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The Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon | Cookbook Review

The Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook has been out for quite some time, but a couple viewers requested a review so here it is! This cookbook is meant for those who prefer to eat a diet with low fat, minimal sugar and minimal sodium for health reasons.

Let me preface this review by saying I don’t love reduced-fat or reduced-sugar recipes for the most part. My experience tell me that great flavours can be achieved without much added fat, salt or sugar for many kinds of dishes. However, if the original dish I’m craving has those things, the “healthier” versions usually leave me unsatisfied. I would rather eat a smaller amount of the full-fat/sugar/oil/salt food.

Video review for Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon

 
The first recipe I tried was the blueberry breakfast cake. It uses applesauce in place of oil and there is much less sugar in this recipe than a regular blueberry loaf.

vegan-blueberry-cake-batter

I used all-purpose unbleached flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour in the recipe but it seemed to turn out well, nonetheless. Being a breakfast loaf, it wasn’t very sweet and reminded me of a type of Chinese dessert. Chinese desserts are considered bland by western standards while those who enjoy those desserts would call the flavour subtle. So that’s how I feel about this recipe; the sweetness is very subtle but nice.

vegan-blueberry-cake-slice

The next recipe was Deity Dressing, a take on Annie’s Goddess Dressing. I loved that the recipe was a “put everything in a blender and blend” type of recipe. Easier than pie.

vegan-deity-dressing-salad

The first taste was good. I really liked the hint of smokiness from the liquid smoke which is a bit different from other goddess dressings I’ve tried. You still have that slightly odd mouth feel from using silken tofu as the base with not enough fat to cover it up. I added a little maple syrup to sweeten the whole thing, just my preference.

The last recipe I tried was the Oyster Po Boys, a vegan take on the popular seafood sandwich using oyster mushrooms. I couldn’t find any oyster mushrooms for a reasonable price so I subbed regular white mushrooms and sliced them into medallions to get them closer to the right shape. She uses a cornstarch mixture to moisten the mushrooms, then into a mixture of finely milled cornmeal and seasonings including the famous Old Bay seasoning. There’s no oil and these just get baked.

vegan-poboys-mushroom

The result was surprisingly flavourful straight out of the oven. I was impressed that the coating actually had a crispness to it and that the mushrooms stayed juicy inside. Just a tad on the salty side for me. I really think they would taste even better if I had used the oyster mushrooms called for in this recipe.

vegan-baked-poboys-mushroom

I made the sandwiches with Cajun mayo from another recipe in the book. I love that she has many quick recipes for things like vegan mayo in this book.

This freshly made vegan po boy was really tasty. Unfortunately, after they sat in the sandwich a few minutes, the salty coating continued to draw moisture from the mushroom and lost that crispiness. My boyfriend said they were a bit grainy. So maybe not a recipe for parties.

I found the recipes to be pretty good for what the book is meant for: everyday type recipes that don’t use too many extraordinary ingredients, don’t take very much time to make, low fat, low in refined sugar, and aren’t too complicated.

It’s been on the market a while so I’m sure you could find many other reviews to see if it’s a good one for you. I got it on a two dollar Amazon sale so I would say it was worth every dollar! Have you made anything from the Everyday Happy Herbivore? Let me know what were your favorites.

Showing 3 comments
  • Lilia
    Reply

    Hi Mary, thanks for your review!
    I have all her books and I also followed her meal plans for some time.

    I actually still make some of her recipes often, like her mac and cheese or the blueberry bread you reviewed. I also like her hippy loaf.
    My opinion, however, is similar to yours: most recipes – some are just not my cup of tea, like those that mix mango or pinapple with veggies or salads – are quite tasty considering they’re low fat, but after a while I get a little bored eating that way.
    On the other hand, I think she is a very nice person and puts all her heart in what she does, and I’m sure many benefit from her recipes, which allow you to lose weight without sacrificing the taste too much.

    • Mary
      Reply

      Thanks for your comment, Lilia 🙂 I’ll have to look up the mac and cheese recipe as I’m always trying to find a good one that my boyfriend will enjoy. I just looked up the hippy loaf and it looks like I have all the ingredients! That’s one great thing about her recipes; ORDINARY ingredients. At least, in my kitchen. <3 Thanks for sharing your experience. I absolutely agree; Lindsay S. Nixon has helped a lot of people with her recipes!

  • Lilia
    Reply

    As for the mac and cheese, maybe it won’t be too satisfying for an omnivore. I prefer it to other versions because it doesn’t use any replacements, and then taste is subjective, but sure, you can give it a try 🙂

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