No. 003 : The Weekday Vegetarians
A casual + approachable introduction to vegetarian eating.
5 things I’m all about in The Weekday Vegetarians
Casual + Approachable Vegetarian Eating
The whole energy of
’s The Weekday Vegetarians is encouraging and practical. From sharing her families stories of their own transition to part time vegetarianism, to the chapter structure, the book was really designed to make this idea approachable. The chapters are mostly built around different meal planning foundations like salads, bowls, tacos, pastas, which she calls “The New Regulars”. These are familiar favorites and switching them to be vegetarian feels like a brilliant and easy way in. I don’t think it was a mistake that the very first chapter of the book is “Pizza”. The recipes themselves are also very accessible and easy to produce on a busy weeknight but still delicious to enough to win over what Jenny calls “holdouts”. I made the Spicy-Tangy-Smoky Pinto Bean Bowls last night and I can tell they are already a new rotation dinner for us.
Breaking the Dinner = Protein, Starch, Veg Mold
Beyond being encouraging, Jenny has very helpful solutions to some of the tricky problems presented by the switch to more plant based eating. She gets right to the heart of one of the hardest parts when she talks about how many of us grew up at tables that built a meal around an animal protein first and then a complimentary starch and vegetable. She does a great job of addressing this in a few ways. First, as mentioned above, starting the book with chapters about new regulars feels much more approachable than trying to reframe the protein and sides mold out the gate. Second, she shares a great “lightbulb moment” of realizing that to keep herself and her family excited each meal needed a “hook” - or a component that she knew they loved - even if the rest of the dish was new or unfamiliar. She uses these hooks throughout the book to show how something simple like a favorite homemade dressing can make a new salad exciting, or how a warm homemade bread will get anyone at the table. Finally, her section on small plates dinners was another great reframe to the idea of how dinner must be presented - why can’t we have a handful of delicious complimentary small plates to pull from?! I can’t wait to try this.
Inspiring Photos
The imagery in this book does a fantastic job at making you want to eat the food. Like right now, please. That should be an obvious for a cookbook but I think photographer Christine Han and food stylist Olivia Mack McCool really took on the challenge of elevating the vegetarian recipes and making them shine. The textures and colors really come through so you can almost taste each dish. The lived in styling and lighting approach also still feels natural and accessible, in keeping with the overall feeling of the book.
Fun Hand Lettering + Design
Throughout the book designer Laura Palese created very fun hand lettering and incorporated hand done design elements which give just the right amount of personality. The design in general has a casual and happy energy while remaining clean and easy to digest. I love all the little touches the hand lettering gives throughout each page, just enough to make you smile.
Mix + Match Meal Chart
Do you have squash on hand and you’re not sure what to do with it? Flip to the back of the cookbook and find a chart that allows you to scan across for the ingredient you have and then look down across sections of ideas for bowls, pizzas, salads, tacos and so on. So if you have squash and you are craving tacos you will find the recipe Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Tacos. You’ll also see in the chart ideas labeled “How ‘bout:” that are designed to get you thinking even beyond the recipes in the book. The suggestion under squash + salads for “arugula salad with roasted butternut squash, lentils, feta & candied walnuts or pecans” has me excited for my next lunch now. Yum.
The Weekday Vegetarians: 100 Recipes and a Real-Life Plan for Eating Less Meat is by
You can find more about Jenny on Dinner: A Love Story and on her instagram.
Jenny also recently announced the follow up to Weekday Vegetarians launching later this year - can’t wait! >
CLUB CHAT
Do you eat vegetarian meals occasionally? Or do you aspire to?
What was your favorite recipe in The Weekday Vegetarians?
What did you learn while reading or cooking from The Weekday Vegetarians?
Do you often build your meals around the protein, starch, veggie mold? What do you think about the idea of mixing that up?