Meat eater + Vegetarian = love?? Grocery list for veg & meat eater?

Question

lol Okay... So I'm a vegetarian for only a couple of months, but none-the-less, a vegetarian. My boyfriend, on the other hand is not. We've been together for 4.5 years, but now that I'm a vegetarian groceries are getting impossible to purchase!!! We're on a tight budget, I'm in 'charge' of groceries, (he's got other bills) and have about $100 every 2 weeks for groceries... It seems like I'm always buying 2 of everything which is getting costly because he refuses to eat the vegetarian dinners, and I, of course, refuse to eat the meat... so I'm constantly buying meat substitutes and making 2 meals every night... UGH!

Anyhow, what I'm wondering is if anybody has a grocery list (that is affordable) for both a vegetarian and a meat eater???

Thanks.

Answer 1

For the meat eater:

Go to your supermarket, go to the refrigerated (not freezer) department...there you will find pre-cooked meats of all types such as pot-roasts, meatloaf, pork chops, chicken, baked ham and etc. Follow the directions on the packages for microwave heating.  Each package can be made into two or three meals and can be frozen.

Ask a clerk to help you find these pre-cooked meats.

For side dishes...canned veggies, canned potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, canned beans, canned beets, and etc.

We keep a week's worth of "top brand" frozen dinners in our freezer. You will find these in the freezer department at the supermarket. You can add veggies, salads, potatoes and etc. to these to make a good healthy meal.  Canned veggies, sweet potatoes, and beans are good too.  

Answer 2

I'm a vegetarian (for 14 years now) and my wife isn't (we've been married 5 years).

I think that's a bummer that your husband insists on having meat at every single meal, but that's kind of beside the point.

There are a lot of things that you can make for the two of you that will only differ near the last step.  Examples:

* Pizza, but with meat only on one half

* Tacos, but you can put beans or immitation on yours and he can put meat on his

* Stir fry, but shrimp or chicken can be added to his and not yours

* Ditto for stuff like pasta, omelettes, etc.

We do a lot of that type of stuff.  But I'll admit we do spend a lot more than $100 every 2 weeks on groceries.

Keep in mind that if you have $100 for 2 weeks, that doesn't necessarily have to be ($100/14) every day.  You can have more expensive meals some days, but balance them out with cheaper meals on other days.

PS If you do what the person 2 above me suggested about sides, be careful about what those sides are.  Most things we think of as sides are low in iron, protein, etc. and you need those nutrients.  So living on only corn, peas, potatoes, etc. is not a very good idea.

Answer 3

You can split food before adding meat.

For example, cook pasta and add sauce.  Then divide it into two pots and add chicken to one of them.

Or cook pizza and sprinkle the meat topping on one side of it.

But I don't understand him "refusing" to eat vegetarian food ever.  I've never heard of anyone insisting on having meat at each and every single meal.  Sounds like he's just stubborn.

Answer 4

Buy things that don't have meat in them at all- like pastas, potatoes, salads, you don't always need a meat substitute and he doesn't always need meat. I have found this to be my most common solution for my veggie/ carnivore shopping.

Answer 5

Try one meal a night that is vegetarian and down the road, you can go to 2 nights a week.  Lots of vegetarian main dishes taste great and people are not going to think they're missing out.  Pastas- lasagna, pasta bake with eggplant, broccoli, or zuchinni/ squash, prepared ravioli with fresh vegs or frozen vegs with some italian seasoning and parmesan is easy, rice & beans, stir-fries and curries.  Then, for other dishes- I can have the same meal and make a meat version and vegetarian version:  Pizzas- top each portion differently. Spaghetti- I sautee onions and garlic in separate pan and cook sauce.  Then I split the sauce- add some to ground beef and add some to Boca crumbles.  Tacos-  I mix taco seasoning with tomato sauce or salsa.  Then I split that sauce up.  (taco lasagnas are always a hit).  Same thing with chili.  I just make sure that recipes that call for beef/chicken broth or boullion- substitute it with veg- and check labels.  For example, Campbell's golden mushroom soup has beef stock in it.  For baked dishes, I have a small pyrex dish (5"? round) and that works great for my single serving of the vegetarian version.  Stir-fries- chicken in his and tofu in mine.  Chili- make base first- then separate.  Some nights I like a big salad and I'll add chicken to his.  Grocery list- first - figure out dishes that you both like and then modify it so you have two versions.  Pastas, rice, and beans are going to be the least expensive.  For ground beef and chicken- we get that at Sam's.  You buy 5-10 pounds at a time, but it's so much less- and you can freeze it until you need it.  The frozen Tyson chicken b*****s are a good buy.  Unfortunately, the meat alternatives are pretty pricey.  But, a little can go a long way.

