The Best Mexican Chowder Recipe Ever!

 

Oh my gosh!  I made Mexican Chowder from Lindsay Nixon’s Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  It is amazing-hot or cold!  So cheesy-like, thick and great.

TIPS: As you know, Happy Herbivore cookbooks are my go-to favorites.  I usually have what I need in my pantry, and if I don’t, I can just substitute.  Like I always say, “Use what you have.”  For example, I doubled this recipe and did not have two green peppers, so I threw in two packages of sliced mushrooms that I was getting antsy about going bad in my fridge.  I also only had brown miso, not the yellow type called for.  This dish turned out fantastic.

Also, I only use organic corn due to all other corn being GMO–same with soy (and NEVER soy protein isolate).  I always portion out the servings into separate bowls and refrigerate the extras for the next day’s meal.  That way, I don’t overeat.

Mexican Chowder
Serves 3

Ingredients: 

• 1 small sweet onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow miso
• 1 cup yellow corn
• 1 cup canned black beans
• Juice of 1 or more lime wedges
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Corn chips (optional)
• Garnishes: chopped cilantro or sliced green onion

Instructions:

Line a large pot with a thin layer of water and bring to a boil.

Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion becomes translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add bell peppers and spices and reduce heat to medium, continuing to cook.

Meanwhile, whisk 1⁄4 cup of nutritional yeast with nondairy milk and ketchup, then pour over bell peppers, stirring to combine everything.

Add miso, corn, and black beans and stir in.

Squeeze the juice out of a lime wedge and stir.

Taste, adding more lime as desired plus salt and pepper to taste.

For a stronger cheese flavor, whisk in 1 to 2 more tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

Serve with corn chips. You can garnish with sliced green onion or chopped cilantro, if desired.

Chef’s Note: If your liquid is too thin, add tomato sauce, broth, or more nondairy milk.

http://www.forksoverknives.com/mexican-chowder/

www.happyherbivore.com

 

ALL NEW! GIVEAWAY! WIN HAPPY HERBIVORE LIGHT & LEAN!

I’ve been contacted by Lindsay S Nixon, author of the wonderful Happy Hervivore cookbooks, and she wants to give a special holiday gift to one loyal reader of itsadecision.com!  One of you will have your very own copy of her brand new book sent right to you (as long as you’re in the USA or Canada)!

Happy Herbivore books have super fast and easy recipes that use whole foods, are plant-based and use no oil.  Some recipes that are in the book are:  Citrus Couscous, Soba Peanut Noodles, Caribbean Chili and more.  And in Happy Herbivore Light & Lean, Lindsay also shares workout plans.  Every plant-based kitchen needs Happy Herbivore books.  I make her recipes all the time, and they’re family faves.

Thai Crunch Salad

Just write a comment under this post and let me know why you are plant-based.  I’ll pick a winner!

Great New Recipe! Thai Crunch Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing from Happy Herbivore’s NEW book, Light & Lean!

As my readers already know, I am a big fan of Happy Herbivore, Lindsay S. Nixon.  I was lucky enough to be included on her blog tour for her last

book, Happy Herbivore Abroad, and now I’ve been chosen again to be on her latest blog tour for her upcoming book, Happy Herbivore Light & Lean,

coming out in November!  Fun!

This new book contains over 150 low-calorie recipes that take only 30 minutes or less.  They contain no added oil, processed foods or artificial sweeteners.  Very Plantcentric!  PLUS, for the first time, she includes basic workouts, tips & tricks, her personal fitness regime, demo photos of each exercise and an all-in-one “body bash.”  All her recipes in this book are 350 calories or less.

What I love about Happy Herbivore recipes is that they use everyday ingredients and are quick, healthy and easy.  I go back to her cookbooks over and over again.  As a matter of fact, my husband is in the kitchen right now making her Vegetable Korma from Happy Herbivore Abroad!

I recently got to ask Lindsay a few questions:

I love behind-the scenes info!  How do you come up with your recipes, and what is it like in your kitchen when you’re experimenting, cooking, tasting, etc?

Lindsay:  It’s a giant mess!  When I’m working on a cookbook, I pretty much spend 8-10 hours in the kitchen cooking and trying things.  By the end of the day my sink is overflowing with dirty dishes.  There isn’t a single clean spoon in the house.  Every spice is on the counter.  The pantry has been stripped down, its contents all over the counter, table, floor…My husband and dogs won’t even come in the kitchen until I’m done. LOL!

