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!

DH is veggie, so I mostly cook veggie meals. I might have meat once a week. Our toddler has it more as I batch cook meals for her and freeze them, and she needs the fat content in meat.

People should be able to eat what they like. What annoys me are friends and family giving DH stick for being vegetarian, even though it is really not a new thing. Calling him a loser, a weirdo, telling their kids to call him it, too.

@Ylvamoon

Confrontayshunme - carbs are really demonized in diets I am just not sure why?

I have been cutting out a lot of meat and as a result I eat more carbs... but I have lost weight and have so much more energy and feel really good.
Many carbs in their unprocessed form are really better for you than meat every day.
(And it's cheaper, which means you can buy better quality food all round!)

I am more than happy to eat a meat free meal, however, it is really hard to find a meatfree meal that is low in carbs. Whilst that may not be an issue for most people, if you are type 2 diabetic like Dh, it is really difficult to maintain a low carb diet without meat. 100g Chicken breast = 0carbs. 100 grams lentils =48 carbs. When you are limited to 100 carbs a day, and you haven't yet added in the carbs from the vegetables, grains, fruit etc, frankly, the chicken is a far better option. Fruit and veg, pulses etc, in the quantities needed to make you feel as full as meat, all use too many of your days carb allowance. And before anybody jumps on type 2 diabetes as being the result of poor lifestyle choices, it isn't always the case. There are some health conditions which have a link to diabetes and there is a school of thought that there should be a separate type 3 classification to account for this. Anyway, as I said, I enjoy a meat free meal now and again, but for people who have to follow low carb diets, they are hard.

I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding, don't diabetics carb count so that the carbs are balance by their insulin dose. Having a low carb diet isn't all that sustainable for many people.

www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/meal-plans-/low-carb

One way, but not the only way. 100g of lentils is loads....

@hopefulhalf you are referring more to T1 diabetes. A T1 diabetic carb counts and takes insulin to cover carbs. A T2 diabetic like the pp husband has a greater incentive to go low carb as if they follow a strict diet they may be able to manage without insulin and possibly even tablets. Yes it’s hard but as a T1 vegetarian I Completely understand someone wanting to eat mostly meat to not have to inject!

@hopefulhalf

I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding, don't diabetics carb count so that the carbs are balance by their insulin dose. Having a low carb diet isn't all that sustainable for many people.

Only if they are on insulin. Type 2 diabetes is usually controlled by diet, with some people needing medication to reduce blood sugars/stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin.

I realise that 100 g of lentils is a lot, my point was more that proteins such as meat, tend to make you feel full for longer and are either lower or even have zero carbs, whereas the foods that you would eat in place of meat are often carb heavy. All fruit and veg have carbs and some are surprisingly high for a normal portion. Yes, it is quite hard to maintain such a low carb diet, but when your life depends on it, you have no choice.

@pokehuman I don't know what you find hilarious. Lots of people have violent reactions to quorn. There is lots of research on it. That's why lots of people are understandably saying "no qorn". My DH is one of the people reacting to it fully. I just get gassy.

@hopefulhalf.

Thank you for the link. Unfortunately, oh has to have less than 101 carbs a day, on the advice of his diabetic consultant.
I would like to say though, that the article suggests that only type 2 diabetics who are overweight need to follow a low carb diet. At his most recent appointment (last week), his consultant said that the was bordering on being underweight, but due to the other health condition which is associated with this type of diabetes, he has to maintain the low carb diet.
Thank you again - there are some interesting looking meals there and I might try to add one or two in now and again.

We eat meat and fish on about 4 meals of the week .. the rest are meat free just because we like eating veggie options .. I don’t cook with quorn or meat substitutes simply because I don’t like the taste and if I’m going to make a spag Bol id prefer to use minced beef than an alternative option ... but to answer your question ... could you not make the meal you cook for your mum be one of your meat option meals ? If you were strict vegetarian I could understand the dilemma but you don’t seem to be ... however for her to make such a fuss ( esp refusing to go to her son in laws birthday ) seems a bit of a childish reaction because she knows it will get on your goat ( sorry no pun intended ! )

Haven't had time to read all posts but your mother seems to be just plain awkward and RUDE. You are kind enough to invite her to your home and she refuses to eat what you have cooked - and as for the birthday party..... Could this be a generation thing? My late father felt he hadn't had a proper meal if there was no meat or fish included but he had been through the 2nd world war and the deprivation that involved but if I made him a cheese omelette or similar, he would never have dreamt of refusing to eat it. I think your ma needs to take a look at herself and realise how lucky she is to have a family that actually cares about her. IMHO!

It's a control thing in my opinion.but really did yr sil have to have a bday meal in a vegetarian restaurant life's to short. And knowing that yr mil won't go seems a bit obvious. I hate some restaurants but if it's someone's bday I will go. But when involving older members of the family you go to a restaurant or cook food that will please everyone. My older relative won't eat "foreign muck under cooked veg raw steak etc" just laugh and add some meat or smile sweetly and agree.

My BIL is like this. It's meat all the way. He sees me as a 'weirdo vegetarian' because I don't eat meat very often. I like to experiment with cooking and trying out new plant-based stuff. And it's really not boring! (well, not half as boring as having meat & 2 veg every night of the week). I'm really proud of some of the recipes I've invented.
So anyway, my BIL sticks me in a pigeonhole marked "nutter in sandals" and whenever we meet he brings up the subject of food. In no time at all he gets onto his favourite subject of MEAT. Then he warms to his theme, ie. "Meat, I love meat... I love to feel the fat dripping down my chin, meat, mmmm, sizzling in the pan, steaks with blood oozing out of them" etc etc. Basically he is hoping to goad me into getting upset.
I did once ask him if he knew where his meat came from & he laughed and said, "Tescos". These days I grit my teeth & wait for him to stop, but it makes mealtimes a bit of a trial.

