Boxing Day ideas for meaties coming to a veggie house

[Heruka]

Having a load of family on Boxing Day. First year we have a big enough house to accommodate them all but some made clear they couldn’t do a non meaty Xmas dinner which i do understand, so we are all going to a different family member on Xmas day then us on Boxing Day.

I want to make something lovely and show them that veggie life is not as appalling as they think, but possibly I am putting too much pressure on myself and it’s not my job to teach them that?!! I’ve offered to bring our veggie main on Xmas so will bring a butternut squash/feta/nut wellington that we’ve done before.

Anyway, what should I make for them coming to us. I’m also conscious that the Boxing Day vibes are different and folk may not want a massive meal, so planning to have lots of lovely snacks and drinks while we lounge about, but I’m a bit stuck for the meal. I thought of doing really fancy cheese platter, soups and croissants kinda thing, and make a sticky toffee pudding, or I could do a more elaborate main meal to impress - any ideas?

Especially would like to hear from any meat eaters who would feel similar to my relatives who are fairly horrified by being separated from meat for 8 hours or so

I think most people welcome a less ‘heavy’ meal by Boxing Day and a buffet would be perfect. The preconceptions some meat eaters have about meatless meals is precisely that ‘less’ is often how restaurants do them ie substituting something for the meat - er, veggie lasagne, roast potatoes and sprouts, anyone? - rather than building the meal around the vegetable dishes and thinking about what goes well together plus a lovely sauce or gravy. Our ‘go to’ used to be a home-made nut roast with a red wine sauce and all the usual trimmings. I’m sure your guests will quickly realise vegetarian food can and should be delicious.

Buffet sounds good or if you’re after something hot to go with, you could do veggie chilli nachos with loads of guacamole 🥑 etc

Hot and cold buffet would be great, do cauliflower cheese, quiche, fruits and vegetables, Linda sausage rolls, nice bread, cheeses, dips, etc.

@Heruka

I completely agree - I’d be exactly the same, would worry about it and then plan, plan, plan. I should take my own advice

There are some great ideas here - it’ll be lovely. And if anyone still misses meat then it’s their problem.

I really can't face another big 'round the table' meal on Boxing day. A buffet is far better, and meat is much less missed when you can offer cheeses, quiches, tartlets etc.

I'm out at the moment so can't link recipes yet, but I did a buffet recently that was mostly veggie due to the guest demographic. I got more compliments than I've ever had before! I went for roughly middle eastern ideas, and aimed to make things look special. A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds on a cous cous salad or on a cucumber, mint and yogurt dip, for instance, turns the mundane into something that makes people go "oooh!"

Anna Jones and Ottolenghi have lovely plant based recipes... or you could do a veggie curries with rice, naan, bhajis, samosas etc. Tends to be popular with everyone.

If you’re going for a buffet spread (which is a good idea-even if people don’t like one thing there will be plenty of other things they can eat) then I’d suggest:

• Individual gallettes (they look fancy and are easy to make, especially if you buy some all butter short crust pastry to make them with). sallysbakingaddiction.com/mini-fruit-galettes/

They can be sweet (e.g. apple and cinnamon, mincemeat and marzipan) or savoury (butternut squash, leek and cheese, mushroom and spinach, brie and caramelized onion etc). Just make sure you cook any veg first (fry or roast) so it doesn’t go soggy.

• A big cheese board with chutney, grapes, figs, nuts etc (there’s a great thread on here about people’s dream cheeseboard).

• Salads. I’d go for a simple potato salad/coleslaw, Greek salad, and rocket, blue cheese, pear and walnut salad with a balsamic dressing. You could also do some more filling salads like roasted veg, feta and cous cous or pasta salad.

• Crisps and dips are always popular (sour cream and chive, hummus, salsa, guacamole etc).

Or if you wanted something hot you could do mini jacket potatoes with different toppings.

• Nice bread, butter and olive oil/balsamic vinegar.

• Having a good selection of desserts is also a nice idea because most are vegetarian anyway so they won’t notice the fact they don’t have meat.

You’re providing them with a lovely meal so ignore any comments.
In my experience ‘meat substitutes’ tend to get the most comments and draw negative comparisons (although I did notice last time I was home that my dad has been buying Quorn nuggets for himself 😂). I’d avoid them and just stick to stuff that’s naturally vegetarian.
You’re probably not going to change their minds about being vegetarian but you can be a great host who provides delicious food (and if they refuse to eat it then you’ll get the bonus of having great leftovers!)

I'm a meat eater who also eats veggie food sometimes. Boxing day being veggie wouldn't worry me - soup and cheeseboard sounds lovely and lots of nibbly bits are veggie anyway.

I agree with a pp and would want fake meat.

I also have to avoid soy based products so tofu and many things loved by vegetarians (and especially) so would have difficulties if you went in that direction).

And tbh if I had a big problem with no meat I'd just stick a ham sandwich in the car and make an excuse to go outside for a while to eat it in secret.

Oops that should be "and especially vegans".

Not want fake meat. I really should proff read better!!

I would consider making a home made pizza to be honest, with veggie toppings. That is, masses of pizza.

Very delicious, not expensive, everyone loves pzzza.

Soup, breads, cheeses etc is perfect imo. You could do a cold meat plate for the meat eaters too as it's just a case of buying a mixed pack and popping it on a plate so they don't feel totally deprived

Why should the op have to provide meat. She may not want to support the meat industry or have it in her house.

If a family didn’t eat certain foods for religious reasons I doubt people would be suggesting they just get some pork or shellfish in for guests.

As possible have said, surely we should all be moving towards eating less meat for health and environmental reasons. This is one meal.

PP not possible… (thanks autocorrect)

There is a mushroom and Stilton pie which is amazing quite rich I do it with chestnut mushrooms it's incredible.
That with a big cheese board, salad selection and some nice sun dried tomato bread type things.

I'd personally hate a butternut squash/feta/nut wellington because I don't like any of the ingredients! Snacks are probably the safer option.

*Why should the op have to provide meat. She may not want to support the meat industry or have it in her house.
*

She does not HAVE to provide meat. She could if she wanted to

Mushroom, walnut and blue cheese pate is lovely and easy to make

I'd make sausage rolls using the Richmond veggie sausages. ready made puff pastry, roll around the sausages, cut to size then egg or soy milk brushed on top. they are amazing!

If you are looking to do ‘sausage’ rolls The Lidl Vemondo sausage rolls are lovely (quite large so you would need to quarter them ) much better than the Linda ones which have way to much pastry and not enough filling these days

Egg vol au vents are all you need 😁

As a meat eater, soup, cheese platter, jackets, breads and quiche all sound like yummy & comforting winter hot buffet options to me. (Most omnivores would eat those foods without needing to be force fed the ‘veggie is delicious’ message)

Veggie pasta could also be a simple option (either hot or cold) or cheese & potato pie with home made beans.

I was a meatie until about 4 years ago. Boxing day has always been leftovers with a bit of extra cheese/party foods.
There is a great nut roast recipe on bbc food website that comes out really juicy and makes a great alternative to pork baps, we make it for Christmas dinner and reheat for sandwiches with apple sauce and stuffing the next day just like we would have done before. Richmond veggie sausages are about as close as we've found to real sausage.
It's not about taking moral high ground, but there is a clear environmental link to say we all need to eat less meat so if we can share tasty ways to do that then I think we do have a responsibility to share.

@Cornwallmaid can you link to the nutroast please? Dd has just gone veggie and I'm looking for Christmas dinner ideas for her.