Answer 6

For starters, don't make two meals.  Agree to compromise with him.  Make a vegetarian meal every other night.  You don't have to eat the meat portion of the other meals.  Look at meals you can both have.  Spagetti is a great example.  Just leave out the meatballs on your portion.  Chicken and eggplant parmesan.  You can make one piece of chicken, one piece of eggplant.  The rest is the same.  Burgers- cook yourself a vegetarian patty, cook him a regular beef one.  

He needs to be willing to compromise, as you do you.  But try to make more portions of a meal you can share.  Bigger salads, vegetable side dishes and such.  But if he refuses to eat the food you cook, make him cook his own meat portion of the meal.

Answer 7

You can stretch your dollar but not buying meat substitutes that often.  Why not just cook vegetarian and let him make his meat to add to the vegetarian meal?   Will he really refuse to eat pasta with sauce or rice and veggie casserole?  Can't he make your vegetarian friendly meal his side dish?

Answer 8

I would suggest that you make some good hearty veggie SIDES and then, make a nice meat entree for him and he can eat the meat and you can get full on the sides.  Hearty rice and that kind of thing you can eat and he can eat the meat entree!

Answer 9

Just buy whatever you want and get a big bag of frozen chicken breast and a couple things of ground hamburger, which you can freeze.

Tacos are good:  Just let him cook his beef or shred cooked chicken (or you can if you don't mind) then make it buffet style so you get your beans and veggies on yours and he gets beans, meat and (or not) veggies on his.  My boyfriend and I do this a lot.

Or spaghetti and marinara sauce and make meatballs on the side, or one with meat sauce (this is very easy if you use jarred pasta sauce, just pour it over ground hamburger or whatever kinda've meat he wants) and just heats yours plain.

Enchiladas, do half with just beans and half with ground meat or shredded chicken.

Vegetable Pot Pie: he wont even notice there's not meat, I love this recipe:http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6863.0... this also freezes well, after you eat what you want, cool it in the fridge, then cut it into single servings, wrap in foil and freeze for later.  You could make one veggie and one chicken if he insisted on having meat, because it keeps so well.

Burger night, except you use a boca burger.  

Cheese ravioli, my boyfriend is a "meat and meat and potatoes" kinda've eater, but has never complained about cheese ravioli with marinara sauce. (but again you could make the sauce like spaghetti sauce.

grilled cheese and soup

quesadillas (add some shredded chicken to his)

Answer 10

well i'm a veg and my bf isn't but he has no problem eating the meat substitutes ("fake meats" if you will).... has your bf tried them???  it makes our lives a LOT easier... we have a mexican night and we made tacos, burritos and nachos and we both enjoyed thoroughly bc we used the soy ground meat.  it's also easy to make a big pot of one thing like pasta and put the soy ground meat in the sauce for "meat sauce" and both enjoy it.... the fake stuff is pretty good... i know a lot of meat eaters who've found fake stuff that they enjoy and have incorporated into their diet....

or how about dishes that are meat eater friendly... like veggie lasagna, eggplant parm, various pasta dishes, stir fries, etc?

some things are easier to make 2 meals of... for instance if you make potatos and veggies you can have a fake chicken and he can have a real chicken....

i personally would not cook my bf meat... i'm a veg for ethical reasons and that just seems gross.  he can cook meat if he wants it... he just chooses not too.  if we go out to eat he usually orders a dish we meat then.  

you should take this seriously in regards to your relationship though... if it's important to you and this is a serious relationship discuss teh impacts of it now... is he open minded? is he respectful? does he take it seriously?  he doesn't have to choose the same thing as you but that he "refuses to eat the veg dinners" worries me a bit, so just make sure you talk it over first.  (ex. me and my bf while no wheres near having kids have already started "discussing" they're diet and it's a trickier subject than i thought it would be)

Answer 11

i aint touching this with a 5 foot pole....

lol