Spring into Healthier Eating: Happy Herbivore Aborad Review & GIVE-A-WAY

It’s that time of year again. The snow is melting; the grass is growing; the flowers are blooming (Hello, daphadills!), and your shorts, tank tops and bikinis are waiting for their seasonal debuts. Wait. What?! Shorts, tank tops, and bikinis?! How did that happen already?!

If you’re still clinging to the over sized sweatshirts and elastic waits of winter, you’re in good company. And, I’ve got great news; I’ve got some secret weapons to help get us off the couch and back on the beach. It’s book review time!

For the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing one or two posts reviewing cookbooks, eBooks, and DVD’s that will inspire you to shake off the winter blues and eat something other winter fruit. (A girl can only eat so many apples and oranges!)

The first book review includes a give-a-way! Woohoo!

Happy Herbivore Abroad is Lindsay Nixon’s third book…so far. Just last week, Lindsay announced the pre-order of new book, Happy Herbivore Light & Lean. (Here other two are The Happy Herbivore Cookbook and Everyday Happy Herbivore. I’m a big fan of all of Lindsay’s cookbooks so far, and I can’t wait for the new one to come out 🙂 In the meantime, however, we can all enjoy the flavorful yet still low-fat and always vegan recipes in Happy Herbivore Abroad, which features over 135 from around the world. And, big bonus, all of the recipes are made with easy-to-find everyday ingredients!

I have to admit, I was a little reluctant to jump on the international recipe bandwagon. Even though I consider myself pretty open-minded when it comes to ingredients, the combinations of some ingredients doesn’t always appeal to me. But, page after page, this cookbook keeps sending me back to the kitchen. One of my favorite recipes so far is the “Cheater” Pad Thai. I especially love the idea for the lower calorie version replacing some (or all – like I did!) of the noodles with thinly sliced cabbage. Yum! I think this recipe would be great with zucchini noodles, too, or a mix of any veggie noodle, kelp noodle, or tofu noodle of your liking.

Here’s the original recipe (which can be found on page 179 in HHA):

“Cheater” Pad Thai

(serves 2)

1/4 lb thick rice noodles

2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce

1 TBSP smooth peanut butter

1 TBSP sweet chili sauce

1/4 tsp granulated garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp hot sauce

3 oz bean sprouts

chopped raw peanuts (optional garnish)

lime wedge (optional garnish)

Prepare rice noodles according to package ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk 2 TBSP warm water, soy sauce, peanut butter, chili sauce, garlic powder, ginger, and hot sauce together until combined. It may appear too runny at first, but it’s not. Taste, adding more hot sauce if desired. Using tongs, toss prepared noodles with sauce until all noodles are evenly coated. Plate and top with bean sprouts. Garnish with chopped, raw peanuts and a lime wedge, if desired.

As written, each serving is less than 300 calories and has just over 4 grams of fat. But, if you’re a volume eater (like me!), you can save yourself some calories by using the Lower Calorie Pad Thai suggestion on page 179 and gobble up the whole recipe 🙂 Or, if you want more veggies in your meal, try the Vegetable Pad Thai suggestion, also on page 179. (Double the sauce and add a bag of your favorite frozen veggies to the recipe.) Delish! (Find some more suggestions for sauce uses here.)

Thanks to publishers of HHA, you have the chance to win your own copy of Happy Herbivore Abroad 🙂 Woohoo! Give-a-way time!

To enter the give-a-way,  do any (or all!) of the following:

• Leave a comment below with your favorite low-fat or fat-free recipe tip/s and/or trick/s
• [Administrative Edit]
• Follow Veggie V (@veggie_v) on Twitter and post a separate comment

And, don’t forget to like Happy Herbivore on Facebook and Follow HH on Twitter, too!

The contest will be open all week, until Friday, April 12, at 11:55 p.m. EST. Good luck!

Contest open to US and Canadian residents only.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Happy Herbivore Abroad to review.