Vegetarian wife and a meat-eating dh?

I would LOVE to go back to being vegetarian (I was raised vegan). Dh is a dyed-in-the-wool carnivorous deer-hunting Texan. It's not even really a philosophical issue for me, I just don't even like meat.

Any mamas who are veggie, how do you do it with a meat-eating family? Do you cook separate dinners? Add meat individually to plates? I'd love to hear your methods

[Katiebug]

Well, I just cook veg meals :P. DH eats meat at restaurants, or buys it on his own (burgers for the BBQ, meat for stir-fry to take for lunch). I don't have anything against meat in the house, and it doesn't bother me to see him eat it, but I don't cook it The baby doesn't get meat, but Jake occasionally does when his dad has it. He likes it, and I give him that choice. When he asks later why I don't eat meat, I will tell him and he can decide for himself what he wants to do.

I do often make veggie meals, but I have to hear a lot of complaints about it. Or I hear "This is pretty good-but it would be a lot better with meat".

eta that I don't really have a problem cooking meat (except poultry-gag). I just don't know how to go about pleasing all of us!

[Katiebug]

Well, I guess you could make things like chilli, and just take some out for you before you add the meat. Or if you were making quesidillas or something just do one for you without meat

[milkmommy]

I'm kinda their I'm not total veggie but I have one "meat" meal for every oh 10 or more of DH's I make and even thtats at about 1/2 the amount he does "veggie style meals and add meat to his I ussually cook some meat up at the start of the week store so I can just add some. I give DD a little o f both shes avoids both We also can't afford for DH to eat out.. so its how we compromose.

Deanna

[Desert Rose]

It's not a problem right now, 'cause DH is in Iraq so I don't cook any meat. But before he left, I was cooking meals that you could add meat to or leave it out..., like tacos with black beans or beef, or spaghetti with or without meatballs. Somedays though, I would cook 2 completely separate meals though. I mean, it was my choice to go veggie and dh shouldn't have to suffer for it.

My husband is a processed food, meat eating, omni and he seems happy with it. I'm a vegan who eats as wholly as possible.For now, we just do separate meals. We're two people with two different lives it seems and sometimes it's just easier. Even now, it's 5:53 and we're both home. My husband, during commercial of "The Simpsons" said, "I wonder if I want dinner tonight." I don't get him. He either doesn't eat or when he does, he over does it and he favors fatty, processed food. Ugh. I can't even get him to eat veggies or fruit. He worries me. He needs to lose weight and just seems to gain it. Ironically, I, on the other hand, should gain weight. (I'm six feet tall and weigh about 150. My ribs stick out. My hips stick out. My husband makes comments on it. Not negetively, so much, but just subtly suggesting that I gain weight. Sometimes I flat out tell him, "I'll gain weight, if you lose it." Eh.

I don't know what we're going to do when we have kids, seeing that they're going to be born vegans. As far as Im concerned, they can choose when they're old enough. I guess I'll tell my husand that I'll give him infant baptism if he gives me vegan kids. (I was raised in the Lutheran Church [ELCA] and was baptized as a baby. I don't think that should be done like that.) I'm already planning on trading him confirmation for Santa Claus. (I'm not keen on Santa; he was raised with him. I went through confirmation in middle school, and had a bad experience.)

Okay. I'm totally digressing. Sorry.

Laura

[boonpnutsmom]

Only my Oldest DS eats meat occasionally. I very rarely buy it but I will cook it for DH. I actually don't mind cooking it for them at all, I just don't eat it. Our DD and DS#2 don't like it so that isn't a problem either. I mostly just cook without it, or I will make separate meals for us.

[Aisling]

Originally Posted by Katiebug

Well, I just cook veg meals :P. DH eats meat at restaurants, or buys it on his own (burgers for the BBQ, meat for stir-fry to take for lunch). I don't have anything against meat in the house, and it doesn't bother me to see him eat it, but I don't cook it The baby doesn't get meat, but Jake occasionally does when his dad has it. He likes it, and I give him that choice. When he asks later why I don't eat meat, I will tell him and he can decide for himself what he wants to do.

Same here.

[thomer]

Originally Posted by Katiebug

Well, I guess you could make things like chilli, and just take some out for you before you add the meat. Or if you were making quesidillas or something just do one for you without meat

That's what we do. I've been veg for 2 years and DH would never think of it. It works very well and it is not as difficult as it seems.
I make a lot of fajitas, soups, sandwiches, etc. Occassionally I'll make a sustainable side dish (rice and beans or pasta w/ noodles) and give DH a hunk of cow on the side.

Another thing that works well is to make a casserole and make it in two 8x8 pans instead of a 9x13 and then just put meat in one and not the other.

I also have heard the "It's good, but it would be better with meat"

To those of you who will touch meat. I don't care to. I never cared to, which in some ways, I think, led to my going veg. The last time I made lunch meat sandwhiches for my husband, I would wash my hands after touching the meat. Sure, it probably wasn't contaminated, but I didn't like it. (Plus, I was probably making lunch for myself, too.) My husband is a big boy. He can make his own meals. And that's what he did last night. I offered to make some steamed veggies and rice. He declined. Well, that seemed like too much work for me, anyway and I had a spouse group meeting at school. (My husband is a seminary student and there as a group for the spouses, for support, fellowship, etc. While we may have friends outside of the seminary/pastorate community, they don't understand the uniqueness of our situation, though I know the wife of a med student and we have some similar situations.) So I steamed some broccoli and dropped a Boca burger on the electric grill. I had a veggie burger sandwhich with broccoli. I came home and my husband had some Lean Pockets on the couch next to him. Ugh.

Unfortunately, I can see this being a potential problem for when we have kids. Yay.

Laura

I've been a vegetarian for 4 years now, and dh has still not accepted it. I hate cooking (or even touching) meat, but I finally made the decision that this was a submission issue for me and that I needed to cook meat for dh if that was what he wanted. Dh is, actually, very ANTI-vegetarian (that's a whole 'nother story!) and doesn't like having to eat vegetarian meals at all really. Soooo, I sometimes make vegetarian meals that dh is sort of okay with, but I also cook meat several times a week and cook myself something else. I never make anything with tofu or meat substitutes except for myself.

~JoyBear~

[mama-hobbit]

We're that way too! My 2 girls and I are veggi and my DH and his 2 kids are not.

I don't cook meat at home. DH may choose to add soemthing, but usually doesn't. He buys meat for the meals he eats at work, and often when we go out to eat, but it's a rare thing for him to eat it at home. The kids eat it when they are not here as well, but everyone is pretty happy and it doesn't appear to be a problem that I don't cook it at home.

[bliss]

We also have a split down the middle - veggie me and 2 kids, carnie him and his kid - and I don't cook meat, I will occasionally buy things like cold cuts or hot dogs for them, but dh works in a building with 3 restaurants in the parking lot, and dss goes to public school, so if they want meat they can get it there. I get complaints from dss(13) occasionally, but he's learned to quit cuz I go into a diatribe on the health and animal rights problems with meat. . .the less I talk to him the better, in his eyes, so I don't hear many complaints!

I'm vege and my DH is not. I cook meat half the time and vege half the time. If it can be substituted with TVP or tofu or beans, I'll do it. Such as chili, enchiladas, sloppy joes, soups, etc.
It used to be that I didn't do it at all but it was causing too many problems so here we are. Some night I don't feel like cooking double so I'll just eat a salad or something...
Some nights he doesn't want what I cook so he doesn't eat. That usually only happens if he comes home late and he doesn't want to heat it up... Strange!