I'm not religious about it, I do eat meat once in a blue moon like at Christmas, but I can't bear to think about how it's produced. Yes OK I'm a hypocrite. But I think it's better to be a 'part time vegetarian' than not to bother at all.

Of course meat free meals wont kill you.

But I find I prefer most food with meat or fish in it (or at least egg or cheese).

I am in the "live to eat" camp rather than the "eat to live", I love food and always want to enjoy it as much as possible.

Loads of meals are nice meat free. It’s a weird way of thinking that you need meat with everything.

I dont think I need meat in every meal. I do eat some solely veg based meals that I enjoy.

But as a generalisation, I like meat more than I like vegetables, particularly the things you need to eat to get sufficient protein from a vegetarian diet. I choose my diet based on the food I enjoy most (as long as its nutritious and healthy for my body). Meat often wins over the alternatives.

I cook a lot of meat-free meals and enjoy a nice bit of meat every now and then. My bf is quite suspicious of anything without meat, unless liberally covered with something spicy. I think it's mainly as he's a smoker and has done in his taste buds over the years. The umami flavour of meat dishes gets through, but vegetarian dishes tend not to have such a strong savoury flavour. I actually spice mine up a lot and use flavoursome foods anyway (radish shoots, garlic etc.), but he's had such bad experiences with "tasteless" (to him) veggie food that he's biased against it.

Dear Flatwhite32

We tried meat free mince recently and it was foul!

Have you tried Batchelors Beanfeast? It's hardly haute cuisine, it comes in a sachet & you mix in a pint of water and simmer it for 15 mins... real 'camping' food... but it's not 'foul'.

In fact it's rather nice
I do agree with everyone who has bust a gut trying to force some semblance of flavour out of Quorn mince though!

but really did yr sil have to have a bday meal in a vegetarian restaurant. life's to short.

What’s wrong with vegetarian restaurants? I have fantastic food in some of the local ones here.

My mother used to say, "You can't make a proper dinner without a bit of meat". Honestly.

I'm not a vegetarian but go for days without meat and have some really nice meals.

@Neveranynamesleft

One meal without meat wont kill you but you can't tell other people what to eat. Each to their own and all that.

You can when you're doing the bloody cooking for them.

I eat meat and fish. If DP cooks something that doesn't have either in it, fine. Same the other way round. As long as it has a protein source, I'm good with it (a plate of boiled vegetables on their own wouldn't go down well with me)

My ex threatened to throw any plate given to him that didn't contain an animal product (but not fish, all fish was forbidden in the house) out of a closed window. Seems he thought his testicles would fall off if there wasn't his lucky dead things on his dinner.

If we have somebody round, just as if we go to their house, I expect them to say if there are allergies, intolerances or dietary restrictions and we can cater for them. And then I expect them to eat it without telling me how I could make it better by cooking an entirely different dish. By all means stop off at KfC on the way home if you feel the need for more - but fuck off with your Me Want Dead Thing food critic act. But our friends are better mannered than that - including the professional chef, who will tell me his opinions if I want them and has NEVER told me 'What you want to do is take that vegetarian dish and slap a big lump of processed meat on top of it'.

Power, control, being a prick, toxic masculinity, negging, wanting to be the special dietary consideration that they think being a vegetarian or vegan is but liking burgers too much to risk going without, whatever you want to call it, eat it as it is or fuck off and sort yourself out.

It's just a very old fashioned view. I think it stems from times when poor folk couldn't afford meat and of they did get some it was a treat. When it became more affordable as peoples lifestyles improved, it became more popular as they viewes it as a desirable object and eventually everyone ate it, almost.

Flash forward to today and we now know that vegan lifestyles are far superior for both health and environment, and whilst it's growing in popularity, any major changes in attitudes take time and there will always be residual Neanderthals who seemingly can't go a meal without meat.

Times change, i predict in 30 years the world will be more vegetarian than meat eating.

Also, what with chlorinated chicken et Al, im very glad I don't eat meat. Enjoy your chicken ala demestos.

"She even refused to come to SIL bday meal in a vegetarian restaurant!2
I wouldn't go to a vegetarian restaurant for someone's birthday either (unless they didn't mind if I just had a drink and no dinner). I always look at the vegetarian options on a menu in a pub or restaurant but there are never many and most seem to be pasta based. I don't like pasta, rice, halloumi, couscous or lentils and pulses and Quorn makes me ill. I cant be bothered to go out for a salad when I can toss a much nicer one together at home for a fraction of the cost charged in a restaurant.

We eat meat free about once a week. I just usually end up snacking later. I think my metabolism is quite fast though. Its not that I dont like veggie food (JOs ultimate vegetarian lasagne is to die for) but its something I have to think about more so its mental energy too.

You’re seriously underestimating what a proper vegetarian (or vegan) restaurant offers @NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite in the same way that pub curry is a shadow of what you’d get in an Indian restaurant.

The vegetarian option in regular restaurants are often a bit crap and samey.

And the ignorant prejudices still keep coming. People who won't eat at a vegetarian restaurant sound like they must eat a very limited diet and must be very hard of thinking.