vegan mamas with meat eating hubbys

[jolenegreen]

Wondering (im sure there is) if there are any vegan mamas out there with meat hungry hubbys? My 2 oldest (7 and 5) were brought up on meat, so I am trying to slowly ween them off from meat and ino the vegan diet. I do more of a vegetarian diet for them than a vegan and do allow them to eat cheese, ect. My 2 youngest (10 months and 2) will be brought up on a vegan diet right from the start. My hubby LOVES MEAT! He cannot do a supper meal without meat! So I was wondering if you lovely mamas could share with me how you do your grocery shopping, plan your meals and prepare them. Share meals ideas etc. It would be a great deal of help to know how other mamas deal with this!

[Mirichka]

So, I am not vegan nor am I strictly vegetarian, but I tend to prefer a more vegetarian diet, and my husband is the same way as yours, a meat loving--what is a meal without it--kind of guy. It's tough. One thing I've been doing lately is inviting friends over for dinner so I can cook the lovely things I love to make--gratins, pies, soups and have people to feed it and enjoy it. I also do this so my son sees people enjoying Mama's veggie cooking and here is hoping that he will grow to love it too I know this is not exactly the case you have, but I do feel for the idea of a husband who does not enjoy the veggie kingdom as much as I do.

[Doodlebugsmom]

I'm vegan, but the rest of my family isn't. Dh eats fish and shellfish sometimes and my kids will eat chicken sometimes. (I won't buy chicken, but they will eat it when visiting their grandparents.) As for meal-planning and cooking, I do all that here so if dh wants something other than what I'm making he needs to get it and prepare it himself. For the record, this has never happened. He's happy to have me cooking up yummy vegan dinners.

[birdie.lee]

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Edited by birdie.lee - 4/25/13 at 12:25pm

[crunchy_mommy]

I guess my response won't be too useful. We eat 100% vegan at home. DH eats his meat when we're out at parties, BBQ's, and occasionally restaurants. I don't know, could your DH buy lunch somewhere or prepare his own meat-filled lunch and then all share a veg*n dinner? Then he could still have his meat every day but you wouldn't have to double-cook.

[shymama]

I'm a pretty new vegetarian( about 4-5 months now) . I cook all vegetarian/vegan food(mostly soy/nut/sesame-free cause dh is allergic) . DH and the kids still eat meat but i won't cook it. Dh cooks it if he wants to eat it and i'm fine with that. And I make him wash his dirty meat dishes too.

[somegirl99]

I'm vegan with a meat-loving DH, and we do it like birdie does. He cooks anything non-vegan, and either of us (mostly me) will cook vegan side dishes or desserts that we can share. He has been very considerate of me and is always super careful about keeping things separate and cleaning up after himself when cooking.

We agreed that when our little one is old enough that we can explain both ways to him and let him decide.

[es1967]

I'm a vegetarian and have a meat loving husband too. I always cook what I like for dinner and usually will just bake a chicken breast in the oven for DH. Often we do veggie pizza w vegan cheese since DH does not fo dairy and something like Pasta w veggie crumbles. So basically DH just eats everything I would eat and adds a side of meat. DS just eats what I make and prefers veggie chicken,Tofu etc. I did allow him to try meat but he does not want it. I love hearing my 4 yr old say he wants a veggie burger. Thats another thing that DH will eat-veggie burgers. Good luck.

[jolenegreen]

Hi everyone! Here is the problem really..it seems that everyone is saying My hubby makes his own meat, LOL. Well my hubby dont make his own meat..hahah. He works from 9pm-7am gets home in the morning about 7:30 takes a shower, goes to bed until about 12:20-1pm. Gets up and spends time with our children and I until he goes back to bed at 6pm. Usually he gets about 5 hours during the day to us and himself. This all includes spending time with kiddies/me or getting things done around the house that he needs to do...such as taking the garbage to the dump, mowing, fixing things etc. I will prepare his meats for him as he dont really have enough time and Id rather he be spending that time with our children rather than making his own meal, besides I am a SAHM so I can easily do it and have time. I was actually looking for ways to combine our eating habits...yesterday I was looking at morning star crumbles and thought well I could do vegan tacos and then read it was not vegan friendly. UGH! Not really sure what to do or how to combine our meals so we can eat together as a family. Usually its me making his dinner first and him eating alone while im making our dinner, him going to bed and then us eating without him
I would really love it if we could all sit down together and eat our meal as a family...mind u he only eats one a meal a day which is his supper. He eats a protien bar in the morning (sometimes). Supper I cook for him and then nothing at work...so the only real food is what I make him so I want it to be filling and satisfying.
Wondeirng about groceries as well? Thinking maby I should buy a big stock of meat from the butcher once a month and freeze it? I would love to hear some meal ideas!

