This month’s newsletter recipes come from Lindsay Nixon, author of four Happy Herbivore Cookbooks. All of her recipes are easy to make, delicious, and follow the McDougall guidelines. The following recipes come from her latest cookbook, Happy Herbivore Light and Lean. All of these recipes take 30 minutes or less to prepare and all are delicious.
Caribbean Bowl
Single serving
Soy-free, Gluten-free, Quick, Budget, Single Serving
I love the pairing of black beans and pineapple! Inspired by the Caribbean Chili (in full cookbook), now you have a Caribbean Bowl too! Avocado and guacamole also make a nice addition.
Line a pot with a thin layer of water, bring to a boil, add kale, and cover for about a minute (the kale will turn bright green). Give it a stir so all of the kale is bright green and softer, then drain. Mix in quinoa and/or beans to warm it up a bit, if desired. (I like to serve this with everything warm except the salsa, pineapple, and green onion, which are chilled.) Transfer to a bowl and toss with salsa, pineapple, and green onions, leaving a few onion pieces for garnish. You can also drizzle hot sauce on top if desired.
Thai Tacos
Soy-free, Gluten-free, Quick, Budget
Under 200 calories
My beloved chickpea tacos get reinvented with a little Thai flavoring and cool coleslaw. These tacos come together in a snap but present beautifully and are perfect in the summer when it’s too hot to cook. The slaw is also great on its own as a side!
Per Taco
Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4g
Carbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.4g
Fiber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.8g
Sugars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7g
Protein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1g
WW Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Pumpkin Pancakes
Makes 6 pancakes
Come fall, I love anything that has pumpkin in it. I’m a sucker for the pumpkin flavoring, but I also feel good about slipping squash into my food.
Per Pancake (without Toppings):
Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.8g
Carbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18.3g
Sugars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1g
Fiber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1g
Protein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.4g
WW Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Vegan Mayo
Gluten-free, Fat-free, Quick, Budget
Under 50 calories
Here is my easy and inexpensive recipe for making your own low-fat vegan mayo at home.
1 12.3-oz pkg Mori-Nu tofu
2–3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp distilled white vinegar
lemon juice
agave nectar
Blend tofu with Dijon and vinegar until creamy. Add a few drops of lemon juice and agave nectar, and blend again. Taste and add more lemon, agave nectar, or Dijon as needed. Serve chilled.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 16
Soy-free, Fat-free, Quick, Budget, Pantry
These are the best low-fat chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever eat! They’re ridiculously addictive fresh out of the oven. You’ve been warned.
Per Cookie
Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7g
Carbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5g
Fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0g
Sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2g
Protein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0g
WW Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Carrot Loaf
By Mary McDougall
This was a favorite during the McDougall Adventure trip to Hawaii in January of 2014. The recipe is from the New McDougall Cookbook and the chef at the Mauna Lani Resort served it with barbeque sauce. We all went back for seconds!!
Preparation Time: 45 minutes (need cooked rice and beans)
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6-8
3 cups grated carrot
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups mashed cooked garbanzo beans
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup tahini
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons Egg Replacer, well beaten with 8 tablespoons water
¼ cup soy milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the carrot, rice, garbanzo beans, bread crumbs, and tahini. In a saucepan, sauté the onion, celery, parsley and soy sauce in the ¼ cup of vegetable broth for 5 minutes. In a blender, puree the garlic cloves with the Egg Replacer/water mixture. Add all of the ingredients, including the soy milk, to the carrot mixture and mix well. Press the mixture into a nonstick loaf pan and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until it is firm to the touch. Remove the loaf from the pan by loosening with a spatula and then inverting over a plate to allow the loaf to drop out of the pan. Serve with sauce or gravy of your choice.