), chocolate cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, pumpkin pie, maple icing, vanilla icing, tofu chocolate icing, brown gravy, Thanksgiving gravy (ditto for the next winter holidays along with the stuffing!), enchilada sauce, the aforementioned cheddar cheesy sauce, tofu ricotta cheese, cranberry sauce (although I think I’d rather try Alicia Silverstone’s with the maple syrup vs. the agave nectar, but I love cranberries so I’m likely to try both), Cajun essence (spice mixture), and there are more too. It seems as though I listed a great many but I couldn't leave out any of the above. Different eaters might like recipes different from my favorites. There are some meat analog dishes here too for those who like them; I don’t.
The index is good, although I did notice I first had trouble finding the brown rice milk recipe that’s included, but overall it’s well laid out and comprehensive, and I didn’t have trouble finding anything else. (The brown rice milk is under brown, but not rice, or milk, or non-dairy milk; the non-dairy milk listing is for non-dairy milks’ general description in the appendix.) Also, the index pages have appendix at the top of the pages. I think those are typos.
The table of contents is long but I want to include its section titles so potential readers/cooks can see how wonderfully comprehensive this book is. It would make a fine gift for a novice cook, a new vegan as their first cookbok, someone starting out in a new kitchen, and really absolutely anyone who enjoys vegan cookbooks.
Table of Contents:
Introduction:
A Word from Lindsay
Why Vegan?
Why Fat-Free and Low-Fat?
Getting Started
Kitchen Prep Lingo
Troubleshooting Tips
How to Use This Book
Top Ten Tips
Breakfast & Brunch
Muffins & Breads
Soups, Dals, & Chilis
Burgers, Wraps, Tacos, & More
Quick One-Pot Dinners
Tofu & Vegan Meats
Pasta & Casseroles
Mix & Match: Vegetables, Grains, & Beans
Desserts
Dips, Snacks, & Finger Foods
Spreads, Gravies, & Sauces
Condiments, Spices, & More
Appendix:
Glossary of Ingredients
Recipe Substitutions
Metric Conversions
Index
Acknowledgements
About the Author
I stayed up very late at night (early morning) to finish this book. That’s how engrossing it was for me.
And I loved the adorable little elephant that appears on many pages. So cute.
Recently, I filled out a survey for an upcoming book, a survey about what vegans eat, and one of the questions was what were my three favorite cookbooks. I own over 100 vegan cookbooks and have read several I don’t own, and found that question impossible to answer well; I could have probably answered fairly accurately had I been asked to name my 30 favorite cookbooks. Now, I’m prepared to add this book to that list, and I wish I’d read this book before I answered the questionnaire because I think I’d have included it as one of my three favorite cookbooks. It’s certainly in my top 30 (Of course, I don’t know which book would get displaced from the short list I gave) and in my top ten. I actually wrote a f/u email and mentioned this book as my new favorite. I didn’t know if my email would do any good because I wasn’t sure if the deadline for submissions had passed, but the co-author promptly emailed me back and said they’d have a look at the book; I am so happy about that.
I’m really glad the author is already a Goodreads author member because otherwise I’d have expended the effort and invited her to join.
This is a gorgeous book: beautiful layout, mouthwatering inducing photos, many photos; there are even photos within the index pages.
I so appreciate that the author is cognizant of such things as cost of food and complexity of recipes and ease of finding ingredients.
She’s personable and her notes at the start of every recipe are entertaining and useful. She also has an additional chef’s note on some of the recipe pages, also including very helpful information. These notes definitely contribute to making this book fun to read. I appreciate all the recipes where she includes suggested variations to the basic recipe. She also tells a bit about her background, an inclusion I enjoyed.
This is an ideal book for novice cooks, new vegans, vegans who cook for omnivores and/or children, anybody who wants to eat lower fat versions of favorite foods, anybody interested in healthy vegan eating, and there are quite a few decadent and comfort food recipes included, which should please almost all eaters.
