Trying Vegan
Posted by stephers on Oct 10, 2012 · Member since Oct 2012 · 3 posts
My name is stephanie! I am giving vegan living a try but my husband is not really willing to give up meat, let alone all animal by products! I just need advice from those with similar situations on what recipes would be best that maybe my husband might like!! Something i could easily add meat to his plate but not mine!! I'm so new to it that I really don't know much, so any advise is helpful to me!! Thanks!!
Hi Stephanie! I'm not in a similar situation currently but I did live in a meat eating-vegan household for awhile and I'm here to tell you it can be done! I'd definitely look at the heartier recipes on here -- casseroles, stews, slow cooker soups, lasagnas, anything filled with beans and grans! Those are hearty dishes where your husband won't miss the meet! And also, you can always share the side dishes by making them vegan and then he can cook a meaty main and you can make a veggie burger, seitan roast, chik'n patty, whatever! Those are just some ideas! Mainly, keep in touch with why you're vegan and keep trying, it might not be a perfect path (it's okay to slip up sometimes while you get your footing, don't be hard on yourself!) but it can be a delicious and fun one to travel down together! Plus, if your husband is on board with you being vegan, then you can work together to create menus that satisfy you both! Oh, and menu planning really helps with this, too! Shop on Sunday (or whatever day is best) and have everything on hand for success! You can do it!!
Hey, I have been vegan for the last 20 months and my husband is an omnivore. The only meal we share is dinner and usually he eats my vegan food as I am the cook. But sometimes I make food that is versatile enough that he can add his own stuff. Some examples include baked potatoes (he can add cheese or bacon to his and I add nutritional yeast sauce, fresh brocoli, beans, or other items to mine). Another one is tacos. I provide the hardshell or soft shell vegan approved shells, fresh vegetables, sauce etc. He can add his meat to his, I add my homemade refried beans to mine, or lentils, or you could add tempeh too. Lets see. Spaghetti is another one that I make a nice homemade tomato sauce with fresh vegetables and I add nutritional yeast to mine and he adds parmesan cheese to his. Another dish he likes (that is on here somewhere) is coconut curry with potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, onion etc. I add chickpeas in it for extra protein. I have a whole arsenal of weekend vegan pancakes he likes (recipes galore in here too), and crockpot millet or steelcut oats with chopped apple and cinnamon (or any other number of spices and fruits) is really nice for both of us to wake up to in the morning. The possiblities are endless.
I do keep a separate cupboard space, some separate cookware that is off limits to him (I can't deal with animal fat left on cast iron pots for example and no animal products are going into my expensive Blendtec high speed blender), and separate areas of the refrigerator. Somehow we make it work, although I gag at the smell of some of his meats and cheeses and some days I really really wish that stuff was not in my house. I refuse to buy animal products of any kind for him, food or nonfood items, but I will happily share non animal product supplies. I have at least gotten him to eat vegan 50% of the time simply because he is too lazy to cook or prepare food.
I hope it all works out for you! It isn't as bad as it might seem, as long as you are committed to your vegan principles and he respects you for it.