Veg*ns and Non-Veg*ns Eating together

I had originally posted this in vegetarians and this community was mentioned in the response so I thought I'd repost that same post here to see what you guys might have to say:

I'm a vegetarian for both health and ethical reasons, my fiance is a hardcore meat eater. Here's the problem: we can't agree on how we're going to raise kids once we have them. Each of us wants our kids to follow our diet. Here are his 2 main arguments:

1. He doesn't want the kids to feel bad if he eats meat in front of them and then they're told they can't have any.
2. If we raise them vegetarian (I do all the cooking so that seems logical to me) and then when they're older if they decide they want to eat meat that if they've never had it, their bodies won't be able to tolerate and process it effectively and that we've have taken their choices away. Basically if they decide to do it on their own he's fine w/ that, he's supportive of my decision, but he wants it to be up to them.

I don't know where he got this idea from and I don't know if there's anything to it. If you go through a long period of your life w/o eating meat will it alter your digestive capabilities? I don't think such a thing is possible but I need something more than my opinion to counter this w/. Anybody have any ideas on this? 

BTW I think this community is a cool idea.

Howdy fellow mixed-eaters!

So, I've been neglecting this community a bit, and I'm not the only one! ;p

I updated the bio information a little bit, and now I'm turning to the members to get suggestions on making this community more active. I think that this could be a very beneficial resource for people if we could get more members and more frequent posts and discussions. Any thoughts?

If you wouldn't mind taking a moment to promote the community in your own journal (if you have LJ Friends that might be interested) or in related communities (but only if it's allowed, I don't want anyone ticked at us!) I would really appreciate it.

Other than that, if you've got a good (or even just fair!) idea for a topic, post it!

Thanks! :)

Last night, my omnivore husband started a conversation with "I want to talk to you about a decision I have made."

That shouldn't make me nervous, but for some reason, whenever he says that I'm afraid the next words out of his mouth will be "I want a divorce". Good ol' insecurity, gotta love it!

Anyway, what he said was that he's decided he's not quite ready yet to give up meat completely, but that he will no longer "waste" eating meat on things like hot dogs, Spaghettios with meatballs, or Mc Donald's hamburgers. In other words, he will be drastically reducing his flesh intake* and only indulging occasionaly in "good", high quality cuts of meat. I asked if he'd be willing to buy organic meat when possible, to avoid eating meat from animals pumped with hormones and antibiotics, and he said that he would. (Does anyone know of any labels or certifications that ensure the treatment of the animals? I know that "organic" says nothing of their treatment, just wondering if there's anything that does.)

This decision on his part brought me to (happy) tears. His primary reasons for making this change are health-related, and he stressed that this was in no way in an effort to make me happy or unwillingly submit to my lifestyle. I was relieved to hear that, because I'd never want him to make a change like this simply because I want him to, I want it to be for his own reasons, and it is. It matters very little to me what reasons people have for reducing meat in their diet, I'm just always happy to see people make that change.


*Which he has already reduced quite a bit since I became a vegetarian. I think he's been giving it more thought since I made him aware of my decision to transition to a vegan lifestyle.

k if this isn't allowed feel free to delete.


I'm a raw foodist (vegan) and my boyfriend is a vegetarian in training. He hasn't really had meat in two months, and he's cuttin back on the milk and eggs. still a big cheese fan though. He teaches me tolerance and I teach him how to cook healthier. I've got him using coconut oil for everything he cooks because it's stable and doesn't hydrogenate as easily when you cook with it as other oils do. I love him.

[x-posted]

January 10, 2006

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an investigation into the deaths of dozens of dogs who apparently consumed pet food contaminated with aflatoxin, a substance that can cause lethal liver disease in animals.

Read the rest of the article here:http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/contaminated_pet_food.html.

What I whipped up for dinner tonight was mighty tasty, even to my meat-eater husband!

( Joellacritter's Soon to be Famous Cheesy-Broccoli-Corn-Fake Chicken-Brown Rice Concoction )

X-Posted (with some edits) to my own LJ and vegetarians

Hey all,

I recently became pseudo-engaged (not officially yet) and my boyfriend/fiance is a meat eater. I am a pescetarian (eat seafood but no other meat). When the topic of having kids comes up, we occasionally get into heated discussions about whether or not to raise our kids vegetarian.

His theory on raising them as meat eaters is that they won't feel left out when they're at friends houses or at school or going to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. I think starting them on the "right foot" is the best idea since many people don't want to go vegetarian because they've been raised on meat.

Who here has dealt with this issue or has had discussions with their significant other about it? My only real option for comprimise would be to allow the kids to have some meat ie. only free-range, cruelty-free type stuff.

Thoughts?

