Blueberry Bundt Cake, page 151
Lindsay Nixon at Happy Herbivore just released her newest book: “Happy Herbivore Abroad.” I was chosen to join her Blog Tour! 31 Blogs in December are participating and her publisher, BenBella Books is giving away one copy of her newest book at each and every stop! Woohoo!
You can enter the GIVEAWAY for a copy of this book below, but in the meantime, check out the interview and have a look at the photos I took of the recipes I tested.
Lentil Taco “Meat”, page 43 with Vegan Sour Cream, page 239
Somer: “What was your “aha!” Plant Based moment?”
Lindsay: “I’m not really sure I had one. I think deep in my soul I always knew a plant-based diet was the right way to live. I was a vegetarian most of my life — wouldn’t eat meat as a child. I also didn’t like cheese or eggs and fought my parents constantly. I only wanted fruits and vegetables. In my late teens, family and peer pressure drove me towards the SAD diet and it never felt right to me. Then, in my early 20s, I had a serious health scare and immediately went back to being a vegetarian. Dairy and eggs were only in things like muffins I bought at a coffee shop so a friend suggested I give those up too and I did. After I was quote-unquote “vegan” I started reading nutrition books and researching — I stumbled across The China Study and it confirmed what I had been feeling, intuitively, for so long. There was no looking back at that point. That was…. 6 years ago.”
Tabbouleh, page 133
Somer: “Did you go cold tofurky or was it a gradual process?”
Lindsay: “I suppose a bit of both. I went back to being vegetarian overnight, and when I decided to give up all animal products (about a year later) that too was effectively overnight. I’ve counseled hundreds of people making the transition since and find those who do it “cold tofu” have the best experience.”
Vegetable Korma, Page 100
Somer: “What was harder to eliminate from your diet, cheese or oils?”
Lindsday: “I never cared for cheese (as a child I pulled it off pizza served at parties and just ate the bread). Oil wasn’t really an issue for me either. Once I read about how harmful they were I stopped cooking with them that day. It didn’t really phase me. “
Meusli, page 134
Somer: “What are your Plant Based tips for dining out?”
Lindsay: “I’ve written about half a dozen blog posts on this 🙂 Try the search bar on happyherbivore.com‘s blog.”
Cranberry Bread, page 279
Somer: “Are you still running marathons and if so, what are your running motivation tips?”
Lindsay: “My work schedule doesn’t leave me with enough time to properly train for marathons anymore, so I’ve taken on new sports — mainly snowboarding (in the winter) and hiking/TRX in the summer. Running was always an escape for me — I called it my self therapy… I so looked forward to that isolated time with my thoughts that I never needed to really motivate myself — it was it’s own motivation. Find a sport you really love and you’ll look forward to the practice of it!”
Bread Pudding, page 156
Somer: “What are your suggestions for reducing sodium? (my biggest pitfall)!”
Lindsay: “Cut it out completely. When my husband and I moved abroad, we stopped cooking with salt and didn’t even buy it at the store. We totally eliminated it. About three months later we went back home to NYC for a visit and dined at our all-time favorite restaurant. We both sent our dishes back, insisting they used too much salt. When they brought new plates out, it was still much too salty, but then our friends tried the food and said “you know, I actually think it NEEDS salt” and I realized I’d finally broken myself of a bad habit. You have to go completely off it — and stay off it. Food might taste bland for a few days (or a few weeks) but it will pass and then you’ll be so glad you stuck it out.”
German Potato Salad, page 63 with homemade TVP “Bacon” Bits, page 246
Somer: “What transition advice do you have for those who are thinking about or who are new to a plant-based diet?”
Lindsay: “Just do it. Take it a meal at a time. Don’t get caught up with over thinking. Worry about this meal, right now — not what you’re doing tomorrow, or next week or next Christmas. Never think in “Can’s haves” — it’s not that you can’t have it, it’s that you’re choosing not to. Also, focus on all the food you can have, not what you’re choosing to give up. I eat a wider variety of food now on a plant-based diet than I ever did on an omnivorous one!”
Click on the link below to enter the giveaway. Contest ends at Midnight on Sunday December 16th. Winner to be announced on Monday December 17th. This Giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway has ended! The winner is Sharanya! Congratulations! I’ve emailed you!
Vedged Out 
This should be a popular one 😉
I hope so!!!
