Every New Yearโs Day for the past few years โ and by New Yearโs Day, I of course mean, the first day of school โ Iโve had the same resolution-y thought: We need to eat less meat in our house. Itโs a low-rumbling call year-round, but something about September and the ramped-up schedules and textbook pile-ups on the kitchen counter makes it feel like weโre all in the right frame to do the hard work of changing courses. What usually happens, though, is after a few weeks of salad pizzas and black bean burritos, I end up falling back into my dinner default mode, which, for the most part could be described as โchicken thighs plus something.โ
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For those of you who have been following along, you know that this past year was different and that weโve dramatically cut back on our meat consumption. Why? Maybe it was because the kids are older and not only are they more likely to venture out of their comfort zones (read: tofu) but they are more invested in the formerly abstract idea of doing their part to combat climate change. Maybe it was because there are so many chefs and cookbook authors giving vegetables the star treatment and Iโve never been more inspired to spin an eggplant into dinner gold. Maybe itโs because so many of my friends are heading in the plant-based direction. Maybe itโs because Andy and I are getting older (and weโre watching our parents getting older) and dialing back on animal protein feels like the safest way to address our mid-life crises.
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Mostly, though, I think the reason why weโveย been able to stick to our vegetarian vow is because we came up with a real plan: We wouldnโt get rid of meat entirely (anyone who has spent time in this space knows how hard it would be for us to say goodbye to our pork chops and meat ragus and chicken dinners) but we would limit those dishes to weekends and special occasions. Then from Monday through Friday, my family of four would be The Weekday Vegetarians, which,ย inย addition to sounding like the name of a folk-rock band at a small liberal arts college, will be the title of my next book.
And thatโs my news! Iโm working on the fourth book in my Dinner: A Love Story series and I couldnโt be more excited.
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Like the rest of my books, The Weekday Vegetarians will focus on dinner, it will cater to busy families, and the recipe development will happen in real time. In other words, every dish that makes the cut will be a meal that was served on a weeknight in the harsh light of real life, not in a studio or a test kitchen.
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As usual, I plan on documenting a lot of that real life here on Dinner: A Love Story and on instagram so be sure to follow along. While youโre at it, please please send me your own ideas and inspiration. After so many years of writing this blog, thereโs one thing I know for sure: dinner is a lot more fun when weโre all in it together.
Last weekโs dinner: Fried tofu tacos
Greens, greens, greens. We are eating a LOT of them these days.
As always, follow my progress on instagram.
YAY!!! Iโm so excited! Iโd love to do this, but my kids are so vegetable adverse.
Super exciting- I love your cookbooks and hope this one will have real meal solutions regular cooks interested in reducing meat consumption can implement. Most vegetarian cookbooks are just not something geared towards regular every day in the trenches cooks!
This is the goal always. Thank you S!
Yeah!!! Would love for you to include notes on how to add meat for those in our families who might not be 100% on board โ similar to your deconstructed meals where you build a base meal with ability to vary for others but everyone is eating the same basic thing!!
Woo hoo! MAYBE it will help my kids eat more veggies
This COULD NOT come at a better time for me! Iโm so ready, and have spent a dumb amount of time working to find plant based family recipes (also, have I used this research as a procrastination crutch for real work?โYES). I canโt wait, and big congratulations dearest Jenny!
So excited about this! Iโve not quite able to jump on the tofu train but really excited about some practical veggie-forward meals. I have been working on cutting our grocery budget a little while still eating healthy and working full time. Meat is the area that makes the most sense to cut back on so this book will for sure earn a spot on my cookbook shelf!
Wonderful newsโthanks for letting us know! I have and love all your cookbooks and am very much looking forward to this one, especially as I am a vegetarian with two vegetarian daughters.
Yay!!! Weโve been trying to do this too, with varying success. Looking forward to it!
Yay yay yay! I canโt wait for this! Congratulations on your next book. This sounds exciting a just what my family and I need. โค๏ธ
I am so down for this book, Jenny! I was just trolling through your blog this past weekend looking for non tofu vegetarian dinners. Last night we made this and the kids (um, my eldest is now in HIGH SCHOOL, I think he was around four when I first came to your blog!) inhaled it http://www.shutterbean.com/2019/roasted-broccoli-and-white-beans/
Iโm so excited! Weโve been trying to make the change, but veggie cookbooks are so labour intensive and require ingredients we never seem to have. But we use your three books so religiously that I know this will be the platform we need (no pressure :)) Eagerly awaiting news that pre-orders can be made.