One thing I noticed is that she uses a lot of non-dairy milk, and she even includes a homemade recipe for brown rice milk, which I doubt I’ll use, but it’s cool that it’s there. I’ve rarely use milks, but I’m willing to use them to try out some of these recipes. I love that she uses whole grains because that’s what I like to eat.
She has icons at applicable recipes for: no cooking required, quick, fat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, kid-friendly, and omni-friendly. The latter she explains are recipes that were particularly enjoyed by omnivores. All of the recipes were taste tested by vegans and omnivores, overall positively I assume, but the omni icon are ones best liked by the omnivores. I think these icons at recipes are important information to have for most cooks. For people with allergies or food sensitivities, people who have children, and for those who need to cook to please both omnivores and vegans, this information is indispensable.
Each recipe has nutritional information and, unlike most other cookbooks that include these numbers, here a disclaimer is provided make clear that there are variations and the numbers are not likely to be exact. I appreciated that honesty. Stats provided are calories, calories from fat, total fat in grams, cholesterol (I love it when vegan cookbooks include this because the number is always 0!), total carbohydrate in grams, dietary fiber number grams, grams of sugars, and protein number of grams.
There’s a plethora of recipes I want to try! The taste testers for this book were so lucky. The author has a food blog and some of the recipes have been available there. The recipes in the book that follow are the ones that most appealed to me and I do plan to make some of them (listed in general order of my reading them, not in order of most compelling): gingerbread mini-loaves, cinnamon buns, Nomelet, maple muffins, banana bread, French toast, pumpkin bread, pancakes, creamy carrot soup, African kale and yam soup, curried sweet potato soup, red lentil dal, black bean burgers, hippie loaf, easy macaroni and cheese with the cheddar cheesy sauce (I can’t emphasize enough how thrilled I am to find a recipe for vegan cheese sauce/vegan cheese that doesn’t include mustard!!!), broccoli pesto pasta, corn pudding, baked onion rings, dirty mashed potatoes, Charleston red rice, dirty rice, traditional stuffing (probably for next Thanksgiving/winter holidays!), chocolate chip cookies, black bean brownies, single-serving brownie (perfect for when I don’t trust myself with an entire pan of them!), chocolate cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, pumpkin pie, maple icing, vanilla icing, tofu chocolate icing, brown gravy, Thanksgiving gravy (ditto for the next winter holidays along with the stuffing!), enchilada sauce, the aforementioned cheddar cheesy sauce, tofu ricotta cheese, cranberry sauce (although I think I’d rather try Alicia Silverstone’s with the maple syrup vs. the agave nectar, but I love cranberries so I’m likely to try both), Cajun essence (spice mixture), and there are more too. It seems as though I listed a great many but I couldn't leave out any of the above. Different eaters might like recipes different from my favorites. There are some meat analog dishes here too for those who like them; I don’t.
The index is good, although I did notice I first had trouble finding the brown rice milk recipe that’s included, but overall it’s well laid out and comprehensive, and I didn’t have trouble finding anything else. (The brown rice milk is under brown, but not rice, or milk, or non-dairy milk; the non-dairy milk listing is for non-dairy milks’ general description in the appendix.) Also, the index pages have appendix at the top of the pages. I think those are typos.
The table of contents is long but I want to include its section titles so potential readers/cooks can see how wonderfully comprehensive this book is. It would make a fine gift for a novice cook, a new vegan as their first cookbok, someone starting out in a new kitchen, and really absolutely anyone who enjoys vegan cookbooks.
Table of Contents:
Introduction:
A Word from Lindsay
Why Vegan?
Why Fat-Free and Low-Fat?
