Are Popular Magazines Veg Friendly?

Posted

November and December are among the most popular months for food magazines.  People are gearing up for Thanksgiving and Holiday celebrations and look to magazines for ideas and inspiration.  We thought it would be an interesting time to see how many common newsstand food-focused magazines include vegetarian and vegan recipes.

We reviewed nine popular magazines and only included the savory dishes.

Here are the results:

Gourmet Magazine – had an impressive 52 recipes, 36 of which were vegetarian however no vegan recipes were included.  The vegetarian recipes were labeled and overall we were pleasantly surprised by this magazine.

Cooking Light Magazine – had 35 recipes, 11 of which were vegetarian and 3 were vegan.  Our favorite recipes included creative variations of lentil soup, hummus and broccoli rabe.

Southern Living Magazine – had 36 recipes, 9 were vegetarian and 1 was vegan.  Southerners love the butter and the bacon and quite a few recipes are easily made vegetarian by substituting veggie broth for chicken broth and omitting a cheese garnish.

Bon Appetit Magazine – had 21 recipes, 9 were vegetarian and 1 was vegan.  Great root vegetable side dishes and some great homemade food gifts that were also vegan.  We love the new cooking product reviews too!

Fine Cooking – had 33 recipes, 8 were vegetarian and 1 was vegan.  We love the detailed section in the back with wine pairings for all of the dishes.  We also learned about a new product in the “Great Finds” section, Rau Om’s Tofu Misozuke which is tofu fermented in miso and served like a cheese spread in a bamboo cradle, we can’t wait to try it.

Food Network – had 44 recipes but only 6 vegetarian side dishes and 1 vegan recipe.  We were happy to see the Tofu-Stuffed Acorn Squash entrée included but most recipes are very meat heavy.  We do love the pages and pages of great cooking and baking housewares.

Weight Watchers – had 20 recipes and just 4 were vegetarian and 2 vegan.  We expected more vegetarian and vegan recipes in this magazine because of the emphasis on avoiding fat and calories.  Several recipes could easily be vegetarian by substituting veggie broth for chicken broth.  We bet fans of Weight Watchers magazine would welcome more plant-based recipes!

Martha Steward Living Magazine  -  had just 16 recipes but 9 of them were vegetarian and 3 were vegan.  The vegetarian and vegan recipes were delicious side dishes and we really appreciate that the magazine includes a great recipe index with categories including: Vegetarian Soups, Salads, Starters and Sides as well as Vegetarian Main Dishes.

Real Simple – had just 9 recipes but 2 of them were vegetarian.  This magazine is filled with a lot of additional cooking tips and we love that they paired a wine with the vegetarian soup recipe.