Publisher's Weekly Review
This enticing cookbook offers new options for those who eat plant-based meals, but still occasionally integrate meat or fish. Keeping in line with a Flexitarian diet, the recipes are primarily vegetarian and include tips for making the dishes vegan as well as suggestions for possible meat additions. Basic recipes such as vegetable stock, yogurt, fresh pasta dough, and nut milks (from almonds, hazelnuts, or cashews) give cooks a solid foundation to build upon. Breakfast options such as lentil cream cheese tartines, spinach and artichoke quiche, and black bean breakfast tostadas are familiar and comforting. Burgers and tacos are somewhat nontraditional but nonetheless appealing, including black-eyed pea sliders with pico de gallo, and Greek white bean tacos (to which shrimp or chicken can be added). Appetizing salads and soups abound, but the volume really shines with its baked dishes and casseroles, which include braised chickpeas with preserved lemon; zucchini, herb, and lemon tagine; creamy fontina and truffle lasagna; and baked lentil--spaghetti squash. Readers looking to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet will find plenty of tasty options. (Jan.)
Booklist Review
A ""semi-vegetarian"" way of eating, flexitarianism promotes a healthy diet rich in whole foods, low in processed food and sugar, and with the occasional inclusion of meat and fish to meals. With good introductory material on the benefits of flexitarianism, recommended daily allowances, and plant-based swaps, this is a highly accessible volume for home cooks who might be serving vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores all under one roof. The nearly 110 recipes are straightforward in both preparation and ingredients, and begin with basics (which include recipes for homemade versions of vegetarian building blocks like stocks, nut butter, yogurt, tofu, and sauces) before moving through breakfast, snacks, sandwiches, salads, soups, stir-fries, casseroles, and pastas, and end with eight fruit-forward, relatively low-sugar desserts. Many recipes multiply the possibilities with notes for making them vegan, vegetarian, or with meat, which seems just right for a diet focused on healthy flexibility. Readers will find both workaday and entertaining-worthy fare, like falafel two ways, paneer and sweet pepper curry, lentil meatballl arrabiata, and Thai pumpkin curry.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2019 Booklist