Getting Started
Kitchen Prep Lingo
Troubleshooting Tips
How to Use This Book
Top Ten Tips
Breakfast & Brunch
Muffins & Breads
Soups, Dals, & Chilis
Burgers, Wraps, Tacos, & More
Quick One-Pot Dinners
Tofu & Vegan Meats
Pasta & Casseroles
Mix & Match: Vegetables, Grains, & Beans
Desserts
Dips, Snacks, & Finger Foods
Spreads, Gravies, & Sauces
Condiments, Spices, & More
Appendix:
Glossary of Ingredients
Recipe Substitutions
Metric Conversions
Index
Acknowledgements
About the Author
March 19, 2015
I was really excited to buy Lindsay's books. After trying most of the recipes in multiple books, I threw them all out. These recipes are so bad, and Lindsay's advice is so bad, I don't want to subject anyone else to them. Some of these "recipes" aren't, like chickpeas mixed with salsa. Others don't work (caramel apple muffins), and some just taste bad. The few decent recipes are plagiarized from cookbooks published years earlier. The reason I'm throwing the books out is because Lindsay fancies herself to be a nutritionist. I followed her food plans and they are borderline anorexic. By no means should a tortilla with spinach and strawberries be considered a meal. There are many better vegan/plant-based cookbooks out there, with sound nutritional information. Additionally, Lindsay and her fans ("herbies") react to any question as though it is criticism. Reading her books and blog made me feel like I was a part of a cult.
June 20, 2014
This book may appeal to new vegans or people who are trying to cut down on their meat consumption. But for an old timer like me, I found it filled with the same old renovated American/Tex-Mex comfort food done by every vegan with a book deal every few years. Based on the rave reviews for this book, I was disappointed to find nothing new to try. I won't be transitioning this library book to my permanent collection.
May 6, 2012
First of all, I'm not vegan. Second, I'm one of those people who just KNEW I could never give up cheese. But in the interest of health, I decided that incorporating some vegan dishes would do me some good. I was all gung-ho and bought several cookbooks. This is the only one I use regularly.
Here's the thing: Ramen is vegan. French fries are vegan. Onion rings are vegan. Many vegan cookbooks have animal-product-less recipes, but they are not necessarily healthy. The recipes in this book are healthy, vegan, and (shock of shocks) TASTY. This book has recipes for how to make your own fake meats, instead of buying the high sodium ones at the grocery. It teaches you how to use low fat/ low sodium seasoning that you might never have used before to bring out flavors in dishes that would otherwise be quite bland. Finally, the author tested her recipes with her meat-and-potato friends and with kids. She lists the recipes that have their seal of approval for taste and she isn't lying.
This is a fantastic cookbook for healthy, good tasting food.
Here's the thing: Ramen is vegan. French fries are vegan. Onion rings are vegan. Many vegan cookbooks have animal-product-less recipes, but they are not necessarily healthy. The recipes in this book are healthy, vegan, and (shock of shocks) TASTY. This book has recipes for how to make your own fake meats, instead of buying the high sodium ones at the grocery. It teaches you how to use low fat/ low sodium seasoning that you might never have used before to bring out flavors in dishes that would otherwise be quite bland. Finally, the author tested her recipes with her meat-and-potato friends and with kids. She lists the recipes that have their seal of approval for taste and she isn't lying.
This is a fantastic cookbook for healthy, good tasting food.
July 23, 2018
I got this from the library because I like trying new recipes and reading cookbooks. I try to incorporate lots of plant based foods into our diet, so I love vegan recipes. I was minimally aware of The Happy Herbivore blog and book prior to getting this, but I had never really tried any of their stuff. So I didn't know that not only is it vegan, it's a low-fat/fat-free emphasis. I don't really like fat-free foods in general, and while I think it's good to eliminate unhealthy fats, there's a lot of good fat out there too! And they add so much flavor!
Anyways, I tried the Hawaiian barbeque chickpeas, tuna salad, and black bean brownies. I wasn't a fan of the chickpeas but my husband really liked it. The brownies were yummy, but their texture was more like fudge. Bananas were used as the sweetener and they tasted like chocolate banana fudge (not a bad thing!). But the favorite recipe I tried was the tuna salad (made with chickpeas and vegan mayonnaise and kelp powder among other things). I had to special order the kelp powder because no one in town carried it, but it was really tasty in a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato on top!
