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!

[quote reducingfootprint]@heartsonacake maybe that because you cannot cook well? I found them to be bland before i got some good cookbooks![/quote]
No, it’s not. I’m a good cook. But that’s beside the point really because I’ve eaten various other meat free meals from others.

I won’t now, though. I’m not interested in encouraging and enabling a silly childlike vegetarian/vegan ideal.

We eat meat free dinners 3/4 nights a week, breakfast and lunch are usually meat free, I won't touch fake meat though and I'm not a fan of Quorn, perfectly happy with vegetables, pulses, beans etc though , if only I could convert DH to mushrooms! (He's generally unfussy just hates mushrooms and I love them, he picks them out to be fair.

@vanillandhoney

@chocolatviennois was saying she needs a low carb diet. That list you gave was full of carbs! Low carb veggie is really, really hard unless you eat ridiculous amounts of egg and cheese!

@chocolatviennois

I’m a low carb per vegetarian too.

We should have a thread to share ideas.

I won’t now, though. I’m not interested in encouraging and enabling a silly childlike vegetarian/vegan ideal.

You think eating a Greek salad or penne arrabiata or a jacket potato or even a bloody cheese sandwich is enabling a childlike ideal and therefore WONT do it?

Bizarre.

"Why on earth was he mortified? Had he invited the local Meat Eaters Club over for dinner and felt you let him down or something?"

I'm puzzled by that too.

Eating less meat and more plants is the future so fortunately we won't have to put up with the 'it's not a meal without meat brigade' for too much longer 🌱

[quote covidco]@vanillandhoney

@chocolatviennois was saying she needs a low carb diet. That list you gave was full of carbs! Low carb veggie is really, really hard unless you eat ridiculous amounts of egg and cheese![/quote]
I was just referring to the idea that vegetarian food needs to be based around pasta.

I'm with you, OP! I am by no mean vegetarian, but sometimes it's frustrates me if you're the one cooking. It's a bit like saying 'it's not a meal without rice/potatoes'. Very odd, and also very fussy.

Why on earth was he mortified? Had he invited the local Meat Eaters Club over for dinner and felt you let him down or something?

No, he just feels very strongly that a meal isn't a meal without meat in it and is convinced he will go to bed starving. He was outvoted by dd and I who both happily go without meat. He's getting veggie curry tomorrow as well!

I think meat has a texture that is impossible to replicate. I happen to really enjoy the texture, so whilst I agree some meat free dishes are lovely, I often feel they are missing something texture-wise. I imagine if I chose to become vegan I would get used to not having the texture of meat, but I have no desire to give up animal products!

@DestinationFkd

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.

Have you never eaten a cheese sandwich?

Boshmama "Eating less meat and more plants is the future"

I've heard that eating insects is the future. Do you think that future generations will be swapping recipe for insect-based meals? This BBC article is from 2014 www.bbc.com/future/article/20141014-time-to-put-bugs-on-the-menu and there's another article here www.iflscience.com/environment/will-we-all-be-eating-insects-50-years/

It's not something that I would like to do, but as a meat eater I'm perfectly happy to have meat-free meals quite frequently.

What business Is it of yours what people eat.

There just aren't many meals without meat that I find satisfying. My DH is the same (if not worse) meat makes a meal more filling, and well, tasty. I am extremely mindful of our meat intake though for financial, ethical and environmental reasons and I am trying to reduce it, but I won't lie when it's a night we are having one of those meals I feel very sad that day!

I’m with you OP. I get a lot of people asking me if I’m a vegetarian because I generally choose a vegetarian option if we are eating out. I don’t label myself a vegetarian as I do very occasionally eat meat, this seems to confuse people for some reason.

Surely even if you eat meat you are not a carnivore but an omnivore so ‘vegetarian’ food is just food?

I much prefer a bit of meat even in a mostly vegetable based meal, just for taste. I'm not a fan of faux meat... but if someone else cooks I would enthusiastically appreciate the meal. I've never understood people who can't just be polite about other people's cooking.

@yearinyearout - No, he just feels very strongly that a meal isn't a meal without meat in it and is convinced he will go to bed starving.

Yes, but why was he mortified? His dp cooking a vegetarian meal isn't really something to be embarrassed by.

YABU.

It's entirely up to your DM what she eats. Just like it's entirely up to you what you eat.

If you have no issue with preparing it then I really don't see what your issue is.

Unfortunately my digestive system doesn't take kindly to too many vegetables which makes it difficult to have meat free dinners. Beans, lentils, mushrooms etc. are the devil's work as far as my stomach is concerned!

I do gravitate toward meat. My husband is vegan though. I eat a few of his meals with him but most of the time I will cook a chicken breast, or fish to add to the vegan version but I think it adds something extra which I prefer.

If someone was kind enough to cook me a meal, I wouldn't then whinge about it

People who can't have one meal that isn't their usual preference annoy me. Not just with veggie meals but with anything food related.
Not every meal has to be your favourite, most people surely would compromise with their family and friends and not insist that they get their preference every single time. We tend to go to a vegan place every once in a while so the vegans/veggies in my social group get to have a menu where they can pick anything from it. And vice versa they will happily go to a restaurant that may only have one or two options for them because thats what you do. You compromise.

Oh heck.

This is a sounding like a bit of a war. No need folks, life goes on.

Coronavirus is still very much out there, but anyway, I am sure the exceptonalism of the Johnson cohort will prevail and it will all be fine.

DD is a veggie so I have to make 2 versions of most meals. Me and DH eat more veggie stuff but the boys won’t, they don’t a like a lot of exotic veg or veggie protein alternatives so I make them meat. They don’t really eat meat at breakfast or lunch though.