I found it amusing that the vegetarian dinner I made last night was a huge hit with my meat-eater husband (in fact, he said it was the best vegetarian meal I've ever made) and I didn't like it AT ALL!

I cooked some whole wheat pasta, browned some Morningstar Farms fake steak strips, and put the pasta and the fake steak strips in a casserole dish with a can of cream of mushroom soup, some frozen green beans, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

My husband LOVED it! I wasn't thrilled with the texture of the fake steak strips, but that could be because I've never cared for steak in the first place.

It struck me as funny that the vegetarian meal he's liked the best is the one I've liked the least.

x-posted to vegetarians

I just stumbled across this community, and it is exactly what I need right now.

I'm a new vegetarian (for about 2 months now), and so far it's not been too much of a problem to find food. I am going home for Christmas in a couple of weeks, though, and there will be a large dinner in my future. My family is Southern, so practically every dish contains meat products. I have decided that there is no way my grandmother will be able to (or should) alter the dinner just for me, so I want to make a main dish to go along with everything else that will be served. I was hoping someone here might have a nice recipe that will go over well with everyone. I love beans, garlic, spices in general, cheese, and all of that. I don't think tofu is a great option, unless someone has something that masks the texture (or taste, for that matter). I also want to avoid pasta just because it doesn't seem too seasonal to me and soup because it wouldn't mesh well with the rest of the fare. Most of the recipes that sound good to me online are a little too "ethnic" -- particularly Indian -- for my family to be able to handle. I want something that everyone can enjoy. If anyone has suggestions, I would be so grateful.

Thanks in advance, and Happy December everyone!

-Brigid-

Hey fellow mixed_eats members! :D

What did your Thanksgiving dinner table look like? If your choice (veggie or meat eater) is in the minority in your family/friends, how was your choice received?

I brought a Quorn Turkey Style Roast and Vegetarian Gravy (made from scratch) to my Father In Law's house, where they also had Turkey, turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, fruit salad, canned cranberries, rolls, and a selection of beverages. For dessert, pumpking, apple, and peach pie!

My husband (an eat-meater) and I were both worried that his family might give me a hard time, but they were actually interested to learn that I wouldn't eat the gravy ("But it's not technically meat!") and fascinated by the Quorn roast. ("How do they get it to look so much like turkey?!")

Unfortunately, I found out after I had already eaten some that my husband's step-mom made the stuffing with Chicken Broth instead of water. Next year, I'll offer to do the stuffing. :)

How many meat eaters out there are having tofurkey tomorrow instead of turkey? I'm a veggie and my parents are cruel... no tofurkey for me... they'll be eating and I'll only have the side dishes.

[x-posted]

Hey all,

I decided to look into my recent addiction to eating ice cubes and learned it's commonly an indication of iron anemia. This correlates with my recent switch to a pescetarian diet. Any advice/suggestions/insight?

ames

My husband is respectful of my choice to maintain a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, but at this point, does not wish to make that choice for himself.

This sometimes causes frustration when working out meal plans and such. I thought I'd share some things that make it a little easier on us.

First, for breakfast and lunch, we're on our own, so we only have to deal with these "issues" at dinner time.

My husband lets me cook entirely vegetarian meals (which he eats with me, sans meat) once or twice a week. He doesn't always like them, but sometimes, he likes them quite well, and then they become a part of our regular meal plans.

I try to adapt things that he's used to eating like pasta, mexican dishes like tacos, burritos, or enchiladas, casseroles, and stir fries. I replace the usual meat in these dishes with beans, or soy based fake meats, or tofu.

Someone mentioned in a post yesterday that their partner doesn't like many vegetables, and doesn't like to try new things.

One thing that I've done to get my husband into trying new vegetables and foods is to introduce them gradually, and one at a time.

So, instead of putting a whole bunch of new things into one dish, I'll take a meal he's relatively familiar with (like pasta) and add one new thing to it (like artichoke hearts or something). When he gets used to the new thing, we try something else.

What types of things do you to overcome the challenges of eating together in mixed-diet situations?

i dont know if you're into philly cheese steaks but here is a recipe that i use and have gotten a lot of compliments for. use the veggie ground crumbles, fry them up, (add onions and/or peppers if you like them in your steaks) when they're good n cooked put it on a roll with cheese (vegan cheese goes well also) and there you have a really good veg. cheese steak.

I found this community through a post at vegetarians, and I must say I'm glad it was created.

Hello! I'm Tee, I'm 23. I've been a vegetarian for about three years now, currently lacto-ovo, I plan on becoming more strict with my vegetarian diet in the future, but I'm taking it slow. Right now I'm trying to work dairy products out of my diet; partly because I'm lactose intolerant (I love them though, so it's hard).