The recipes don't give that many details, but the pictures are nice. There's a glossary in the back about various ingredients and cooking techniques. There's a short intro in the front explaining the vegan low-fat diet, but overall, this is a straightforward cookbook and not that interesting to read. I like cookbooks that have lots of tips, anecdotes, stories, some historical notes, etc. But that's just my taste. As a straightforward cookbook, if you're looking for low-fat plant based foods, this is pretty good.
Anyways, I tried the Hawaiian barbeque chickpeas, tuna salad, and black bean brownies. I wasn't a fan of the chickpeas but my husband really liked it. The brownies were yummy, but their texture was more like fudge. Bananas were used as the sweetener and they tasted like chocolate banana fudge (not a bad thing!). But the favorite recipe I tried was the tuna salad (made with chickpeas and vegan mayonnaise and kelp powder among other things). I had to special order the kelp powder because no one in town carried it, but it was really tasty in a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato on top!
The recipes don't give that many details, but the pictures are nice. There's a glossary in the back about various ingredients and cooking techniques. There's a short intro in the front explaining the vegan low-fat diet, but overall, this is a straightforward cookbook and not that interesting to read. I like cookbooks that have lots of tips, anecdotes, stories, some historical notes, etc. But that's just my taste. As a straightforward cookbook, if you're looking for low-fat plant based foods, this is pretty good.
April 1, 2013
I am not a Vegan, but I try to eat healthy and avoid meat. I am really trying to like this cookbook, but after trying at least 15 recipes, the only thing I can recommend so far is the banana bread. Sometimes I think Vegans have gone so long without good food that their taste buds forget what good food tastes like.
February 18, 2011
I came across HappyHerbivore.com this past summer and fell in love with the delicious and simple recipes! Whenever I heard a cookbook was coming out, and being an aspiring vegan, I HAD to buy it. This is definitely my new favorite cookbook.
February 6, 2011
I love it! Easy to follow recipes, common (easy to find) ingredients, and my favorite feature of any cookbook: plenty of giant, full-color photos. It's always great to see another awesome vegan cookbook on the market and I'm proud to add this one to my collection. I've been a vegan for about 8 years, and I love cookbooks like this one because they help confirm for the omni-world that vegans do have tasty, delicious, and yes, still healthy things to eat. The Happy Herbivore blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages also make a nice way to stay in touch with other vegans and ask questions if anything in a recipe is confusing (which is rare, since the recipes are simple to follow and the instructions are clear). To top it all off, the recipes are all fat-free or low-fat, with detailed nutritional information on every page. Honestly, I couldn't find a complaint about The Happy Herbivore Cookbook if I tried! :)
June 30, 2023
So I've been really wrapped up with DIY projects and recipe making that I haven't read as much. Yet this is the cookbook that I made most of those recipes out of.
Hands down the best vegan cookbook I've come across yet! Bold statement, I know. But do you know that feeling of when you pick up a cookbook and flip through the recipes, deciding which ones you will try and it's only really a handful? Well I didn't get that feeling with this cookbook.
What I loved about it:
1) It's low-fat, in that she uses no oil or some recipes have very very little oil. If it's T. Colin Campbell approved then it's good. ;)
2) I've already tried about 5 recipes out of it and have yet to be let down; in fact, I loved every one.
3) She keeps it simple. I get so tired of the cookbooks with the endless list of ingredients and long directions. It's like those authors are trying too hard, just so that they can get a "unique" dish or a snazzy photo. Lindsay even keeps her photos very basic, which tells the reader that they can do it too.
4) She keeps it cheap. With a shorter list of ingredients the recipes are cheaper. So she truly keeps the reader in mind.
5) She keeps it classic. Again, she doesn't try to jazz it up with "different" dishes but keeps classics like brownies, burgers and more. She throws things in that you may not have thought of combining before but keeps those ingredients simple.
6) She provides lots of pictures. I personally like to know what a dish looks like before trying it out.
