How do I help my boyfriend make the change to strict vegetarianism?

Question

Were moving into our new home this weekend and he decided he wants to switch from being full time regular meat eater to my diet of strict vegetarian (no gelatin, broths, boulions, rennett. I bascially only eat SOME cheeses without rennett and organic freerange milk. (12 years veg now)
Hes all down for the switch (cause i wont be cooking it for him) but how do I ease him into this?
He seems nervous about it? What can I do for him to make this switch easy?

Im not forcing him. He asked me the other day if I could assist him through it. He wants to but never thought he could do it.

Answer 1

you dont if you love him

Answer 2

One great thing you can do is to handle most of the grocery shopping. If veg food is what is around, that will be what he will eat.

Another great thing will be to buy a lot of fake meats... sausage, meatballs, ground, chicken strips, beef strips... there are vegan forms of all these ingredients. Creating the same dishes a person is used to is a great way to smoothly make the change. Also, cook with fat (oil) on occasion. Often when our bodies crave meat, they are in fact craving the addictive substance that is fat. You should also use seasoning. A fake burger tastes a lot better when fried in oil (like a regular burger fries in its own fat/blood/pus) and add pepper, garlic and salt. Top it with some bbq sauce or veganaise (this stuff is the best). You can make "guy foods" like tacos the same as always, but use veggie ground.

Find great recipes to make at home. http://allrecipies has a lot of great vegan dishes, including things like cheesecake and tons of dishes you can make with tofu. You can also use regular recipes, but substitute the things you cannot eat.

And finally, don't be too hard on him. As was mentioned, part of his lifestyle change may be to be more in sync with you. Even when you love someone, a relationship is not a good reason to make such a change. It has to come from within. Don't make meat for him, but don't get mean with him if he decides to make some for himself. Hopefully, being surrounded with such great vegetarian food will cause him to ease into a transition... but who knows what he will chose to eat at the bar with his buddies. If he turns vegetarian, he may even decide to be an ovo-lacto-veggie, and that is great too.

Anyway, you do not want his life change and you to be completely intertwined in his mind because if he wants to stop one, he may mentally/emotionally connect it to stopping another.

Answer 3

Wow. It's amazing how few REAL answers you've gotten. What a bunch of whackjobs.

That is SO cool that your bf wants to go veggie too. Congrats to you... veggie guys are hard to find!

When I went veggie, my then-bf involuntarily went semi-veg, since I cooked the meals. He still ate meat when we went out, or if he got fast food at lunch, etc. but at home it was all veg. (BTW, our breakup had nothing to DO with my vegetarianism... I broke up with him.)

Anyway... I used a LOT of the "fake meats" when I switched. I'd been an avid meat eater... especially steak. A lot of the fake meats I used, my bf actually ARGUED with me that they MUST be real meat! I used Morningstar Farms products (their chic'n nuggets and their sausage links are both better than the real deal, IMO). Anyway... try using those several times a week at least. They should fit into your diet. Most of them do contain eggs though... you didn't state your policy on that... but they do have a few vegan products as well. Also, Yves makes a good veggie lunchmeat line, as well as pepperoni, etc if you make your own pizzas. Quorn is really good too.

My bf remained an avid meat eater, but he never complained about the meals I made. He'd still go have a steak every chance he got... but he was okay with the substitutes. :)

Answer 4

Congrats to you first of all for 12 years of veg. I am not a strict vegetarian, but I admire your will to not conform to the pressure of society.

My best advice for helping someone with becoming a vegetarian would be not push to hard, and be a solid figure to admire, for those times when society just won't quit pushing.

P.S. it is awesome that you found someone that doesn't push you to eat meat since you won't. Just remember not to push him to not eat meat, if he wants to become a vegetarian just to please you he won't be vegetarian very long. It is a personal choice.

Answer 5

do it slowly, start reducing the meat intake and give him more veggies as time passes it should be complete whithin three weeks but before he goes completly vegetarian let him have a small piece of meat every once in a while say every month then start making that time longer

Answer 6

Firstly, don't berate him for making the changes slowly. Wean him onto organic foods first, then fish, and then he can decide how much further he wants to go. It's proven men crave meat more than women, and don't be a pushy vegan...they are a little annoying.

Besides, most evolutionary bilogists will tell you that we are natuaral omnivores, and that meat is an important part of our diet in moderation. Look at your teeth-they are for meat AND plant matter, just like every other primate.

Answer 7

Cold turkey (excuse the pun) is how I, then my future wife did it. Our two kids were never giving meat. Dick Gregory's book, "Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin' with Mother Nature" has a chapter on how to wean him from eating dead animals.

Answer 8

Congrats...i became a veg at eleven and i used to LOVE steaks, so if i could do it anyone can.......the key is to eat non-meat like foods so they dont compare to what you;'re missing (vegetarian food is so much more creative than meat...veggies have so much more variety)--i personally dont like fake meat but i LOVE cheese and like you i dont eat cheese w/rennet, but my favorite meal is fresh mozzarella and pasta with pesto or tomato sauce or zucchini or eggplant w/mozzarella melted on it--my whole family loves it and they dont eat meat--what are his favorite non-meat dishes? make those...also, DESSERTS...since vegetarian food is a lot less bulky than meat that leaves more room for dessert :) so he can eat a lot of desserts

Answer 9

If you are in a rural area you might find a slaughterhouse near by take him there and watch how they just throw a cable around the alive cow and winch it off the truck and drag it to it's death it might sound harsh but I didnt eat meat for a long time after seeing it for myself...seriously

Answer 10

gradually introduce it.

I am not vegitarian but my best friend is and i have slowly become more and more vegitarian.

Try cooking more things that just seem natural without meat, like pastas and salads.

Also try beans and especially portabello mushroom they resemble meat, as well as veggie burgers, i find them better than normal burgers!!

Answer 11

Make spaghetti and use boca Italian sausage and don't tell him it wasn't real until after he finishes. But you must bake them first so the don't taste mushy. Make soy bologna/turkey sandwiches with the works and he'll love it!