I love food.
A lot.
[No I did not get a hair cut or have a birthday. Most of the photos in this post are stock photos]
I love all types of food.
Before I met this kid I was a pescotarian for 3 1/2 years.
[Please note the sweet rental car he got on a work trip to Los Angeles. Rag top!]
It was actually this kid who swooned me into eating my first bite of pig.
She used phrases like…. It’s local + humanely raised….come on…. just one bite.
Now she avoids pigs like the plague.
I dearly love Eric but blending varying food lifestyles in our relationship has been more than a challenge.
It’s been a bit of a tug-o-war match.
[If you look really hard you can see the rope tied to our legs. P.S. leg tug of war is a horrible idea.]
Soon into our relationship I started eating meat again.
Grilled meat just smelled oh so good!
Once we moved to Colorado I really got back into food again.
I really pushed the vegetarian lifestyle.
Eric pushed back.
I tried to go mostly vegan.
Eric started eating meat every night.
I panicked.
I’m the cook in the house + easily get my feelings hurt when Eric turns his nose up at my vegetable laden dishes.
I want a happy house.
A house where everyone gets to eat things they love + share the experiences together.
I want a house where I don’t have to cook two separate meals.
I’ve created a plan.
I will be blending our dishes.
Meat will show up on our dinner plates –but instead of meat tacos we’ll be having mean tacos [meat + bean tacos].
Meat will be present in our kitchen but will only be playing a small role.
And thanks to this recent news all of the meat + dairy + eggs consumed in our house will be local + sustainably raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics.
[I do believe in giving sick animals antibiotics - which will reduce my purchasing of fully organic meats + push me to really get to know my local farmers + their practices.]
In all honesty I really loved my pescotarian lifestyle –but it means more to me to share the same meal as my partner.
Hopefully 2012 will be the year that there is finally peace in our kitchen.
Cheers to that.
B+B
This is cool…finding balance in both relationships AND diet can be a struggle,but you’ve found a compromise that will make both of you happy (and healthy!) Nice work guys…and I fully dig your quest to getting to know local producers…more people need to do this! Lead the way,lead the way
Alex and I have been talking about this…our schedules are finally going to sync up again now that his job is moving him to days (hallelujah,we’ll see each other more than once a week!),and we’d like to cook together,but he likes meat,meat,more meat,and cheese…I like meat,don’t get me wrong,but I hardly ever prepare it at home,and I often don’t crave it. We are trying to work out some compromises so we can enjoy dinners together without them having to be dinners out.
If I were to live alone meat would never enter my front door! I like it sometimes –but don’t really crave it. Food compromises are way harder than I could have ever imagined. CONGRATULATIONS on finally being on the same schedule as Alex!! Whoop! Whoop!
Great attitude. My attitude is that someone has to support the local/humane farmers –to pave the road for the rest of the country
So I vote with my dollars!
Love this outlook. I just took the same stance in my household as well. There comes a time when you have to let go just a little bit of your own ways and do what is best for your family. <3 you lady!
It is haaaard to merge to different diets into one kitchen,but totally possible. Maybe he’ll see over time how tasty your vegetarian dishes can be,and will think it’s not worth the work to do somewhat separate protein options. Keep at it!
Ha! I totally relate to this. The year I spent being a vegetarian was the most difficult thing for my husband who does ALL of the cooking and is a straight up,red meat loving,carnivore. Do what you need to do,and don’t feel the need to justify it to anyone
And now I want tacos.
What do you guys do now? I hope to keep it mostly veggie over here with meat on the menu 2x per week..
Good for you for coming up with a solution that works for the both of you! My boyfriend and I eat kinda differently,but what I do is cook what would be a main meal for me,then add the extra to his serving –whether that be meat,grain etc –his portion is made bigger and more suitable for him that way,and I get to just eat what I feel my body is asking for. We are both ultimately omnivores though,which makes things easier than if one of us was,for example,a strick vegan
Ben and I have been having the same kind of discussions lately too!! Our compromise–>I cook dinner Mon,Wed,Fri with at LEAST 2 of them being vegetarian dishes. He cooks whatever on Tues and Thurs (most likely something on the grill). *Most* of our meat comes from TJ’s or whole foods,but I do buy the organic chicken from Publix (Probably not the BEST option out there,but its the best option from Publix…) Our local market is seasonal,but when its in season,I try to purchase most of our meat from them! good luck on finding that ‘balance’in the kitchen,its taken me YEARS to get Ben to agree to eating a vegetarian meal a couple of times/week (I kind of think the movie ‘Forks over Knives’played a role since it featured a vegan UFC fighter
)
Way to go you guys! Eric likes my veggie meals + we’ve come a lonnnnnnnnnng way [when I met him he HATEd beans].. but when I get him to try too many new things he freaks out. We don’t have any set in stone plans —but in my head I’m thinking our weeks will go like this –fish one night.. meat two nights…veggie meals 3 nights.. eat out once a week. We shall see! It’ll be easier to eat less meat buying the primo stuff at primo prices! How’s that baby?!
I feel your pain. I was vegetarian for a few years until I met Shem and got pregnant with Hayden. Even now I do not eat alot of meat and give it up completely during Lent every year. However,Shem is a complete carnivore. He expects there to be some form of meat at every meal and since I cook every meal I must come up with meat receipes. I manage to make it thru Lent every year with cooking two seperate meals when he is home but after that I usually get tired of cooking seperate and go back to eating meat. Ironically though my daughter now refuses to eat meat alot of the time telling us she doesnt want to eat it. I do not make her eat it since I see it as her choice. This year for Lent I am considering going vegan. I am glad that you and Eric have come up with a way to balance.
Sounds like you’re house is about to get interesting with all of the food allergies! I hope you find out what is going on soon –I’m sure the waiting is torturous! The 4 whole weeks I tried to go vegan were really fun [except the whole making 2 meals thing]. I went to the library + got a ton of vegan books + learned a lot! I should probably move back home + lobby for Zestos + Monterry’s to serve sustainable meats so I can continue to eat there!
ugh –so sick of that facial expression –your blog has gotten so b-o-r-i-n-g. time to say good-bye zzzzzzzzzz
Good riddance to you + your oh so negative attitude!
I’m coming over some for EAN,hold the M!
Haha love your apron!
I eat totally different than my hubby (he loves meat!) and I do what you’re going to be doing. I just don’t eat meat in my meals but we eat the same meals.
Tacos are a perfect example! But even tonight,I made him steak,baked potatoes and salad…..and I just skipped the steak and made myself a bigger salad. hehe.
I know you guys can do it! I’m the cook in our house too and I totally feel you on the sensitivity to what I make,I need everyone to love everything I put out there.
I’m vegan and my husband is not. I do all the cooking and but we make it work