Honestly the vegan cookbooks I used to love, like Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbooks, I no longer do because there is much oil, the ingredients are too much, the directions often too long, and it's generally stuff that I wouldn't make day to day.
With Lindsay's book I'd make these recipes daily. I've even said "that's a staple recipe now."
Well to the point, I highly recommend this cookbook and her blog, which also contains recipes found in this cookbook and more. If interested just go to my blog Cognizant Dreamer and in the search option at the top type in "Happy Herbivore." Cheers everyone!
Hands down the best vegan cookbook I've come across yet! Bold statement, I know. But do you know that feeling of when you pick up a cookbook and flip through the recipes, deciding which ones you will try and it's only really a handful? Well I didn't get that feeling with this cookbook.
What I loved about it:
1) It's low-fat, in that she uses no oil or some recipes have very very little oil. If it's T. Colin Campbell approved then it's good. ;)
2) I've already tried about 5 recipes out of it and have yet to be let down; in fact, I loved every one.
3) She keeps it simple. I get so tired of the cookbooks with the endless list of ingredients and long directions. It's like those authors are trying too hard, just so that they can get a "unique" dish or a snazzy photo. Lindsay even keeps her photos very basic, which tells the reader that they can do it too.
4) She keeps it cheap. With a shorter list of ingredients the recipes are cheaper. So she truly keeps the reader in mind.
5) She keeps it classic. Again, she doesn't try to jazz it up with "different" dishes but keeps classics like brownies, burgers and more. She throws things in that you may not have thought of combining before but keeps those ingredients simple.
6) She provides lots of pictures. I personally like to know what a dish looks like before trying it out.
Honestly the vegan cookbooks I used to love, like Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbooks, I no longer do because there is much oil, the ingredients are too much, the directions often too long, and it's generally stuff that I wouldn't make day to day.
With Lindsay's book I'd make these recipes daily. I've even said "that's a staple recipe now."
Well to the point, I highly recommend this cookbook and her blog, which also contains recipes found in this cookbook and more. If interested just go to my blog Cognizant Dreamer and in the search option at the top type in "Happy Herbivore." Cheers everyone!
August 17, 2018
I read some of her other stuff and really like all of it. I recently found out that I have quite a few food allergies, so I was looking for something to work around this. This kind of worked, my only problem with this was that I am allergic to soy and this book had alot of tofu and all of that. For this book as a whole it was awesome. There were not a whole bunch of ingredients, most of the recipes seemed simple enough, and they looked and sounded delicious.
Shelved as 'cookbooks'
April 20, 2023Recipe sections (# of recipes)
Breakfast & Brunch (14)
Muffins & Breads (13)
Soups, Dals, & Chilis (17)
Burgers, Wraps, Tacos, & More (18)
Quick One Pot Dinners (12)
Tofu & Vegan Meats (14)
Pasta & Casseroles (9)
Mix & Match: Vegetables, Grains, & Beans (19)
Desserts (21)
Dips, Snacks, & Finger Foods (13)
Spreads, Gravies, & Sauces (14)
Condiments, Spices, & More (12)
Breakfast & Brunch (14)
Muffins & Breads (13)
Soups, Dals, & Chilis (17)
Burgers, Wraps, Tacos, & More (18)
Quick One Pot Dinners (12)
Tofu & Vegan Meats (14)
Pasta & Casseroles (9)
Mix & Match: Vegetables, Grains, & Beans (19)
Desserts (21)
Dips, Snacks, & Finger Foods (13)
Spreads, Gravies, & Sauces (14)
Condiments, Spices, & More (12)
July 21, 2023
Whether you're a seasoned plant-based enthusiast or just beginning your vegan journey, this cookbook caters to all levels of expertise. Each recipe is thoughtfully presented, with clear instructions and accessible ingredients. Nixon's friendly and encouraging tone throughout the book makes even the most intricate recipes seem manageable.
