Interview and Giveaway: Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen Cookbook

This is the fourth interview in the series of interviews with people with inspiring accomplishments in the field of healthy nutrition and lifestyle.

Whether we are vegan, omnivore, or follow another nutritious diet we can all learn from each other. We are linked by our common desire to help our families and ourselves eat a little better today than we did yesterday.

Without further ado, I would like to introduce you Kathy Patalsky, the creator of the vegan food blog Healthy Happy Life and of the Finding Vegan site.

I love reading Kathy’s site as she is always positive and fun. She makes cooking and baking seem easy and is always happy to share a new recipe with her readers. Kathy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their 2 cute rescue kitties, Sochi and Mr. White.

Kathy’s recipes and photography work have been featured in Saveur, BuzzFeed, LATimes, Fox, CNN, VegNews cover, Channel 8’s Connecticut Style and more.

The Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen cookbook is Kathy’s second cookbook. It has 352 pages with over 220 recipes that are all plant-based, as well as tips and tools on wellness and cooking.

Here is what Kathy says about her cookbook:

“I include ten helpful tips for all of you who are just trying out plant-based recipes for the first time, or people who are curious about trying a vegan diet. This book is absolutely for everyone.

As I say in the book, this book is for, “new vegans, non-vegans, part-time vegans, wannabe vegans, and even “I will never be” vegans.” I guide you through a few basics, while including recipes of all skill levels, while focusing on easy recipes.

I have a recipe chapter with a handful of super fun kids’ recipes. For example, my fruity rainbow wraps, “I know my alphabet” Tomato Soup with Cheddar-Apple Logs, Best-Day Grilled Cheese Sandwich and more! I love creating recipes for all those veggie-loving kids out there. In the back of the book you will find menus I created for happy days in your life. There is one called “Vegan Pizza Night” and another called “Rainy Day Comfort Lunch.” Also, Pre or Post Workout Fuel” and even “Kathy’s Fave Go-To Meal.”

I have not received Kathy’s cookbook yet, as it will be released on April 28^th. However, if the recipes and the photos of the recipes from Kathy’s site are an indication, I know that her cookbook will be high-quality like everything she shares on her site. Her recipes are usually easy to make and have amazing photos that she personally takes.

My family and I are not vegan. However, I have made many delicious meals and desserts from Kathy’s website and my family always enthusiastically devoured them.

Kathy happily agreed to the interview and here we are, with a Questions and Answers session with her. Interspersed with the questions and answers you will find some of Kathy’s amazing photographs.

1. Kathy, tell us a bit about yourself. Who were you at the beginning when you started your blog and where you are now in your health and nutrition journey?

I was a curious vegan with so much I wanted to explore in wellness and nutrition. I was still learning about what foods and meals were best for my wellness.

2. “Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen” is your second cookbook. What were your goals when you decided to write it?

I wanted a place where my fans could find all of my favorite vegan recipes and blog fan favorites – in one spot! This book is just that.

                            Kathy Patalsky – Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen

3. How was the creative process for “Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen” different than when you wrote your first cookbook, “365 Vegan Smoothies”?

Smoothies was easier because I was only working with a set list of ingredients. There are only so many things you can put in a smoothie.

But HHVK was basically organizing all my favorite recipes I have made over the past twenty years I have been cooking (since my teens!) and placing them all in one book. I really had to pick and choose which recipes I felt would have some longevity and be valuable to readers.

4. Which recipes in your cookbook do you consider child-friendly?

I have an entire section of kid-specific recipes, which was fun to write. I hope kids of all ages will find loads of favorite recipes in my book and on my blog.

                            Kathy Patalsky – Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen

5. Could you share with us 3 of your favourite recipes from your blog that you consider appealing to children?

Rainbow Fruit Wraps

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

Easy Mac and Cheese

6. What are 3 the ingredients that you always have in your fridge or pantry?

Vegenaise

Apple Cider Vinegar

Nutritional Yeast

                        Kathy Patalsky – Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen

7. Do you have any favourite foods that you could not live without and that you could eat over and over again?

sweet potatoes

any fruit (I am a fruit monster!) peaches, blueberries, papaya, pineapple..

leafy greens

beets

8. Do you have any tips on how to make healthy meals while staying on budget?

Shop seasonally.

Stay away from too many convenience foods.

Make a food budget and stick to it!

Buy in bulk.

Only eat out as a special treat, do not get into the “take-out” habit

9. Sometimes life gets in the way and we eat less healthy than we would like to for a while. What do you do to get back on track?

I go grocery shopping! For fresh produce and healthy inspiring ingredients. With loads of amazing ingredients in my kitchen I have no choice but to cook with them and eat them.

10. Please finish this sentence: “One of my big life lessons was when…”

One of my big life lessons was learning how to listen to my own body. Learning that every key to constant happiness is inside myself, I just have to listen, look, be aware and act on what my body, mind, soul and spirit guide me towards.

                             Kathy Patalsky – Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen

11. Besides making and photographing amazing recipes, what is the thing or activity that makes you happy and you could not live without?

Walking along the seashore. I am an ocean lover and every beach day is a good day. Also, playing with my kittens!

12. What do the words “Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen” mean to you?

A sunny-filled kitchen space where beautiful vegan food is in abundance, hungry happy people gather to cook, eat and share, and inspiration and creativity never run dry.

Thank you, Kathy, for sharing with us your amazing recipes and photographs!

I hope you will win or buy Kathy’s cookbook. Even if you and your family are not vegans, I am sure you will find something delicious to make and enjoy.

If you pre-order the cookbook before April 28^th, you will get great bonuses. Check them out here.

This giveaway is open to readers residing in Canada (except residents of the province of Quebec). Skill testing question required. No purchase necessary.

Here are the 3 ways to enter this giveaway for one copy of Kathy’s cookbook Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen:

Receive up to 3 entries:

1. Subscribe to the Orgali blog by email. You can see the link to subscribe (green rectangle) on the right side on this page.
2. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook page and let me know you did this in the comments section.
3. Let me know in the comments section what your child’s favourite fruit and favourite vegetable are.

The giveaway closes on Friday, May the 8th, at 8:00 pm Mountain Time.

A winner will be chosen using a random number generator and announced on the blog on Friday, May the 8th.

I will contact the winner by email once I post the result.

The giveaway is now closed.

Congratulations Alayne Langford! You are the winner of this lovely cookbook! Happy reading!

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