Self catering holiday with a veggie for a week

[Lorey]

Later in the year I have an air BnB booked in the lakes. DB will be bringing his new gf who is a veggie. We will be taking it in turns to make dinner. Whenever db and his gf come to stay with us for the weekend we make veggie food - not hard for a weekend with curries, pastas etc.

i can see how on a couple of nights we could cater for both ie we have burgers and the gf will have a halloumi burger. Or we’ll cook chicken separately and add to creamy pesto pasta for meat eaters in a separate pan

I’m just curious how your family would go about it. I reckon our meals will be mostly veggie including brekkie. Bit annoying. But thinking about it if I were the veggie I would say you guys crack on with non veggie meals and where I can’t easily be catered for I will sort myself out. As opposed to impacting everyone else for an entire week

what do you guys do?

Why are people so disbelieving about enjoying cooking in an Air BnB?
Why al this 'surely' you'll be out stuff? It seems as though people can't comprehend that people like different things. Some people enjoy a night in with time spent cooking, chatting etc?

They have an amazing mushroom wellington in Lidl at the moment, cook your beef one and this one can sit on the shelf above.

I don’t know what is out there. I assumed most veggie ready made stuff would be crap. I have tried every m and s dine in option and have always thought they were just okay and really just an iceland meal in posh packaging. Never got the hype. Genuinely never had a single ready meal from m & s that I truly rated. So anssumed same would be true for ready anmde veggie stuff. And trust me I don’t have high standards and nor am I a food snob.

If you enjoy making a chicken pot pie it's easy just to make a separate veg pot pie, maybe she'd be happy to do her own cooking, pizza is easy too, I'd just buy a ready made beef wellington, or have it when youre out what a load of faff on holiday.

Gosh if you think this is tricky then you should never attend our family Christmas...

One Jewish coeliac (no gluten and she has genuinely been hospitalised after accidentally eating some at a work do)

One Buddhist vegan (so vegan for religious reasons)

One vegetarian

One vegetarian who is lactose intolerant

One omnivore who cannot cope without meat at least one a day.

The meals are planned well in advance and prepared very carefully!

If you’re all going to be in, can she not join you/make something later? You could post in the group chat you’re making a beef wellington on holiday, let you know if she wants any pastry or duxelles saving for her to make something for herself?

Just tell the GF that catering for her is too much for you to do and that she will have to cook her own food for the entirety. That seems to be the only option you're prepared to consider. I'm sure she'll feel welcome.

It’s really weird to brag about enjoying animal abuse

Chilli is usually my go to for situations like this. I'll make a meat one and a veggie one, only takes about 10 minutes extra prep if you do them at the same time. Usually DP is the only one who needs the veggie one (she's not veggie just awkward. Only eats poultry and fish), but I'll make them the same size and most people will have a bit of both. And then rice, garlic bread, salad on the side.

I'm not sure what she's demanding. Presumably her boyfriend eats plenty of veggie options when they're together. You're eating out and having takeaway which is a free choice plus lunches out or sandwiches again a free choice.

There's only four of you. Just doing a buffet breakfast if you want bacon or sausage. She's not going to be bothered.

If you're splitting the rest of the evening meals then I'm pretty sure you can manage a couple of their veggie dinners. And all you need to do is make her an option when you cook. No one does a wellington in a holiday lodge do they? But if you must, buy her a veggie version.

@Lorey I linked to a perfectly decent vegetarian pie from Cook Food. You're in the Lakes. There are pie makers all over the area many of whom make a vegetarian option. A perfect alternative if you don't want to cook for her but don't want to give her a "crappy" ready meal.

We've got family who are vegetarian and tend to eat mostly vegetarian meals when we are together. You can always have meat when you eat out together in a cafe or restaurant, or we will sometimes have a roast while the veggies eat a nut roast or similar and we share the trimmings or we'll have two big lasagnes - one veggie and one meat.

