The Mermaid Handbook

The Mermaid Handbook earns 5/5 ...Engaging and Informative!
“A Guide to the Mermaid Way of Life, Including Recipes, Folklore, and More” is just that...more! Tap into your inner mermaid with Taylor Widrig’s “The Mermaid Handbook.” She has gone well beyond a traditional cookbook with a unique selection of recipes to bring a fascinating look at stories of mermaids from different cultures, the way of a mermaid, and insights in the health benefits of seaweed. Don’t ignore the “Author’s Notes” that, from her perspective as a mermaid, Widrig provides insights into the oldest “superfood” sea vegetables, importance of living like a mermaid, and hoping to inspire people to do so. I got my mermaid on!

The word “mer” comes from the French word for sea, and “Mermaid Folklore” Widrig interprets eight centuries-old legends of “seafolk” from Brazil to Africa, Medieval Europe to Canada, Japan to the Arctic, and from Ireland and Scotland to the Middle East. The legends may be set in different environments, north to south and east to west, with a wave of unique cultures, but the spirit of the merfolk seem basically similar: strong, protective, and magically inclined. I enjoyed the story of Mélusine who, upon marrying a King and granting him wealth and power, she requested one day a week for herself, only herself. Saturdays. Oh, what I would give for one day a week to myself!

To “cultivate” joy is “The Mermaid Way.” Just like any creature including humans, “no two merfolk are the same,” and every merperson has a special ability, so contemplate what is yours? Widrig continues with delightful insights into “Cultivating Joy,” “Demonstrating Kindness,” and ideas for “Enjoying Your Ocean Home: Sailing Ships and Beach Trips” from Beach Etiquette to activism, from avoiding products harmful to the ocean to choosing sustainable seafood. The one section “Eating Healthy” was very interesting focusing on the Healthy Benefits of Seaweed.

This section is an excellent source of information with “An Introduction to the Seaweed Kingdom,” and along with “Historical Uses of Seaweed in the Maritimes,” one gets an excellent overview of the health benefits, sustainability, and the types of “sea vegetables” available. I’m not a big seaweed fan, other than wrapped in my California roll, but I am adventurous, and plan to explore online and at my local health food for those products, like dulse flakes and sugar kelp, with this section as my guide.

Last, the recipes...“Mermaid Recipes!” I am a cookbook fanatic, but an amateur cook, so I reviewed the varied recipes starting with Snacks and Appetizers, then Sushi 101, Salads and Soups, Mains and Sides, and topping off with Desserts. I chose a meal of recipes to try looking closely at whether the recipe is easy to follow and ingredients are easy to come by. Each recipe starts with a nice intro including background, suggestions, and insights, complete ingredient list, and directions an level of cook can understand.

Snack: Cranberry Ocean Bars; cranberries, almonds, coconut, and...dulse flakes? That ingredient was not at my local market, but I called my health food store, and with contactless pick-up, I was able to use it. Taste? Not bad. It was a great snack!

Sushi 101: Sushi Pizza; pizza! Using shari (recipe included), avocado, crab, and Sweet Thai Chili sauce (recipe included) made for a unique, but delicious lunch.

Mains: Marinated Portobello Mushroom Burgers; a nice alternative to a regular Big Mac. Great seasonings. Add dulse bacon (recipe included), but romaine lettuce as the “bun” was not for me. I found a nice whole wheat bun...toasted was the way!

Desserts: Raw Kiwi Coconut Lime Tart; It was a refreshing treat, and yes, reminiscent of a Key Lime Pie. I found spirulina at the health food store, too.

Beyond setting a healthy table, I was excited about the “Mermaid Hair and Body” recipes. I made three small jars of Mermaid Bath Salts; one for me (loved it with lavender essential oil), one for my neighbor (lemon), and one for a friend (rose). My inner Mélusine loved my Saturday soaks.

I don’t have a pet, but “For Our Furry Friends” recipes for Beach-Dog Snacks and Doggie Treats seem delightfully fun!

“The Mermaid Handbook” is a unique, clever, delightful cookbook to add to my collection. I was fascinated with the mermaid lore, insights into seaweed, and healthy “sea vegetable” versions of recipes. Although many recipes are well worth my attention, I am not sure how often I’ll incorporate the seaweed ingredients, it may not be me. I know that’s the premise of the book, but alternate ingredient suggestions would have been well received. A few “Fun Facts” are added with delightful “Did you know-s.”

“The Mermaid Handbook” provides a wealth of information about mer-people from their legends, the habitat, values, recipes, to self-care remedies. This is the perfect book for a younger audience to both engage and fascinate. My only critique would be that some of the ingredients for the recipes are very specific and not necessarily easy to purchase/come-by and there are no substitution recommendation (this would be immensely helpful and make the recipes more realistic for regular/semi-regular use). It would also be helpful if the recipes included images of what the final product should look like. Overall 4 stars!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first saw this book. Being in the cooking section, I of course expected it to be, well yes, a cookbook. But as you will see, THE MERMAID HANDBOOK is so much more than that.

