Cover Image: The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook

The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook

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Member Reviews

The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook by Jenn Sebestyen is a perfect introduction to starting a Meatless Monday tradition. It is a movement that seems to be an important one that aims to improve health and the planet. This book has a multitude of ideas that will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook starts off with a little backstory written by the founder of the global Meatless Monday Movement, Sid Lerner, which makes quite a bit of sense. Mondays are definitely days that everyone seems to be in reboot mode. It is a perfect day for trying a healthy alternative to the typical meat and potatoes dinner.

❀ LOTS OF OPTIONS

Going meatless is not something that I am considering, but I do value the health benefits of adding more plants to my diet. This book does have quite a few options that have sparked my interest. The book is divided into 11 different sections:

Getting Started With Meatless Monday
Hearty Soups
Satisfying Salads
Loaded Handhelds
Bountiful Bowls
Perfect Pasta
One Pot Wonders
Comforting Casseroles
Centre Stage Vegetables
Breakfast for Dinner
Sauces and Staples
❀ SIMPLE RECIPES

Sebestyen gives tips and ideas for getting started, as well as a number of simple recipes for meals, such as soups and casseroles. If you are looking for some healthy eating options, this is one cookbook to look for. The ingredients are simple and the book has a very easy to follow format. Definitely one book that will help to kick off a new year of healthy eating habits!

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I admit as a vegetarian of 30 plus years, I was skeptical about a cookbook called "Meatless Monday." For me, the title conjured up images of clueless meat eaters creating vegetarian recipes with no flavor. I am happy to say that my worst fears were proved wrong. Although the book is based on the idea of substituting a meat-based meal with a plant-based meal one day a week, these recipes could easily be used seven days a week, as most of the main dish courses have sufficient protein to satisfy the needs of growing children and keep adults feeling satisfied long after the meal is done. This compliment unfortunately leads to my one criticism of the book, it does not include the nutritional information for each recipe. With this one exception, this book is a stellar addition to any kitchen. What I like most about this book is unlike many vegetarian/vegan cookbooks, the recipes are based on ingredients that most people will already have in your house or if not, can easily be acquired from your neighborhood grocery store. There is no need to launch a safari in search of exotic spices, grains, legumes, or vegetables from specialty stores. Better yet, these recipes are easy to prepare and many in fact require only one pot or pan, allowing more time for other activities after the meal besides cleaning. I know, because I have actually prepared a few of them. For those who have kids, each recipes suggests simple and easily accomplished ways to get young children involved in food preparation. And for those who have skeptical diehard meat eaters in the house, many of the recipes are vegan versions of familiar recipes such as sloppy joe's, mac n cheese, and beef stew. For the more adventurous, there are also Indian, Greek, and Thai inspired dishes.

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This cookbook feels like it’s been written just for me, right now. With a picky elementary schooler and a desire to go more meatless but a general sense of frustration about how to do it, this book offers realistic recipes my family might actually eat. From simple and fast recipes to tips for involving kids in the kitchen, it has all the tips I need. I can’t wait to make the black bean soup and the pot pie-like creamy vegetable soup, and the section of handheld sandwiches and snacks is on point. The various bowls are delicious looking for me and my husband... and can be deconstructed for children who don’t eat composed food yet. Breakfast for dinner is of course the section my son loves most!

Highly recommended, and I can’t wait to test out the recipes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my unbiased review.

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Meatless Monday is a campaign aimed at helping people decrease their intake of meat and increase their intake of other, healthier alternatives. As someone who cooks and eats mainly vegetarian meals at home, I was intrigued by the book and hoped to find inspiration and some new favourite recipes. I enjoyed the intro, which helped explain the campaign, how it came to be and the various benefits. Sebestyen writes in a personable, conversational manner that isn't at all preachy.

Part recipe book, part guide, the book is filled with lots of helpful ideas on how to get started with Meatless Monday, how to involve kids, what to stock your pantry with and how to keep Meatless Monday fun and exciting. There are also tips on how to prepare items people may not be familiar with if they're new to eating meatless, like tofu. The majority of the ingredients are things people will be familiar with and are easy to find.

My hang up with cook books is that I really like there to be a picture for every single recipe - it helps me visualize what it's going to look like (i.e. is this something I want to eat) and helps me know, once I'm done, whether I've got it right! So my only wish is that there were more photos/visuals for each recipe. The photos they do have are great!

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This is a good cookery book for getting the family started on having at least one meal a week that does not include meat.

The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook includes plenty of recipes: 11 Soups, 9 Salads, 12 Handhelds (such as sandwiches, wraps & burgers), 11 Bowls, 11 Pasta dishes, 11 One-pot wonders, 8 Casseroles (though not the English type of casserole more like lasagne, enchiladas or mac n cheese), 9 Main vegetable dishes , 8 Breakfasts for dinner and 12 Sauces/staples.

