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!

We rarely have totally meat free meals but do have meals with what most people would consider fairly small amounts of meat. It works better for us to have small amounts most meals than having some totally meat free days.

I recall many years ago doing asparagus wrapped in thick ham, baked in a cheese sauce. OH commented that it was good and must have been cheap because it had no beef! A true Yorkshireman.

I'm not a veggie but am trying to eat more plant based meals. Our shop recently got in a new vegan range, so I thought I'd have a look at those - until I saw the calorie count (I am watching calories too, which is another reason for eating more veggie meals). Those vegan meals must have all the meat and dairy replaced with oils and fats to achieve that level of calorie content!

Which makes me worry that they are trying to create flavour by filling it with fat.

Am not veggie but eat very little meat, and it's usually on a pizza topping or in a sheperds pie or something.

Each to their own. There is no need for evangelisim really.

Was at a family gathering yesterday (not in UK) so it was allowed in a country with a tiny R thinngy. The host was from a veggie part of India, and it was amazingly tasty. Didn't like the spinach though, sorry, it got stuck in my teeth, lol.

We have 2/3 nights a week where we don't eat meat or fish. Top favourites are the cauliflower curry, sticky harissa aubergine steaks and butternut squash roasted with peppers and goats cheese. 😋

Packed full of flavour and no, we're not hungry after eating.

Responsibly sourced meat is also more environmentally friendly, as is most meat compared to soy alternatives so...

This is hilariously untrue.

Also just a reminder that around 70 percent of the world's soy is fed directly to livestock, and only six percent of soy is turned into human food (the rest is used for soybean oil).

sticky harissa aubergine steaks

These sound amazing! Do you have a recipe?

@Glowcat

It is odd. Things like beans on toast, a cheese and onion quiche, pasta arrabbiata, potato and leek soup or a cheese and pickle sandwich aren’t Vegetarian meals they’re just meals. When someone will quibble over a bowl of soup because there’s no meat in it then I think it goes beyond preference.

I was just thinking about cheese on toast with baked beans - really nice, I find it filling, and no meat. My cheese & onion preference is omelette, and as I have an intolerance to tomatoes I really miss tomato soup with crusty buttered french bread or rolls. Fried eggs, boiled eggs, poached eggs on toast!

And fish! I love a decent bit of fish, or even a plate of fish fingers with peas and/or chips.

And I'm a big meat lover in general.

@Dixiechickonhols - I eat some veggie meals but most things taste better with meat.

I think what you mean is most things taste better to you with meat.

I'm a vegetarian. The main reason I became vegetarian is because I dislike the taste and texture of most meat.

sticky harissa aubergine steaks

These sound amazing! Do you have a recipe?

I thought that too.

We like cheese soufflé with a hearty salad, pasta with homemade fresh tomato sauce, mushroom omelette.....

Well in the scenarios you are describing it is just rude because if you are at someone’s house for a meal you eat what you are given unless dietary restrictions are important. I can’t imagine going to someone’s house and telling them how to improve their cooking. What people cook for themselves in their own house or order in a restaurant is up to them.

I don’t understand it either. I’m a butcher’s daughter but I still grew up with plenty of meat free meals - macaroni cheese, egg and chips, cheese and onion pie (mum’s cheese and onion pie was legendary), omelettes, pasta with a homemade tomato sauce etc etc. Not haute cuisine exactly but good, tasty food and no meat - not that anyone made a big deal of them being ‘meat free’.

I don’t eat meat now - partly ethical (entirely my own and don’t judge anyone else) and partly because my IBS is much better managed without meat. I do eat fish occasionally, but I’d say 90% of our meals are vegetarian. DH is still a meat eater but happy to save it for takeaways and meals out, I always used to offer to still buy/cook meat for him but he just says he’s not bothered and happy with our meals. I use a couple of meat replacements but really infrequently- most of it is just good ‘normal’ food that happens not to be meat.

Even when I ate (and enjoyed) meat I was still capable of enjoying a lovely vegetarian meal. I have foodie friends and relatives who are very into cooking, eating out etc and they all enjoy at least some vegetarian dishes too.

Nope I’m carnivore. All I eat is meat.

I hadn’t considered the possibility that the OP’s mother is a lion. If so, she’s NBU.

I would eat a veggie meal, but prefer meals to have a bit of meat at least. I don't eat soya, quorn or any of the meat free alternatives - they taste like shoe insoles (or how I perceive insoles to taste) and give me the runs.

I just really, really love meat and, to me, a meal is dull without it. I was a vegetarian for several years but couldn't resist the meat.
However, if someone served me a meat free meal, I wouldn't be a dickhead about it.

I’d love to lower our meat consumption but I’m not sure how to do this without having to eat more cheese (which is just as bad health wise as meat).

Something about quorn really gives me the heebie jeebies.

I happily eat stuff like soup, cheese and salad sandwiches, cauliflower cheese without meat though!

Because they have little imagination/poor cooking skills/dislike of vegetables rooted in bad childhood experiences/are too busy or don’t care enough to experiment with new recipes/have fussy family members that will only eat certain tried and trusted meals? I’m sure there are a million reasons why OP.

I have reduced my own meat intake gradually over the last 8 years or so simply because I am finding it more and more difficult to digest as I get older.

“Our shop recently got in a new vegan range, so I thought I'd have a look at those - until I saw the calorie count (I am watching calories too, which is another reason for eating more veggie meals). Those vegan meals must have all the meat and dairy replaced with oils and fats to achieve that level of calorie content!”

I think this is part of the problem @Zaphodsotherhead - veganism / plant-based is quite an on-trend ‘thing’ now, and all the supermarkets are jumping on the bandwagon and bringing out their own range of plant based meals and snacks. However they’re not always the must nutritious products, unfortunately (maybe similar to a lot of the gluten free products?)

We eat a lot of meat-free Italian dishes pizza/pasta) and lunch is usually veggie but most of our evening meals do have meat. DH is a confirmed meat lover but I’d love to get better at veggie curries etc to change his mind.

I am on a low carbohydrate diet and it is hard to find meals that don’t contain fish or meat. However I would happily have butternut squash soup with a bit of grated cheese in or a mushroom omelette. When I imagine vegetarian food I think one would end up eating lots of pasta which makes me put on weight

@Glowcat oh shoot maybe i forgot to mention she is indeed a lion! A couple of salad leaves wont keep her full!

YANBU.

I don't eat soya, quorn or any of the meat free alternatives

Neither do I, and I'm a vegetarian. I think those sort of foods are the veggie equivalent of sausages, chicken nuggets etc.

I don’t eat meals without meat.