I have been a vegetarian for 10 years, since I was 13. When I got married, obviously my husband knew what he was getting into! I am the primary cook in our house - because of necessity as much as anything. He is too busy with work and finishing his degree that he would not have time to cook if he wanted to.



That said, he is incredibly understanding of the food I cook for him, and enjoys all the veggie meals I make (occasionally picking around the tomatoes or spinach). Still, he isn't as big a fan as I am of many of the more nutritional parts of my vegetarian meals, and I worry that he's not getting the nutrition that he needs. Several minor deficiencies have been identified by his doctor, and although we supplement those intentionally, I know that since we've been married he has made drastic changes to his diet, and these changes just don't suit him.



Although I realize that there are changes he could make to eat veggie meals that provide all the nutrition he needs, I don't want to ask him to change his diet in order to suit what I am used to cooking.



I'd like to start cooking some meat for him, to be sure he's getting the protein and iron that he is used to getting - but I have no idea how! I did do some meat-cooking as a teen at home. My family didn't support my diet, so although I didn't eat the meat, I occasionally was asked to cook it. Still, I usually managed to get out of any task that required actually touching the meat, and I can't remember anything that didn't! (Browning beef in the skillet, maybe...?) Aside from not knowing how to cook the meat, even when I can follow a recipe, I worry about cooking something that I can't taste to see if it came out okay.



Does anyone else have experience with this? Has anyone had to go from not knowing how to cook meat to learning how to cook it without being able to taste it?

Haha, I'm in the exact opposite spot from you. I do cook meat for my husband and I'm trying to do it less and less, eventually not at all.



Is there any way he could cook his own meat? Or maybe teach you how to cook it the way he likes it.

most of my meateating friends dont'know how to cook meat but they still make it for themselves in the form of frozen chicken drumsticks or whatever, where you just dump it in the oven and voila it is all ready to eat.



Maybe you could get lunchmeats for him and he could make his own sandwiches for work/school or whatever. I've done the fulltime school plus working thing, so I know he will definately have time to make himself a sandwich and you could do the rest if you want.



It may also be a good idea to ask some meat-eater friends of yours for advice, as I'm not sure how many people here on a vegetarian board will want to tell you how to cook meat.

You could bake chicken for him and cut it up and put it in single use bags and he could just warm them up and season them how he wants. He could add it to your veggie meals.

My bf is omni and almost always has meat for dinner. I cook the veggie stuff and whatever meat sub I'm using, and I'll just call on him to put his meat in the grill-machine when it needs doing. If it's something like bolognaise I'll make it without the meat and ask him to cook his mince in another pan, and then I just stick it in at the end after I've served mine up.



It only ever takes him a minute, literally, to put the stuff on the grill or in the pan, I don't have to touch it, and he gets all the fatty protein he thinks he needs!

I guess this depends on how you look at veg*nism. I don't see it as just a diet. So, me cooking veg*n isn't just cooking the way I'm used to or the way I eat. It's not KILLING animals. Is it really worth animals' lifes so that he doesn't have to adjust a little? To me, no. I wouldn't cook meat for anyone. There's plenty of ways that he can get full nutrition from veg*n meals.

Not Really No...But I have in the past....My Fiancee does most of the cooking..(but we cook together when we can) and he cooks and eats veggie at least four days a week...he cooks the meat that he wasnts on the side...I dont touch it and sometimes am not even around it cause the smell makes me wanna.



When My Mom was Hospitalized for four weeks and had two surgeries in a few months...I did help my family by shopping and cooking a few meals containing meat...did I like it??? Bigg NOOOO...but I am sure my Mom did a few things she didnt wanna do or liked for me so I did it and didnt complain....would I do this on a daily basis nope...but in certain circumstances I would.



Have a Hippie Day

If you're only vegetarian and not vegan, protein and iron shouldn't be an issue.



There is SO MUCH WRONG with this thread it makes my head spin...

Ah so it's not just me who sees it that way



OP, did the doctor actually identify protein and iron as deficiencies? You say you already supplement these for him. If he is supplementing and is still deficient, it is possible he has a totally separate medical issue, such as problems with iron absorption. A veg diet supplemented with vitamins really should not be causing health problems.