Has both imperial and metric measurements, easy to follow ingredients and instructions and how many portions it makes. A few ingredients are in American terms such as eggplant and zucchini. There is vibrant colour photographs in this cookery book, but not all recipes have an accompanying photo. There are also tips on how to get the children involved in the making of the recipe, be it mixing ingredients or adding their own fillings plus suggestions for swaps and accompaniments.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

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This is essentially a vegetarian cookbook but it should appeal to a wider audience. I see it geared particularly towards families as the recipes are fairly simple, easy to recreate in an average kitchen, and use easily and widely available ingredients, so perfect for dinners after a busy day at work, school or university.
There are mouth-watering photographs to help to help you see what dishes should look like, and the step by step instructions are clear with timings and guides to the number of servings each dish will create, allowing you to easily multiply to make a bigger amount or less if required. There are also tips, serving suggestions or suggestions on swaps to customise and change recipes, in the corners, so you can add variety and put your own twist on the dishes.
I love the section on bowls with chickpea and rice bowls, great for hearty winter warmers, as well as one pot wonders for delicious dishes with limited washing up!!
Overall it's a great addition to a kitchen shelf and would be great for families with one or two veggies or those who are trying to eat less meat, for reasons of health, ethics or environmental concerns, something we are all very aware of these days.

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This cookbook was filled with recipes utilizing meatless options. There were some appealing recipes with some more well-known such as cauliflower mac and cheese. The book also included staple recipes at the end for various sauces and sides.

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I have been trying to reduce the consumption of meat and being more aware of the environment and this book is the perfect introduction to new ideas to experiment in the kitchen.
What not to love? Easy to follow recipes,clear instructions and illustrations.

I love the fact that recipes are divided by type so you could find soups,bowls,salads,pastas and much more.

Not necessarily for vegetarians or vegans but a great introduction to a plant-based diet for everyone!

Thanks to the publisher and the author for the ARC of the book in exchange of my honest opinion.

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This cookbook is much more versatile than I expected. The recipes are simple and delicious. I am constantly looking for new and inventive ways to make our diet healthier and I actually lean more towards a keto or Atkins style of cooking. But theses recipes allow for a flexibility to mix these recipes into what we are already doing and I am very impressed. it s a keep and I am so glad I found it. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

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I have no intention of restricting the use of these recipes to one day a week. We have been on the whole food plant based diet very happily for several years and this cookbook adds quite a few fun recipes for us to use daily. Since the recipes are already low in added fat, I will find it easy to just leave that out without adversely affecting the dish. I was also thrilled to see that I already have most of the ingredients in my kitchen.

We immediately tried the cheesy butternut mac recipe and I was surprised at how much the sauce resembled my old cheesy potato soup recipe that I used to make before we changed out diet. It was hard to believe there was no cheese in it!

Next, I had to check out Jenn's website: veggieinspired.com. Very nice discovery. I made her apple pie bars recipe and served it as dessert for our Thanksgiving gathering. Everyone wanted to have copies of that recipe as well as the recipe for Jenn's butternut squash "cheese-sauce" which we served on the side for people to slather over the roasted veggies and our homemade tamales.

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Good variety and nice to have alternative choices for family meals. Tips to include kids are especially nice. Pictures compliment the different recipes. Would recommend.

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The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook specializes in kid-friendly, plant-based recipes. I’m a lifelong vegetarian (not the preachy kind, don’t worry!) so I’m always up for a nice meatless cookbook. This book, though, could also come in handy for people just looking to cut down on their meat consumption a little bit. I know it can be really intimidating for cooks used to putting meat in every entree and serving meat at every meal, to imagine ways to cut it out on Mondays.

As most themed cookbooks do, this one starts with a guide to the topic (how to get your kids involved, kitchen essentials, pantry items, etc)

I make homemade soup a lot, so I found The Meatless Monday cookbook’s soups section a little basic – tomato soup, minestrone, potato soup, lentil soup, etc. For a home cook just beginning to experiment with leaving meat out of soups, though, these staple soups will definitely provide a lot of help for making weeknight meals or cook-ahead batches.

I noticed immediately that on nearly every recipe page, there’s a tip on adjusting it to dietary preferences (making things gluten-free, for example, or adding other things such as cheese) or tips on how kids can help create the dish in your kitchen with you.

The salads chapter will help me learn more ways to put protein into my salads. Since I’m comfortable, as a long time vegetarian, making veggie protein dishes and sides, I often make too-simple salads. I’ll try the recipe for Black Bean Taco Salad first!

Eager to use my crockpot and Instant Pot more, I’m very interested in the One Pot Wonders chapter. The first thing I’ll try to make will be the Spiced Chickpea Stew. Next I’ll try the Thai Red Curry Noodles, but just for myself – my boyfriend dislikes curry immensely. Since I love “breakfast for dinner” and hardly ever see chilaquiles on the menu here in Seattle, I’m dying to make Skillet Chickpea Chilaquiles, too.