Packed full of mermaid information, THE MERMAID HANDBOOK opens with the chapter, Mermaid Folklore, introducing the reader to mermaids from around the world. The next chapter, The Mermaid Way, teaches us to embrace the mermaid in us all. From Cultivating Joy and Demonstrating Kindness to Beach Etiquette and taking care of our beaches and so much more. Then comes, Eating Healthy which leads to the cookbook portion of this delightful book.

Here’s a selection of recipes you’ll find in THE MERMAID HANDBOOK. Cranberry Morning Ocean Bars, Sea Pesto, Marinated Mushrooms and Cream Cheese Roll, Sushi Pizza. Salads with dressings such as Ocean Goddess, and Sundried Tomato. More great recipes include Miso Soup, Selkies’ Seafood Chowder, Marinated Portobello Mushroom Burgers, Salmon Lasagna with White Sauce and Spinach, Maritime Cauliflower Fried “Rice”, Micro Fudge Truffles, Raw Kiwi Coconut Lime Tart, and many more.

But wait, THE MERMAID HANDBOOK doesn’t end with recipes. Oh no. Any true mermaid needs to know about hair and skin care, so you’ll find some lovely tips here.

More? Well, yes. Mermaids seem have furry friends who like to have yummy treats, and you’ll find two recipes for your canine companions. Nothing for felines, but then, I doubt most mermaids are comfortable around cats. You know, what with their fish tails.

All in all, THE MERMAID HANDBOOK turned out to be much more than I expected, in a wonderful, whimsical way.

The Mermaid Handbook by Taylor Widrig was an eclectic mix of categories for mermaid lovers.

The book starts off with mermaids from around the world. I have read a lot of books about mermaid folklore from around the globe. This book incorporated ones I had never heard of. I loved how many cultures were covered. However, they only focused on the positive happy mermaids. While it goes better with this book, I find the darker tales just as fascinating and would have liked to have seen some of those included as well.

Then the book goes into “The Mermaid Way.” This section covered fun ways you can be a mermaid in your day to day life. It then covered environmental issues, and how you can help save the oceans. This section also covered several other important topics.

The book ends with a very detailed section on seaweed. Followed by a bunch of recipes. My local stores do not carry any of these seaweed varieties, but I hope to find them elsewhere and try them one day. While the book is monotone with turquoise and white, I find recipes most appetizing with coloured photos.

I love all things mermaid. I found this book a little all over the place at first, but then it all came together to make a very unique mermaid book. I would have liked to have seen more colour throughout the book (kind of like how the cover is.) I would have also liked to have seen a few more recipes. They could be mermaid inspired, and not necessarily have seaweed in them.

I received an electronic advanced reader copy from Nimbus Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

This is adorable, such a lovely gift for all the mermaid lovers out there, the mermaid recipes are a really sweet touch and would be great for a little girls (or big girls) birthday party.

4☆ A Delightful and Informative Children's Book

I was really excited to read a book all about mermaids, but this book was so much more.

It teaches the reader all about different mermaids and their traits, personalities, where they originated from, and what we can learn from each of them.

The book was very Educational, Informative, had historical references and most importantly teaches readers about the Environment, how to be a lil bit more sustainable, how we can help protect the ocean and do our bit, even giving examples such as beach litter picking.

It also talked about the Benefits of seaweed, the different types of seaweed and where they came from and their uses.

What I liked was that they included a recipe section of some of the mermaids favourite recipes using seaweed. ( just a note to point out that the ingredients are American measurements in cups)

Examples of some of the recipes:-
- sea pesto
- rhubarb and kelp bruschetta With feta cheese & pickled red onion
- Sushi
- sweet potato panko roll
- Ningyo's Kaiso Seaweed Salad
- vegan Caesar dressing
- Mexican Gazpacho
- Miso Soup
- Selkie's Seafood Chowder
- Turmeric Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup with Sautéed Sesame Dulse Swiss Chard
- Kelp Patties
- Marinated Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- Salmon Lasagna with White Sauce and Spinach
- Satay Buckwheat Noodle Bowl with Seared Halibut or Tofu
- Thai Mermaid Cakes with Avacado Cream or Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
- Mélusine’s Classic Mermaid Pie
- Micro Fudge Truffles
- Raw Chocolate Mousse
- Raw Kiwi Coconut Lime Tart

Also included are some natural home made beauty recipes
Examples :-
- Coconut Sea Hair Mask
- Deluxe Whole Leaf Kelp Soak
- Fairy Dust for the Bath
- Mermaid Bath Salts

Not to miss out, they have also included two yummy Natural home made Doggy treats :-
- Beach-Dog Snacks
- Doggy Treats ( uses peanut butter but be very careful as peanut butter can be fatal to dogs if you get the wrong type)

So as you can see this book is so much more than just a book about Mermaids, my only niggle would be the lack of illustrations for the recipes, it would of been nice to have pictures of the finished product.
Also the mermaid Illustrations are presented lovely but I would of loved some bright colours to make this book more eye catching as when I think of mermaids I think of bright colours, fun and magic.

Overall I would definitely recommend this beautiful book for ages 7+

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover of this book really is adorable.
The illustrations were great!
This book was fantastic. Seriously.
My kids and I loved it.

I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

Gorgeous book that looks deeper into the folklore and history of mermaids 🧜🏽‍♀️
This would make a lovely gift for a siren fan!!
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.