Books to Veg With: Celebrating World Vegetarian Month

Grab a book and a plate for a culinary adventure during World Vegetarian Month!

Perhaps you and your family are already filling that plate with meatless dishes or you’re hoping to add more such options on a regular basis. Or maybe one of your kids has nudged everyone in a new dining direction.

That’s what happened in her family, said Emily Schuster, a mother of two and a writer/editor in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Two years ago, her oldest child, now 14, decided to become a vegetarian, “because of their deep love for animals,” she said in an email interview.

“I admired their conviction,” Schuster continued, “and thought it was pretty great that they … wanted to live life consistent with their values.”

Fifteen or 20 years ago such a firm stand may have disconcerted many parents, but the number of individuals identifying as vegetarian, vegan or “flexitarian” (only occasionally eating meat) has steadily increased.

According to a 2022 poll by the Baltimore-based Vegetarian Resource Group, 6% of Americans describe themselves as vegetarian or vegan (up from 1 percent in 1994, the first year they collected such data).  An additional 12% usually eschew meat, with more than 45% sometimes doing so.  The reasons may vary – health, economy (meatless is less expensive) or concern for the environment and animal welfare.

And though her family, like many, may have mixed levels of commitment, Schuster and her husband have learned to navigate those food-prep challenges.  They keep an eye on the nutritional needs of their vegetarian oldest (especially protein, iron and vitamin B12) while also making sure their youngest, 11, gets the meat he enjoys.

It does take a “little more planning and strategizing,” said Schuster. She will often make a “really easy” meat dish and a “vegetarian dish like beans and rice that can be a standalone main dish and also go with the chicken.”  She and her husband eat both, their son concentrates on the chicken and rice, and her oldest dines on the vegetarian meal.  And some meatless dishes – pasta, pizza, chili, lentil soup, baleadas (a Central American tortilla wrap) – appeal to the whole family.

With the Academy of Nutrition and Dietics providing helpful guidance in 2016 on vegetarianism as a healthy choice across the lifespan, including pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence, this month may offer a playful challenge to your family, to try eating more meatless dishes and perhaps cook a few together.

Tots – 7 years old

Linus the Vegetarian T. Rex

By Robert Neubecker

Beach Lane, 2013, $16.99

Ruth Ann and her T. rex buddy Linus feast on arugula and broccoli as they greet friends like a Triceratops named Ellen and fend off a fierce band of velociraptors. Who would have guessed that a large dinosaur could prove a charming gateway to healthy greens and vegetarian food choices, but Linus introduces both with bonhomie.

Preteens

Living on the Veg

By Clive Gifford

Recipes by Jacqueline Meldrum

Free Spirit, 2019, $18.99

As colorful as a vegetable garden, this book anticipates and answers kids’ questions in engaging double-page spreads with definitions, reasons for eschewing meat and information on health benefits and how to read labels. An especially lively touch is the gallery of renowned vegetarians from history, with the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, artist/inventor Leonardo Da Vinci and author Louisa May Alcott amongst them. The book works to dispel ingrained biases – such as vegetarian cooking being laborious and bland – by providing quick, tasty recipes. Anyone for puff pizza pies?

Meatless? A Fresh Look at What You Eat

By Sarah Elton

Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin

Owlkids, 2017, $18.95

Sarah Elton takes readers on a fascinating journey through a history of meat-eating (including religious traditions and cultural expectations), the high cost of meat, deciding to become a vegetarian and making informed dietary choices. She shares tips from kid vegetarians and a menu for a meat-free week. The latter offers an omnivorous individual or family a simple plan for a day or week during World Vegetarian Month. Bon appetit!

Omari McQueen’s Best Bites Cookbook

By Omari McQueen

BuzzPop/Little Bee, 2020, $16.99

Chef Omari McQueen was 12 years old when he wrote this plant-based cookbook and he was already the founder of a vegan dip company called Dipalicious and a pop-up restaurant. Living in London, he draws culinary inspiration from his Caribbean roots, since his family is from Jamaica and Antigua, but he also loves to mix flavors and ingredients from various cultures for his own unique spin on recipes for hummus, tropical pizza and chickpea curry. This beautifully photographed and designed cookbook includes easy-to-follow recipes, safety tips, definitions of cooking utensils and terms, fun food facts – did you know chickpeas were used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans? – and photos of Omari and his family. Sure to inspire youngsters to stir up a few vegetarian dishes of their own.

Teens

The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook

Edited by America’s Test Kitchen

America’s Test Kitchen, 2015, $34.99

I still consult my beloved Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book, a gift from my sister when I graduated from college, which schooled me on unfamiliar cooking terms. It now sports handwritten notes and food stains on family favorites like buttermilk pancakes and apple pie. This vegetarian cookbook of “700 foolproof recipes” may function much the same for a teenager or young adult learning to cook. The recipes are clearly marked as to whether they also might be fast (45 minutes or less from start to finish) and gluten free and/or vegan, and there is extremely helpful basic information on necessary equipment and choosing and cooking vegetables. And it ranges around the world to include baba ghanoush, pad thai and paella as well as the standard fried eggs and granola. The long-established America’s Test Kitchen also published the cookbook Vegan for Everybody in 2017.

Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com