Vegetarian with an omnivore spouse? (spaghetti, meat, salad, sausage) - Vegetarian and Vegan Food - City-Data Forum

pnc66 · 12-01-2010, 02:28 PM

Hi all,

Is there anyone else here who is vegetarian but has a non-vegetarian spouse/family? I have been leaning more and more towards a veggie lifestyle but it can get difficult at times, especially since my husband loves cooking (I really don't, but I will do it) and he isn't interested in this lifestyle. He will happily eat a vegetarian meal or two, but not much more than that in a week. I'm not trying to change him, just myself.

So, how do y'all deal with this? Cook two separate meals? If the meat is separate (i.e. meat, veggies, starch, and salad type of meal), then it's easy for me - just don't eat the meat. But the problem for me comes with casseroles, chili, soup, etc. If he cooks it, there will be meat in it and I can't exactly avoid it too easily when it's all mixed up like that. If I cook it, most times he will miss the meat. Right now, I'm leaning toward cooking two different meals, but this seems crazy to me.

Thanks!
pnc

LookinForMayberry · 12-02-2010, 06:42 AM

I am going vegan, and DH loves meat. We cook our own meals, and have no problems with the arrangement.

4sankofa · 12-02-2010, 07:09 AM

I let him cook the meat items although sometime I cook them for him. We always have veggie type sides - when it comes to casseroles - 2 are made or if just the meat casserole is made - we still have sides that are just as filling.

I also try to keep veggie items in the freezer just in case ie. left over veggie spaghetii, veggie lasana, etc

pnc66 · 12-24-2010, 02:41 PM

Thanks!

I think we'll wind up doing a combination of the suggestions, cooking our own meals and keeping veggie items and sides in the freezer just in case.

Townandcountrygal · 01-02-2011, 05:04 PM

I have the same situation with my husband--he loves meat and I don't want to eat it anymore with the exception of fish once in awhile. Because he loves to cook I hate to interfere, but have to remind him "no meat for me, honey".

uptown_urbanist · 01-06-2011, 10:33 PM

We're both vegetarian, but I remember seeing a cookbook at the library recently that seemed designed for just this scenario; I don't remember the name, but the point seemed to be that it offered recipes that would work for both the vegetarians and the meat-eaters in the family. I didn't flip through it as we have no need for it, but I believe the idea was that it was essentially the same meal, just with a meat addition that could be added separately yet presumably didn't feel overly "tacked on." I'm sure you can come up with your own variations, but that book (or ones like it) might give you some additional inspiration, or maybe they've figured out some good ways to handle the things like chili and soup.

PatsCats · 01-12-2011, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4sankofa

I let him cook the meat items although sometime I cook them for him. We always have veggie type sides - when it comes to casseroles - 2 are made or if just the meat casserole is made - we still have sides that are just as filling.

I also try to keep veggie items in the freezer just in case ie. left over veggie spaghetii, veggie lasana, etc

This is what my husband and I do also. He's pretty happy to eat whatever. So since I'm the vegetarian, he'll cook meat products and add them to the veggie base; sausage in the veggie spaghetti sauce, steak to the salad and baked potato (I'll have Morningstar Farms Riblets please!), etc. Or he'll just eat the meatless products (he likes Quorn best), although he mostly eats meat.

We were only married in 2004, and I've been veggie since 93, so I'm too far established to want to change it now. We just had to accept each others' dietary preferences and learn to work with them.