[pear_girl]

My hubby and i have been married almost 10 years and have been together for 13. When we first started dating back when I was 15 I was veg (not a very informed veg but still made the effort not to eat animals)...well being young and impressionable I went back to eating meat

and ate it up until last month.....I woke up in October realizing I did not want to eat meat anymore and that I knew why (I had just been blocking it out all these years ughhh). Anyway hubby has teased me a bit and said I will change again etc...but then on the other hand he says he understands why I am doing it....he is good about making his own meat when he wants it and will even make me up salads and pastas so cooking is not really an issue since even when I ate it I would not cook it....

anyway I guess I just wanted to know there are others out there that have a spouse that does eat meat??? I wish he would change but doubt it will happen. I can get him to try the fake meat stuff and I do have him hooked on the morningstar sausage patties but he still eats chicken and beef etc...several times a week

I just want to know I am not the only one that is deciding to live their life this way without much support from their spouse...

Thanks

 

[sf.girl]

Hi Steph, I also am married to a meat eater. I do most of the cooking, and will not cook meat anymore. He seems cool with it, will eat any veggie stuff I make. We eat lots of Quorn products, but he's not so down with tofu! He gets meat at the store for sandwiches and will occasionally make sausage or bacon with his weekend brekkie. I dont expect him to change his eating habits just because I have. Ive only been veggie for almost 3 months, so its very new for both of us.

I am however, getting him to eat more veggies which is great! And he does not eat dairy products, except the occasional scrambled eggs. So for now it works for us...who knows how I will feel about it in the future. I dont think he will ever give up meat though.

 

[karenlovessnow]

I have been married for 32 years. I have only been vegetarian/vegan for 3. There is no way my husband will not eat meat and he doesn't cook. I don't 'cook' meat for him, he now eats pre-made stuff from the grocery store/deli. He does eat some of the veggie sides. He doesn't know that when he has mashed potatoes it's made with soy milk and EB, stuff like that. It's hard and becoming harder the longer I maintain my vegan diet. He was making fun of me for a while, but I kind of put him in his place last year when he started making jokes about my food at a family gathering. I told him he needed to get himself some new material because the current material was 'getting old'. He hasn't said anything derogatory since. I also don't appreciate the comments when I am cooking for myself. It obviously looks and smells appealing to him, but as soon as he asks and I tell him what it is, he goes 'yuck'. I know many here refuse to have meat in the house, but I am of the mindset that we have been together a really long time and I don't think changing the 'rules' at this stage of the game is particularly 'fair'. He has as much of a right to eat what he wants as I do. There are some other issues going on, so this is what works for me. It's a compromise I'd rather not have to do, but I deal with it.

 

[pear_girl]

Thanks ladies! You are right Karen..I cannot tell him what he should or should not eat. I will be happy with as much support as he gives me and just keep telling him to back off if he teases. I already told him last night "Just cause you feel guilty doesn't mean you need to tease me" ha ha

 

[hnybny91]

Not only am I married to a meat eater, but both my kids (13 & 16) still eat meat also. I wish I could convert them all but that is not likely to happen anytime soon. I do sneak in my food every once in awhile, like when I made tofu tacos the other night. I imagine the longer I am a veg, the less they will be getting meat at dinnertime.

 

[codemonkey]

My husband and kids still eat meat every now and then but not every day. I've been cooking all veggie food at home and no one seems to mind.

 

[Medesha]

Yep! My husband is an omnivore. It doesn't bother me. He's always been this way. I was omni when we met and married, and he gives me unconditional support (and has stopped reflexively asking me if I "want some chicken" when he eats -- it's hard to break the habit of years!). We're very happy together.

 

[pixiexxs]

My husband is omni as well, vegan at home because I'm the grocery shopper and cook in our family. He is trying to support the 3 kids and myself by trying to follow our vegan lifestyle, but I'm not holding him to it. At work or business lunches he'll occassionally have a steak (always regrets it after

). We've been married a little over 10 years, so this is all new to him as far as our relationship goes. But he is very supportive and I love that. He will roll his eyes when certain issues come up, but geez, he's like that with so many things I've learned not to take it personally. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to move on from it and just enjoy life.

 

[zoebird]

my husband is omni too!

 

[truepeacenik]

Pear girl, similar situation. I lapsed during a year (3-4 times in that year) of our 12 years together.

what is hardest on me is the leavings of his omni meals: the grease that seems alive and the bones. Cooking wasn't that much of a problem for me. (Although I notice I wash my hands constantly handling meat)

So he washes his own plate/ pot/ utensils.

What I'm doing now is crock pot roasting his flesh (his own crockpot so the kitchen stays Kosher), maybe three times in a month, and we eat vegetarian CUSINE (that's important, it isn't a diet per se,) at home.

I'm flexible with making do at restaurants (meaning I have a weird selection of sides) and he actually likes the best all veggie restaurant in town, Watercourse.

We also tend to go out for Indian or Thai, and I know what restaurants are truly veg friendly.

 

[bekajoi]

My husband is omni. We don't do meat at home, most meals I cook are vegan, but I'll occasionally make a vegetarian option for the kids or him. I am not buying any cow's milk anymore, or eggs. If he wants them, he can get them himself. Chances are good he won't bother.

My thing with the cooking is that I am the one planning meals and getting our table set. I'm the one who decides what we eat anyway. And he still likes what I cook, I just cook it without the meat.