Congratulations! Canโt wait to see it. We have also been trying to be more plant based for the last few years so here are a couple ideas for you to cover: how to feed very hungry/active/teen people โ vegegtarian is easy for my slow middle aged woman body but I feel like Iโd have to cook all day to create enough food for the three in my household with squirrel metabolisms who are constantly coming home starving from hours of running, biking, skiing, etc. Second, I know you said you will focus on dinner, but another thing Iโve found hard is lunch. If you are a work from home/stay at home/bring lunch from home person you often rely on leftovers for lunch and thatโs just harder without the meat. Maybe a chapter on โwhat to eat during the day so youโre not starving an hour before dinner and give up and order meat lovers pizza?โ
Iโm very excited to hear this! We have been weekday (and most weekends too) pescetarians for the last year. More often than not, itโs just a vegetarian meal. Looking forward to seeing the new recipes ๐
This is sooo true! My oldest just said to me that when we have black bean burritos she just doesnโt feel full โ could we please do more chicken or turkey ones. Thank you!!
This is the BEST news! Iโm a vegetarian of 27 years but my husband and kids still eat meat. I canโt eait to see what veg meal ideas you have to expand my repertoire that will appeal to them.
We literally had this conversation last night, over dinner of chicken milanese (which YOU inspired via instagram!). We always have Meatless Monday, but we are ready to move more intentionally into a plant-based lifestyle. I like the idea of adding more plants, subtracting more meat, but not giving anything up entirely. We are all in! Happy to follow along with you!
canโt wait for this book! love the title!!!!
This is the best news!! I have a vegetarian daughter and have committed to making all of our dinners vegetarian-based (and then adding meat for the rest of us), but it has been getting challenging to find things that will please everyone. THANK YOU!!!
What great news! Weโve tried to be more vegetarian in my house and wind up defaulting a lot to pasta and mostly carbs. My husband refuses to eat any bean while simultaneously wanting to be a vegetarian. Iโd love to eat more plant-based proteins. Send help!
Yes! The bean issue is real. For us itโs a family member with a health issue that precludes high fiber dinners. This has been my stumbling block to less meat- I canโt default to beans (which I love).
Yay. Canโt wait! I canโt even get my family to agree to meatless Mondayโs.
So excited for this!
Thumbs Up! Most vegetarian cookbooks donโt seem like they are for the every day meals or cooks (or geared towards younger children). I own all the DALS books and love the everyday approach to food. Iโve been struggling to go more vegetarian with the family and canโt wait for this!
I am all in after 7 years of DALS dinners on our table! Vegetables forward!
So exciting! This is the book I have been waiting for you to write! I love your other books but I am a pescatarian so this book will be perfect!
OMG I love this idea and canโt wait for the book! We are mostly vegetarian in our house too โ me 100%, and my husband and two daughters (ages 6 and 9) nearly so because I do the shopping and most of the cooking and because they are willing. A huge time saver for us is having some grains and maybe a batch of beans ready to go on Sunday night. We can then create magic throughout the week with those as a base. We also start the rice cooker at least 1 morning each week with white or brown rice, which the kids will mix with cheese, greens, and whatever beans we have prepared. Toppings (e.g. shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes) make all meals better here. I donโt know how we could eat the way we do without a rice cooker and a crock pot (or Instant Pot).
I signed up for the meal plans from clean food dirty girl dot com. Itโs vegan, but the creators are not judgmental of those dabbling in vegetarian foods. Iโve a child who, for medical reasons, has not been able to digest meat. Itโs set up as batch cooking, so a bunch of stuff is made on Sunday to utilize throughout the week. Weโve enjoyed everything weโve made so far. Monkey and me kitchen adventures dot com is another great collection of recipes. Itโs a mom and sister who put together recipes for the busy son/brother and sister in law who are both busy professionals with limited time and energy. There are, of course, thousands of websites for vegetable based foods, but Iโve found both of these to be reliable and palette friendly. I look forward to reading your take on the 80/20 diet, or whatever you want to call it. I know your recipes will be just as reliable.
I tried a meatless March a few years ago. I fell off the wagon once and felt pleased with myself at the end, so it only seemed right to carry on. I didnโt want to give up meat completely, so now I try hard to be meatless during the week, but come dinner on Fridayโฆโฆโฆall bets are off. I have one red meat meal and chicken etc for the rest until the end of Sunday. I am single and donโt live with anybody, so I donโt have to battle with anybody.
I love this idea! Iโve been cutting back on meat a lot too, but donโt have the heart to go cold turkey (hah). The hardest thing for me is getting enough protein. Itโs so easy to just add cheese to a dish, but dairy doesnโt sit very well with me so Iโve had to get creative. I canโt wait to read your ideas! A few things that have worked well for me:
โ Adding roasted chickpeas to basically any salad
โ Blending white beans into my roasted veggie blended soups (tomato soup, carrot curry soup, etc.)
โ Tempeh, fried up deliciously and packed into a burrito