How do other vegetarians handle living, and even cooking for, other family members who want meat at every meal!
Also, at my inlaws, my MIL made me a "salad" consisting of ......lettuce, parmesan cheese and croutons. How can you explain to airheaded MIL's and other people, that being a vegetarian is not eating only vegetables!!!!!!!!!
I'm getting frustrated here, so any advice will be welcomed! Thank you!
Answers: How do you handle cooking and preparing meals with meat for other family members while you are on a vegetarian diet? My husband thinks I am trying to turn him into a vegetarian, or trying to change his diet because there's whole grain bread in the house! I'm having a rough time with it all.
Also, at my inlaws, my MIL made me a "salad" consisting of ......lettuce, parmesan cheese and croutons. How can you explain to airheaded MIL's and other people, that being a vegetarian is not eating only vegetables!!!!!!!!!
I'm getting frustrated here, so any advice will be welcomed! Thank you!
It can be tough! I suggest inviting everyone to dinner where you cook. Then make it like a buffet - cook spaghetti & soy meatballs, seitan steaks, tofu & vegetables stir fry, etc. - make a wide variety of all-vegetarian items and show them that being vegetarian can be full of great, tasty options! There are so many ways to substitute meat, I'm sure you can think of some great ideas. If not, do a search for vegetarian recipes, the web is full of them!
can you not touch meat at all? you can make the food with meat for your husband, but you dont have to eat it...
Also, make sure your MIL sees you eating other food so that she can know that vegetarians eat everything but meat.
She is not an airhead. You just need to explain to her what you DO eat. She is just trying to help. I was a nanny for a woman that was a vegetarian and her teen-age son ate meat, so she kept beef in the fridge for him and fish, cheese, salads and other veggies for herself and her daughter. It didn't bother her at all to fix other foods for her son or for when she had guests. She knew that she couldn't force others to eat like she did.
Be patient. Don't judge. Just tell them you won't judge them and that it is their personal choice and that you are at peace with yours. Good chance they will eat less meat if you'll prepare tasty alternatives.
Hey at least your MIL was trying to accommodate you!!! You don't have to be a jerk about it! Just because you don't want to eat meat, doesn't mean you can't cook it!
Personally I'm a single mom. I usually have plenty of time to fix a meal for myself and a meal for my son.
Some meals aren't that hard at all. For example; if we make homemade pizza, I put meat on his half and just cheese on mine. if you make chicken and rice, just make yours beans and rice. Opening up a can of beans doesn't take much extra time.
As for your husband, I don't have any advice. But good luck!
Well, it comes slowly.
When it comes to your husband, you need to thread lightly. You are making this change....not him. But if he just doesn't care about being healthy you might have to just buy 2 loaves of bread.
You're husband is resisting change, he is afraid. (It's silly but common). Tell him that you want to be more health conscious, but you will go slowly. Tell him that you want to do this with him. People are used to having meat...it's hard to get out of that. Do you do most of the cooking?
My parents used to buy me veggie burgers every single time I would go over. When it comes to extended family, I can't really complain. I've gone to houses and had potatoes and steamed veggies for dinner because that's all there was. You can't expect people so just know what you want. If someone made that salad for me, I would have made some toast or something to go with it.
It's great to health conscious and I support vegetarianism, but if you are the one changing, you need to help others understand what you are doing, how they can support you.
(and I don't cook meat, it smells)
Im not a vegan...but i do eat veg
My cousin is...and she stays to herself...she encourages other to reduce meat consumption but she would respect us meat eaters while she is the veggie eater
If you need help...go to ur local organic food supplier and seek attention...or a library book that helps cope with ur situation.
I live alone, so I don't have a problem. My cats are raw fed, so I do deal with meat, but I don't cook it.
Anyhoo...I know quite a few people who cook vegetarian meals and if the partner or other people want meat, they cook that and add it themselves. The way I look at it, you make what you make. If they don't like it, they can make something else.
Just because you dont eat it yourself, doesn't necessarily mean that you can't make it for close relatives, friends, etc. If you really want to show the people around you that a vegetarian diet doesn't only consist of vegetables, make them something that everyone can eat and something that is high in protein as well as delicious, that is probably the most you can do to get them to understand of what a wide variety of foods you can actually eat. :]
I am lucky, my man cooks his own meat and he usually only has meat at home once or twice a week. Other than like canned soup and stuff.