Superstar vegan blogger Kathy Patalsky—founder of healthyhappylife.com, author of 365 Vegan Smoothies and curator of findingvegan.com—has just released her second cookbook, Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen!
If you are already familiar with Kathy’s work, you know that her food is bright and fresh, innovative yet approachable, and always served with a side of positive energy and glow. Kathy makes vegan food fun, colorful and an extension of her healthy-happy outlook on life.
Packed with more than 220 recipes, HHVK beautifully showcases Kathy’s culinary point of view. Throughout the pages of her cookbook, she has breathed new life into vegan classics, like 15-Minute Marinara Sauce with Vegan Parmesan, Easy Sweet Potato Chili and Easy Creamy Ranch Dressing; created new twists of her own, like Avocado Caprese Sandwich, Turmeric Hemp White Bean Burger Patties and Blueberry Farro Spinach Salad; and invented dishes that are completely unique, like Pesto Chickpea Bowl, Cinna-Chili Coconut Oil Popcorn and Tofu Feta, Watermelon and Basil Salad.
HHVK is much more than just a pretty book in the fast-growing world of vegan cookbooks. It’s the kind of cookbook that you are actually going to use again and again, because the recipes are not only simple and doable, but also filling, delicious and accessible.
I first tried Kathy’s 5-Step Raw Kale Salad because it looked so colorful and bright, and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand already. You can never go wrong with tahini and kale, and Kathy kicks it up a notch by adding a touch of maple syrup and cayenne that brings everything together and keeps you going back for another bite. I’m super excited that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has not only allowed me to share the recipe here, but is also offering a free copy of Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen to one lucky reader through this post!
To enter, just leave a comment below that describes why eating vegan food makes you feel happy and healthy. I’ll randomly choose and announce a winner on Friday, May 8. Shipping is limited to the US. Good luck!
The winner of this giveaway is Amelia, congrats! Thanks to everyone who entered.
For more chances to win, plus five more amazing giveaway items, see Kathy’s Healthy Happy Vegan Blogger Cookbook Tour post!
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5-Step Raw Kale Salad
- Yield: 3 servings
Description
Text excerpted from Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen, © 2015 by Kathy Patalsky.
This salad was a big winner on my blog. Everyone fell in love with the ease of the recipe and the deliciousness of the flavors. When you hear about kale salads being trendy and craveable, this is the type of salad that everyone is referring to! Raw kale marinated or massaged with flavors, tahini or nut butter, avocado, veggies, a sweet accent, and something sassy like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Make this your go-to raw kale recipe—it only takes five steps!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale
- ¾ cups shredded carrots
- 1 small avocado, diced
- ½ cup diced sweet onion
Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing (see note)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar or fresh lime juice)
- 2 tablespoons tahini (or substitute with nut or seed butter)
- 2 tablespoons grade B maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional, adds richness)
- Pinch of freshly grated zest
- 2 pinches cayenne
- Pinch of sea salt and a few pinches freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons seeds or nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the kale. Run each thick leaf under warm water and massage any grit away. Tear the leaves away from the thick stalks and place them in a large bowl. Rinse and drain the leaves several times until the kale is adequately clean.
- Drain the water from the bowl for a final time and squeeze the kale dry with a few paper towels. Remove any large pieces of kale from the bowl and finely chop them into long strips. (If you like large pieces of kale you can skip this last chopping step.) You should have 4 to 6 cups of kale.
- Place the kale, carrots, avocado, and onion in a large bowl.
For the Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together.
- Add the dressing to the bowl of veggies and kale and start tossing. Massage the dressing into the kale with your hands, if you’d like, for more infused flavor. Fluff and toss until the dressing is well absorbed into the greens and veggies. Fold in the seeds, if desired.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad. Allow at least 1 hour for the dressing to really sink into the ingredients. Plus, chilling everything makes it refreshing and tasty as a cold salad side. You can even make this salad the night before you serve it. Overnight chilling works! The greens should be eaten within a day for the best taste and texture.
Notes
Make a double batch of dressing if you like your greens more heavily dressed.
Tip: You can easily change up the veggies and other addins as desired!