Great interview 🙂
Fun, eh? 🙂
Everything looks fantastic. Where to start?!?!?! Since starting my blog I have been pleasantly surprised how large the veg. community is – it is very exciting. Keep up the good work – taco’s and bread pudding are first on my list – just decided. My husband makes an AWESOME bean and lentil curry – I will post it soon for all to enjoy also!! Thank you so much for a GREAT blog!
The tacos are crazy good! I love anything with beans, lentils and curry, that sounds fantastic!
thats an awesome interview Somer! I keep going back and forth between cutting out salt and oil completely. I definitely need to read about what Lindsay does when eating out, coz that would be very difficult to adjust to once off salt, me thinks. Those tacos and cranberry bread look amazing!
The tacos were the best thing I made. I really loved them! I’m with you. I think reducing salt and oil is a little more realistic on my end, but with your inflammation and joint pain, you may really benefit. It would be super hard to eat out though! Chef AJ recommends calling restaurants in advance and speaking with the chef….
I love LIndsay’s work. Great interview! I’d like a copy of this book to check out the new recipes!
Great! I hope you’ve entered! 🙂 Thanks Martie!
Great interview Somer!
I’m liking the look of those tacos and the cranberry bread.
I think I know what Santa is bringing me this year 😉
Isn’t the cranberry bread pretty! This would make a great present for yourself or someone you love! Very straightforward!
Aaaah everything looks great! I want to ger my hands on a copy!!!
Thanks! It was fun to test so many recipes! Make sure you enter!
Very well done friend. *Like. Well wishes to all entering. (:
Haha! You’re secretly hoping no-one else enters, right? 😉
Want to try these recipes!
Enter away! 🙂
Good job, girl! The food looks fantastic!
😉 😉 😉
Oh my goodness – all of those pictures look amazing.
The bundt cake and the tacos especially!!
Thanks Tina! Recipe testing for new cookbooks is kind of exciting! 🙂 That bundt cake was really lovely!
Why do I want this book? I love all cookbooks, but I don’t have any exclusively vegan ones. The food photography has convinced me that I NEED this one!
Haha, the photography is mine, but the recipes are well photographed in the book too 🙂 Good luck!
I hope you entered! 🙂
Absolutely I did 🙂
Yes! 🙂
Somer, you are truly amazing. Thank you for this information.
Would you mind doing me a favor. Would you tell me more about the dangers of oils? This is the 3rd time, in less than a month that I have heard about the ill-effects of oil. I am of Italian-American heritage and grew up cooking with olive oil (as I’m sure you can imagine). After I became a vegan (2 year anniversary will be Jan 1, 2013) I still continued to cook with olive oil. Over the weekend, I watched a program on PBS by Neal Barnard and he spoke about removing oil from one’s diet. And then yesterday, I happened to flip through a co-workers book Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman and landed on the page about oils… What’s going on and how have I missed this important information? How did you first hear about the ills of oils?
If it is easier, feel free to email me at my work email: susan.asnes@fmr.com
If anyone else has info re: the ills of oils… please feel free to also email me (if you have time).
As someone who suffered from cancer in 2010, I have been in search of optimum health ever since and is the reason I became a vegan (former vegetarian)
Thank you.
Best,
Susan
Girl, there are no words. I’ll be emailing you, just let me get to the other comments and you’ll see me in your inbox in a bit. xx
Please take your time…
I’m looking forward to the information.
🙂
Hey girl!
This guy has been following my blog and decided to make your Moroccan lentil. He let me know he posted a photo of it here: http://soundspictureswords.com/?attachment_id=3029#comment-207
Great article, great interview. Thank you.
Thanks Elena, and you’re welcome!
I’ve been seeing posts about this book for a couple of weeks and am so excited to get my hands on it!
Get in there girl!
I would love to get my hands on this book since all her recipes look absolutely delicious!
I think you’ll like it! Enter! 🙂
Whoa Somer, you’ve been busy in the kitchen!! That bundt cake looks yummy! That lentil taco “meat” caught my eye because I make a similar meatless taco recipe on my site! The lentils sound like a great idea. Great job on the post girl 🙂
I was “busy” in the kitchen! Haha! The really great thing about her book is that it uses ingredients we vegans all ready have in our homes. There’s no weird fancy or expensive stuff that you really need a specialty store for like some other vegan cookbooks I’ve encountered. Oh my, the tacos are hands down the best. That taco meat is soooo good!
