Vegetarianism can be adopted for different reasons. Many object to eating meat out of respect for sentient life. Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs, along with animal rights. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic or economic.
There are varieties of the diet as well: an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.
A vegan, or strict vegetarian, diet excludes all animal products, including eggs, dairy, beeswax and honey. Some vegans also avoid animal products such as leather for clothing and goose-fat for shoe polish.
Various packaged or processed foods, including cake, cookies, candies, chocolate, yogurt and marshmallows, often contain unfamiliar animal ingredients, and may be a special concern for vegetarians due to the likelihood of such additions.
Often, products are reviewed by vegetarians for animal-derived ingredients prior to purchase or consumption. Vegetarians vary in their feelings regarding these ingredients, however.
For example, while some vegetarians may be unaware of animal-derived rennet's role in the usual production of cheese and may therefore unknowingly consume the product, other vegetarians may not take issue with its consumption.
In my family, like many others, cooking and eating together was an event — a way to celebrate, to mourn, to bond, to strengthen our relationships.
So how do you nurture a budding relationship when one of your main bonding experiences is a challenge? It takes creativity, flexibility, and compromise.
Pick a Few Faves
Through trial and error, my wife and I found several vegetarian dishes that we both love: a tofu-broccoli dish served over brown rice with a yummy curry sauce, an asparagus-and-mushroom risotto, homemade veggie lasagna, and more. These are so good that sometimes I crave them over meat dishes.
Bonus Tip: Pick three or four easy-to-make dishes as your go-to staples for busy weeknights. Choose one or two more challenging recipes for special occasions or for when you time on your hands. If one or neither of you cooks, turn this into a learning experience and make the food together. (Hint: Cooking classes make for awesome dates.)
Learn to Love Indian Food
It’s really good, so it won’t be that difficult. And it has a ton of meatless dishes that even the most stubborn meat-lovers will devour. Indian food is usually served family style, which is perfect for sharing, so it’s a favorite date-night cuisine for my wife and me.
Bonus Tip: Many Indian restaurants are territorial, only serving food from either the northern or southern part of the country. If you have a choice, go south; it’s basically all vegetarian, all the time. And delicious.
Go for Tofu
Before I met my wife, tofu was the flimsy stuff I avoided in my hot-and-sour soup. But there’s a wide variety available, and once I found the right kind and figured out how to cook it, I was in. Meat eaters will likely prefer the extra firm. I like the high protein kind from Trader Joe’s because it’s super dense with a meaty texture.
Bonus Tip: To cook, cut the tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Cover the bottom of a skillet in a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle a generous amount of spice (I usually use curry or garlic) evenly throughout. It’s important to heat the spice in the oil for a few minutes before adding the cubes.
For a nice crisp, cook for several minutes on one side before flipping each cube over. (This can be tedious, but it allows the tofu to cook evenly and gives it a better texture.)
Plan a Splurge Night
The one thing I miss most is grilling out several times a week in the summer. So every once in a while, I go to my favorite butcher and buy a high-quality, expensive cut of meat and grill it to perfection. Because I don’t do this often, it tastes so much better when I treat myself. So build in a splurge night for yourself, and make it a regular thing.
There are varieties of the diet as well: an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs, and an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products.
A vegan, or strict vegetarian, diet excludes all animal products, including eggs, dairy, beeswax and honey. Some vegans also avoid animal products such as leather for clothing and goose-fat for shoe polish.
Various packaged or processed foods, including cake, cookies, candies, chocolate, yogurt and marshmallows, often contain unfamiliar animal ingredients, and may be a special concern for vegetarians due to the likelihood of such additions.
Often, products are reviewed by vegetarians for animal-derived ingredients prior to purchase or consumption. Vegetarians vary in their feelings regarding these ingredients, however.
For example, while some vegetarians may be unaware of animal-derived rennet's role in the usual production of cheese and may therefore unknowingly consume the product, other vegetarians may not take issue with its consumption.
