You/Partner is vegetarian and you/partner is not.

queenpushycat

My topic should be "You/partner are/is vegetarian and partner/you is/are not."

Okay, something is seriously wrong with my English. but I haven no idea which category of MB to put this topic. But I just need opinions to all wonderful and smart people of MFP out here.

My question is that is anyone of you here is a vegetarian and your partner is not, or the other way round? How do you cope with the meal you cook for them or they cook for you? How do you deal with that?

Thanks all!

meerkat70

We largely cook vegetarian. If he wants meat, he generally cooks it himself. I'm not such an hysterical vege that I won't stick a bit of flesh in a pan and cook it though, if needed.

A bit of flexibility and common sense goes a long way.

There's an old Australian Women's Weekly cookbook called 'Almost Vegetarian', which has great ideas for meals you can just add a bit of meat to at the end for the meat eater in your family.

meerkat70

(But all meat in my house has to be free range and ethically farmed etc)

rml_16

I'm veg, The Boyfriend isn't.

We generally will make our own food because of it, but he loves to make stuffed shells, so he makes that a lot for me. And I will cook meat for him. On those occassions, I just eat the sides that I make. It really isn't that difficult. And he'll eat some vegetarian foods.

Christmas Eve, a friend of mine who's vegan came for dinner, so I made spaghetti and sauce (with tofu for a protein in the sause), veggies and garlic bread with a vegan "butter." My friend brought vegan muffins and cookies and The Boyfriend enjoyed all of it. I did tease him about it, though. :-)

queenpushycat

(But all meat in my house has to be free range and ethically farmed etc)

Wow! O_O How do you... find those meat?

queenpushycat

I'm veg, The Boyfriend isn't.

We generally will make our own food because of it, but he loves to make stuffed shells, so he makes that a lot for me. And I will cook meat for him. On those occassions, I just eat the sides that I make. It really isn't that difficult. And he'll eat some vegetarian foods.

Christmas Eve, a friend of mine who's vegan came for dinner, so I made spaghetti and sauce (with tofu for a protein in the sause), veggies and garlic bread with a vegan "butter." My friend brought vegan muffins and cookies and The Boyfriend enjoyed all of it. I did tease him about it, though. :-)

Cool! I'm glad your bf enjoyed the food... lol! I guess I gotta let mine try some food though :P

nancyjo75

We are both meat eaters, however I have a friend that is married to a vegetarian. She happily eats meatless meals 3 to 4 times a week. On the other days, she makes meals where her meat can easily be added to the dish after separating some out for her partner. For example, she might have chicken stir fry and he might have tofu stir fry. She cooks the veggies first and the chicken separately and then just adds things together at the end. She might have a hamburger on the grill, while her partner has a veggie burger.

bobogal

My husband used to be a pescatarian and I will probably die before giving up meat. We ended up cooking fish at home most of the time. I get my meat fix when I eat out - I was/still am iron deficient and every now and then, my body craves a good steak. However, he's now come over to the dark side

Dtrmnd86

I just recently started taking baby steps to become vegetarian and my fiance is a typical steak and potatoes kind of guy. We still have chicken, but I am no longer eating red meat. He has bought one steak for himself, and I am pretty sure I'm going to make him cook it himself. Once I cut out all meat, I will probably still cook some for him and the kids, since this is my decision and not theirs, but I'm going to try to buy the healthier stuff for them.

rml_16

I'm veg, The Boyfriend isn't.

We generally will make our own food because of it, but he loves to make stuffed shells, so he makes that a lot for me. And I will cook meat for him. On those occassions, I just eat the sides that I make. It really isn't that difficult. And he'll eat some vegetarian foods.

Christmas Eve, a friend of mine who's vegan came for dinner, so I made spaghetti and sauce (with tofu for a protein in the sause), veggies and garlic bread with a vegan "butter." My friend brought vegan muffins and cookies and The Boyfriend enjoyed all of it. I did tease him about it, though. :-)

Cool! I'm glad your bf enjoyed the food... lol! I guess I gotta let mine try some food though :P

The funny thing is, he ends up eating a lot of veg stuff just simply because he's too lazy to make his own. I make big batches of things like vegetarian chilis and soups to eat throughout the week, so it's easy for him to just grab it rather than make his own food.

And he ALWAYS likes it, but it's tough getting him to admit it because he doesn't think it's "manly" not to eat meat.

soymilkcoffee

When I was vegetarian the first two years my boyfriend and I were dating, we were very accommodating towards each other. I didn't lecture him on his sources of meat and he didn't lecture me about my nutrition. I usually do the cooking, so I would usually start by making a vegetarian dish, like a salad or a veggie stir fry, and cook meat on a separate pan for him.

