that dh is being unreasonably fussy over food - it's like having another toddler in the house

[eastereggfeaster]

Am struggling with things to cook for our family. Dh is a non-meat eater- he does eat fish. Until now this has always been fine but he has recently declared he doesn't like quorn or prawns, so they're off the list and this only leaves fish, lentils, beans and tofu which I think is too narrow and ds and I aren't keen on lentils and beans.

Fish is great but we can't have it everynight. We love prawns and might otherwise have had those once a week in something.

Now dh might complain about us not liking beans and lentils but this is only two things and we like everything else pretty much whereas he is knocking off meat, prawns and quorn.

My view is that if he's not having meat (which is totally fine and I respect) he does need to be a bit more flexible about not limiting us too much!

Maybe IABU to be a bit frustrated by this - would be interested in what others think.

COuld he cook his own food?

tell him to sort his own food out!! just take care of you and ds's meals.

p.s. he also dislikes pasta and is allergic to nuts (clearly not his fault so that's a bit different!), so that knocks out another load of recipes without meat...

Can I just say I don't have a problem with non-meat eating before I get beaten up by vegetarians.

Veggie stir frys are quick and easy, as is anything using mushrooms.

get a good veggie cook book - linda mccartney's has loads of family meal ideas.

the rest of the family can still have prawns, just don;t add them to his meal.

Why does he limit you? You cook for you and ds and he buys/cooks his own stuff. His choice, you're not some cafe you know.

What about...

Baked potatoes?
Mixed beans other than lentils?
Rice mixed with e.g. seeds, coriander, onions, veg etc?
Risotto?

Hmm... how annoying for you!

Sounds as though there isn't an ideal compromise for all of you. You'll just all have to agree that every week you have some meals you like and some you aren't so keen on. As long as it has been discussed and agreed you'll avoid resentment.

We're much the same. I'm veggie. Dh doesn't like cheese, soup, fish, ginger, all sorts. It's limiting, but the deal is that I cook a healthy meal every day and when it's something that somebody round the table wouldn't particularly have chosen, they eat it with good grace and loudly appreciate how lovely Mummy is for cooking everyone a delicious meal! I try and do something I know each of us really likes about once a week.

I have got a few veggie cookbooks but as I say once you knock beans, lentils, quorn, etc. off the list the protein side of things gets a bit limited.

But I do take your point maybe I could try harder to find compromises. We do stir fries and yes maybe he can have just veg and ds and I can add prawns or chicken - how would I do it - cook that separately? I guess that's a potential solution subject to my cooking skills coping.

Or maybe ds and I could sort our own stuff out two nights mid-week and he has to sort himself out and then two or three nights we could all have one of the five remaining dishes (exagerration) left. Seems like a reasonable solution.

Sorry, you already use beans.

Suggest he takes over the cooking for the family?

Show him some graphic pictures of starving children.

I don't think YABU to be a bit annoyed but there are lots of things you can cook without involving beans/lentils/tofu - have you thought about other sources of protein such as cheese and eggs? Does he eat non-Quorn meat substitutes, could you try some different veggie sausages etc?

Definitely think a veggie cookbook might help give you some more ideas (Cranks Bible is brill)

Some non-meat/quorn/pasta ideas-

veggie curries
chilli non carne
vegetable fajitas with guacamole and grated cheese
jacket potatoes with cheese/beans/salad
paella made without the seafood (it's still nice!)
risotto
cheesy spanish omelettes
roast squash & mediterranean veg with goats cheese

hope this helps a bit

PS I am veggie but my DP is not - we take it in turns to do the cooking and if he wants meat he will add some bacon or something at the end. Could you do something similar, split the cooking between you?

Ooh steamed you're making me hungry!

In fact I love steamed treacle pudding itself.

Liking the idea of dishes we can add meat or prawns to at the end.

Eastereggfester: I can so relate to where your coming from.
My DH is a VERY fussy eater and has many food allergies/health problems such as can't have any dairy, will not eat meat that has been in the freezer, can only have a limited amount of red meat, no spices but ok with herbs, nothing oily and so much more.
It is a complete nightmare to cook for someone who has such a restricted diet, I make DH choose/plan what he wants to eat for the week and I will cook it, but the responsibility for what he eats is his own problem.

Your DH has chosen to be a veggie so he should now take responsibility for his own diet!

Will he eat eggs?
That way he could have quiche and omelets. When I was a veggie I ate a lot of eggs for protein.

Also...

Egg curry very nice.
Omelettes nice.
Scrambled egg or Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon

Your dh's vegetarianism shouldn't limit yours and your ds's diet. Either give him what you're having but without the meat (e.g. you and ds have steak, chips & peas, dh has fried egg, chips & peas), or leave him to prepare his own food.

Strawbezza - he's not a vegetarian!

I agree beanie, he isn't a veggie, it really annoys me when people claim to be veggie but they eat fish and chicken , idiots.

Ha ha that's exactly what my gran thinks - that you are still vegetarian if you eat

Gosh that's a dumb post by me - if you eat FISH!

A friend's DH is similarly inconsistently pseudo-vegetarian (actually he is more inconsistent than the OP's DH) - if she happens to be cooking something he will eat, fine, otherwise she cooks stuff that she and her DS like and he has steamed fish + whatever veg they are having. If that is too boring he can cook his own!

My eating habits seem to be similar to your DH's. Through choice my DH and I eat the same things which are:

pizza
pasta - incl ricotta and spinach canneloni and veg lasagne
baked potato and filling
shepherd's pie (made with green lentils)
Salmon, spuds and salad or veg
Cod or other white fish in crumbs with chips and salad
Omlettes
Stir fry veg
Veggie fajitas (we use quorn but you can obv. leave this out)
Veggie chilli made with bulgar wheat (easy to pick kidney beans out of if you don't like)
Puff pastry pies with mushroom and spinach filling topped with mozzarella and a dash of tabasco
Risotto
Quiche with salad etc or veg
Veg curries

I'm sure there are more but a lot of these can easily be modified to add meat, or you could try cooking meals in bulk and freezing so in the long run only one meal actually has to be cooked on the day and the corresponding option can be taken out of the freezer the day before.

He's a fishandchipocrite.

Get him to cook for everyone. That'll sort him out.

And I would want a medical certificate to prove the nut allergy too.......

Mind you fish, lentils, beans and tofu sounds like a pretty balanced diet to me!