Happy Herbivore, Round Two!

Back in March, Lindsay Nixon (aka The Happy Herbivore) stopped by and answered some questions for me during her blog tour for her first cookbook, The Happy Herbivore. I am happy to announce that she is back, answering some questions about her newest cookbook Everyday Happy Herbivore, which I know is on a lot of your Christmas lists!

For those of you who don’t know her (and I can’t imagine that), “Lindsay S. Nixon is a rising star in the culinary world, praised for her ability to use everyday ingredients to create healthy, low fat recipes that taste just as delicious as they are nutritious. Lindsay’s recipes have been featured in Vegetarian Times, Women’s Health Magazine and on The Huffington Post. Lindsay is also a consulting chef at La Samanna, a luxury resort and four-star restaurant in the French West Indies. You can learn more about Lindsay and sample some of her recipes at happyherbivore.com.”

Q1:  What was your inspiration for writing Everyday Happy Herbivore?

I started my blog (and now write cookbooks) with one mission: to show that eating healthy, plant-based meals is easy, approachable, affordable and most importantly — delicious. I’m proving that healthy doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated or a chore. It’s possible — and fun!

Everyday Happy Herbivore is just an extension on that. I was living on a small island in the Caribbean where I had to make three meals a day from scratch — I developed a sort of “quick and easy” back to the basics approach, which lead to the second book.  My recipes are all no fuss, everyday ingredients, quick and easy.

Q2:  How is this cookbook different from your first cookbook, The Happy Herbivore?

They both focus on wholesome “everyday” ingredients, low fat recipes… a no fuss cooking style, but Everyday has more vareity. For example, I have smoothies in Everyday (something you won’t find in the first book). I also pulled in a lot of international inspiration. You’ll find recipes with Cajun flavors, Thai, African, Indian, Italian and so many more.

My first cookbook has a lot of “comfort foods” and I’m sort of going back to basics with Everyday — focusing on fresh ingredients, celebrating vegetables and legumes rather than remaking an old family favorite like I did with the first book.

Q3:  Is writing your second cookbook easier or harder than your first?

With the first cookbook, I had a lot of recipes already written that had been on my blog, and I was able to recycle some of them and just build on that when writing the cookbook… but with my second book I had nothing on stand by. I had to write the whole book in a few months which was a challenge, but I enjoyed it. There is also the pressure to live up to the first book!

Q4:  Do you have a favorite recipe from this book?

Asking a chef to pick their favorite recipe is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child 🙂

Sarah says: Ha ha, I knew you would say that, just wanted to make sure 😉

Q5:  Any plans to write more cookbooks in the future?

I am writing my third cookbook now.

Sarah says: Yay! I know we are all excited about that!

Thanks, Lindsay, for answering my questions and also for sharing this delicious recipe with me and my readers. I can’t wait to make this one!

Apple Fritter Cups | 12 muffins

As my friend Sheree` says “These treats just jump right in to your mouth and make you dance!”

1 ½ cup chopped apple (skin optional)
1 c nondairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup light brown or raw sugar
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon, divided
nutmeg or ground ginger
Basic Glaze

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Toss 1 cup apples with a few dashes of cinnamon and a little brown sugar until well coated and set asides (“topping”). In a small bowl, whisk nondairy milk with vinegar and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ½ to ¾ tsp cinnamon (your choice) plus a dash of nutmeg or ginger, and stir to combine. Whisk in sugar then pour in milk mixture. Add vanilla and remaining ½ cup apples and stir to combine. Spoon into muffin cups just a tad more than ½-way full. Add “topping” on each. Bake 15-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, make glaze, substituting 1 tsp of liquid with 1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional). Drizzle warm fritters with glaze.

Tip: Once the fritters completely cool, the liners will peel off. If you plan to eat them warm, lightly spray the inside of the liner with oil-spray to prevent sticking or forgo the liners and grease your muffin tin or use a nonstick pan.

Per Fritter (without glaze) : 102 Calories, 0.4g Fat, 20.9g Carbohydrates, 2.4g Fiber, 5.5g Sugar, 2.7g Protein

After vegan chef Lindsay S. Nixon wrapped up her popular cookbook The Happy Herbivore Cookbook last year, she went back to her kitchen in her new home of St. Maarten. Island living encouraged Nixon to come up with simpler fare, which led to a follow-up cookbook focusing on recipes that bring tasty back to quick-and-easy.

Now, in Nixon’s much-anticipated follow-up cookbook, Everyday Happy Herbivore, readers will see, once again, that just because plant-based eating is optimal for health, it doesn’t have to also be expensive or time-consuming.

Everyday Happy Herbivore includes more than 175 doable recipes–recipes that are so quick and easy, you could cook three healthy meals from scratch every day like Nixon does.

Each of Nixon’s recipes are made with wholesome, easy-to-find, fresh ingredients and include no added fats. With additional notes indicating recipes that are ideal for preparing ahead of time and those you can whip up with just a few dollars, Everyday Happy Herbivore will be the must-have cookbook for anyone desiring a healthier, happier menu!