So what do you do when the two people in a marriage have fundamentally different ideas about what constitutes a healthy diet?
My husband and I were discussing my core diet mission plan and asked if he had a choice in this. You see for awhile now he is has been half hearted with the raw vegan thing and often makes his own meals but I REALLY want to get us ALL on the same page. Although he has really amazed me in some respects. This is a guy who used to take hot dogs (eeeeewwww!) and Ramen noodles to work for lunch and now I see him grabbing handfuls of dehydrated fruit and raw flax crackers instead. But the man still loves bacon, ham, steak, pork chops, and all that MEAT.
Yesterday we discussed how we could all get what we want without driving each other crazy and without any more meals were two people are making separate things. He told me he was up to letting me take charge if I back up the truck and start from an easier place… like vegetarian meals with raw side dishes or something. I was ecstatic to say the least! Wahoo!
Tonight I sought to amaze him and prove that meatless can be good. After building up a good repertoire of veggie meals then I can start transitioning him to vegan, followed by mostly raw… in a perfect world, LOL. I like a challenge and he is finally willing to meet me halfway. So back to tonight… Italian is a favorite of his so I made Whole Wheat Capellini with Tomatoes and Artichokes.
You start with the ingredients above… onion and garlic… and saute them in olive oil for a few minutes. Add diced tomatoes and halved artichoke hearts. I use canned artichoke hearts that had been well rinsed and cut.
Saute those for about 10 minutes, reduce heat, and add some vegetable stock and cream. I wonder if nut milk would be a tasty alternative… I will have to try it. While this is cooking you can make up a pot of whole wheat pasta. Thin pasta like capellini works best. Dole out the pasta, top with the tomato artichoke sauce, and sprinkle with a hard Italian cheese (optional).
Oh yummo!! We hadn’t had pasta in quite awhile and it was such a treat. The serving sizes were on the small side… those are small plates, but it was filling. My hubby went out and got the bread while the meal was cooking… I told him I wanted a hard, whole wheat bread but he came home with something like French and it was white. I didn’t like it or eat it. Guess I might need to look into bread making if he is going to insist on bread.
Anyway… no meat and hubby LOVED it. He had three servings. He did keep saying that some bacon or prosciutto would really rock this dish but admitted that it was stellar on its own. My stomach was upset by the cream but I got lots of sympathy points from hubs. He cleaned!
Along with this meal we all had a big Cranberry Spinach Smoothie with banana, goji berries, flax seed, and Amazing Grass mixed in. Another big yum!
So… for you veggies and vegans…. can you direct me to some recipes powerful enough to win a meat eater’s heart? Now that he is willing to try, I need to convince him that meatless is GOOD. Comment and let me know!
Oh that sounds yummy!
We’re in the same case. I love veggies, he hates them. I can sneak them in some dishes but any effort to make a real vegetarian meal is usually countered. I am constantly looking for veggie dishes that taste like meat dishes so he’ll be willing to eat them.
my hubby is an omnivore and i am a strict vegan. we butt heads about this subject a good deal. i make a lot of vegan chili in the winter. my hubby loves all things pasta and pizza, so i make a lot of calzones with tofu filling. i have also found that soup is somethign we can both agree on, so hearty bean soups )lentil is my favorite). but i have also foudn if i cater to my hubby’s love of international cuisine (something i cannot stand), he is a lot happier to eat potato curry or thai tofu then anything else. we also have a house rule, if hubby wants to eat non vegan foods, he has to cook them himself. i even bought him his own pots and dishes for his meat, and guess what? he never uses them. he would rather eat “rabbit food” then cook himself.
Funky, my hubby is an excellent cook. He happily makes his own meals so I was lucky to get him to agree to this. :)
After following a mostly vegetarian diet for years, and gaining weight while doing it, I have found that eating meat has helped my iron levels and helped me to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong, I am a natural health advocate and a yogini but I think it most unnatural that man, especially men, should not eat meat. Why do you think it unhealthy?
dairy vs. chemicals –
I have lots of issues with milk so I cook with moka mix instead – no dairy… but hardly chemical free…
Our goal (though we’re so broke right now that it’s more a dream goal to work towards) is raw sides, and once a week healthy vegetarian (we know way to many unhealthy pastasaladtarians) meal a week and one fish meal. But current… we’re eating what we can get. But the dream is there and slowly we’ll be able to implement it.
Keep posting about this, it’s very helpful!
What is moka mix?
Why not add a natural meat like venison, moose or elk? Even buffalo is better than regular beef. As a former vegetarian, my body responded much better to a diet that is mostly gluten/dairy free with natural meat (like those mentioned above). If your husband doesn’t hunt, there are places online you can get it from (or locally, if you’re lucky).
I’m going to make that meal this week… looks delicious! Thanks!
Try the cookbook “A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen” by Jack Bishop.
I have won the hearts of many a meatatarian with this cookbook. The recipes are good, mostly quick and easy and extremely delicious.
We still love meat. We eat venison and hormone free chicken, but also have a good juicy steak on occasion. Your pasta dish looks yummy! Have a hubby that hates tomatoes and artichokes though….thanks for sharing the recipe. Love to see more!
These sources are both vegan, but contain some dishes that devoted omnivores have devoured at my table. The first is Veganomicon by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero. The recipes can be time consuming, but they’re filling and decadent and I can’t imagine missing meat in them.
The second is http://www.fatfreevegan.com and the associated blog, which I adore. These recipes certainly aren’t all for vegetarian novices, but I highly recommend the International Quinoa Salad, which is my potluck dish of choice, and always a big hit. The site as a whole is a little tofu-heavy in my opinion, but overall I love it.