February 21, 2018
Very useful cookbook covering a lot of classics. Of particular use is the instant key to recipes, labeling each as vegan/veggie/gluten free etc. I particularely liked the family and child oriented recipes. Worth reading.
May 4, 2018
Lot of great recipes which look delicious and have very less ingredients. Her recipes are not complicated or time consuming. Probably my second favorite vegan author after Isa Chandra.
January 13, 2019
All full of flour and sugar. Couldn't use any of the recipes :-(
January 15, 2019
This is a good supplement to the other vegan cookbooks that follow the China Study.
February 11, 2019
This is a vegan book I keep referring back to. Simple recipes. Simple ingredients. I have a couple of her other books as well.
May 18, 2020
My favorite, go-to vegan cookbook. Great, easy to easy recipes that can be modified. This is a cookbook for beginners and veterans alike.
July 30, 2020
Great recipes, but some seem out of the ordinary to me, or hard to find some ingredients at the store.
February 14, 2021
great book, love this
March 28, 2021
I can’t say enough good things about this book. I love every recipe and so easy to make. No crazy ingredients just great food.
December 13, 2021
My husband, Jason, looooves their chocolate-zucchini muffins (page 45)!
May 15, 2022
Delicious is not an apt description. This is why people stay meat eaters.
February 23, 2013
This is Lindsay's first cookbook, but the second one I read. I love that her recipes make cooking and eating vegan EASY as well as tasty. Clearly I'm not the only one--she's shot to cooking stardom from her start on her blog, and just look at the raving reviews quoted on the cover and inside this book. Sure, there are the occasional recipes that taste a little odd if you're not used to vegan food. But most people will tell you that if you're trying to go vegan, don't start with making substitute versions of your favorite dishes. Make dishes that are vegan and good, and enjoy those. Then when your palate has adjusted, you can try recreated versions of old favorites. Because, honestly, vegan mac and cheese or lasagna will NEVER taste the same as the original. But you can eventually find healthy versions that are delicious on their own. Basic facts about switching to a low-fat vegan diet, as well as the reasons for/ benefits of such a switch, are covered at the beginning and end of this book. In between are the recipes that are making her famous. With good reason.
I'd admit that so far I prefer Everyday Happy Herbivore, her second cookbook, to this one. But I still liked enough of the recipes in this to go out and buy a copy, and I'm slowly working my way through them all. Well, OK, not all of them. This isn't a gluten free cookbook. She's kind enough to label recipes with various icons, one of which is "gluten-free." So I can tell at a glance which ones will likely be safe for me. This being her first cookbook, I noticed that a lot more of the recipes have gluten in them. I can tell by the second one she was making more of an effort to eliminate gluten from recipes, or present it in ways that are easy to substitute.
So far I've tried the Tofu Scramble, which is pretty much the same as the one in EHH, but very good. My husband always complains I don't make enough of it. The Aztec Corn Soup was also good; the quinoa gave it a different texture, but not bad, and I liked the taste too. The Garden Chowder was tasty; I served it with biscuits. And the Mexican Cabbage was a little strange--I like cabbage, and I like some Mexican food, but the combination was a little strange. It wasn't bad, and it was very filling. Just odd.
I'm looking forward to trying many more of these recipes, though. Especially Hippie Loaf, perhaps with a side of Maple-Glazed Vegetables, Dirty Mashed Potatoes, and/or Veggie Slaw. I'm also looking forward to Tamale Casserole, Bean Cakes, and No-Heuvos Rancheros. The ingredient lists seem reasonable to me, shopping at a normal grocery store, and the assembly is usually much simpler and easier than a lot of other vegan cookbooks I've come across. This isn't gourmet. It's just good (as well as healthy).
Review also available at http://onceaweekormore.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/im-a-happy-herbivore/
I'd admit that so far I prefer Everyday Happy Herbivore, her second cookbook, to this one. But I still liked enough of the recipes in this to go out and buy a copy, and I'm slowly working my way through them all. Well, OK, not all of them. This isn't a gluten free cookbook. She's kind enough to label recipes with various icons, one of which is "gluten-free." So I can tell at a glance which ones will likely be safe for me. This being her first cookbook, I noticed that a lot more of the recipes have gluten in them. I can tell by the second one she was making more of an effort to eliminate gluten from recipes, or present it in ways that are easy to substitute.