I live with my boyfriend of six years who is omni. Chris is generally tolerant of my vegetarian diet, so long as I don't try and push it on him.

It can be rather difficult at times though because we both eat very differently.
I'm all about eating a wide variety of foods, and have been working very hard the past year or so to eat a healthier, more balanced diet. My boyfriend however could single handedly keep the junk food industry alive; he always has to keep chips and soda on hand, and would die if 7-11 ever stopped selling their (gross) nachos; and while I'm trying to cut down on my intake of refined sugars he lives on ice cream sundays.
On top of that Chris hardly eats any vegetables, he likes carrots, celery and broccoli, which he usually only eats with ranch dressing or cheese sauce, and that's about it. Your run-of-the-mill meat and potatoes kind of guy.


So you can imagine drama at meal time. I try cook things that I can make vegetarian for myself, and he can add meat to should he wish to do so (such as spagetti, burritos, stir fry etc) but there are only so many recipes I can do this with. Most of the recipes I like are full of vegetables that he won't eat, and over the years I've come to realise that if I don't cook for him, he usually won't cook anything good for himself and will heat up a microwave dinner or snack on chips. -.-


I was wondering: Do any of the veg*ns in this community who do the majority of the cooking in the relationship ever cook meat for their significant other, and if you don't how do you feel about those who do?

What a great idea for a community!

I don't generally eat meat at home (no point in cooking for one!), so we eat a lot of pasta and eggs and curries. My husband doesn't hassle me about my meat eating and I don't hassle him about his vegetarianism (lacto-ovo).

I'm very selective about the fake meats that I'll eat and I have my favorites that I'd like to share.

Quorn is the best thing ever. It goes in veggie chicken soups, baked pasta, 'chicken' sandwiches, you name it.

Fantastic Foods makes cheapo - but very tasty - seasoned tvp that works (imo better than ground beef) in tacos, and sloppy joe mix that makes a good fake meat sauce for spaghetti.

Trader Joes makes an excellent meatless meatball that I use in everything.

Gimme Lean sausage is great with brunch!

Looking forward to hearing more ideas about meals for blended families!

I found this community through Urbpan's LJ. Being in a meat-eating/vegetarian family, I'm all too familiar with trying to create meals that satisfy everyone.

Not only is my husband the lacto-ovo vegetarian, but he's also on the South Beach Diet, which makes things very... challenging. I, on the other hand, happily eat my steaks and burgers medium-rare. We have one 5-year old daughter, who has surprised us both by eating fish at school (neither of us eat fish in any way.) Now she insists we buy her fish sticks at the grocery store. So we are an ecclectic bunch. =)

Hey everyone!

I figured I'd introduce myself now that there are a handful of members here. :)

My name is Joella, and I'm currently a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I intend to transition to vegan eventually. I first became a vegetarian at age 17, and remained so for almost 2 years. I had no knowledge about nutrition, so I wasn't getting proper nutrition and found my immune system compromised as a result. I went back to including chicken and fish in my diet. Earlier this year, I transitioned to pesco-vegetarian, and a few months ago, made the official leap to lacto-ovo vegetarian, now that I have a lot more nutrition info under my belt.

My husband is an eat-meater, but is respectful of my choices. I started this community so that others who live with (or regularily eat with) people with different dietary choices can get together and discuss issues that can arise from those differences. This community is about living (and eating!) peacefully with people who have different dietary choices or needs.

Please feel free to introduce yourself, ask questions, throw out topics for discussion, or share recipes, meal plans, or shopping lists. The only rule of thumb is that everyone is respectful and works toward understanding and harmony.

If you wouldn't mind mentioning the community in your own LJ or in other communities where it is both relevant and permitted, I would be eternally grateful. I'd like to see this community grow into an excellent resource for eat-meaters and veg*ns alike!

Hey, by coincidence I created a poll on my own livejournal today, that I think would be of special interest to people in mixed-eating households. Please surf over to http://www.livejournal.com/users/urbpan/141896.html
to weigh in with your own responses!

Just wanted to say that this is an awesome idea for a community! Yay for acknowledging that it is possible for us to live together in peace and dietary harmony. :0) I'm a firm believer in the idea that if I expect people to respect my own choices, I should respect theirs as well.

My family has been amazingly supportive of my dietary choices and in return I respect theirs. While they weren't thrilled at first about the veganism, they are fine with it now that they see I'm not wasting away. A few weeks after I began the transition I came down for dinner and my dad said to me, "I didn't put any butter on any of the vegetables or potatoes so you can eat them then, right?" It was a very sweet moment that made me feel all fuzzy inside.

I'd like to believe that I usually sound more intelligent in my posts but I've got a paper due in a few hours that is melting my brain.