The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes Carnivores Will Devour

by Kim O'Donnel

Founded by Johns Hopkins University, the "Meatless Monday" campaign counts among its fans Michael Pollan, Sheryl Crow, and Paul McCartney. From Baltimore Public Schools to the city of Ghent, Belgium, the eat-less-meat buzz is spreading worldwide.With reports about the ill effects of consuming too much meat--for us, and for the environment-- The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook speaks directly to lifelong meat lovers who know it's time for a change but need an accessible and nonthreatening guide to wave them into the kitchen and get them started.Written by a fellow meat-lover who can relate to the challenges of dietary change, The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook dishes up fifty-two tasty and satisfying meatless menus--one per week--that mirror the do-able, incremental approach recommended by environmental and medical communities.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Vegetarian

Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2010

About the author

Kim O'Donnel is a twenty-year veteran of the food world as a chef, journalist, and teacher. She has dispensed culinary advice and covered food policy for numerous publications, including Civil Eats, the Washington Post, and USA Today. The first Meatless Monday blogger on record, O'Donnel is a known authority on the continuing trend of eating less meat for health and environmental reasons. She is the author of The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook (2010), The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations (2012), and PNW Veg (May 2017). A graduate of The Institute of Culinary Education, Kim lives in Seattle, where she spreads the gospel of home cooking.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

We were looking for some vegetarian recipes after a meat lover in the family had a cardiac event. He is the one who has always been the most interested in meat. The rest of us were happy with occasional bean dishes. I wouldn’t say that the ones we tried seemed like excellent substitutes for meat dishes, but they will work. Next time, we will tweak them to add more flavor, like doubling some of the spices. Of course, it could be that our dried spices are not as fresh as the author’s are. We will definitely be using some recipes in this book, with just a little adjusting of spices. It gives us extra meal choices that will be eaten rather than avoided.

[Rebekka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this book, but none of the recipes we tried tickled our fancy.

[Dray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure i buy the central premise of the cook, which is to entice meat lovers to embrace less meat centric meals. The book also does not acknowledge the presence of all the many faux meat products. Nonetheless, the recipes are good solid vegetarian recipes, suitable for those who don't eat meat.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I've already admitted that I'm in need of some inspiration in the kitchen. Well another fact is that I love my meat. Steaks, chicken and more... I'm quite a fan. When it comes to fruits and veggies, it's not that I don't like them. After all, I adore zucchini, squash, portebellas, tomatoes, strawberries, etc etc, but when it comes to accessorizing my meat meal with them my average idea is a bag of frozen steam veggies. And trust me after a while that gets dull. Then, with all that in my mind I see a cookbook called "The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook", what could be better?!

I am in desperate need for suggestions and creative ideas to incorporate more vegetables and the idea of "vegetarian dishes carnivores will devour" is absolutely divine.

Divided by seasons, there are 52 menus to choose from with both calm and exotic ideas. This is so much more than rabbit food! (With a recipe per week, this would make for a great Julia and Julie type personal challenge). Reading the intro about how the author came across an ideal for meatless meals through health concerns is not a new idea, but it is a refreshing one to take seriously. Learning about a 1918 cookbook with an effort to conserve food resources, including meat as well as the public health campaign from 2001 to have "meatless Mondays" is new to me and fascinating.

Loving it. For my Sister B there are the GL = Gluten-Free and for my SisterL there are KIDDO = Kid friendly meals (which with 6+ kids might be handy...). There are also V = Vegan for those "crazy" people and more. I love the seasonal outlook to this cookbook. It seems so often with other books and recipes I will find that they say to use it at the best time of year for ____ when it's in season. Yet, not having a bachelor of science in farming (or agriculture) I can never keep it straight on what vegetable is in season and when. This helps!

The Pantry Lexicon is awesome and worthy of purchase on it's own. I'm just glad it is included here. Oh and for those that need a little more enticement there is a multiple page spread of colored cuisine photos mid-book.