So far I've tried the Tofu Scramble, which is pretty much the same as the one in EHH, but very good. My husband always complains I don't make enough of it. The Aztec Corn Soup was also good; the quinoa gave it a different texture, but not bad, and I liked the taste too. The Garden Chowder was tasty; I served it with biscuits. And the Mexican Cabbage was a little strange--I like cabbage, and I like some Mexican food, but the combination was a little strange. It wasn't bad, and it was very filling. Just odd.
I'm looking forward to trying many more of these recipes, though. Especially Hippie Loaf, perhaps with a side of Maple-Glazed Vegetables, Dirty Mashed Potatoes, and/or Veggie Slaw. I'm also looking forward to Tamale Casserole, Bean Cakes, and No-Heuvos Rancheros. The ingredient lists seem reasonable to me, shopping at a normal grocery store, and the assembly is usually much simpler and easier than a lot of other vegan cookbooks I've come across. This isn't gourmet. It's just good (as well as healthy).
Review also available at http://onceaweekormore.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/im-a-happy-herbivore/
June 16, 2017
I have been a "part-time vegetarian" for over ten years (and tried being a full-time vegetarian a few other times in the past), but it wasn't until I read Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn last August, that I found the inspiration to do something about the heart-disease that runs in my family. A month later my cholesterol had dropped to 158, I had lost 10 pounds, and my energy level had improved considerably.
Then we discovered Lindsay Nixon, the Happy Herbivore, and bought this amazing cookbook. We have had more fun in the kitchen over the past couple of months than ever before, and we have loved everything we've eaten.
Sometimes we use these recipes exactly as written, and sometimes, such as in the case of her Chili Sans Carne, we simply use it as starting-off point.
Our favorite recipes (to date) are Tofu Scramble, Herbed Home Fries, Cornbread, Cincinnati "Skyline" Chili, Torkey (Tofu Turkey) with Thanksgiving Gravy, Easy Macaroni and Cheese, Maple-Glazed Vegetables, Oatmeal Cookies, Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Chili-Lime Corn Chips, Cheddar Cheesy Sauce, Mayo, and Vegan Worcestershire Sauce.
I have also successfully used the Happy Herbivore's Fat Replacement suggestions to adapt three of my favorite recipes for the bread machine. (I'll be trying more of these in the future, now that I know I can continue using my bread machine.)
We love this cookbook, and this new way of living, which the Happy Herbivore has helped make easier and even more fun... and delicious! (November 25, 2011.)
Then we discovered Lindsay Nixon, the Happy Herbivore, and bought this amazing cookbook. We have had more fun in the kitchen over the past couple of months than ever before, and we have loved everything we've eaten.
Sometimes we use these recipes exactly as written, and sometimes, such as in the case of her Chili Sans Carne, we simply use it as starting-off point.
Our favorite recipes (to date) are Tofu Scramble, Herbed Home Fries, Cornbread, Cincinnati "Skyline" Chili, Torkey (Tofu Turkey) with Thanksgiving Gravy, Easy Macaroni and Cheese, Maple-Glazed Vegetables, Oatmeal Cookies, Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Chili-Lime Corn Chips, Cheddar Cheesy Sauce, Mayo, and Vegan Worcestershire Sauce.
I have also successfully used the Happy Herbivore's Fat Replacement suggestions to adapt three of my favorite recipes for the bread machine. (I'll be trying more of these in the future, now that I know I can continue using my bread machine.)
We love this cookbook, and this new way of living, which the Happy Herbivore has helped make easier and even more fun... and delicious! (November 25, 2011.)
February 11, 2017
Lindsay S. Nixon, the author thinks the way I do. I want simple, quick and delicious. She has managed all three. I now own all of her books and they are my bibles for plant-based eating.