As I browsed through to the end of this cookbook, I found the book’s fonts a bit annoying and funky. The food photography is decent but nothing to write home about. Neither of those two things, though, will prevent you from enjoying this cookbook, and getting full use out of its helpful meatless recipes. It definitely deserves a place on your cookbook shelf if you're consciously cutting down on meat consumption, or if you entertain vegetarians at your dinner parties and need some quick and tasty dishes that both adults and kids will love.

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https://cathyThe Meatless Monday Family Cookbook by Jenn Sebestyen
Kid-Friendly, Plant-Based Recipes [Go Meatless One Day a Week - or Every Day!]

With the foreword written by Sid Lerner, founder of Meatless Monday as a global movement and an author that has been blogging plant based recipes for years this book has interesting recipes that will appeal to simple as well as more mature tastes. I can’t see my own children or grandchildren eating all of the recipes but definitely would like to try some in my own home. I have been looking for a good ranch salad dressing and this book has one. The idea of blending tomatoes and white beans with other ingredients to create a cream of tomato soup sounds intriguing. The casseroles, bowls and pasta dishes tempt me...as do many more of the recipes. I wonder if it is too late for my daughter to bring this to me when she comes for Christmas?

NOTE: The author’s blog url: https://www.veggieinspired.com/

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds Press for the ARC ~ This is my honest review..

5 Starsgeha.tumblr.com/post/189295871936/review-the-meatless-monday-family-cookbook-by

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This is a cookbook with kid-friendly, plant-based recipes for those wanting to try out a meatless Monday or wanting to add more plant-based dishes throughout the week. The recipes used no meat or dairy, and most were gluten-free or had tips on how to make them gluten-free. She did use added oil, but she also explains how to cook a dish without added oil if you want to. The recipes were often similar to familiar dishes, like mac & cheese, and usually used familiar or common ingredients that should be easy to find. The recipes look relatively simple to make. The meal recipes usually served 4 to 6 people.

She had 11 recipes for soups, 9 for salads, 12 for wraps, sandwiches, and burgers, 11 for bowls, 11 for pasta, 11 one-pot meals, 8 for casseroles, 9 for vegetable–centered main dishes, 8 breakfast for dinner dishes, and 13 sauces and staples. Each recipe included cooking tips and ways to involve kids in the cooking. She did not include estimated preparation or cooking time, nor did she include nutritional information per serving. They included pictures of many of the recipes.

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I've been a vegetarian (pescetarian technically) for almost 11 years, and there are definitely times when I feel like I'm eating the same foods over and over again. Pasta and grilled cheese can tend to get a little old sometimes! That's why I was so excited to see Sebestyen's new meatless cookbook. This book is perfect for people who are just starting to cut back or trying to eliminate meat from their diet, as well as people who have been going meatless for a long time. There's a wide range of recipes that include everything from sloppy joes to hearty soups, all with plenty of protein and healthy ingredients. There are also extra tips on how to make the recipes completely vegan or gluten-free for people who are following these diets. Overall, this cookbook felt really easy for all levels of cooking skills too. I also really appreciated the beginning section that listed some options for what to pack your pantry and kitchen with (including ingredients and cooking tools) to help get anyone started on a meat-free regimen. Plus, the pics are pretty stunning (and super appetizing) looking! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who'd like to kick their meat-eating habits to the curb - and I'm excited to try out some of the yummy recipes right away!

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This is a wonderful resource for any family. The idea of going meatless once a week (or more) can be a bit daunting but this cookbook makes it look easy! I've seen lots of vegetarian cookbooks but while my kids are better than many at eating a wide variety of veggies, serving them vegetarian meals can be daunting. I showed them this cookbook (without showing them the title) and asked them if they thought it would be one that we should get and they both said YES! There were multiple things that they were excited about trying. They were very surprised when I pointed out that every recipe was vegetarian and are excited to start a Meatless Monday trend so we can try some of these recipes out.

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Warning: do not read this book if you're already hungry.

Chock full of good ideas for tasty meat-free recipes that I'm fairly confident that my husband and son will eat, using ingredients that I have heard of and know where to buy. Plus, it's easy to read, nice to look at, and has very appetizing pictures. Putting this one on my Christmas list.

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This book is full of delicious plant-based recipes. There is a wide range of recipes and they are all very easy to replicate with simple and accessible ingredients. This can be definitely a family cookbook since there are so many tips for getting children involved in cooking. 
I really appreciate the quantities conversion into metric as it is what I use here in Europe.  
I would have preferred to see more photos.

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Very inspiring recipes here, I can't wait to try some of these out, my stomach is rumbling. The only thing I would say is that I'd love more pictures!

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I truly enjoyed this cookbook! I always wish there was a photo for every recipe so that’s something I felt I would’ve liked from this book however I appreciate it’s not easy to do that! I did like how the photos were sometimes before the recipe and sentient after. I also loved the little “tips” at the bottom; how go include your children, serving suggestions, swap-outs, etc. I thought the author kept me interacted and it felt like a personal experience. I don’t have kids however I appreciate the tips on how to incorporate kids in the recipes as I have lots of friends with little children and I could picture them helping out with these tips! Overall lovely cookbook. I would definitely buy some for my friends!

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