Do you ever have any flops?

Lindsay:  Absolutely. Everyone does.

Do you have tasting parties?

Lindsay:  I have a wonderful team of testers who test all the recipes in their home for me – to make sure it works, comes out, tastes good, etc.

I asked Lindsay if I could share with you her Thai Crunch Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing that will be in her new book Happy Herbivore Light and Lean, and she graciously agreed!

Thai Crunch

Single serving

Gluten-free, Quick, Budget, Single Serving

 

Before I was plant-based, I loved the Thai Crunch salad at California Pizza Kitchen. I finally decided to re-create a lighter vegan version of it for this cookbook. It’s easy, fresh, fast, and satisfying. (I also loved their Original BBQ Chicken Chopped salad, hence my BBQ Salad [in full cookbook] recipe!) By the way, CPK is one of the vegan-friendliest restaurant chains in the US. They have a PDF online indicating which menu items are suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

 

4 c napa cabbage, red cabbage, or lettuce (or a combination)

1 carrot, julienned

2 green onions, sliced

¼ – ½ c edamame

½ cucumber, sliced or diced

Thai Peanut Dressing

crushed peanuts (optional garnish)

cilantro (optional)

lime wedges (garnish)

 

Toss cabbage/lettuce, carrot, green onions, edamame, and cucumber together in a salad bowl, then top with Thai Peanut Dressing, crushed peanuts, and cilantro (if using), and garnish with a lime wedge. (I also love squeezing fresh lime juice over the salad.)

 

Chef’s Note: For a soy-free version, substitute chickpeas for the edamame.

Thai Peanut Dressing

Makes ¼ cup

Gluten-free, Quick, Budget, Pantry

 

Creamy, delicious—here’s a lower fat and lower calorie DIY peanut sauce.

 

1 tbsp smooth peanut butter

1 tbsp warm water

1 tbsp sweet red chili sauce

juice of 1 lime wedge

2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari

1 ¼ tsp rice vinegar

garlic powder

ground ginger

1–2 drops Asian hot sauce (e.g., Sriracha)

1 tbsp nondairy milk

 

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, add peanut butter with water, chili sauce, lime juice, soy sauce or

tamari, rice vinegar, a few dashes of garlic powder and ground ginger, plus hot sauce. Microwave for

10–20 seconds (so peanut butter is melty), whisk into a sauce, and then whisk in nondairy milk. Taste, adding more hot sauce as desired.

Chef’s Note:For a richer sauce, substitute coconut milk for the nondairy.

You can pre-order Happy Herbivore Light and Lean right now!

 

3 Great Recipes from Happy Herbivore !

You’ve got to try these from Lindsay S. Nixon, otherwise known as Happy Herbivore!

Fat-Free Vegan Deviled Eggs

Adopted from Ann Esselstyn, this recipe uses hummus, Dijon mustard, and spices put into a scooped out baked potato.  Ingenious!

I didn’t have black salt, so I just used regular salt.  I used Smoked Paprika, Amir Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and lots of regular yellow mustard (not 1/4 tsp. Dijon like she called for).  When you go get the recipe using the link below, check out how cute and realistic they look.  I know what I’m taking on Easter!

Get the recipe here:  http://happyherbivore.com/2012/12/vegan-deviled-eggs-recipe/

Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

Rich & decadent without eggs, fat and cholesterol.  Made from firm tofu, nutritional yeast, cornstarch (I threw out my old cornstarch and used organic so it wouldn’t be GMO), Dijon mustard (I used regular yellow mustard), cremini mushrooms (I used what I had) and frozen spinach.

Great for Easter or Christmas breakfast!

Get the recipe here:  http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/quiche/

Chana Palak Masala (Spicy Indian Stew featuring palak (spinach) and chana (chickpeas).

Boy, this was good!  I used Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies instead of canned peeled whole tomatoes, so it was spicy.

Get the recipe here:  http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/chana-palak-masala/

 

 

Interview and Giveaway! Happy Herbivore, Lindsay S. Nixon, Answers All My Questions!