October 27, 2011
If you're in the doldrums when faced with a dinner decision, this book will whet your appetite and raise your eyebrows and delight your palette.
A gift from my daughter...who was born a vegan and then drifted. She kept talking about the book, how delicious the recipes were and how much weight she'd lost without thinking Weight Watchers. wow. then, surprise, the book comes in the mail, a gift for a life.
There are crazy combinations and they all taste fabulous. Really, you simply must taste the garbanzo bean tacos. I'm not kidding. And Cheater Phad Thai -- you make your own sauce using peanut butter (it doesn't taste like it thought) and what you can do with cabbage reveals a whole new realm of culinary pleasures.
A gift from my daughter...who was born a vegan and then drifted. She kept talking about the book, how delicious the recipes were and how much weight she'd lost without thinking Weight Watchers. wow. then, surprise, the book comes in the mail, a gift for a life.
There are crazy combinations and they all taste fabulous. Really, you simply must taste the garbanzo bean tacos. I'm not kidding. And Cheater Phad Thai -- you make your own sauce using peanut butter (it doesn't taste like it thought) and what you can do with cabbage reveals a whole new realm of culinary pleasures.
August 11, 2016
I'm always on the lookout for new meatless recipes, but unfortunately this wasn't what I was looking for.
I really wanted to like it, but I found the recipes disappointing and didn't find many of them particularly appealing. Far too much baking and a lot of reliance of wheat-based ingredients. The few recipes I was comfortable trying weren't that great - I have similar recipes that are better.
It is well organized, and the instructions are very clear. It would be very easy for beginners to follow, to be sure.
As with any recipe collection, take the reviews with a grain of salt (no pun intended) - good recipes are in the eye of the beholder, so you may find this book really useful. I'll just keep looking :)
I really wanted to like it, but I found the recipes disappointing and didn't find many of them particularly appealing. Far too much baking and a lot of reliance of wheat-based ingredients. The few recipes I was comfortable trying weren't that great - I have similar recipes that are better.
It is well organized, and the instructions are very clear. It would be very easy for beginners to follow, to be sure.
As with any recipe collection, take the reviews with a grain of salt (no pun intended) - good recipes are in the eye of the beholder, so you may find this book really useful. I'll just keep looking :)
September 28, 2011
Who "reads" cookbooks? I had never. I usually look through them, but not read them like a real book. But when The Happy Herbivore came in the mail, I read it. I started by just reading the beginning, and then my curiousity got me going and I kept reading. And kept reading. And kept reading. Until it was done.
I wanted to have a cookbook that gave me good options for healthy recipes. So far, there are some I like, some I love, and there was one that was...not good...but Callie and Samantha still ate it with pleasure. I like the cookbook. It is giving me easy options for healthier alternatives to what we are currently eating. And my family is liking it too. So, yippee for that.
I wanted to have a cookbook that gave me good options for healthy recipes. So far, there are some I like, some I love, and there was one that was...not good...but Callie and Samantha still ate it with pleasure. I like the cookbook. It is giving me easy options for healthier alternatives to what we are currently eating. And my family is liking it too. So, yippee for that.
April 4, 2013
This cookbook shows you that you can make delicious moist baked goods easily, vegan, and FAT FREE! The ingredients are simple and clean, the techniques are possible for anyone, and you won't understand why on earth you ever added oil to all that stuff in the past. There are simple day to day easy recipes, as well as quick stock basics, like vegan fat free mayonnaise, that you can whip up in a sec and never have to buy again.
Another note on the baked goods, which are only a small portion of this book: these are NOT the dog biscuit vegan offerings you've been offered in the past. Even my hard to please toddlers are gobbling them up like its a day at the fair.
Another note on the baked goods, which are only a small portion of this book: these are NOT the dog biscuit vegan offerings you've been offered in the past. Even my hard to please toddlers are gobbling them up like its a day at the fair.
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