To not understand why some people dont eat meat free meals

[reducingfootprint]

I do not call myself vegetarian but i eat meat rarely for health reasons (bowel cancer is common in the family) but i am happy to prepare it as my dh eats meat but enjoys meat free meals around 4 times a week. DC also eat meat free around 4 times a week. My siblings and their partners are also part time vegetarians and pre covid we all enjoyed getting together for meat free feasts.

When DM comes over, she refuses to eat anything without meat. Butternut squash soup? Needs bacon.
Halloumi fajitas? Needs beef.
Goats cheese and onion omelette? Needs chicken.
Plowmans salad? Needs ham.

AIBU to think ffs one meal without meat wont kill you!

Sadly I'm with your mother! I think a lot things can be improved with abit of chorizo. Tried veggie alternatives but just not same

Yanbu.
We don't really eat meat at home. The kids might have spag bol a couple of times a month but that's it. They'll eat it at school and meals out.
I've even got them into Quorn bacon during lockdown.

Some people like meat.

I love meat or fish every meal, including the bacon or sausage that I have for breakfast.
I'm not stopping it for anyone.
No plant based or Quorn shit will ever come through my door.

My ex was a bit like this. If I made macaroni cheese he'd ask why I didnt put bacon in it. Because then it's not macaroni cheese and my veggie child wouldn't be able to eat it.
One of his favourite meals though was egg and beans on toast. He seemed to miss the irony there

I completely agree with you. Meat free meals are absolutely fine ( I've not eaten red meat for about 30 years) and even hardened meat eaters should be able to manage a veggie dinner without negative comment. It's just done for show.

My husband and I eat meat, but we love meatless meals and have them several times a week. My FIL is exactly like your mum. There MUST be meat in every meal, every day. He also has the palate of a toddler and hates nearly all veg, and won't even consider eating any kind of fish or seafood. I find it extremely annoying, to be honest, even though it doesn't impact me.

No one can be a part time vegetarian - you either eat meat or you don’t.

I eat some veggie meals but most things taste better with meat. I do a leek and potato soup that’s much better with a bit of bacon.

There's never mfm in this house...my oh & child would leave.

I agree with you OP. I don't eat much meat, and I see it more as something to add flavour and interest to a meal rather than something to base a meal on, IYSWIM.

I agree op. Meat free meals don't mean eating fake meat as a poster above seems think. Plenty of the world's cuisine is meat free and very delicious that way. I think it's bit weird and boring to want meat in everything.

It's just done for show.

^^who am I showing off to? If someone went to the effort of making me a meal I personally wouldn't pass comment.

Because.they.want.to

Simple as that

I think some of these replies are already telling you the answer OP- some people seem to think that to have a meat-free meal it must be replaced with a meat-alternative such as quorn tofu or soya. In our case we often have a meal without meat, or meat-substitute, such as those you mentioned above.
I can't afford good quality meat every day of the week and I'd rather not eat crap so when we do it eat it, it's high-quality and locally sourced.

Some people like meat.
I like chocolate, I don't have it for every meal.

No plant based or Quorn shit will ever come through my door.
By "plant based" do you mean fruit & veg? How can you never eat fruit or veg?!

Not something to be unreasonable or reasonable about understanding.

You don’t have to understand it. It doesn’t affect you.

What you REALLY want to do is judge your mum’s refusal to eat a vegetarian meal.

Knock yourself out.

Veggie meals are fine. in fact, I eat meat maybe once every couple of weeks. But the meat substitutes are mostly horrible, IMO.

Animal fats are healthier than vegetable oils and other industrially produced oils. Responsibly sourced meat is also more environmentally friendly, as is most meat compared to soy alternatives so... that's why. I do like halloumi though.

okay a bag of mixed responses. I totally agree chorizo makes things better, it just doesnt need to be in every meal!

She even refused to come to SIL bday meal in a vegetarian restaurant!

How hard is it to understand that people are different and like to eat things that are different to what you like?

Don't offer them meals if it annoys you but I can't believe it's difficult to grasp the concept

@RiverCrossing by part time vegetarian i mean eats vegetarian 29 days of the month but will have a bacon sarnie if they want. didnt know of a better way to describe it

There is no such thing as a part time vegetarian.

My husband likes vegetables and enjoys the taste of vegetarian food, but says that if a meal doesn't have meat, he will still be hungry afterwards.

I could happily just eat meat a couple of times a week.

I eat meat or fish most days. The only time I don't is if I have macaroni cheese or something. I like meat, I want to eat it, simple as that.

I wouldn't refuse to eat a meal that I was served if it didn't have meat in however.