Vegetarian

brianlux

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Yeah, it really is better to just be cool about it. My co-worker, Darin, has been very cool that way. He has mentioned being vegetarian a number of times but is never condescending toward carnivores. His good example was very encouraging for me to get back to not eating meat.

brianlux

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Do you find it difficult to have a spouse who eats differently? That is one concern for me- that my wife and I are used to eating together whenever possible and my going vegetarian may make that more difficult.

ldent42

brianlux said:

ldent42 said:

brianlux said:

ldent42 said:

Yea I think you got it backwards on the soy thing B-lux. Soy is bad for the ovaries.

Ovaries. I see. So what your saying is, I'm not going to grow a pair of them if I eat soy, right?

I doubt it. But if you did have ovaries, you could get cysts from eating soy.

Is that due to the nature of soy beans in general or is it due to GMO's/insecticide use?

honestly i have no idea. I just know my friend can't have soy at all because of her PCOS.

ldent42

brianlux said:

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Yeah, it really is better to just be cool about it. My co-worker, Darin, has been very cool that way. He has mentioned being vegetarian a number of times but is never condescending toward carnivores. His good example was very encouraging for me to get back to not eating meat.

A very good friend of mine had been a vegetarian since childhood. She would order chicken noodle soup with no chicken from the Chinese place. Unhealthy-est vegetarian I ever met lol. I admit I don't understand people trying to force their ideals on other people. It's one thing to say "I don't eat meat" and another to say "EATING MEAT IS A CRIME AGAINST NATURE AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF SCUMBAG!!" but (and I can't stress this enough) it's a two way street. I've seen friends get bitched at by people saying things like "well the animals are going to get slaughtered anyway, so you're denying yourself the greatness of BACON for no reason." and shit like that.

I'm not a vegetarian and I'm not an organic/locavore but I understand the ideals and maybe at some point in life I'll head in that direction. I'm also not a huge fan of meat to begin with, and if you look at the type and volume of meat I consume compared to most of the people I know it's a huge difference. probably only about a quarter of my meals contain meat. (not including eggs). Right now the biggest issue I think I have is with seafood. I'm not a crusader by any means but @brianlux has enlightened me to some issues I was completely ignorant of and given me much to look into and think about in that regard. I'm not throwing out all the fish in my freezer but I am going to be holding off on buying anything else until I do a bit of research first. I'm not giving up fish, but I'll avoid buying the stuff that's the most over-fished for sure.

Eggs, milk, butter, cheese on the other hand - you can have my milk when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!

brianlux

ldent42 said:

brianlux said:

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Yeah, it really is better to just be cool about it. My co-worker, Darin, has been very cool that way. He has mentioned being vegetarian a number of times but is never condescending toward carnivores. His good example was very encouraging for me to get back to not eating meat.

A very good friend of mine had been a vegetarian since childhood. She would order chicken noodle soup with no chicken from the Chinese place. Unhealthy-est vegetarian I ever met lol. I admit I don't understand people trying to force their ideals on other people. It's one thing to say "I don't eat meat" and another to say "EATING MEAT IS A CRIME AGAINST NATURE AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF SCUMBAG!!" but (and I can't stress this enough) it's a two way street. I've seen friends get bitched at by people saying things like "well the animals are going to get slaughtered anyway, so you're denying yourself the greatness of BACON for no reason." and shit like that.

I'm not a vegetarian and I'm not an organic/locavore but I understand the ideals and maybe at some point in life I'll head in that direction. I'm also not a huge fan of meat to begin with, and if you look at the type and volume of meat I consume compared to most of the people I know it's a huge difference. probably only about a quarter of my meals contain meat. (not including eggs). Right now the biggest issue I think I have is with seafood. I'm not a crusader by any means but @brianlux has enlightened me to some issues I was completely ignorant of and given me much to look into and think about in that regard. I'm not throwing out all the fish in my freezer but I am going to be holding off on buying anything else until I do a bit of research first. I'm not giving up fish, but I'll avoid buying the stuff that's the most over-fished for sure.

Eggs, milk, butter, cheese on the other hand - you can have my milk when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!

I will leave your eggs, milk, butter, and cheese alone, Ident, I promise, haha!

It's really difficult for me to walk that thin line about fish between making an honest and earnest attempt to inform and yet not be preachy and judgmental. It's a major issue that afects not only all people, but all major life forms as well. The more I read about how serious the problem is with ocean ecosystems, the more I'm compelled to want to share that information. But I also know that guilt tripping is never useful or productive- if anything, it's counterproductive.

Thanks for showing care and interest about the oceans, Ident!

