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

binariiangel

My husband and I are not vegetarians, but my parents who we rented the basement apartment from before they moved are. I did most of the cooking though because while I love my mom dearly she could burn water lol. The easiest way I found to deal with this issue is to just plan meals such as Sloppy Joes which has a vegetarian alternative, I would make our burger or turkey in one pan, then in another pan I would use Morning Star Meal Starts crumbles and just do it like I would the normal sloppy Joe. Same with stir fry I would make the veggies and rice and whatever meat, and just leave it all separate so then that way everyone could kind of build their own stir fry. Also a great alternative for burgers is portabello mushroom caps with garlic, salt, pepper, and McCormicks steak seasoning and then with some melted cheese of their favorite variety in them. They're a great crowd pleasure because my husband and Grandfather who are meat eaters love them as well. Hope this helps, feel free to message me/add me as a friend if you need any more help with meal ideas!

monroe61

I am the only veggie in my whole family! All we do is cook everything the same and then take some out for me.
We cook the meat separate and my husband adds it to his own dish later.

Spaghetti, tacos, Alfredo!

I do make creamy baked ziti with no meat but he loves it and I make a red and white tortellini with just cheese tort. I have been a vegetarian for 17 years now and been with my hubby for almost 11 so he is just used to it by now and actually prefers some stuff without the meat now.

erickirb

My wife is vegetarian, and so me and my son eat about an 85% vegetarian diet as well (flexetarian). If you are the vegetarian and you do most of the cooking tell them they eat what you make or they have to make their own.

FairuzyAmanuzy

We my husband isn't vegetarian , but we do eat differently. I am eating Primal, so I don't eat wheat/gluten, processed foods, sugar, legumes, or dairy. Leaving me with Meat & poultry, veggies, fruits, seeds and nuts. He is whatever the hell he wants. haha. SO basically I will either cook for us both and just cook a side of rice or pasta for him.....or we just make seperate meals. I usually cook mine but he is a big fan of the chef boy R Dee or sandwiches...quick stuff. I think if you are both relaxed and non judgemental of each other you can work out any food differences easily.

KayakAngel

I'm a vegetarian, my husband and sons are not. My husband does almost all the cooking, though since going vegetarian, I do jump in and do more cooking than before. It really hasn't been a problem. I eat mostly what they eat, replacing whatever meat they're eating with a sweet potato or other veg. When we stir fry or make pasta sauces, we just add the meat/tofu separately. When they have burgers or sandwiches with meat, I have a veggie burger. Honestly, if your partner supports you even a little, there shouldn't be a huge problem.

fakeplastictree

Just add meat to one dish. Ex) Quesadillas - I put mushrooms and squash in mine, and chicken in his. Lasagna - mushrooms in mine, beef in his. Burgers - Portobello burger for me, beef/turkey for him. Or if I make something like squash casserole or eggplant "meat"balls then I just add a meat like shake and bake chicken or pork tenderloin for him. It's not that hard it just takes planning.

madamepsychosis

I'm vegetarian, my boyfriend isn't. It's not a big deal. We like to cook together and he's not one of these people that feels like a meal isn't complete without meat in it. He's actually said he'd rather eat a tasty, vegetarian meal than some cheap grade F burger before. If he wants meat, he generally just cooks it himself. We're moving in together in a few months and we'll cook together when we want something similar, but are equally fine with making our own, separate meals.

PeaceLoveVeggies

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?

You're made out of meat too. Shall I cook you up for dinner with some potatoes on the side?

jaebarnett

My husband and I had this issue the first 4 years of our relationship. Either he ate what I cook or he cooked for himself. Usually he ate what I cook. He had meat when we went out, and if we were having burgers at home - whoever cooked made 1 veggie and 1 hamburger. The first answer on this thread had it in a nutshell perfectly.

ADobs

I'm a pescatarian and my husband is a full on carnivore and does not eat fish, so we eat different things. I do cook for him about 2-3 times a week and don't mind cooking meat for him. He on the other hand, won't really make anything for me, but that's at my request. It has never been a problem.

When we eat with my family (who are European and only eat meat!) or with his family who also eat a lot of meat, I just eat the non-meat food, but neither go out of their way to make something special for me, which is fine by me and I don’t expect them to. It’s not like I’m sitting there starving with nothing to eat watching them all eat.

McFatterton

I'm a vegetarian, my husband is not. A typical meal in our house is a vegetable, starch and some type of near for him. I just ready the sides (which are the best part anyways). Thankfully, my hubby doesn't mind veggie meals so probably 3 or 4 nights a week dinner is all vegetarian. If I make fajitas or a stir fry, I'll cook chicken (our pork or beef) for him separately from the veggies.

Tigermomma66

I am so glad to see this thread! Thanks for posting it.

I have always leaned vegetarian, but I never went really "went for it" all the way. I just don't tend to like meat very much - never been a political/social commentary type thing but personal preference. I feel, too, that I just don't digest it as well, but there's nothing specific (it doesn't make me sick, just sluggish). My sister has fibromyalgia and her doctors (two of them - family and a rheumatologist) recommended a vegan diet, citing "The China Study" (??). Since she has started that, and I am seeing her improvements I want to try it.

My DH is a true carnivore - he complains when there's not enough meat in the pasta sauce, :frown: It's funny, too, considering his mother is full Japanese! She has cooked traditional Japanese for him but couldn't easily find tofu when he was younger - so he doesn't really like it. She did teach me miso soup last weekend, and I loved it (first time ever).

Maybe someone could start a group and we could swap ideas, etc. for mixed families. ??

