The Happy Herbivore website has long been a great source of recipes and the cookbook of the same name was a best seller. This book, as the title suggests, is geared towards those of us who’d like to lose a bit of weight. There are all kinds of recipes in here and one thing they all have in common is the ingredients lists are pretty short. I find that a huge advantage, especially when trying to throw something together quickly. Although an American book, most ingredients are easy to come by here in the UK and cup measurers are available in all the big supermarkets, so that shouldn’t be a problem either.

As well as recipes, this book also includes a small section at the back that’s devoted to exercise. I have to be honest that this isn’t why I bought the book but there are common sense moves in there for everyone, like the plank and squats. However, I defy anyone to do more than five burpees in a row without getting seriously grumpy. Pick and choose what suits and you could end up more toned than you were before.

Ok, onto the food. Now, there are a few dishes in here that have made it onto my RRR (regular recipe rotation). My favourite of these is probably the Skinny Mac ‘n’ cheese. It uses canned pumpkin and you can make the sauce and then sub in whatever vegetables you want. It’s all totally flexible and tastes really quite indulgent despite the lack of fat and calories.

Another regular of mine is the Meatloaf Bites. They’re little burger-type things that you can do in a muffin tray and are ideal for stuffing into a wrap or having hot with veg. It calls for Italian seasoning, and I find a combination of dried basil, oregano, rosemary and sage works a treat. It also gives me an excuse to make proper use of my spice rack.

The Ruby Chocolate Muffins are a great little cake to make, if you fancy something sweet but healthy. The rubies are cranberries which look attractive and taste great.

There are lots of innovative recipes in here, not least the Chocolate Surprise Frosting which has sweet potato as its main ingredient – I kid you not! I honestly used this on the chocolate cake recipe from this book, served it to friends without telling them and they yummed it up. They truly had no idea they were eating vegetables! One for the children maybe?

This book is great for lunch ideas, light meals of all kinds from pasta to burgers to pancakes, desserts and there’s even a section on drinks. There are also loads of useful little recipes for sauces and dips that can be used in all different ways to make mealtimes tasty but healthier. The author has even included her own personal story to help inspire you and she certainly seems to be thriving on this no oil, whole food, plant based diet.

Recommended.

Buy it here.