Vegetarian Mom, Meat-eatin' family

[TwinMomPlus]

Anyone like this? Do you prepare meat meals for your husband and kids? I would like to raise my kids as mostly vegetarians, but I won't deny them the joys of Happy Meals and hot dogs at the fair (ugh, I know- but I just remember how much fun all that was when I was little, plus it will be a rare treat). And there is no changing my husband's mind. Just wondering if there are any other families out there like this and how you handle it?

[TwinMomPlus]

My biggest problem with this is that I end up cooking for DH and only eating the sides for myself. So if I make chicken, rice and broccoli, I only end up having rice and broccoli. I don't have time to make 2 meals, tho!

[ceeveg]

This is our family! What I tend to do is cook meat in our slow cooker, since I don't really like handling it. I can just dump it in, and it's usually something like chicken. I shred it to keep in the fridge, and then make my usual meals, lots of things like curries, beans and rice, lentil tacos, veggie fajitas, and then my husband and daughter have the option to add meat in, but the base is a vegetarian or vegan meal. My husband and daughter also tend to like the mock meat, which works because, even though I don't really even eat the meat subs, I don't mind handling those

[russsk]

I'm vegetarian; DH and DS are not. I buy all the food, though, so I ensure that all meat it grassfed and from a farmer I know and trust. That's the only kind of meat I'll prepare. We eat vegetarian a lot, but when I make meat I usually do something simple, like grilled lamb chops or a steak, then serve the main, vegetarian dish along side. We often do tacos, so I'll grill a marinated flank steak and veggies, and serve with beans, guac and fixings. Every once in a while DH will want something like meat lasagna or shepherd's pie, so I'll make a big batch and freeze individual portions. That way I don't mind making two separate meals, because I know he has a bunch of quick meals in the freezer. With stir-fries I might do a little chicken on the side then toss it in with the veg stir fry. We don't often do the meat and two sides type dishes, because then I end up eating a couple of sides and get flashbacks to my childhood.

[somegirl99]

I'm vegan, DH is a meat-lover. We decided future DS will get to choose when he is older (will start out vegan).

I will shop for him, but I don't cook meat. I cook sides and desserts but he cooks his own meat. He is extremely considerate and respectful of me and my needs (avoiding cross-contamination or grossing me out, etc) and I'd like to think it works both ways.

[greenemami]

Dd and I (and ds when he is older) are pescetarian (is this the right word? We eat fish, dairy, and eggs), dh and dsd eat meat. I rarely cook meat, and actually eating fish is just a recent development. Dh is welcome to buy/cook his own meat, and on special occasions I will make chicken for him-but overall, we all eat veg with occasional fish, which everyone likes. It works out so far. The little ones will have a choice once they can understand where their meat is coming from-not sure what age that will be though, we will just play it by ear. So far I just tell dd that we don't eat whatever item it may be and she is fine with that.

[russsk]

Originally Posted by greenemami

The little ones will have a choice once they can understand where their meat is coming from-not sure what age that will be though, we will just play it by ear.

This could happen before you realize. Ds has surpised me a couple times already. Once when looking at animal pictures he pointed to a sheep and said "Yummy. Lamb chops!" and another at the farm store, when we were looking at chicks. When I told him they were baby chickens, he got really excited and said "Eat 'em!". I had no idea he was making those kinds of connections.

[TwinMomPlus]

Thanks everyone!

I need more ideas of meals I can cook that would be full meals for me and all I would have to do is add meat for DH. Like the fajita idea.

[Koalamom]

I am struggling with this as I am wanting to go vegan but dh loves meat, cheese and eggs. I have decided that I will prepare more cheese slices for him and deviled eggs since they are his favorite and he will fill up on those and not want meat as much. I am hoping it works. He is on board with having less meat, like 3 times a week. I just have to make sure I have something in its place like homemade refried beans, brown rice, and tortillas. He can have the cheese. If I make this kind of meal, he will be fine without meat. If I just make him a salad, he would go crazy for a steak.

You just have to find the vegetarian alternatives that will satisfy kind of like a steak. Lentil soup here just wont cut it, it has to have something like hearty bread to go with it.

And when we do have meat, I may eat it if I feel I need it really, but I always have some yummy cooked beans on hand since I do feel that protein is very important. Just having the rice and the broccoli could go wrong if you are continually depriving yourself of essential protein, not saying anything negative about rice and broccoli though.

[readermaid]

DH and I are not veg*n, though we generally try to limit our meat intake. Smaller portions and/or meatless meals a couple of times a week. But we recently started house sharing with family--one of whom is very much a meat-lover and the other is a vegetarian who doesn't even like to be in the house when meat is cooking. It can be difficult to make a meal that suits all of us. When I cook for the family I tend to make a meat version and a veg version of the same meal (i.e. tater tot hotdish with ground beef and tater tot hot dish with pinto beans). Or I'll make a vegetarian meal (chili, taco soup, etc) and separate some out and add meat for the meat eaters though it doesn't really NEED it either for nutrition or for taste IMO. In this case, I will usually eat the veg version. When DH cooks, he almost always makes a stir fry where people can add either ground meat or tofu as they desire. It works out pretty well.

[nolansmummy]

Since i'm the vegetarian in the family, and also the one who does all the shopping and cooking- they eat what i make. Sometimes i'm nice and will pick up dh some grass fed beef to cook, or some steak for fajitas, but most the time I make what i want and they are the ones who have to deal. They don't really care though, dh and the kids like what i make, they just eat meat outside the home so they are not veg*n.

