Vegan with a Non-Vegan Husband Dilemma?

About 4 months ago I read a book that changed my life and I decided to take the huge step to eliminating animal products from my diet. I am very proud of this decision and feel great about what I am doing. YET, I have a husband who is a meat eater like NO ONE you have ever met in your life. He is from Brazil and they eat their meat with a side of meat and maybe a glass of meat to go with it! We sat down and discussed what I wanted to do and although he is VERY supportive of my decision and helps me find new foods and restaurants and I am VERY supportive of the fact that this lifestyle is not the right one for him (please don't bash me), I am having a HUGE problem with cooking for the both of us. He is the pickiest eater you have ever met, aside from the fact that he eats meat, he eat absolutely NO veggies except potatoes. He does love pasta..... as long as it is cheesy, meaty pasta. WILL NOT TOUCH TOFU %26amp; HATES when I bake with soy or ANYTHING not milk or eggs (and I have tried to trick him and he freaking KNOWS). I am having to cook separate meals for each of us and I keep thinking that maybe I will wear of on him and open his eyes to new things but it's just not happening and I am getting frustrated. I just want to know if anyone else has a split house hold and how you cope.... tips and tricks!?Vegan with a Non-Vegan Husband Dilemma?
My husband is the same way. He is from the Caribbean and he eats, chicken, with a side of fried chicken, and then chicken wings, with some curry chicken to wash it down with.



But, I do have good news for you. I have just lovingly and consistently talked with my husband to let him know that I want him to be around for a very long time. I want us to be able to share our life together and be there for our sons, and any other future children that we might have.



So slowly, he has begun to eat a bit of salad. He will eat a few other veggies, steamed carrots %26amp; broccoli, and mixed veggies he will eat now also.



So, don't try to force him. I cooked separate items for myself %26amp; My husband for YEARS ! ! Now it is easier because I just add in some meat or main dish for him, and then I eat the veggies and sides that I fix for both of us. But, forewarning, I have been doing this for the past 5 years or so. We have been married for 11 years. So, it is do-able just keep on loving !Vegan with a Non-Vegan Husband Dilemma?
There are some great recipes out there- some are so good, he won't even know they're vegan! Does he like chili? This chili is vegan and soooo delicious: http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/bol鈥?/a>
I would say that if he wants to live, he really needs to learn to eat veggies. Easier said than done, I know. It's good that you understand each other, and I understand that veganism isn't for everyone, but unless he wants to die young, he has to cut back on the meat, Brazilian or no. Clearly the ';you cook the sides and your analgoue while he cooks his meat'; solution I suggest to ';mixed'; homes isn't going to work here. Perhaps he could cook his own meals. Just make sure he has separate pots and pans for his stuff and doesn't use yours.
I don't know what to say. I understand it's a huge problem but I don't know how to even begin with dealing with it. You can't force him to eat differently, he's going to have to want to, which he probably wont. It's his choice, his body right? I don' t know. Im probably not help.
Maybe you can find some vegan recipes that are easily converted to meatatarian versions? In other words something that you can eat and either you or he could cook some meat separately and add to his food. It's easy enough to do that with pasta, or burritos, or even chili.



I understand that you and he have different tastes but he's being inconsiderate. Since you do all the cooking he should either eat it, or fix something himself, in my opinion. I'm vegetarian and while my husband might prefer to eat more meat, he eats what I feed him, without too much complaining. Your hubby could at least put some effort into liking more of your food or contributing something himself. You say the cooking is a ';HUGE problem'; and so that makes me think a compromise needs to be made.



Non-vegan or not, I hope you can get him to consider eating more veggies. Just eating meat, eggs, and dairy isn't very healthy.
Are you required to cook all of his meals? If I was in your situation I would cook vegan meals and tell him ';it's food, eat it. If you don't want this particular type of food, feel free to cook a meal for yourself.';
If he doesn't eat what you make, then he can make his own dinner. Simple as that.
One thing you could do is things like teriyaki tofu for you, teriyaki chicken for him, and a big pot of rice to split. You are still cooking separate things, but you only need to prepare one sauce for both dishes. You could make small pizzas, yours cheeseless with lots of veggies, and his piled with cheese and pepperoni, or whatever he likes. You could do a stir fry with veggies, and then cook some meat on the side with the same spices, then serve it over pasta or noodles. Who knows, maybe he will even try some of the veggies. A favorite of mine is to do TVP tacos, with regular beef tacos for my bf. Here's the recipe I use for TVP tacos, which is excellent:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishe鈥?/a>
I do the grocery shopping and I do the cooking, so what is fixed for dinner is dictated by ME. My spouse is an adult, not a 3 year old child and I refuse to treat him as such.



I'm an ethical vegetarian, not vegan, so the only dead animal flesh that comes into the house is take-out, left overs, or food for our pets.



If this is purely for health reasons, then cook your meal and add dead animals later. If it's for ethics, then you'll have to decide what's right for the two of you. I just know that my spouse would never ask me to cook a deal animal for him.
I have to say give it time. I know four months seems like a long time and he should be coming around but it's really not. My boyfriend and I have only been dating for four months and he was anti-vegetarian when I first met him. Now he's even considering giving up meat if we decide to make a life together. This is as of last week and it came out of the blue (so I thought). He might be thinking about it but feel pressured and leaning away from the pressure. Given space he may come to it on his own.



Until then, talk to him about the difficulty in making two meals every day. See if he has suggestions that don't involve you changing back to eating meat. Try to make meals that are similar where only the protein source is different.
While including more veggies in your diet is a good thing you may want to reconsider your decision to go totally vegan. Consider adding eggs, milk and cheese back into your diet otherwise you are risking nutritional deficiencies.



And sorry, there is nothing out there made of soy no matter what meat flavor it is, that taste like or has the nutrition of real meat.