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It's hard for me to go grocery shopping because my daughter and I want to be vegetarians and my SO and my son love meat. We usually have a budget of about $120/week for food. Another thing is I hate even cooking meat now and it's awkward trying to figure out what to cook for meals for people with different eating habits. It's just dinner that's the challenge during the week. Weekends is more of a challenge since my SO is home. Should I cook a regular meat meal with veggies and just eat the veggies? I just don't want to cook 2 separate meals. And also with a budget it makes it even more challenging. It's overwhelming. I'm having a hard time with this, lol. Help please? Also, I'm new at this an I worry about getting the proper nutrition, so if you could give me an example of what I should eat in a day, that would be helpful, or if you know of any websites that would be of use to me. Thanks.
Had the same issues when married to a meat-eater. I ate the vegetables while he ate those and a meat entree. Used to make a spaghetti sauce with finely chopped veggies, and then for him, add meat prior to serving. Cooking it bothered me as well.... I would ask HIM to fix his steak, pork chop, ground beef etc while I got the rest ready to serve. Worked out ok. Other times I would just buy already cooked meat...ie ham slices.
Would the guys go for even one meal a week without meat?
Most important is learning how to combine foods to give yourself complete proteins...ie beans and grains, etc. I am sure there are many websites, just Google....a cookbook too would be helpful, as most list the correct combos, tell you which foods are great for vegetarians etc. in addition to recipes.
Great foods such as beans/grains are inexpensive...eating vegetarian can easily be done on a budget. Seems it is the meat that is costly.
What guy wouldn't be happy with good mexican or italian fo
Or let the guys BBQ their meat & you serve a lentil soup, split pea soup, black bean soup or vegetable soup and salad to go with it, all low-cost, nutritious soups.
Vegetarian (bean) chili
Pretty much any lentil-based Indian recipe (there are dozens).
Tons of mexican recipes, and you can't go wrong with the old spanish standby, rice and beans.
If your vegetarianism allows for dairy, you can add cheese to almost any mexican meal for added calcium and protein. You can also enjoy khir or gulab jamun for dessert with your indian veggie meals. Khir is a watery rice pudding made with a hint of cardamom for flavoring, and gulab jamuns resemble donut holes but are actually made with powdered milk and not flour. They're quick-fried and served warm in a platter of only 1 or 2 per person, with simple syrup made with rosewater instead of regular water.
Hummus with tahini served with fresh pita for dipping, in a circle around a bed of crisp baby greens, tomato wedges, raw red onion, and drizzled with more tahini, oil and vinegar.
Most syrian foods that don't involve lamb, are great vegetarian options. Same with many other middle-eastern recipes.
Eggplant parm over linguine with home-made marinara, that you can make in an enormous batch on a Sunday and jar or freeze in one-night portions, and thaw out only as needed.
Just about the easiest thing you can do is pasta. Whether you use jarred sauce or make your own, just don't add meat to it! I buy enriched whole grain pasta, which you can get at any gocery store; it usually costs 50c to a buck more per box, but the box of Barilla that I have indicates that each serving of pasta has 17g of protein, which is only a couple grams less than a 1/4 pound of ground beef, and with drastically less fat... if your husband and son still want meat, it can be cooked separately and added towards the end.
You can cook Mexican one of a few ways - this is my specialty First way, simply omit the meat in your tacos, and instead use rice and beans. You can use a mix, or you can do it yourself... rice is super-cheap, and so are dry beans. They're extremely healthy, have tons of protein (especially black beans!), and you can easily spice them with chili powder and whatnot.
The second way is to go ahead and use a block of tofu. Crumble it with your hands until it's about the same size as ground beef, then spice it the same way you'd spice your tacos and then lightly fry it. Your husband and son may be resistant at first since it's tofu (I know a lot of people are really aghast at the notion of it), but honestly, as I discovered when I switched to vegetarianism, most of the taste you love from dishes that use ground beef are the spices.
Vegetarian eating is so easy, and vegan is even easier, except for the mainstream restaurants. Steamed veggies, raw shredded zucchini, pasta salads, and even sandwiches can provide good nutrition. I cook pinto beans, and eat tons of kale raw and steamed. A juicer can be your quickest way to good health. People believe that meals have to be large, and stuffed full, but smaller meals up to 5 times a day, when convenient, are best for the digestive system. Having to digest enormous meals robs too much energy when we are "on the run" so to speak. I nibble, and sip all day. I take a small cooler full of survival food so I am not tempted to pay 15 bux for a restaurant meal when I'm out and about. At least I know what's in it, and who fixed it.
Baked potato bar, chili bar, taco bar, spaghetti bar, pizza bar- all of these things are friendly to both veggies and meat eaters. I usually make myself some soup and some other dish and eat it through out the week. Hummus is cheap and easy to make and makes a quick snack.
Baked potato bar, chili bar, taco bar, spaghetti bar, pizza bar- all of these things are friendly to both veggies and meat eaters. I usually make myself some soup and some other dish and eat it through out the week. Hummus is cheap and easy to make and makes a quick snack.
Excellent ideas, carlitasway.
I can add fajita bar with stir-fried peppers & onions in one pan, stir-fried chicken and/or beef in another pan, and stir-fried tofu in a third pan. Everyone makes their own, serve in warm tortillas with salsa.
Lately I've been eating a baked potato with cottage cheese on it. YUM!
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Would the guys go for even one meal a week without meat? 
is learning how to combine foods to give yourself complete proteins...ie beans and grains, etc. I am sure there are many websites, just Google....a cookbook too would be helpful, as most list the correct combos, tell you which foods are great for vegetarians etc. in addition to recipes.