Everything looks so good – my mouth is watering! I love the Happy Herbivore cookbooks cause my omnivore teens like the recipes and we can eat more plant-based meals together.
So true, these are recipes that the whole family can enjoy and no one will be missing the meat or dairy!
For some reason I keep getting an error message when I am trying to enter. I sure would love winning your cookbook. 🙂
I know! I’m trying to find out what the deal is with Rafflecopter! Please keep trying. I can’t get through right now either. I wonder if there are so many blogger giveaways near Christmas that their site is just overloaded. I can’t even get into rafflecopter.com at the moment 😦 Sorry! If it persists I’ll take manual entries through comments.
It looks like it’s up again. Try it and let me know 🙂
Looks amazing, I have seriously considered going vegan for some time now – this just might be the way I can help my family see that they aren’t really giving anything up – just making better lifestyle choices.
Judy, Lindsay Nixon’s books are a fantastic gateway for those looking to go plant based. Try it! You’ll fall in love with the way you feel and your improvements in health. You won’t feel like you’re missing anything. Even if you don’t win, its worth making an investment. I have lots of other recommendations too. xx
Oh, I’ve been veg for 18 years but really want to make the transition to vegan. This cookbook would help me SO much!!
Yes! It would! The recipes are simple and use everyday ingredients! It’s time to take the plunge! 🙂
Since I went vegan in August, I have somehow managed to not actually own any vegan cookbooks yet! This would be a great one to start me off.
Wow, you are one brave girl! I think I bought 5 or six when I took the plunge! You need this book! 🙂
I always think I don’t have a taste for international cuisine, but then I realized what the ingredients are, and I already use them. Ha!
I’m planning on going 80% vegan 20% veggie this new year. I’m looking for new, exciting recipes to help me on this journey!
While I already own this book, I would love one so I can gift it to my mother in law who is ventured into the plantbased world. 🙂
Wow, tacos look great! I like how she talked about cutting out salt and how your tastes change. I have that issue with salt and sugar…things really seem overseasoned unless I make them myself. I joined the virtual vegan potlock to get new ideas.
I would love this book because I am always looking for new ways to eat the way I do!
Awesome. I really struggle with reducing or all together cutting salt out when having guests come round. They all say my food is bland but our tastes have acclimatized to reduced sodium. Of course as a hostess I want my guests to love my food but as long as their tastes are used to high sodium my food *will* taste bland to them.
Any tips or suggestions?
Thanks for visiting my blog. Just started following you. These recipes look incredible!
Everything you tested looks incredible! Salt is definitely a pitfall for me too- I am not quite ready to give that one up!
Shhh. Me neither 😉
I have tried a couple of Lindsay’s recipes and have really enjoyed them. Would love to try new recipes!
looks like a good book to look at… the food looks very good.
I LOVE Lindsey’s work and her recipes are so user friendly
I’d love the book because I’m trying to go more plant based and I am looking for fun new recipes.
I’m a big fan of Lindsey’s but don’t own any of her books. I would love to win this one!
This would be my first vegan cookbook, would love to win a copy!
Everything looks so beautiful and delicious! Would love to win and make these for my husband who is not a veggie lover like me and our boys.
Would love to win so I can make these beautiful looking dishes for my husband who doesn’t like veggies as much as I do.
I love Lindsey’s other books (HH and EHH) and would love to get her new one! Cooking so so fun and creating healthy vegan food has become my love!
LOL “…cold tofurky” cracked me up. I love reading about why vegans do as they do!
See how she corrected me with cold tofu… Oops 😉
It’s only 10pm but the Rafflecopter says to contest is closed 😦
Dang, I really wanted to enter it. Can you count me in for one entry in spite of the technical difficulties? I already follow you on facebook and subscribe to your blog. Hope you read this in time!
Jennifer! I’m so sorry, something was wrong with the rafflecopter during about half of this giveaway. It wouldn’t open or was down and now I’ve found the contest ended before it was supposed to. The format of their system doesn’t allow me to go back in and re-open it and since I had so many entries I don’t know how to fairly add you manually. Please accept my apologies. My friend Annie over at An Unrefined Vegan has the very same giveaway going on over at her site
http://anunrefinedvegan.com/2012/12/16/happy-herbivore-abroad-blog-tour/
Please feel free to enter her contest. I’m truly sorry- Somer
Here’s another one for you: http://justaudreyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-herbivore-abroad-giveaway.html?spref=tw&m=1