As for meals you can add meat to:
Fajitas, Tacos, Stir Fry, Soups(add cooked meat at the end), pizza, Pasta dishes, Breakfast for dinner.

[SollysMom]

Originally Posted by TwinMomPlus

My biggest problem with this is that I end up cooking for DH and only eating the sides for myself. So if I make chicken, rice and broccoli, I only end up having rice and broccoli. I don't have time to make 2 meals, tho!

This made me laugh because this is EXACTLY what I'll be eating tonight! Monday is chicken/rice/broccoli night and I always just eat the broccoli and rice. Though lately, I've been roasting some carrots or yams alongside the broccoli for myself.

Otherwise though, I'll generally make a vegetarian main dish and sometimes DH will have chicken with it as well. Like if I make a pasta dish, I may make him some chicken with it, or if I do beans and rice. He's pretty picky with vegetables but I'm fortunate that he likes beans and lentils, so we do those at least a few nights a week.

[wytchywoman]

I am veg (and GF) and my ds 1 is not ( and ds 2 is an insanely picky eater so I always fix him his stuff on the side ).
Here is our meal plans for the next two weeks:

Soup ( chicken and veg for him, just veg for me) and bread
Breakfast dinners ( eggs, hashbrowns, fruit, turkey bacon for him)
Tostadas, tacos and burritos ( chicken for him, black bean for me)
Burger night (turkey burgers for him/ veg patties for me)
Sandwich and Chips ( he does lunch meat, I usually do chickpea salad or just plain veggie sandwich)
Pastas (in spaghetti sauce I split the sauce and add ground turkey to one and boca crumbles to the other, with alfredo sauce I'll top it with chicken for him and mushrooms for me)
Kabobs on the grill ( very easy to customize those)

[smallmama]

I'm vegan, DH is omni. Our 3 y.o. is mostly vegetarian (lacto-ovo), not because I don't let him eat meat, but because I'm honest with him about where it comes from and he usually chooses not to eat it. Occasionally, my husband or parents will offer him some of the meat off their plates and he will choose to eat it.

I do not buy or cook meat at all. Whatever I make for the family for dinner is vegan, although I do make l-o vegetarian things for my son for lunch. If my husband wants meat, he can buy and cook it himself or get it when we go out.

It has been a process, though. For awhile we were doing the "add meat at the end for DH" thing, but as I've progressed on my vegan journey, I don't even want to touch the stuff anymore. I hold my nose and run past the meat section in the store. And over time DH has gotten more accepting of me never cooking meat as he's learned how passionate I am about it.

[mommyto4grits]

I need to try this!

Originally Posted by ceeveg

This is our family! What I tend to do is cook meat in our slow cooker, since I don't really like handling it. I can just dump it in, and it's usually something like chicken. I shred it to keep in the fridge, and then make my usual meals, lots of things like curries, beans and rice, lentil tacos, veggie fajitas, and then my husband and daughter have the option to add meat in, but the base is a vegetarian or vegan meal. My husband and daughter also tend to like the mock meat, which works because, even though I don't really even eat the meat subs, I don't mind handling those

[faeriecurls]

I am a veg and DH is not. In the house we (usually me, but DH does cook) cook one meal when we are both here and it is always vegetarian. If DH wants meat we either go out or he buys it and cooks it on his own when I am not here (especially now that I am pregnant, the smell gets me). He is very conscious of the choices he makes when buying meat so I don't have to worry about that, but I don't buy it for him. He has been really great about this since we have been together - 10 years.

When our DD is old enough we will let her decide, but we have a long way to go for that.

[kavamamakava]

I lived with a family when I was a teenager that ate a lot of meat but the mom was so sweet that she would keep it separate. So if it was chicken n dumplings, she made it veggie broth and dumplings and added the chicken to people's bowls. Or pasta with meat sauce, the ground beef was sprinkled on top. Or she would cook up some pork chops and make the rest of the meal vegetarian. She also cooked up tofu too. Like if she was making fried chicken she'd dip tofu in the breading and fry it up in a smaller pan for me so the oils weren't mixed. Also, for pot roast, she would just put a separate pan in the oven with lots of veggies and some tofu and cook them at the same time.

[justmeandmybrood]

Hi! New here, but this situation is familiar, though I am not a vegetarian - just prefer not to eat much meat.

-Pampered Chef's chicken-broccoli braid - I mix the inside filling (broccoli, mayo, cheese, bell pepper, dill) and then cook up DH's chix separately and will usually do my meatless chix as well, then make 2 smaller braids rather than 1 bigger one

-stir-fry - last night I made a fried rice with lots of veggies. I had some chicken on the side that I added to the top of his; I had my Quorn chicken pieces I put on top of mine

-tacos/burritos/enchiladas - same as above - I just keep his meat separate and will use extra black beans in mine, yummy!

-salads - toss strips of grilled meat on DH's; I add chick peas and such to mine that he does not like, lol

-meat and starch plates - he gets a chicken breast or piece of steak or shrimp, etc. and I will have a treat - a breaded Quorn cutlet with Gruyere or cranberry/goat cheese under the top breading - super yummy treat!

-I also sneak in some of my alternative "meats" in smaller pieces in casseroles - chicken pot pie, using cream of onion soup rather than cream of chix soup, then instead of chicken pieces, I will use Quorn or other products' smaller chicken-less pieces. Same with other casseroles.

HTH!