Allison is an acclaimed cookbook author and award-winning blogger of the Yummy Beet. I recently received a review copy of her newest book Modern Lunch +100 Recipes for Assembling the New Midday Meal which was released March 5, 2019.
Modern Lunch is a great source of reference for lunch planning. It’s a hardcover book with beautiful photos, brilliantly crafted recipes, and informative details. The book is filled with 100+ healthy and fresh inspired recipes, many with global inspiration coming from Allison’s travels. I found the book to be an enjoyable read!
Allison has taken over the wonders of creating satisfying and nourishing lunches with her Modern Lunch book! She weaves together approachable plans for carrying out creative and healthy lunch rituals that will put hunger pangs at bay, keep you energized, and save you money. It’s next to impossible to scan this book and not have grand lunch inspirations!
All the lunches can be packed, eaten at home, shared with family and friends, or taken to a picnic. Allison guides you through meal prep, make-ahead steps, techniques, presentation, staples, required gear, and adaptations. Along the way she also shares her insights and helpful tried and tested tips.
I found the layout of the book extremely organized. It’s divided into five sections:
- Lunch to Go
- Lunch at Home
- Sharing Lunch on the Weekend
- Make Lunch Special
- The Lunch Larder
Allison then divides these five sections into 2 or 3 chapters each for a total of 12 chapters making it easy to use the book.
Recipe legend
A Recipe Legend is provided which explains the icons you’ll see in each recipe. Allison smartly offers more than just the typical Dietary Icons one would expect. She also gives icons that show you which recipes are: Packable; Make-Ahead; Reheat; Freezer-Friendly; and Lunch Notes.
Modern Lunch Club
This book is not only about recipes! In Chapter 9, Allison walks you through all the tips, themes and menu ideas you’ll need to successfully start your own Modern Lunch Club. This club is like a book club, but only here you share the joy of homemade lunches with your colleagues, friends, and family. I want a part of this because it’s a fun and smart way to connect and share meals with others!
The recipes
In Modern Lunch, there are lots of plant forward recipes to satisfy vegetarians as well as other recipes and options that include meat, fish or seafood to satisfy all types of diets. The book also includes some sweet healthier dishes to please anyone’s sweet tooth.
Each recipe has an enticing photo styled and shot by Allison. The recipes are full of fresh, sourceable, healthy ingredients and are easy to assemble. With each one, you get an introduction, clear concise ingredients lists, directions, helpful icons, and footnotes with useful tips.
As soon as I started reading the book I was drawn into it and started flagging so many recipes! I’ve already made a few from my list of favorites and they’ve been effortless to prepare and super flavourful, just like Allison promises, including:
Sweet Potato, Chard & Smoked Cheddar Frittata (page 172)
Berry and Apple Oat Squares (page 216)
More favourites from the book
- Lemon Barley & Roasted Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese (page 138)
- Sesame Orange Vinaigrette (page 237)
- Broccoli, Rigatoni & White Bean Minestrone (page 57)
- California Lunch Bowl (page 95)
- Greens & Farro with Chicken Avocado & Honey-Mustard Dressing (page 135)
- Just-Add-Water Miso, Sweet Potato & Soba Ramen (page 45)
Recipe Review: 9-Layer Salad with Lemon Curry Dressing
I knew I had to try this 9-Layer Salad with Lemon Curry Dressing for a girlfriends lunch I was hosting. We always enjoy hearty salads so I thought this was an exceptional choice as it’s distinctly different from other green salads.
Allison wrote this recipe as a “meal in a jar” assembled trifle-style. I happen to have a trifle bowl which is rarely used so I decided to layer the entire ingredients in my trifle bowl instead of individual jars.
This salad was a huge hit and scored lots of points for presentation and flavour! It’s full of fresh vegetable layers with different textures and colours like peas, fennel, radicchio, carrots, parsley, and arugula.
In this recipe, Allison provides an option list for layering must-have proteins. From that list, I choose canned white beans because I love their creaminess and I wanted to keep the salad vegetarian. On top of all the amazing salad layers, nutty Parmesan cheese shavings are piled on making the salad so irresistible.
The Lemon Curry Dressing is so simple to whisk up and is insanely delicious. Double the dressing recipe and you’ll thank me later! Store the extra dressing in a mason jar in the refrigerator and use it throughout the week for other salads.
I will definitely be making this 9-Layer Salad with Lemon Curry Dressing recipe again either in jars for a pack & go lunch, or in a trifle bowl for a sit-down lunch.
Bookshelf recommendation
I recommend this lunch-worthy book for busy people who are short on time and budget but crave healthy lunches with lots of options. Whether you take lunches to go or eat at home, it’s a helpful exciting book filled with plenty of mouthwatering recipes and lots of useful and informative tips. Pick up a copy of Modern Lunch and you’ll be looking forward to lunch every day!
Disclosure: I received a review copy of Modern Lunch +100 Recipes for Assembling the New Midday Meal by Allison Day, but not otherwise compensated. All opinions, as usual, are my own.
Publishing Information:
Title: Modern Lunch +100 Recipes for Assembling the New Midday Meal
Author: Allison Day
Publisher: Appetite by Random House®
ISBN: 978-0-14-753100-1
Acknowledgment: Excerpted from Modern Lunch: +100 Recipes for Assembling the New Midday Meal by Allison Day. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Great review – very thorough and the book sounds amazing.