My hubby and I did what you are doing for years. I was a vegetarian when we met and he said no way. He too enjoyed cooking so we would each make our own thing or he’d mess it up with meat after I got my helping. The best cookbook we’ve found is Vegan Planet. It has simple straight forward flavorful filling meals. Five years ago he finally decided to become vegetarian. He says he feels better and is much healthier. He has done it for health reasons, so he still has his “allowances” (pepperoni pizza and seafood). He too used to not consider it a real meal unless something had been killed. It just takes time and patience and eventually they come around when they’re ready. Baby steps. Good luck!!
I’ve also fooled a lot of our family, who won’t touch something if they know I’ve made it because they know something is different, by using the Morning Star crumbles in things like spaghetti. I know its not ideal because they are processed, but the meatless products they have now are really good. It helps the transition from meat and eventually over to truly healthy stuff.
Mmmmm…. that recipe looks yummy! I will definitely have to make it!
My boyfriend gets 2 choices: take it or leave it. (He doesn’t cook, I do all the cooking.)
We do eat some meatless meals, but I don’t plan meals based on that. I just cook meals that I like.
After reading “In Defense Of Food” by Michael Pollan and “Real Food” by Nina Planck, my eyes were really opened to healthy eating. (The trends of carbs being bad, fat being bad, cholesterol is bad, etc., are cow manure and blown out of proportion. Eat a variety of real whole foods and you’re golden.)
It makes a lot of sense, look how many times the “experts” have flip-flopped on what is good and bad for you. “Eggs are good! Eggs are bad! Eggs are good!” or “Butter is bad, margarine is good! Margarine is bad, butter is good!” I’m currently working on transitioning my diet to eat foods that have stood the test of time.
Meat isn’t really bad. Organic, grass-fed meat is good for you. It’s the corn-fed, hormone injected meat that is bad for you. (Which, unfortunately, is what the vast majority at the grocery store is.)
I have been struggling between with figuring out what kind of “diet” I want to eat, and what would work for my family (all meat eaters). I have gone vegetarian before and ended up gaining weight. I am currently still eating some meat (about once a week), but also trying alot of raw recipes and loving it. I’m starting to figure out that maby a diet of whole foods, organic meats AND raw foods is what would work for us and is still healthy.
It can be so hard to figure all this out, but good for you if your hubby is on board with going along with your goals. In the end, you have to do what works for you :)
My hubby can go without meat, but he’s big on cheese. We also use morningstar crumbles on some of his dishes. I can’t stand the stuff, so he adds it later to finished dishes. (Also, if your husband has a hard time giving up meat, it’s not too hard to simply use less in a recipe. When we ate meat, we would often only add a handful of hamburger to a dish that called for a pound, and we liked it better than adding the full amount). Here are a few of our meatless staples:
— Potato soup. If you use lots of McCormick seasoning you don’t need milk or cheese, also fry some onions on the side and add to it to add some depth of flavor.
— Lasagna. Put half a package firm tofu in a food processor to get it really fine and mushy. I also blend it with half a package of ricotta to get the cheese flavor. Then layer uncooked noodles, tofu/ricotta, sliced fresh mushrooms and spaghetti sauce. Make sure all the noodles are covered by the sauce. Bake at 350 for an hour.
— Enchiladas. Make a bowl of filling. Mine usually consists of black beans and cooked whole grain rice. Corn is good in the mix as well. In another bowl mix the enchilada sauce, a small can of tomato sauce, and optionally a can of cream of mushroom soup (If you leave this out, just add another small can of tomato sauce). Moisten the filling with some of the prepared sauce. Put a little of the prepared sauce in the bottom of your baking dish to keep the tortillas from sticking to the bottom. Heat tortillas to soften (can be corn or whole wheat), roll some filling in each tortilla, then place seam side down in your baking dish. Cover everything with the rest of the sauce. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes (or until the sauce is hot and bubbly).
— V8 macaroni. Boil water. Add two cups macaroni. Boil 5 minutes. Drain. Add 2 cans v8 (or alternately another kind of tomato sauce or soup). Cook until macaroni is tender and v8 is absorbed.
–PB & J. We use our homemade bread (sliced with an electric knife because it gives cleaner, thinner slices), homemade pb, and Simply Fruit jam or homemade, no sugar added, jam.
— Chili
I think your plan is awesome, and good for him in wanting to have healthy food and being on the same page.
Whoo hoo!!!
Cheers,
Kristen :)
My husband is far from eating the diet I’d like him to eat. FAR! But, I’ve seen him make a few strides recently and it makes me hopeful that one day we’ll be closer to the same page, if not on it totally.
Nell
My hat is off to you for actually talking to your husband and coming up with a compromise. My husband and I are in the same place, mostly omnivore, but moving toward a more healthy, less meat direction . . .I just haven’t bothered to clue him in. ;-) Sad right, but I just keep making substitutions and preparing less meat meals all the time. He made not one comment this summer when we had steak maybe once – instead he raved about our new black bean burgers. I love secret plots! As long as the kids don’t tattle, maybe he’ll never notice. ;-)
Hi, Tiffany! I love your blog!
What helped my husband in the beginning was a cookbook by Nava Atlas…I forget the name of it, but she has many that we like. Her meals are very easy to cook and help you move from vegetarian to vegan. My husband still eats meat when he’s not at home, but I’ve found that he truly enjoys a lot of the vegan meals I cook….I keep checking different cookbooks out of the library and trying a few recipes from each. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of new vegan cookbooks that have incorporated whole foods and not just a bunch of processed junk. I just checked out Christina Pirello’s new book This Crazy Vegan Life (or My Crazy Vegan Life?) – it sounds like the new book you read by Alicia Silverstone is probably similar…that’s on my list to read, too!