My DD is a vegetarian in a household of meat eaters. This is really easy as long as you have an extra pot/pan. Stock up on some chickpeas, tinned lentils, and a bag of frozen quorn. Say you're making a chilli. Make it as you normally would in one pan - mince, onions, peppers, tomatoes etc. and in the other pan do exactly the same but use the veggie protein. Tacos are great for this. Do similar with curry and pasta. Just remember to use separate utensils for cooking. It's your holiday so you should get to eat food you like too.

I see from your follow-up posts that you are not interested in cooking vegetarian dishes, which is a shame. If you want to get decent quality ready meals for this woman I'd recommend cook food (www.cookfood.net). The do a really good selection of vegetarian options including a delicious mushroom wellington that you could order to serve alongside your beef one.

I know what you're saying about cooking on holiday - you want to chill languidly over dishes you're familiar with so it doesn't stress you out.

Test your recipe for vegetarian wellington/whatever main dish you settle upon, in the next week or two. When you're happy with said recipe, make it again and freeze ready to take with you.

Do at least one meal by Ottolenghi - perfect for relaxed cooking together, glass of wine in hand, conversation flowing. You can make a mainly vegetarian mezze-style feast and again, it's very easy to just add a couple of meat based dishes to the spread.

Cook do really nice ready meals that are cooked in a kitchen, not factory-made. They have meat and veggie options and do big sizes for entertaining.

I'd just stick to stuff where you can change the protein part. I suppose it is a bit more awkward but then going on holiday with other people invariably is! You don't really get to have your ideal holiday when other people are added into the equation IME so you just have to adapt.

My SIL is vegetarian but we still have meat when she's staying, we just do an extra protein portion or do something where you can choose your fillings like fajitas or she just has a breakfast roll with egg while we have sausage.

I'm not suggesting you buy a basic ready meal, but most supermarkets have started selling their christmas range of vegan and vegetarian mains - things like wellingtons and nut roasts and tarts. They are definitely a cut above a ready meal - and I'm assuming most of your sides will be vegetarian.

Do you know how strict a vegetarian she is?

I don’t eat meat but I don’t care if food is cooked in the same pan etc which makes things easier. If you’re going to the faff of beef Wellington, you must be making sides to go with it? I would - genuinely - happily eat the sides.

You could also replace any meal with a block of cheese and I’d be happy.

Not all vegetarians are hard to cater for. If you don’t know her boundaries, it’s worth asking. You hate UPF - she might not! The meat stuff is usually of a worse quality and it doesn’t sound like you’d have tried the veggie stuff yourself to know what it’s like.

I don’t know why every thread online about vegans or vegetarians turns into ‘they’re selfish demanding brats who’ve made a choice and shouldn’t expect to be accommodated’ vs ‘they’re flesh eaters who abuse animals and eat their dead bodies’. I’ve never experienced it in real life. Food is food and everyone’s choices should be accommodated or don’t socialise with those people if you can’t do that. I eat meat, fish and dairy and have no allergies or religion but I accommodate those who have limitations for whatever reason because I love them/enjoy spending time with them more than I enjoy eating meat at every meal (which I never do anyway) if I didn’t I just wouldn’t be socialising with them anyway.

Well then, if you insist on the cooking because you have a marvellous kitchen where you are and you like cooking (personally we eat out every night and use not a single pan), then just cook things that you can add meat to

A beef wellington is not mandatory once a week.

Steak goes well with everything in the Cranks recipe book.

I used to have a couple. This was fancier stuff.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entertaining-Cranks-Kay-Canter/dp/0586073035/
perhaps not for a restful holiday though.

oh FFS, just don't eat meat for a week. healthier and tastier in any case. What do people think will happen if they don't have a burger for a week???

If you love cooking so much, you can make her a delicious veggie wellington can't you. I'm sure she'll really appreciate it and there won't be a ready meal in sight. Look at it as a chance to increase your culinary repertoire.

She likes cooking unless it's a vegetarian meal, when it suddenly becomes a huge faff.

Crisps and quality street?