I could not be more excited to introduce you toย The Weekday Vegetarians. Can you believe how happy and gorgeous she is?
Before I started writing this book, itโs not an exaggeration to say that a piece of animal protein anchored our dinner plates at least five out of seven nights a week. Back then, when I was trying to decide what to make for dinner, Iโd think to myself,ย We have chicken, lets make some breaded cutletsย orย We have ground turkey, letโs make turkey chili. Even though I had known for a while that reducing our meat intake was one of the most impactful ways we could personally combat climate change, I suddenly found the conversation was getting too loud to ignore anymore, especially at my own dinner table, with my own children. Plus, I was getting older! I wanted to eat better, I wanted to do better, I wanted toย feelย better โ about my health and about my choices.
This bookย is about how I challenged my family to flip the formula. What if we limited our meat intake to the weekends? What if we became Weekday Vegetarians? Honestly, when I pitched the book, I wasnโt 100% sure I could do it. Soย so many of the iconic recipes at my table (not to mention in my books and on my blog) were meat-based. But Iโm convinced that the it was the forgiving formula โ five nights on, two nights off โ that helped my family stay committed. In fact, it was so successful that plant-based eating started creeping into weekend meals and restaurant orders, eventually, so much so that we could legit call it a Lifestyle. Do we have a long way to go? Of course we do. But it feels good to have taken one very large step in the right direction.
Iโm not going to lie: The deliciousness of the dinners we discovered along the way helped a lot, too. There are of 100 of them in the book including an entire section devoted to what I call โHooks,โ i.e. that one moment on the plate that gets everyone at the table genuinely excited about dinner. Think: A honey-crusted cornbread to serve with a three-bean chili; or spicy peanut sauce to drizzle over steamed kale or crispy tofu; or pickled onions to put on top of literally anything, especially the veggie burger which I am obsessed with and eat once a week.
And do I even need to say it? The food is easy! Fast! Fresh! Healthy! All the things a weekday cook depends on not just toย surviveย dinner, but to love it, tooโฆ.
Trust me when I say you will be hearing SO much more about this, but for now I wanted to let you know thatย The Weekday Vegetariansย is available from all your favorite retailers. You can also subscribe to my newsletter and followย #theweekdayvegetariansย on instagram for real-time updates.
So excited!!! Itโs been fun following this journey on your blog & insta, and now we get to see the finished product of the book. Canโt wait to get my copy. ๐
First time commenter and want you to know this speaks to me SO MUCH. I love a hamburger more than anything, but one of my goals for the year was to master 7 delicious vegetarian dinners for all the reasons you give. I will be buying this book.
Iโm a vegetarian who has been reading and loving your blog for years and years (always sending recipes to my husband, an omnivore) โ but who hasnโt been able to eat most of your recipes. Needless to say, super excited to order this and so happy to get to enjoy not just your endearing and funny writing, but your food!
My teen son gifted The Weekday Vegetarians to me last year. Interesting choice, as he loves meat. Iโve been enjoying your book, having made several recipes. Itโs been helpful with using our CSA this summer. Tonight was the best so far: Andyโs Sunday Enchiladas with red enchilada sauce, made on a weeknight just like you said it could. I used home cooked pinto beans (made ahead and frozen for a moment such as this one) and made the sauce. Truly mmm and very satisfying. Thank you! PS: I *really* donโt like beans but try to use them because health. This recipe works for me.
Just placed a pre-order with my local indie.
I often audition cookbooks by checking them out at the local library first. I remember when I checked your first cookbook out, I realized that there werenโt many recipes that would work for our family (because we try to mostly cook and eat vegetarian food). SoโฆIโm pleased that you now have a vegetarian cookbook coming out!
Pre-ordered! I went through my local bookstore instead of these links. I cannot wait until August 31! Iโve been ready to go weekday vegetarian for a while, but itโs going to take some delicious recipes to convert my family, who has outlawed beans, mushrooms, and tofu!
I preordered 2 of these. When will I get them?
I just bought your book and tried โ and loved โ the zucchini pizza. I was interested to learn that Parmesan isnโt considered vegetarian; but did you know that Worcestershire sauce also isnโt vegetarian as it contains anchovies?