'Half' vegetarian families...

[NorksAkimbo]

I was a vegetarian for many years when I was on my own, and really loved it. I've been eating meat again for several years, and while I don't dislike meat, I've recently noticed that my food preferences and tolerances are changing; I've given up most dairy, and I just don't relish the thought of meat anymore. My daughter (4) has never been a meat fan, so though I always offer it, I've never made her eat it if she refuses.

So, I'm thinking that she and I should just sort of skip it, and go veggie. The problem is that my husband and son (5) both love meat, so I want us all to be able to eat what we like without feeling like any two are making a bigger sacrifice, iyswim.

Are their any other families like this? How do you cope when some are veggie and some aren't?

In our house DH and I are veggie, 3 DC are not. We only eat veggie at home but kids are free to have whatever they like out of the house, they eat meat at school, grandma's if we go to a restaurant etc. And MIL brings them ham sandwiches the days she picks up from school.

My husband is veggie and the rest of us aren't. We either all eat veggie or I cook something veggie and some meat separately which can be added to the food whilst I serve it up. The nights I cook meaty food, he has to eat something veggie from the freezer :)

I am veggie and DH isn't. We mostly eat the same things, usually meat-free. Sometimes he'll add something meaty to his portion, like pancetta cubes to risotto, or sausages to a bean casserole.

Something that works well is cooking the same dish side-by-side so there is only one set of ingredients to prep but 2 pans to cook each portion in e.g. bolognese - one using beef and one Quorn mince.

He says he likes the challenge of cooking interesting veggie dishes, and it is better for health and economic reasons too.

DS (17 months) is not a fan of meat so far so we'll see what happens as he grows up he will be veggie

Dh and I are veggie (Okay, strictly speaking I'm pesky). We cook mostly vegetarian stuff and only ocassionally give the dcs things like mince, fish, sausages. DS absolutely adores meat so I feel a bit mean but he does have school dinners too so he gets his daily does of meat there.

Dh is a non-meat eater but does have fish. He's also quite fussy.

Ds loves meat and so we tend to have meaty meals when dh is out for dinner elsewhere or on business trips. Sometimes if we have roast dinner we have chicken and he has veggie sausages.

He complains about the smell if I cook meat other than chicken so it's quite limiting. We eat veggie mostly.

Barbecues in summer are also good as we all have what we fancy - dh fish or veggie and us meat.

I've basically gone veggie with my veggie DH. Sometimes I'll do a roast, and have roast chicken or beef or whatever all week, then be tired of meat for a while. This sort of approach might work for your DH and DS, since there's two eating (it's a bit much for one, so I'll really go off that meat for a while).

Another thing to try is if DH were to cook half the time, and you cook the other half. (the odd night being leftover or takeaway night)

This is all great advice, thank you...I was sort of looking at it like it was going to be kind of unmanageable, but obviously, you're all doing just fine with it. My vegetarian past gives me the benefit of already having some regular veggie meals that everyone likes, so adding to my repetoire might help a bit. DH did say last night that he wouldn't mind eating mostly veggie at home, he just wasn't prepared to commit to a full veggie lifestyle, which is fair enough. I guess as long as we all compromise, we'll be okay!

I don't like meat but DH loves it and so do kids. We mostly eat veggie (for economy if nothing else). I do buy some meat for sandwiches and occasionally cook meals where I have a 'meat alternative' or just eat the vegetables. It works OK but it helps that I don't mind cooking meat, I just don't want to eat it.

I;m veggie, DH is not. We usually have veggie meals and he will supplement with pre-roasted chicken drumsticks or canned sardines or fresh fish. Easy stuff that doesn't need much prep.

DH and DD are veggie, I'm not and I am the one who does all the cooking.

It's incredibly easy to either cook veggie and have a bit of meat on the side (sausages under the grill, some nice ham on the side) or cook a full roast dinner and they then get the veg and the potatoes.

I don't even notice now that I'm doing it - even when we have shop bought veggies burgers or sausages I either eat them or shove some battered prawns/scampi on the tray for me.

I'm veggie, the rest of the family will eat meat. I do most of the cooking and I only cook veggie food - wouldn't trust myself to cook something I couldn't taste. Seems to work - kids enjoy meat at school, dh has a meat lunch, they have meat when we eat out. I put alot of effort into creating good tasty food...occasionally like when I am making pizza, they'll have pepperoni or dh will very occasionally get some bacon and sausages for breakie but in general dh and I like to share a meal together - he's very fond of veggie food, he's fond of meat too - actually he's just fond of tasty food, whether it contains meat or not doesn't bother him too much.

I am veggie, my dh or DS isn't, however i am the wrong person to give advice as DH eats anything, ds eats nothing as he is food phobic and i am gluten free veggie! So in this house i cook 3 seperate meals every day and if Dh is cooking he will eat something that can be adapted for ds or cook 2 seperate meals and leaves me to fend for myself! Meal times in our house are no fun.

I am vegan lite in a household of carnivores.

We manage quite well most of the time - usually dh and I will eat the same thing, while the kids eat slight variation. For example tonight I made veggie noodle soup - adding tofu for me and chicken for everyone else. Last night kids had pizza (Friday night tradition) and I made polenta and mushroom ragout for me and dh, which dh had with some leftover sausages. I will often cook pasta with a meat or cheese sauce for the others and have mine with toasted walnuts or pumpkin seeds instead, we all have the same veg.

Shop bought falafels are my standby. If the others are having burgers/sausages/meatballs I just put some falafel in for me and have it with all the same veg.