Natashapearljamfan

I grew up with my mum being vegetarian whole my dad, sister and I ate meat.
We were exposed to lots of yummy vegetarian dishes, that meat could be added to the side. So it won't impact your wife as long as she's considered when you make the menu or are cooking you include meat.
I cook vegetatarian meals at least once or twice a week in my house and everyone likes those meals.

vant0037

brianlux said:

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Do you find it difficult to have a spouse who eats differently? That is one concern for me- that my wife and I are used to eating together whenever possible and my going vegetarian may make that more difficult.

I've been a vegetarian for 17 years (wow...has it been that long?) and my wife, the cook in the household, comes from a family of "foodies" in WI. they eat a lot of meat yet harbor no judgment toward their veggie son-in-law. When she wants chicken or something else, she will buy it extra and make an alternative, but generally speaking, she eats vegetarian with me.

ldent42

brianlux said:

ldent42 said:

brianlux said:

JTH said:

My wife's a vegetarian, or really, pescetarian, but she really doesn't eat seafood very often.

I know there are preachy vegetarians out there but I've run across several self-described carnivores that are way more obnoxious about dietary choices than any of the vegetarians I know.

Yeah, it really is better to just be cool about it. My co-worker, Darin, has been very cool that way. He has mentioned being vegetarian a number of times but is never condescending toward carnivores. His good example was very encouraging for me to get back to not eating meat.

A very good friend of mine had been a vegetarian since childhood. She would order chicken noodle soup with no chicken from the Chinese place. Unhealthy-est vegetarian I ever met lol. I admit I don't understand people trying to force their ideals on other people. It's one thing to say "I don't eat meat" and another to say "EATING MEAT IS A CRIME AGAINST NATURE AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF SCUMBAG!!" but (and I can't stress this enough) it's a two way street. I've seen friends get bitched at by people saying things like "well the animals are going to get slaughtered anyway, so you're denying yourself the greatness of BACON for no reason." and shit like that.

I'm not a vegetarian and I'm not an organic/locavore but I understand the ideals and maybe at some point in life I'll head in that direction. I'm also not a huge fan of meat to begin with, and if you look at the type and volume of meat I consume compared to most of the people I know it's a huge difference. probably only about a quarter of my meals contain meat. (not including eggs). Right now the biggest issue I think I have is with seafood. I'm not a crusader by any means but @brianlux has enlightened me to some issues I was completely ignorant of and given me much to look into and think about in that regard. I'm not throwing out all the fish in my freezer but I am going to be holding off on buying anything else until I do a bit of research first. I'm not giving up fish, but I'll avoid buying the stuff that's the most over-fished for sure.

Eggs, milk, butter, cheese on the other hand - you can have my milk when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!

I will leave your eggs, milk, butter, and cheese alone, Ident, I promise, haha!

It's really difficult for me to walk that thin line about fish between making an honest and earnest attempt to inform and yet not be preachy and judgmental. It's a major issue that afects not only all people, but all major life forms as well. The more I read about how serious the problem is with ocean ecosystems, the more I'm compelled to want to share that information. But I also know that guilt tripping is never useful or productive- if anything, it's counterproductive.

Thanks for showing care and interest about the oceans, Ident!

And honestly, that's the best thing you can do. Even if it makes your blood boil when people try to argue or show utter disregard for this issue that you feel passionately about. But I think on here from what I've seen you've handled it quite well. I've also got to admit, even though I'm obviously biased, I think if most people who can afford to do so make small adjustments, there is value in those small changes. Such as picking up a filtering water bottle to replace cases of bottled water, or staying off the most over-fished fish for a while.

JTH

brianlux said:

Do you find it difficult to have a spouse who eats differently? That is one concern for me- that my wife and I are used to eating together whenever possible and my going vegetarian may make that more difficult.

She's the one who cooks so it's not a problem for me at all. Once in a while she'll make a separate dish for herself but most of the time we all eat the same thing. Our kids aren't big-time carnivores so it's relatively easy.

Last week, she made steaks with a bunch of side dishes -- mashed potatoes, beets, broccoli. She just loaded up on the sides.

brianlux

JTH said:

brianlux said:

Do you find it difficult to have a spouse who eats differently? That is one concern for me- that my wife and I are used to eating together whenever possible and my going vegetarian may make that more difficult.

She's the one who cooks so it's not a problem for me at all. Once in a while she'll make a separate dish for herself but most of the time we all eat the same thing. Our kids aren't big-time carnivores so it's relatively easy.

Last week, she made steaks with a bunch of side dishes -- mashed potatoes, beets, broccoli. She just loaded up on the sides.

Sounds like you folks have it worked out well.

Tonight we had caramelized onion and mushroom burgers on sour dough with steamed broccolini. Total vegan meal, totally satisfying and plenty filling!