Dragonfly1996

I am pescatarian & hubby is a fully fledged meat eater!! He eats fish & veggie most of the time as I do the cooking!! We are tight for time during the week due to work & fitness schedules so it makes life easier.

I am not adverse to cooking him meat (although I don't like touching raw meat or like the smell) so I do cook him meat at least once a week or sometimes cook something that can be done both ways ie casseroles.

If we go out to eat hubby will generally always have meat ie steak.

Only time it causes an issue is when I think of doing something in the slow cooker as only have one & it would always be veggie!!

Been interesting to read how others deal with this issue!!

rustiemae

Hi. I am not a vegetarian but I try to only eat meat maybe once a week or once every other week. I typically make some alternative protein for myself when I cook dinner. My husband and his two children live with us and they are all meat eaters. It's difficult sometimes to always plan two types of proteins but once you get used to it, you just do it like anything else. I try to always buy organic meat and local if possible. My family understands my views but are already set in their ways so I don't constantly push them. Best of luck to you

runningonfit

i have stocked my fridge with my favorite meat substitutes, and it has become a weekly tradition for him to try one of them. So far he likes the fake chiken patties a lot so thats become a regular veggie meal for us. Also he is very sweet and always makes sure to have some sort of soup or sandwich makings at his place that i can eat when his and his rommie are ordering super meaty pizzas.

Lesa_Sass

My wife is vegetarian, and so me and my son eat about an 85% vegetarian diet as well (flexetarian). If you are the vegetarian and you do most of the cooking tell them they eat what you make or they have to make their own.

This is exactly how it works in our home, but I will have to say, my husband recognizes the value of vegetarian dishes, as well as the fact that the food I make is delicious, because if not, I would not eat it. When he has a serious hankerin for some meat, we go out to eat, or sometimes I will make it here for him on request.

I have found that my marriage works so well because we are willing to compromis.

gingerb85

I'm vegan. My husband and children are omnivores. When I first went vegan two years ago, I asked my hubby if he'd be okay with a meat meal one night, a vegan meal the next. He said yes. But since that time, we have all discovered that the vegan meals generally disappear and the meat meals don't - and no one eats the leftovers and so they must be tossed. I hate to waste food. So now we all largely eat vegan/vegetarian in the house, but they will eat meat when they are out.

I also don't have a problem occasionally cooking meat/fish. Hubby will cook it himself occasionally. But if he's willing to go along with me changing the course of our eating habits after 25 years, then I can give a little, too, and will certainly cook meat for him. Now, the longer I have been vegan, the more raw meat grosses me out and makes me gag. I totally didn't expect that. But I'll still cook it; however, if it they want burgers, hubby will mix it up and make the burgers as that is way too much touching/smelling for me. I have never asked him - he just does it. :^)

queenpushycat

Apparently me and my boyfriend just had ... an argument on this issue... :frown: He's a full-fledged meat eater and I'm a full-fledged vegetarian. We talked about getting married but he finds it annoying that because I'm a vegetarian, and that I won't be able to enjoy the food with him. I told him that I compromise with him that we can have meat together once in a while. I am just so frustrated why he can't be compromising about not eating meat? I understand how meat lovers love their meat, it's fine with me. I even offer to cook meat for him and he just brushed me off saying "you're gonna ****ed it up anyway" (literally that's what he said).

It's so stupid to fight over this... i told him i'm being considerate for him in the long run if he finds it uncomfortable or anything, we can end things now before it's too late. But, idk what he's gonna decide.

I am reading to every one of your posts and they are all wonderful... I hope all of you can give me some advice on that.

meerkat70

I guess my main advice would be to think carefully about marrying someone who finds it so hard to respect your basic value system. If you're willing to be flexible and to accomodate him, then absolutely there needs to be some give and take and he needs to accommodate you.


I can't help thinking that this is a very big overreaction on his part, and I do have to wonder whether this is the *real* issue, or whether there's something else going on that's being expressed via the Big Meat Debate. I've lived with three different meat eating partners, and none of them has ever made a big thing out of it like this.

Camilalea

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?

If God didn't want us eating each other, why'd he make us out of meat? Yeah, right. Muscles and tissues are crucial parts of any animals. If you want to eat flesh, that's fine, I'm not judging. But please don't judge people that do choose vegetarianism.

I'm a vegetarian and I refuse to support the meat industry. It's disgusting the way animals are raised for meat in awful conditions, and we are using SO much land, money, and resources to continue the meat industry. I'm not preaching to the world that they must never eat meat, I'm just saying eat free range meat and eat a human sized portion, for goodness sake!

queenpushycat

I guess my main advice would be to think carefully about marrying someone who finds it so hard to respect your basic value system. If you're willing to be flexible and to accomodate him, then absolutely there needs to be some give and take and he needs to accommodate you.


I can't help thinking that this is a very big overreaction on his part, and I do have to wonder whether this is the *real* issue, or whether there's something else going on that's being expressed via the Big Meat Debate. I've lived with three different meat eating partners, and none of them has ever made a big thing out of it like this.

Ty :ohwell: I totally agree to your point. It's just so disappointing that I've been so compromising of what he likes and who he is. And yet, when it comes to me, he won't even care about me... It's just so frustrating and I'm just tired of dealing with him. Thinking about him just makes me... bleh and think about what he said just... so ... unreasonable!

konerusp

MY husband is a vegetarian,i eat meat everyday,i just cook vegetarian food and make some chicken /fish fillets on the side,for pasta etc i cook ground turkey seperately and later mix into my bowl of pasta