The first thing I thought when I opened Carolyn Scott-Hamilton's new cookbook, The Healthy Voyager's Global Kitchen, was that I wanted to get in the kitchen and try out some of the recipes because they looked so fun!
The photos and descriptions made me feel like each recipe was a way to experience another culture. I'm not one to stick to only making North American food, but the way Carolyn gives little tidbits about different cultures and the way they cook makes trying these recipes really fun.
Since I eat a vegan diet, I'm often left with only a few options for trying foods in different countries. So having these recipes for vegan versions of classic dishes is an awesome way to try out the things I might have missed.
Some of the recipes that I've tried and loved:
Chunky Sweet Potato Stew (Morocco): I've seen lots of recipes for African sweet potato-peanut soup, but this one is pretty special. The flavor combination is amazing, and there are lots of extra veggies for added nutrients :) Carolyn was nice enough to let me share this recipe with you, and I filmed a video of it, on HealthyVeganRecipes.net.
Classic Cobb Salad (USA): Simple, but so tasty, and a nice way to make a salad into a meal.
Churrasco Mushrooms and Chimichurri Sauce (Argentina): This sauce is amazing on pretty much anything...
German Potato Soup: Phil loves this one. It's really simple, but so flavorful.
Some others that I can't wait to try out:
Big Mouth Burger (USA): BBQ sauce, black beans, rice, beets... sounds like a fantastic veggie burger!
Polenta Bites with Crema and Avocado Spread (Brazil): mmm, polenta topped with avocado and cashew cream... I can't believe I haven't made these yet...
Timbal de Qinoa and Pisto (Quinoa and Stewed Vegetable Towers) (Chile): This dish looks so amazing, and I think I might take Carolyn's suggestion of topping it with sliced avocado :)
Patacon Pisao (Smashed Plantains) (Columbia): I've been meaning to make something with plantains for so long now, and when I saw the flavors in this recipe I knew it was the one to try first!
Aloo Gobi (India): Spicy cauliflower and potatoes sounds like a perfect dish for me to make for Phil...
I love Carolyn's positive attitude about healthy foods. She includes lots of vegetables in every recipe to maximize nutrients, and they're always fun and super tasty too.
She has handy tags for each recipe to tell you whether it's gluten-free, soy free, low fat, low glycemic, kosher or raw. Most of the recipes are gluten-free, soy-free and low in fat anyway, but it's nice to have the confirmation.
One thing I really appreciate about the cookbook is that Carolyn includes directions for making certain ingredients from scratch - like curry paste, gnocchi, pizza dough, marinara sauce, Worcestershire and fish sauce alternatives. Of course, when you don't have the time you can always buy those things prepared, but it's nice to know how to make healthier versions yourself.
At the beginning of the book, Carolyn gives an excellent list of spices and foods to get your kitchen set up. The more essential ones to start with are bolded so that you don't have to feel overwhelmed, and those who already have a well-stocked kitchen can branch off to get the extras.
Yes, there are ingredients here and there that you might not normally buy... but that's the point! To venture out to new places and flavors! I didn't come across any that I wouldn't be able to find, and you can always sub or leave out certain things.
The list of shopping and kitchen tips is fantastic. One tip I loved was to make stocks and broths ahead of time and freeze them in ice cube trays. So simple, but so smart!
For people who are transitioning to a vegan diet, there are recipes that include meat substitutes like vegan chick'n, beef and sausages. It also shows you some great ways to use seitan, tofu and tempeh to ease yourself into a healthier plant-based diet.
And for people who prefer sticking to whole foods, those things are really easy to swap for some beans, mushrooms or just leave out. There's plenty of flavor and texture going on in every dish, so the recipes don't rely on the vegan meat substitutes.
Overall, I think the cookbook makes healthy cooking fun, super flavorful and exciting. It's great for people just starting out, to show them how amazingly delicious and satisfying healthy vegan food can be. And it's fantastic for people who already eat healthy and vegan to spice up their routine with new ideas.
Be sure to check out Carolyn's website, HealthyVoyager.com, where she has lots more vegan travel tips and recipes.
This transcription will have some mistakes because it is partially automated.
Hey guys! This is Heather from HealthyEatingStartsHere.com. So today I wanted to share with you a cookbook from another vegan chef and nutritionist, Carolyn Scott – Hamilton was also called the Healthy Voyager and her book is called the Healthy Voyager Global Kitchen.
It is so much found. The first thing I thought of when I’ve got this book was I open it up and there was travel pictures which just makes it so fun because you can feel like you’re going on a trip and when I look at the recipes I got really excited about going into the kitchen to try them out because it feels like your really connecting with another culture through their food.
Following a vegan diet means that when I travel I’m often limited with the foods that I can try so having these recipes that are vegan and healthy I can try them out at home and she gives some cute little tips about each recipe and the style of cooking for that culture so it’s really fun you could learn stuff about the culture and the food through your cookbook.
There’s also an intro for each sections so for Latin America, for India, for Japan that gives you a little taste of what their style of cooking is and then goes it into recipes for each one. All of the recipes in this book are pack with vegetables and really awesome fun flavors for lots of nutrition and making delicious meals which is a combination that I like to do so it’s always nice to find a cookbook that does that as well.
Most of the recipes are gluten free, soy free and low fat but there are tags telling you which one specifically are or not and some other tags for kosher, low glycemic and raw so you can easily find whatever recipe you’re looking for.
Some of the recipes here that caught my eye, creamy and chunky coconut soup from Thailand, I’ve made that one it is so delicious. Aloo Gobi from India I haven’t made that one yet. Its spicy cauliflower and potatoes but I got it on my list to try very soon because I think Phil will really like to try that.
Chunky sweet potatoes soup that’s one of my favorites, that’s the first recipe I tried with this book and it’s what I am going to film for you guys this week so you can stay tune for our recipe on that shortly.
There’s a Smashed Plantains recipe from Columbia that I’m really excited to try, I’m meaning to make something for awhile now. I haven’t done it yet so that’s on my list.
And then there’s some Polenta Bites with Avocado Spreads and cashew cream that sounds amazing. And also some typical American recipes like a veggie burger sound delicious and I’ve tried the Cobb salad which is awesome, great way to make a really filling salad.
So really fun cookbook, Healthy Voyager Global Kitchen, you can pick it up at Amazon, I’ll post a link to that and you can also check out Carolyn’s website for other Vegan tips and recipes at HealthyVoyager.com. And if you stay tune tomorrow I will be posting a recipe for her chunky sweet potato stew from Morocco so I will see you guys then.