*Thanks to Lara Simpson of Perseus Books for providing a copy for review.*

[Andrea]

I was fortunate enough to take a fabulous cooking class Kim O'Donnal taught at PCC Market in her home town of Seattle. It was a wonderful dinner based on the Meatless Monday movement utilizing the delicious recipes in her cookbook. Please trust me when I tell you the recipe for her corn bread alone makes the book worth the cost. Whereas some vegetarian cookbook focus on making you think you're eating meat by giving you some type of fake "meat", her focus is to use the concept of umami to create foods that are going to provide the same mouth and mentally satisfying feeling that meats provide. I tried several of her dishes and they were all delicious. I'm looking forward to trying the twice-baked sweet potatoes and her Shepherd's Pie with Chard-Lentil Filling (Shepherd's Pie is one of my family's favorite dishes so if I'm able to make it meatless and still have happy customers, I'll know this is a cookbook to keep on the shelf in the kitchen).

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

PROS: The recipes are easy to follow. The recipes are broken into meals as opposed to just separate recipes, so you can easily meal plan. The book makes the timing very easy, as it gives advice on the order to cook the separate recipes for each meal. The food tastes delicious.

CONS: So many dirty dishes!

Overall: I'm going to buy this cookbook. The four recipes I've sampled leave me feeling affirmed that the other recipes in the book will be equally delicious. It was nice to have a book that left the meat out and focused on the vegetables, in ways that go beyond a green salad or steamed green beans. I like how the cookbook was arranged, though more pictures would only have made it better!

You can see my whole review here: http://lawstudentscookbook.wordpress....
where I made four dishes to review

[Adrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying cooking my way through this book. The recipes are divided by season, which makes it easy to find a sizzling meal for a cold night and helps make good use of seasonal produce. The recipes are also grouped together by meal; main dish and sides all together, which I have found to be very handy.

I bought this book for my husband as a Christmas gift (a sort of "ha-ha" gift. I am a vegetarian and he eats a hamburger everyday.) I didn't expect to like it so much myself! There have been no complaints from the meat-eaters, either.

Additional note: As much as I do appreciate a vegetarian cookbook that is not focused weight loss and counting calories, I my taste preference is to use about half the fat/oil suggested in most of these recipes.

[Blog on Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those cooks looking to keep “Mr. Sausage” happy, O’Donnel recommends starting with a Meatless Monday routine (which, it turns out, is also environmentally friendly – you’ll have to read about it.) She’s got recipes for a tempeh hoagie, tofu barbecue and chick pea “crab cakes” designed to make you (eventually) forget about the real thing. We can’t say we’d be down with everything on the list, but the once a week meal concept is a good way to start for the uninitiated.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the cook's bookshelf . . . at our house we're trying to do Meatless Mondays, so this provides us with some delightful alternatives to the pasta dishes or my other constant "go-to" vegetarian recipes that my family would actually eat. Did find the layout of some of the recipes, which spread out over multiple pages, a bit hard to follow with all of the flipping. A good resource, nonetheless!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to get this cookbook, as I'm always on the lookout for good meatless options. However, the recipes were pretty general and similar to ones I've found elsewhere. I did like four in particular, that sounded particularly yummy: Caramelized Onion, Pear and Goat Cheese Filling for a Savory Crostata (free-form tart); Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce; Pepita-Crusted Tofu and Red Lentil Dal with Cumin-Fried Onions and Wilted Spinach. 2 stars.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the way she starts each recipe with a story and I took note of a handful of recipes to try. I have started one to two meatless nights a week as well and am always looking for hardy recipes to please my meat eating husband - This book definitely had a few!

[Kathleen Flinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my go-to cookbooks for vegetarian fare. I've made recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and several birthday dinners from Kim's excellent book. She has a way of coaxing flavor out of simple vegetables and elevating them from simple to simply satsifying.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but they definitely seem hearty and satisfying enough for meat lovers. We definitely need more cook books like this!

[Betsy]

Had to return it to the library, but will come back to it someday.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good ideas in here, but also a lot of filler (does anyone really need a recipe for grilled cheese?!) and a lot of "meh".

[Susan]

Recipes look good, but too long and fussy.