How difficult is it to be a vegetarian if you're still cooking meat for dh and kids?

[LadySanders]

At the ripe old age of 37, I have decided i really don't want to eat pigs, sheep or cows anymore.

I have 3 kids ranging from 6 months to 9 years, so am already cooking 3 different meals a day for them (one eats meat but no fish, the other fish but no meat, the baby so far eats everything).

DH is supportive/tolerant but isn't going to become a veggie with me, so i'm going to be cooking 5 different meals a day from now on in all likelihood...

i'm just interested to hear from others who are veggie but still making meat dishes for the rest of the family, and whether it is remotely do-able...

I never really pointed out to DD that I'd not added the meat to curries, pasta or chilli etc when I turned veggie.

She is Veggie i the house but eats meat at friends etc which is her choice imo.

Maybe something like Jacket potatoes? Or creamy pasta then just grill the crispy bacon to add to theirs after? You could just add grilled chicken etc at the end if it's things with sauces I suppose.

Sorry I can't be more help - my 2 are happy to eat whatever I put in front of them really.

Could you not just start cooking vegetarian food for everyone most of the time and just eat meat on the odd occasion? It sounds like you might drive yourself a bit crazy trying to cater for all these different tastes. When I was with my exP I only cooked vegetarian food - if he wanted a meal with meat in it he cooked it himself and was fine with that. The kids probably won't even notice, unless you currently eat loads of meat at every meal. If you want to be sneaky, you could try using Quorn mince in lasagne or Cauldron sausages in a stew instead of the normal kind and just not say anything - I've often done this in the past and people haven't noticed.

both sons are incredibly fussy and it's taken me ages to get to the point where they are both eating balanced healthy meals so am happy to continue with them rather than trying to get them to eat purely vegetarian meals. actually i guess really my issue is more about making 2 different adult suppers - i need to think of some meals which will be easy to do a veggie option for me... so obviously lasagne is a good one and the sausage stew is a good idea steamedtreacle...

but when dh is eating his steak and veg, i suppose i'd quite like something to replace the steak for me rather than just a plate of plain vegetables... i've never eaten or cooked a nut roast but maybe something like that?

i gave up after 14 years of vegetarianism when ds was 1 ish. i was making 3 meals a day and it was a pita. i spose you could get through it if you really want to. ds was a vegetarian too initially.. can you not convert your family.

TBH if my partner normally did all the cooking and became a vegetarian there is no way I would expect them to cook meat just for me. OK, so I might not be becoming a veggie myself, but that means that I can eat meat when eating out/for lunch at work/when I can be bothered to make myself something special. It doesn't mean that I'd turn up my nose at being cooked healthy vegetarian fare at home. Most meat eaters eat far too much meat anyway and could do with cutting down for reasons of health and economy.

they don't eat massive amounts of meat, and dh would happily eat fish much more often, but i'm not keen on it.

i don't want to enforce veg on everyone, just want to find meal ideas that will be easy to do a meat free option

I have a similar situation. I am a veggie, and DS1 is a fish eating veggie. DS2 and DH eat anything, DD eats nothing in a sauce.

I use the oven a lot, and lots of small baking trays, so I can cook fish, quorn or lentil burgers, and chops, chicken or sausages all at the same time. I serve them with plain old boiled vedge most of the time.

I've been veggie for 30 years or more, now. No-one else in my family was then and no one else in my own family is now. I have 5 meat eating kids and a meat eating husband and we manage fine.

Most of the meals we eat are veggie and when they aren't, I just make something simple like a jacket potato for me.

I cook a lot with lentils and beans. For instance, you could try making chilli using green lentils or a mixture of pinto and kidney beans, instead of mince. Because of all the other ingredients and flavours, folk don't really notice that there is no meat. Another good one is spinach and potato curry, again so many flavours that no-one minds having no meat.

Being veggie doesn't mean that you spend the rest of your life eating nothing but plates of veg, there are lots of things that you can make that everyone can enjoy.

You could make risotto of some kind, polenta or pasta in a nice sauce and add a few pieces of crispy bacon to it after you have served out your portion, if you really wanted to.

Patatas bravas, add some chorizo after taking yours out, make lentil loaf or nut loaf instead of meatloaf, bean burgers instead of beefburgers.

You could make individual quiches, some with ham, some without. Savoury rice, add cooked meat after taking your bit away.

Cook lentils and rice in stock with tex mex spices and use to fill tacos, instead of mince.

Tofu fingers are a nice change from fish fingers or whatever, especially if you use smoked or flavoured tofu. You can use tofu in stirfry instead of meat.

Homemade soup made with veg stock gets eaten just the same, just don't add any meat to the pan.

To be honest, mine get what I cook and are expected to eat it or go hungry. They don't get meat very often or in large quantities because I can't afford it. No-one in here ever gets a steak or a chop, for example, and certainly no salmon fillets or tuna steaks, because they don't go far enough. Meat and fish are luxuries in here, so the children value and appreciate them more when they do get them but are quite happy when they don't. SO I can't really advise on this one very well. If you are looking for something to replace the odd steak, you can buy ready made nut burgers or quorn fillets, if you want to go that route, or you could make a stuffed portobello mushroom quite easily.

It is no problem being the only veggie in the house, you just have to rule with an iron hand

I have been a vegetarian for 35 years but am married to a beef farmer so compromise.

If I am cooking then I make a basic lot eg tonight chilli then split the onion, garlic etc mix into two pots - one with beef mince and one for veg.

It does not bother me either handling or cooking meat and have sort of switched off from smelling it when it is cooked and on the plate.

The others have given some cracking recipes and ideas.

stressedHEmum, thank you so much, some great ideas there... i just need to adjust my thinking! don't think i've ever used lentils in cooking, will have to investigate

swanseatquince my dh was raised in the country and spent his teenage summers working at livestock markets etc so is also very prosaic about animals for food, although he won't eat lamb...

I don't eat meat and everyone else in the house does.

Mostly I do what others have suggested.

If they are having a piece of meat like steak or pork chop with two veg, I have some bean/lentil loaf with two veg. I make it in batches and I cut it into slices before I freeze it. (Ready made veggie burgers etc are bland and expensive over here)

Oh, and we eat an egg based meal twice a week.

You should try to eat more pulses if you are cutting out meat (for iron and protein).

mainly i seemed to have lentils and dh mince.. the followign night the left over owuld be chillecon carne, left over lentils/mince, with kidney beans.
we used to have vegetarian sausages and pies, which were quite nice,

tempted to go back to vegetarianism.