In my family, like many others, cooking and eating together was an event — a way to celebrate, to mourn, to bond, to strengthen our relationships.
So how do you nurture a budding relationship when one of your main bonding experiences is a challenge? It takes creativity, flexibility, and compromise.
So if you’re a meat-eater
dating, cohabitating with, or married to a vegetarian, open your mind
and use these tips to make your food differences a blessing, not a
curse.
Establish a Reasonable Set of Rules
It’s important to know what
grosses out your vegetarian partner, so figure that out early. Do you
need a couple of separate pans, skillets, or cutting boards reserved for
“meat only” prep? Does the sight of raw meat make him or her dizzy and
nauseated?
What about shopping for meat products? My wife actually
doesn’t require a separate meat pan, as long as it’s thoroughly washed
after use, of course. And she’s willing to pick up my favorite sliced
deli meat at the supermarket, but I’m not going to send her into the
butcher section to select a T-bone.
Bonus Tip: For
any vegetarians who might be reading this, I encourage you to be
flexible when setting the rules. If you turn into a meat Nazi, your
partner is going to be less flexible when it comes to acclimating to a
life with less meat in it.
Add Meat Later
It’s a no-brainer but worth
mentioning: Several dishes (pasta, tacos, stir fry) can start out
vegetarian with meat cooked separately and added before serving. I do
this with chicken, pasta and fish tacos (mmmmm, fish tacos).
Bonus Tip: It’s
a touchy subject for meat eaters, but I encourage you to at least try
some of the meat-substitute products out there. Most range from bland to
awful, but I’ve found a good ones. Some of the Morningstar products are
pretty decent, especially the sausage patties. And Lightlife makes a Mexican-style veggie ground beef that tastes good in tacos.
Through trial and error, my wife and I found several vegetarian dishes that we both love: a tofu-broccoli dish served over brown rice with a yummy curry sauce, an asparagus-and-mushroom risotto, homemade veggie lasagna, and more. These are so good that sometimes I crave them over meat dishes.
Bonus Tip: Pick three or four easy-to-make dishes as your go-to staples for busy weeknights. Choose one or two more challenging recipes for special occasions or for when you time on your hands. If one or neither of you cooks, turn this into a learning experience and make the food together. (Hint: Cooking classes make for awesome dates.)
Learn to Love Indian Food
It’s really good, so it won’t be that difficult. And it has a ton of meatless dishes that even the most stubborn meat-lovers will devour. Indian food is usually served family style, which is perfect for sharing, so it’s a favorite date-night cuisine for my wife and me.
Bonus Tip: Many Indian restaurants are territorial, only serving food from either the northern or southern part of the country. If you have a choice, go south; it’s basically all vegetarian, all the time. And delicious.
Go for Tofu
Before I met my wife, tofu was the flimsy stuff I avoided in my hot-and-sour soup. But there’s a wide variety available, and once I found the right kind and figured out how to cook it, I was in. Meat eaters will likely prefer the extra firm. I like the high protein kind from Trader Joe’s because it’s super dense with a meaty texture.
Bonus Tip: To cook, cut the tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Cover the bottom of a skillet in a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle a generous amount of spice (I usually use curry or garlic) evenly throughout. It’s important to heat the spice in the oil for a few minutes before adding the cubes.
For a nice crisp, cook for several minutes on one side before flipping each cube over. (This can be tedious, but it allows the tofu to cook evenly and gives it a better texture.)
Plan a Splurge Night
The one thing I miss most is grilling out several times a week in the summer. So every once in a while, I go to my favorite butcher and buy a high-quality, expensive cut of meat and grill it to perfection. Because I don’t do this often, it tastes so much better when I treat myself. So build in a splurge night for yourself, and make it a regular thing.
Bonus Tip: If
you try these tips and make an effort to integrate into your partner’s
meatless world, you’re going to rack up points. Use them to get the
green light for a regular guys’ (or girls’) night (and eat meat while
you’re out). A one-person barbecue is kinda sad. Grilling for a group is
much more enjoyable.
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