[crunchy_mommy]

Hmm well when I was growing up I was the only vegetarian in the house. My mom would make things like...

Spaghetti & meatballs (meatballs on the side)
Stir-fry (cook the meat separately)
Tacos (I had beans in mine, everyone else had meat)
Mashed potatoes & veggies (side of meat like chicken or steak, and I would have a veggie burger or beans or just eat the veggies)
Roasted veggies with grilled meat for the meat-eaters
Pizzas (a smaller veggie one for me & a larger meat one for everyone else)...

...is this helping at all? I can try to think of more if it is... And my mom used to buy frozen chicken breast and things like that that were already pre-portioned, all she had to do was throw it in a pan or on the grill...

[sparklett]

I'm vegan. My husband is a carnivore and my parents, who live with us, are also carnivores.

Summer is a GREAT time of year for us. I honestly do not mind preparing meat, so I just throw something on the BBQ while I cook up some good veggie dishes. It works well for everyone, since they all like my veggie dishes, but they still get their meat. Spaghetti is easy, since we just serve the meatballs on the side. If I make pizza on the BBQ, I make a veggie one for me and a meat one for him. Things like tacos consist of tofu for me and ground beef for DS. No biggie. All the side dishes are the same, so the only real variable is making some meat. Takes maybe 5 extra minutes to make something for everyone.

Tonight we're having Chinese chicken salad with the chicken on the side. Side dishes are Chinese fried rice and vegetarian spring rolls. I'm on a very modified vegan diet right now, so I'll just eat the salad, but it will be a very filling meal for everyone else.

Last night we had tri-tip with Texas Caviar and vegetable gratin. I ate everything except the tri-tip.

We also have separate food prep stations and utensils for meat and non-meat. I'm a real stinker about food safety, since I eat a lot of raw foods and I don't want anything to touch the meat.

We've been doing this for over two years. At first it was hard to make a meat and non-meat meals, but I've gotten used to it. We have a big deep freezer that is stocked with meat, so it's very hard to run out.

[purslaine]

I have a vegan daughter, and the rest of us eat meat.

I want to eat meat about 2 times a week (only chicken - I have issues with cows from an environmental POV). DH and DS would like to eat meat 4 (DH) -7 (DS) times a week. In many ways that is too bad - I cook, so you sort of get what I am making. I certainly have no issues with people cooking themselves some meat if they want to, but they can almost never be bothered.

Here are things we do:

We buy cooked, cut up chicken breast and cooked bacon. It is pricey, so people are mindful of quantity. They add it at the end to stir fry's, salad and pasta.

I substitute milk for soy or almond milk in dishes, as well as water and juice where appropriate. Honest to goodness - people rarely notice.

If you take out the meat in dishes, you might want to substitute it with something - beans, nuts, seeds and soy products are the substitutes (unless you eat eggs and cheese - but really, they are high in cholesterol, so should not be the only or go-to substitutes.

We use nuts and seeds a lot. I put sunflower seeds in stir fry's and caramalised pecans in salads - yum!

I like tofu best cut into strips and fried (presented with a dipping sauce). If you do tofu incorrectly it can really turn people off. Figure out how to use it best.

I rarely use beans - they ellicit groans from my family. Use what works for yours.

There are some "meaty" foods that are meat free - portobello mushrooms make great burgers (as do Boca burgers). Veggie ground round or TVP can be added to chili's and sauces if you feel the need for extra meaty texture. I think many people move away from fake meat after a while - but if they help your DH, go for it.

[purslaine]

Ok. Vegan tacos.

Make tortillas:ttp://www.ehow.com/how_4746126_vegan-flour-tortillas.html

Fill with black beans, homemade salsa (or storebought), avocado, lettuce.

Add sourcream and cheese in bowls for DH to top with as he chooses.

Enjoy. We do wraps all the time - very versatile.