I had an extraordinary opportunity to interview (and offer a great giveaway – more about that at the end of this post!) the Happy Herbivore herself, Lindsay S. Nixon.  You may know her from her blog, www.happyherbivore.com, or her cookbooks The Happy Herbivore Cookbook and Everyday Happy Herbivore.  Her work has been praised and endorsed by notable leaders in the plant-based movement such as Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. John McDougall.

She has just come out with her 3rd cookbook, Happy Herbivore Abroad, A Travelogue & Over 135 Fat-Free & Low-Fat Vegan Recipes From Around the World.   Recipes Made with Everyday Ingredients.  She has lived in eight states, visited 46, spent a year as an expat on a Caribbean island, and traveled to more than 35 places abroad.

I really love this cookbook for so many reasons.  A big thing is that I didn’t need to buy 15 different ingredients for each recipe.  Remember, the cover promises everyday ingredients.  I found that I only needed to get 1 or 2 for each.  The ingredient lists are short and the recipes easy.  I really loved reading the little stories about each recipe, where she was, who she met.  I sat down and read this book cover-to-cover.  Great color photos of her travels are included as well.

~

The Interview:

Laura Arnold:  Let me introduce myself. I’m Laura Arnold, and I write the health/nutrition blog www.itsadecision.com. My Twitter account is @Plantcentric. I’ve lost about 100 lbs and follow Dr. Esselstyn’s no added oil, vegan, clean whole foods diet. I also follow Dr. Robert Lustig’s The Bitter Truth of Sugar, so I don’t add sugar. I believe that food is medicine. My followers are health conscious vegans, health institutes, and animal lovers. My hope is to build an entire community of bloggers and health experts that I highlight, sharing content and elevating each of our respective causes and readership together. I view my blog to be like Huffington Post or Drudge Report of health and nutrition, where the reader comes to read lots of different ideas from different bloggers and then can go to that blog to follow-up and learn more about the blogger. Please feel free to read my story in the About section on my blog.

Here are my questions for you:

1.Like so many, you became vegan due to a health scare,and now when you go for your check-ups, the doctor and staff can’t believe what your numbers are and want to show everyone! I ask my readers, “Why wait? Why wait until you’re sick to change your lifestyle?” How do you get that message out? Do you think it’s working?

Lindsay Nixon:  I’m a big believer in leading by example.

Laura:  2. I love that your parents have gone vegan. Reading about them and their adventures is so much fun. They are so cute! I give them so much credit. That’s my favorite part of your blog. You are blessed to have your family change right along with you. Whenever I go to my family’s, I have to bring all my own food. There is very rarely anything, other than maybe a veggie plate, that I can have. How did that change happen for your family?

Lindsay:  My husband sort of found his own way to a plant-based diet. My sister, she had severe allergies and no medications were working. I convinced her to try being plant-based for a few weeks “just to see” and it worked. She was an insta-convert after that. As for my parents, my Dad had a heart attack. The next day he went plant-based and my mom did too.

Laura:  3. How did you go from being a lawyer to cooking? Did your parents think you’d lost your marbles?

Lindsay:  I started blogging in 2007, when I was still in law school. It was a creative outlet for me. Even after I’d graduated and taken the bar exam, blogging continued to be my hobby. As time wore on I realized I liked blogging and cooking way more than I liked being a lawyer, but my hands were tied… until I had the opportunity to write my first cookbook.

I knew there was no way I could work as a lawyer AND write a cookbook, so it was one or the other. I decided to take a big chance, quit being a lawyer and work on my cookbook while also doing various freelance assignments to pay the bills. My husband and I also had to do some major downsizing to make it happen — selling our cars, moving from a large apartment to a teeny, tiny studio, etc. (I’m so glad he was up for it!)

In the end, it all worked out — with an insane amount of hard work 🙂

Laura:  4. So many times when I read a vegan cookbook, the recipes liberally use oil. You don’t use any added oil. Your cookbook is sorely needed. Do you find that you are constantly having to explain why no oil even more than why no animal products?

Lindsay:  I explain why I don’t use oil or animal products in the front of all my cookbooks, so if anyone was curious why, they have the information right there. Most of my fans and supporters like that I don’t use animal products or oil, so it’s not an issue.

