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Living with a meat-eater. I need help!
Started
by Erica Scarpulla
on September 2, 2011
I've been a vegetarian for the past 6 months and recently started flirting with veganism. However, I just moved in with my omnivore boyfriend of 2 years and it's been way harder than I thought. We like to cook together and he's been supportive of my new diet, making sure to exclude meat from the meals he cooks for me. But when I mention my interest in going vegan he gets angry, making me feel as if I'm too much of a "health-nut". He thinks we'll never be able to eat out together again. In his defense, we live in an area with limited vegan options on most menus. I thought it would be easier to share a living space with someone, yet keep our diets/lifestyles seperate, but it's harder than ever. It seems to be the root of our recent arguments and now I just feel discouraged. Any advice?
Hi Erica,
Man, it must be difficult huh? :( Sorry to hear that you guys are having some disagreements, but I think it will get better as time passes and you guys start getting into routine. I say if veganism is what you truly want to be then sit down with him and have a serious talk about it. Just really express to him how important it is to you and how important he is to you and how much you want him to be a part of this. Best thing to do is probably ease his anxiety about stuff. Tell him that you're going to make sure that you find things that you can eat where he likes to eat and places where you both can eat comfortably. This is going to require a lot of planning ahead, researching online, and talking to the restaurant ahead of time to make sure you know exactly what you want when you get there. Then of course make some yummy vegan dishes for him too, that's one of the best ways for them to fully accept that it's still really YUMMY food! Make him think that it's more of a type of cuisine rather than a religion.
Thanks for your advice Beverly. I love to cook so I've been trying to make us vegan meals once or twice a week but he's still resistant with tofu, vegan butter and cheese. I'm hoping he'll come around!
My boyfriend and I just moved in together as well. He's a meat eater too. he's always saying, "just get it out of your head that im going to stop eating meat!" so i always tell him about why eating lots of veggies first ensures that your getting all the nutrients your body needs. he usually goes" your right ill eat my meat last cuz it tastes better anyway." by the time he's done with his veggies he's usually pretty full and eats less meat. hehehe. a lot of times i just push how great veggies are for you and how you can eat so many and not feel guilty so we usually have a big salad before we eat our main dish and after eat some vegan ice cream or somehting so he doesnt feel deprived or anything. i just read "the beauty detox solution" by kimberly snyder who is vegan as well. :) it explains how your body digests differnt things. i found it to be really helpful when it comes to explaining myself. it kinda just emphasises how the body works and how great greens are for you and how toxic other things are like meat. There are options for meat eaters in there too so it helped me in the way of dealing with what to say to my boyfriend. He said he would read the book and the kind diet too so we'll see if he changes his mind.
good luck! ;D
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