NUTRITION FACTS
(per serving–235g)
Calories: 259
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 23g
Protein: 5g
Fiber: 8g
Vitamin C: 207%
Iron: 12%
Calcium: 15%
Vitamin A: 369%
Kathy Patalsky is the creator of the vegan food blog Healthy. Happy. Life. and is the author of the cookbooks 365 Vegan Smoothies and Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen.Kathy is also the founder of the popular website FindingVegan.com which launched the Finding Vegan App in 2015. Kathy’s recipes and photography work have been featured in Saveur, BuzzFeed, LATimes, Fox, CNN, on the cover of VegNews, Channel 8’s Connecticut Style and more. Kathy grew up a block from the beach in the farmer’s market savvy, laidback, surfer’s paradise town of Santa Cruz California. She graduated with a degree in Health Promotion from American University in Washington DC. Kathy also spent a year studying art at Otis School of Art and Design.
Her blog is a merging of her favorite things: art, food, wellness, a love of animals and the environment and people.
This post was last updated on July 10, 2024.
Crista says
you take BEAUTIFUL photos! Haven't gotten Kathy's book YET but hopefully soon… that salad looks AMAZING!!!!
Sue S. says
There are lots of things that make me happy about eating a vegan diet. It is good for the environment, animals and supports human health. My favorite aspect? The colors! Well prepared vegan food is beautiful!
Lydia Claire says
I'm not sure if my first comment when through so I'll try again. I went vegan for the animals and knowing I'm making a difference for them makes me happy.
RubyShooZ says
After being a vegetarian for 5 years it was natural I'd turn to veganism. It's been 20 years now and I've never looked back. I did it for my heath , animal welfare and our environment. I'm proud to say I'm vegan.
Thanks for all you do here, it's much appreciated!
Corrine Greenfield says
Eating animals makes me sad so not eating them makes me happy!
Kathy Sturr says
Eating Vegan food makes me feel good because no one gets hurt. I feel more connected with the earth and all its creatures – that we can all live together happily, peacefully. No one has suffered on my plate. I also love to garden and although I feel plants do have a conscious and are incredibly smart and don't want to be eaten either, they live a life of nourishment and are part of a continuing cycle of existence – their growing phase is a portion of their life, they seed themselves and then they are cycled back into the earth, etc. Maybe we are, too, for all I know. Besides all that woo woo, Vegan food is just outrageously delicious and I can't understand why anyone would want or desire to eat a tortured animal!
Anna Lee says
Eating vegan makes me feel good inside and out. But most of all I love knowing I am not contributing to any animal's suffering.
Jennifer K says
Eating vegan food makes me feel happy because I'm not hurting animals
Eating vegan food makes me feel healthy sometimes (when I'm eating right) because as we all know, there's a lot of vegan junk food out there (and I do like to indulge in it!)
Yoojin Lee says
eating vegan food makes me feel energized from all the nutrition i'm getting from plants 🙂
chickpeasandchange says
I eat vegan because I don't believe that I can adequately challenge speciesism — both internalized and in society at large — while consuming the bodies of non-human animals.
Julia says
I love Kathy. She was the first website I found when I first went vegan and she has guided me to a wonderful and delicious world of vegan living. I ordered her book, should be getting it this week, so excited, I'm going to try every recipe!
iHateAnna says
Being vegan makes me feel happy because I know I'm doing my part to contribute to everyone's well-being and it makes me feel healthy because all the extra fiber from fruits and veggies helped me kick my sugar addiction.
JManucci says
Eating vegan food makes me feel happy and healthy because I get DELICIOUS and super nutrient dense foods without harming any animals.
PGYx says
Eating vegan food makes me happy because it's delicious, filling, nourishing, and good for both animals and the planet.
Do you think this dressing would work without the sweetener? I tried a Keepin' It Kind maple syrup-sweetened tahini dressing and confirmed that I much prefer sour/savory tahini dressings.
erinwyso says
Sure, I don't see why not!
abrimmer says
I choose vegan for the animals. 🙂
Michelle Blanken says
Eating vegan makes me feel like I am contributing towards a kinder world, and that makes me so happy!!