It shouldn't be a hassle at all, if you both respect each others' views on food.

soymilkcoffee

The funny thing is, he ends up eating a lot of veg stuff just simply because he's too lazy to make his own. I make big batches of things like vegetarian chilis and soups to eat throughout the week, so it's easy for him to just grab it rather than make his own food.

And he ALWAYS likes it, but it's tough getting him to admit it because he doesn't think it's "manly" not to eat meat.

If he likes a meaty texture, I found that my man likes extra-firm tofu. Drain the tofu out of the package, and let it pat it down completely with paper towels. That'll give it a meaty texture that most non-vegetarians like. You can stir fry it on a pan, or bake it until crispy.

meerkat70

(But all meat in my house has to be free range and ethically farmed etc)

Wow! O_O How do you... find those meat?

Well, I'm lucky in that I live in a village where there's an organic, free range farm and a good butcher - so we buy our meat there. But the supermarkets stock free range, ethically produced meat. It;s a bit more expensive, but if you're only buying a little, it's well worth it?

kyoules

I am a vegetarian and my husband is not. Thankfully, he eats almost anything. I am usually the one who cooks in our house (99% of the time), so most of the time he eats vegetarian with me. When we go out he eats meat, and he usually buys some sort of chicken or beef easy frozen entree type things at Trader Joe's that he makes for himself. I keep vegetarian food interesting for him by always trying out new recipes and getting his feedback. He always says it's "pretty good" but the real test is when I ask him, "Should I make this again?" LOL Right now he is trying to cut back on pastas, breads, and processed grains, so it can be a challenge to cook for both of us. Interestingly enough, at his most recent Dr. appointment he was deficient in one of the B vitamins and vitamin D, but my levels are fine. I am actually the opposite of anemic (I have more than enough iron) but not so much that it is hurting me.

SaundraM2009

My husband decided to be a pescitarian at the beginning of the year, so I just make all of our shared meals such that he can eat them. I happily continue to eat lean meat.

MaximalLife

I'd divorce her and marry somebody fun.

The way I see it, if God did not want us eating animals, why did He, in His infinite wisdom, make them out of meat?

Sweet_Potato

My girlfriend eats fish and seafood but no meat. Fortunately I'm not much of a meat-eater myself, and I love vegetarian cooking. Our meals at home are vegetarian, with occasional fish. Once every month or two I might eat chicken when we go out, but that's it. I've never been into red meat and found I've stopped eating it entirely since I've been dating her. Even though I'm an omnivore I find it easier to date a vegetarian than another omnivore.

queenpushycat

Haha, you guys are awesome I have to actually deal with my partner in the future when we live together. I'm sure gonna be sneaky like "oops, we ran out of meat." Because I know he is very lazy when it comes to getting food. :P Hahaha..

futuresize8

I'm pescatarian (sometimes fish eater , otherwise vegetarian) and my husband is not.

My solution was to become a better cook, and make meat for him when he requests it.

This means that the majority of the meals I cook are vegetarian, unless we're grilling fish. I maybe eat fish 3 - 5 times a month.

On the weekends, he loves bacon and eggs for brunch. I make that for him and something else (veggie sandwich, soup, etc.) for myself. I love to cook, so I don't mind preparing two little meals at once.

I'd never try to convert him - practicing a food discipline is as personal as religion.

He supports my efforts and I've been at it 20 years now and was never a big fan of meat anyway, so it's never been tough for me.

I've learned to use spices and create complex flavors by reading recipes (don't usually follow them, though), using high-quality ingredients, and not trying to "replace" meat...rather I try to make the food taste amazing without it.

I strictly avoid "processed soy" that tries to taste meat-like, so all that stuff is out. Once you've had a marinated portabella charred to perfection on the grill, veggie burgers pale in comparison!

rwozzie

I am vegan and my husband is an omnivore. We usually just make our own meals during the week because of our different work schedules. On the weekends I will make vegan meals and he will either eat it as is or make a bit of meat/dairy/eggs to add to it. I told him when we first started dating that I wouldn't cook meat for him, and he is totally fine with that. I think every couple figures out a way to make it work for them. Good luck!

danielle1983cov

I am veggie, my partner is definitely a meat eater! I will cook the meat and just tend to make the dinner in two different pots: one for meat, one for Quorn. That way, we are eating roughly the same foods to make it a little easier. Obviously it's a little different when he has steak etc, but then I will just have a meat replacement instead. I am going to try and coax him with meat substitutes though now that we are eating more healthily - I think I can probably get away with the Quorn mince without him noticing too much!