Help! DH wants us to go vegan!

[SparePartz]

I'm not a good cook and tend to stick with what I know. I'm panicking slightly! He's watched the Netflix show and has decided we should try to eat vegan during the week.

I have some issues:
first and foremost my tea. I drink milk in my tea. We tried oat milk a while back and even he decided it wasn't great. Is there a better option?

Mushy food makes me gag. He's talking eating lentils, peas and beans. Is there any way to prepare them so they're not mushy?

We, especially DS, eat a lot of cheese and yoghurt. How do you keep a growing teenager full without cereal/milk/cheese on toast? We're not looking to try out highly processed vegan copies of non- vegan food.

I cannot eat mushrooms. Well, I can eat them but then get horrific stomach cramps a few hours later. Lots of recipes seem to be mushroom based.

How do I make sure the DC are getting all the nutrients they need as they come into and through puberty?

Nuts - hazelnuts make DC2's mouth blister, walnuts make my mouth itch and I don't like any other nuts.

Is there an idiots guide to being a vegan somewhere?

@Ihatethenewlook

The Drs may have asked this because lots of people with food issues use veganism as a way to restrict their eating etc.

@SparePartz In your opening post you say that you're not a good cook and tend to stick with what you know. You also say that your husband is suggesting the family needs to eat more healthily.

This doesn't have to involve being vegan M-F. There are other options.

The two of you could look at this website together and see if anything takes your fancy and incorporate some of these meals into the meal planning.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/quick-and-healthy-recipes

I think you should only eat a vegan diet if you want to do it.
You deserve to enjoy your food too.

This.
Vegan household here but I’d really struggle with the no nuts no mushrooms no mushy

It’s child abuse, don’t do it to your kids

My DH sometimes go veggie for a while.

I do not and kids don't. DH also do not expect me too. I do make some veggie dishes from time to time.

I'm a meat eater and that will never change, this I do know.

Do you want to do vegan meals Mon-Fri?
If you do then fair enough but if my DH said he'd like to do such a dietary change and that includes all the family I’m not sure I’d be on board if I was happy with my current diet

Tell him to go vegan if he wants and do his own sodding cooking. You do not have to do this so bloody well don't. I do eat veggie meals a few days a week and that's fine and I do it for me. I wouldn't expect anybody else to.

If he wants vegan meals he can batch cook them and freeze them in individual portions so he has a vegan lunch/evening meal and you and your kids can crack on with whatever you want to eat.

Firstly, it’s so reassuring to hear of someone else who has problems with mushrooms. My DD is the same, and it feels quite unusual.
When my husband did veganuary, he found rice milk best for tea.
He also found that a lot of vegan foods were highly processed and often high in coconut fat. Especially when you need convenience.
I would still feed DC cheese, yoghurt etc.
Would any of your tried and tested recipes work with things like chick peas or roast butternut squash subbed in for meat?

Right ….
So basically he is tasking you to make all the effort whilst he does none.

Sorry but I get the ‘we need to eat more healthily’ but it starts with HIM finding recipes, putting a menu together and cooking at least some if those recipes and then taking the brunt when his teen or you aren’t happy with the result.

If he needs ideas on how to get on about it, I’d recommend some great IG posts. All vegan. No mushrooms. And no mushy beans either (well there are some beans and chickpeas etc… but they aren’t mushed!).
But that’s up to him to find out imo. He doesn’t get to ‘express his wishes’ and fir you to do all the running around.

If a thread appears in Active, many posters will comment without noticing, or seeing but not caring, which "board" its on.

And why shouldn't they/we post? It's an open, public forum where anyone can post any opinion (that doesn't break the talk guidelines). The topics are just headers, not cliques.

Well if you are only being vegan pt then you may as well carry on with milk so that’s one issue sorted . Why not just go vegetarian instead , much easier and the food tastes better .

He generally only cooks at the weekend - when he says we can eat meat.

Flip that. He's interested, he can cook vegan at the weekends and you'll cook with meat and dairy during the week.

I'd tell DH to go fuck himself TBF but that might not be great marriage advice.

Your DH can make the decision about what he eats, but he doesn't get to dictate what the rest of you eat.

So you just say no. That he can cook his own vegan meals if he likes, but you the rest of the family will eat the meals you want and like.

What did I just read 🙄

he can cook vegan meals at the weekends to fit your taste re no mushrooms etc

Yep!!

I think my teen would leave home if I told him he couldn't have cheese. He loves it and gets through loads - they need calcium to grow those strong bones. It's also about satiety - he has an endless appetite for carbs so things like cheese, peanut butter, chicken pieces and other protein sources help fill that bottomless pit inside him.

@LikeagoddamnVampire Well yes, but that’s why there are topics. So posters generally use them, otherwise you could get this similar random posts showing up in life limiting illness or elderly parents.
Just common sense really, but there we are.

No way would I go vegan.
If your dh wants this, let him do the food shop, food prep and the cooking.
You buy yourself a juicy steak

A lot of vegan meat and dairy substitutes are UPFs and really not good for you either!

Exactly. There is no point in replacing an unprocessed or minimally processed food with a upf plant based alternative if you are changing your diet for health reasons.

Replacing half mince with lentils, fair enough. Replacing milk with 'Water, OATS 10%, rapeseed oil, acidity regulator (dipotassium phosphate), minerals (calcium carbonate, potassium iodide), salt, vitamins (D2, riboflavin, B12).', nope.

Tell him to fuck off. He's taking the absolute piss. He wants to go vegan he can do it and cook, including for the kids. I have a teenager. We were all vegetarian for a time at the kids request. Even with dairy, eggs etc it was difficult to keep him full. We are vegan a lot of time, with lots of lentils, beans, vegetables etc. And I woukd say I was an accomplished cook. So we went back to eating meat 2-3 times a week. He has chicken etc in his lunches and says its made a huge difference to his feeling full, as well as his energy levels. Don't break your back entertaining this if he isn't prepared to put the effort in.

Do you want to go vegan? Does your teenager want to go vegan? Why does DH's want get imposed on the whole household? Oh, except when it's him that has to cook.

I would suggest he starts cooking vegan in the weekend and see how it goes.

One of my adult kids at home tried the going vegan thing. As soon as they realised I wasn't going to make special meals for them every night and they would have to do their own cooking, it suddenly wasn't so important to be vegan anymore.

Yes, exactly

What a strange post that you replied to

Whats this about 'boards' anyway, cheese or bread perhaps?

Its a bloody forum for people to pop into and chat and some thread titles are interesting and some arent, I couldnt care less what section its under

He can go vegan. It would be fine to cook some vegan meals during the week just so you are eating together as a family, but you continue to buy cow's milk, cheese and yoghurt for you and DC.

But to answer your question - you could try chickpeas - they are a bit more crunchy and don't have that depressingly gloopy texture that lots of pulses have. Edamame beans are also a bit more crunchy and a great source of protein.

But it's OK to have a few non-protein based main meals - try pasta pomodoro sauce made of onions, garlic and tomatoes with oast veg such as peppers, courgettes and aubergines. You can have cheese on top, DH can have some toasted cashews or a dollop of vegan pesto (which is actually really nice and has protein from tofu and cashews in it.)

Or make a veggie risotto with leeks, peas, asparagus and fresh herbs. Add cheese and or cream at the end for you and DC. DH can have it straight.

Veggie curry with chick peas in it and brown rice would be a good source of protein.

Alpro vegan 'yoghurt' is nice - you can use the plain yoghurt in savoury recipes or add honey (for non vegans) or maple syrup for vegans and chopped fruit for a dessert.