Ashley Chew says
My favorite part about eating vegan is how much lighter I feel not just physically but emotionally. Knowing I don't contribute to the suffering of others is what makes me feel the most happy & healthy!
Ashley says
I have learned to experiment with so many foods as a result of not eating animals. Thanks so much for the great giveaway!
Deborah Herman says
It has been an interesting transformation from meat eater to vegetarian and now vegan. My husband has transitioned far quicker then I. We love Japanese and Love you blog and just keep learning. At 64 that's pretty good.
Diane says
I'm not 100% vegan but it makes me feel good from the inside out.
Jacky DLT says
Eating vegan helps me feel happy because I know I'm doing everything I can to keep animals from suffering and healthy because my diet has way more fiber and other nutrients and way less cholesterol than the SAD.
Amelia says
Since being/eating vegan I LOVE to cook… and I love that nothing on my plate is linked to an animal's suffering.
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity! amelia 6097@hotmail.com
Barbara Clark says
I feel so much better all the way around!
Coco says
When I transitioned to veganism, I discovered how creative a cuisine it actually is. Most people imagine that all vegans eat is steamed veggies, but there's a whole other league of nut "cheeses," dairy-free baking, and hearty grain-based meals that are elaborate, nutritious and tasty — I love playing around with these recipes and discovering new ones!
PorshaJo says
I eat vegan for the animals. But a huge benefit of it is how great I feel. I have so much energy and I feel strong and healthy. I never dreamed I would feel this great.
Anonymous says
I feel better. …I look better. …and best of all my foods taste better!
sarahhhhhh says
the less cholesterol the better!
christa says
Eating vegan makes me so happy because it is in line with my ,oral and values to do no harm.
Yodamom says
We are aVegetarian family who are trying to go vegan. We switched to vegetarian after visiting the local farm to pet the baby pigs. When we went back a few week later they were gone, the answer of where they went drove us all to give up meat and meat products. Now we want to go clean all the way. I would love to win
Alli Rosen says
I love vegan food for so many reasons but tops for me is how much energy I have. I am really enjoying living life to the fullest brimming with energy while also making responsible choices for the planet.
-Alli
Rachel says
I originally chose Vegan because of being dairy intolerant, but it has had a positive impact on my life. Feeling revitalised
Amanda F. says
This recipe looks great! My body just works better when I eat clean & vegan. Very little processed food, lots of fresh produce, and healthy whole grains do a body good! (Side note, tahini makes everything better).
Kim says
It makes me happy because veggies give me energy to move and live life!
Christopher Ryan says
I'm vegan for the animals, pure and simple. But vegan food is real food.
Anonymous says
Whenever I eat homemade delicous veggie food, im buzzing all day long with clean energy. -giddiegiddie@yahoo.com
suzi says
I have been working on a project for a while now… building the best blood i can for tomorrow. Every day we get that chance/choice. I have been vegan over 20 years. labs are off the charts! or should i say perfectly balanced within optimum range. Follow up project, teach others!! This book could be an integral part of that. WIN WIN WIN!!
Shannon says
Because I'm giving myself amazing nutrition from plants, and at the same time, minimizing my negative impact on the lives of animals and other people!
Ms. Becky says
I've been eating a vegan diet for about three years. Not only do I feel better with less inflammation but I'm better able to manage my weight. I have less joint pain and I feel a bit saner too. I grew up vegetarian but leaving behind dairy has made me feel infinitely better. Thanks for the chance to win Kathy's book, I look forward to owning it one way or the other. Have a beautiful day.
Casey R says
I am so happy being vegan, and love that my family has followed me on the journey. I love knowing that my food has not been abused, exploited, and killed. I also am finally enjoying a migraine free life, which has been a long time coming.
Sally G says
Fairly new to vegan, and I'm really happy with it. Glad that no animals are being abused, exploited, or killed for my meals. Happy I'm trying new foods and recipes I'd never have looked at a year ago. Happier and healthier now that I've kicked my cheese addiction. Much healthier eating mostly whole foods now, and getting plenty of vitamins and minerals without supplements.
KellyC says
Not posting for the giveaway since I"m in Canada and already have a copy but wanted to say thank you for the review and suggestions. I totally agree how bright and sunny the book is, everything looks so appetizing!