You can always say if he wants it, he can cook it.

 

[Poppy]

Since I'm the primary shopper and cook, we all eat what I eat at home. DH does eat meat out, although rarely when I'm along. Over time, everyone has more or less come around to the conclusion that my cooking - although different from what might be served in other homes aroudn here - is still pretty darn good!!!

 

[gas4]

My fiance is an Omni, so I'll soon be married to one. We've been together for 6 1/2 year though and I've only been veg for one year. I guess he knew from the start that I was an animal freak. When I first went veg he said that it wouldn't last, he's stopped saying that now but he'll still tease me about 'would you like some chicken? You like chicken!'. It's all in fun though.

We both cook at home and he usually cooks his own meat, I'll put it on for him sometimes, but I'm not prepared to deal with the nasty bloody mess in the bag it comes in, and he knows not to touch the other food with the meat tongs. He even gets pissed off when people say that they're vegetarian but still eat chicken and fish.

 

[starseed13]

Hi!

I am a vegetarian/healthy eater(for the most part) and though Im not married, Ive been dating the most junk food eating dude on the planet (omni) guy ever. He rarely eats anything besides candy, soda, and meat. Im not sure Ive ever seen him eat a veggie..maybe a few bites of lettuce in the occasional salad.

We went through a bad time that almost broke us up, a few months ago. He was constantly mocking me and picking on me and insulting me for being a vegetarian. I almost dumped him, but had a serious talk with him instead. He changed after that and became a lot more respectful.

OUr diets havent been a problem for us since then. It does make me a bit sick when I think about the kind of stuff he puts into his body, but its HIS body, and not my problem. Hes also pretty young (we're 25) so I know as he gets older and his health isnt so good, he may want to start eating a bit healthier and if he does Ill be there with lots of good diet suggestions.

 

[Sevenseas]

Hmm, not to stick my schnoz into other people's relationships, but he kept insulting you and then just changed and you accept him? I hope the insulting wasn't serious.

 

[elibrown]

My husband is omni. It's a non issue for us. I don't think I would have married someone who would mock and/or disrespect major life decisions that I make. Don't get me wrong, he's got his flaws...but he just isn't the type of person who makes fun of people or says insensitive things to them about what they eat. He doesn't really care what I eat for the most part, and if you asked him he'd say he likes it about me.

Recently he has actually started dipping into some lifestyle changes himself. Maybe that can make you feel a little better, because even though he has always been cool about MY diet, changing his own is something I thought would NEVER happen. He currently only eats seafood and meat that is in broth form, or trace ingredients. His palate has shifted drastically since eating my cooking for two years and I think he's starting to naturally "phase out" unhealthy stuff.

 

[starseed13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sevenseas

Hmm, not to stick my schnoz into other people's relationships, but he kept insulting you and then just changed and you accept him? I hope the insulting wasn't serious.

Well...he would make a lot of jokes. He constantly would say things like "veggies cause cancer. You are going to die" and "In 5 years scientists are going to find out that meat and candy keep people healthy". And whenever we went to eat or something he would be like "Im going to go have a big peice of COW"..the funny thing is it seemed like he was saying these things to get a reaction out of me but I never really had much of one..when he would say he was going to go eat cow I would just say "ok..? have fun."

Yet he just kept going with it. Its stupid because I never said anything to HIM about his eating habits at all.

Then it went way too far one day out at lunch when we were having a more serious talk about my vegetarian choice. He flat out says "I think its totally stupid that you are a vegetarian. Its stupid and ridiculous". This REALLY upset me, even more so because when I tried to explain that it was a personal thing for me and what my reasons are, he changed the subject.

So I was mad about it for a few days(and keeing quiet and trying to "get over it", and ended up writing him a long letter about how mad I was and how I felt him saying that was really disrespectful. Then he read it and was quietly mad at ME for a few days (how DARE I say he did something wrong, he is perfect after all

) at that point I thought we were going to break up but then all of that ended up leading to the best, most understanding conversation he and I ever had, and he realized why it upset me what it said. I finally got through to him somehow and he saw things from my perspective.

He has been way respectful of me and my choices since then, and most of his silly jokes have stopped (although the jokes didnt bother me as much as him saying it was stupid and ridiculous). In fact, he has even stuck up for me when other people talked down to me for being vegetarian before.

Yeah I know I put up with a lot. That lil brat is lucky to have me.

 

[neworleansmama]

My husband of 27 years is omni, and during that time I've been mostly vegetarian but was omni for a few years and now mostly vegan.He totally supports me and tells everyone I'm much healthier and happier eating mostly vegan, but he contends he is healthier and happier eating meat. He has an outdoor grill and grills all his meat outside. I eat mostly raw at home, and he eats that with his grilled meat. He loves all the vegetarian restaurants we got to and tells everyone how good they are. This works for us!

 

[starseed13]

I dont mind my boy eating meat I just wish he was a little more open to eating healthy like yours seems to be!

 

[BethanY]

my husband is omni, though i will say i think he eats much less meat than what i tend to see the average american eat. if he wants meat, dairy, etc. he'll buy them but like most of you have mentioned he tends to just eat what i make/have here since grocery shopping's not high on his to-do list. what meat he does buy/eat is contained within frozen dinners that he takes to work or comes to him courtesy of a drive thru window. it's not a big issue for us though since he works the midnight shift and during the work week we don't really get the chance to have meals together (although this is not ideal in the first place

).