Laura:  5. Your new book, Happy Herbivore Abroad, is coming out December 4. Congratulations! You may find this surprising, but I had never tried Indian food until last year, and I’m 50! I wanted to go out to a nice dinner for my birthday, and Indian restaurants were the only ones that I could find that had a vegetarian section on their menu! I can’t be the only one that this has happened to, so you could say that a whole new group of people are going to be open to making international, no oil, vegan recipes that never were before. Are these recipes using easy to find ingredients and easy to follow? What countries are represented?

Lindsay:  Yes. I focus on easy, no fuss recipes with everyday ingredients.

So many countries are included, I couldn’t list them all 🙂

~

Thank you so much, Lindsay.  Now to the GIVEAWAY:  In the comment section below, tell me which post on www.itsadecision.com has helped you the most.  The winner will receive a copy of Lindsay’s brand new cookbook Happy Herbivore Abroad!

Good Luck!

More Thanksgiving Recipes

Visit The Happy Herbivore:  http://happyherbivore.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-meal-ideas/

Happy Herbivore’s Rice Pudding Recipe

 

Just tried the Happy Herbivore’s Rice Pudding Recipe.  I’ve always loved Rice Pudding, but haven’t had any since beginning my journey, so I was very happy to find this recipe that did not have any added sugar and was made from ingredients that are healthy.

I made a couple of changes (as usual–I used what I had!).  We don’t use Sweetened Almond Milk because we watched Dr. Lustig’s The Bitter Truth About Sugar and broke our sugar addiction.  I used Unsweetened Silk Almond Milk, a dash of Five Spice, lots of cinnamon and about 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.  When it was done, it was very creamy and had the great texture I remember loving about Rice Pudding, but surprisingly, it needed just a touch of sweetness–even for me, so for the first time, I opened the box of Stevia that I had bought for company and used just a tiny, tiny, tiny pinch from the packet.  Just right!

I couldn’t wait and ate it warm.  Really nice on a rainy Fall day.

Rice Pudding

Servings: 2

Rich and creamy; this rice pudding is just as good for you as it is delicious!

 

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup brown rice, uncooked
• 2 cups plant-based milk
• ⅓ cup raisins
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• a dash of cinnamon
• a dash of pure maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

 

Combine rice with 1 cup of non-dairy milk in a sauce pan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling reduce to low and continue to cook until rice is cooked and all non-dairy milk has been absorbed. Meanwhile whisk remaining 1 cup of non-dairy milk with cornstarch until well combined. Once rice is cooked, stir in non-dairy milk/cornstarch mixture and raisins. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to medium once boiling. Allow the pudding to thicken up, stirring occasionally. Add sweetener here if desired (brown sugar, agave, pure maple syrup–I find the raisins make it sweet enough, esp. with sweetened non-dairy milk, but most traditional recipes call for sugar). If the pudding becomes too thick, thin out with non-dairy milk. If it’s not thick enough, continue to cook. Once thick and creamy (takes 3-5 mins) stir in cinnamon as desired (I like 1/4 to 1/2 tsp). Allow pudding to completely cool then transfer to fridge in an air-tight container. Chill for several hours before serving. **If you find your pudding didn’t turn out sweet enough, drizzle a little pure maple syrup over top.

 

Nutritional Information

• Serving Size:1
• Servings Per Batch:2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories110
• Fat0.60g
• Carbohydrate26.90g
• Dietary Fiber1.20g
• Sugars14.30g
• Protein 0.90 g

http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/rice-pudding/#

The Difference Between Active Yeast and Nutritional Yeast

A great explanation from the Happy Herbivore:

Active yeast and nutritional yeast are completely different products that are used for two different things. When people ask me if they can swap out the two and use them interchangeably- I always have to tell them no because the results in whatever they’re making will come out completely different!

Active yeast works as a leavening agent in breads and other baked goods. It’s primarily used to make your baked goods rise and add fluff to a piece of bread or a cinnamon roll. Active yeast can come in a jar, or it can come in little envelopes found in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, so it won’t make things rise and is not a replacement for yeast when baking.
It has a cheesy, nutty flavor that you can use in sauces or as a topping, like sprinkled on popcorn. Nutritional yeast can be bought online or at most health food stores, and comes either as a powder or flakes. It is a complete protein, a good source of vitamins and is dairy & gluten free. Most brands are also fortified with B-12.

Here’s a video on nutritional yeast that might answer more of your questions:

http://happyherbivore.com/2012/06/difference-between-active-yeast-and-nutritional-ye/