The Weekday Vegetarian Challenge
If "eat less meat" is a New Year's resolution, you're in the right place
Good morning and a Big Happy New Year to this wonderful Dinner: A Love Story community. I’m using these last few days of the long holiday break to polish up my list of resolutions, and I thought you might like to know what I have so far:
Put my phone away during day-to-day human interactions like ordering coffee, riding the elevator with neighbors, waiting for an event to start, etc.
Learn how to wear make-up, or at least learn how to apply foundation (is that what you call it?)
Check in with friends more often by phone and FaceTime
Go to more small museums in New York, not just the big ones
Play a sport, don’t just work out
And of course, there’s my evergreen: EAT LESS MEAT AND MORE VEGETABLES
This is true all year, of course, but it’s particularly front-of-mind after a holiday season of…well, what is the opposite of mindful eating? But that’s why I love the Weekday Vegetarians strategy I first explored in my book series — it allows for forgiveness, it takes into account that we are human, it meets you where you are.
Today’s menu plan is Week 1 of The Weekday Vegetarian Four-Week Challenge, and just like 2025’s Challenge, each plan will suggest five vegetable-forward, satisfying, meat-free dinners — some new bangers, some old favorites, some cameo recipes from my plant-based food-hero friends. If you only end up making three or four of them, or even just one — guess what? That’s amazing, you started!
As part of the challenge, you’ll receive a weekly meal plan (plus shopping list) in your inbox every Friday in January, and as always, I’ll never give you three straight nights of pastas or beans. Mixing things up is crucial to success so in the next four weeks, you’ll be adding a range of recipes to your vegetarian repertoire: egg-based and tofu-based dishes, sandwiches, tacos, robust dinner salads and soups, and “large format” recipes like casseroles, enchiladas, and lasagnas. It’s going be fun, I promise.
Week 1 Recipes
For your first week, I’m keeping things streamlined with All-in-One Dinners, i.e. meals that require no side dishes. And with no further ado, here’s your line-up…