Are you a veg in a family of meat eaters?

[Anonymous]

I have been a vegetarian since high school, not for any great reason other than I developed an aversion to meat (I did start eating poultry when I was pregnant for protein). Anyway, I now have a husband and two teenage sons who like to eat meat. But it increasingly grosses me out to prepare it. Today I made carnitas, and I practically felt nauseous trimming the fat off the pork and smelling it cook all day. What do others in this situation do? I make several vegetarian meals but don't think it is fair to deprive them of meat all the time. We do some takeout, but that gets expensive and is often unhealthy. DH can cook steaks on the grill but that happens only rarely -- meals are my job. I am thinking of looking into Let's Dish or something similar so that I can avoid preparing meat altogether. Any other suggestions?

[twentysomethingmom]

My DD and I are vegetarians. DH is not. We cook our own meals and then sit down together to eat. He doesn't mind eating mostly vegetarian, though, so that makes it easier.

We never go out to eat anymore for financial reasons, but when we used to back in 2010, we'd go to Noodles & Company. It's moderately priced (like $8/person). I LOVE Noodles & Company, and it's pretty healthy.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat, and it is getting old. Meat really really grosses me out. I hate touching it. I buy a lot of pre-marinated meats from Trader Joes so that way I don't have to really worry about prep. I will also use their pre-cooked pork for carnitas for the very reason you described. Burgers I will buy pre-formed.

I am lucky that DH will eat veg about half the time, so I'm really only cooking meat 3ish times a week.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PPs. We all like Noodles, too, but don't live near one. I ike the pre-marinated and pre-cooked ideas. Don't regularly shop at TJs but will check them out. Can anyone recommend anything similar available at Whole Foods or Giant/Safeway that your meat eaters enjoy? Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

I also don't like preparing meat (cutting up pre-cooked sausage is fine, but I hate handling raw meat.) So my DH generally does that for me when he's around - seems like a fair trade. With a DH and 2 teenage sons it seems like that should be pretty easy - i.e. if you want to eat meat, you need to do the prep work on it. (Are you OK with the actual cooking if you don't really have to touch it?)

Also - for prepared meats, it really is hard to beat TJs. They have a pulled pork shoulder - comes in a red package - that you just empty into a dish and put in the oven, then shred when it comes out. And their other prepared meats are similarly easy.

As for Let's Dish - unless you picked it up pre-made, that won't really help you on the not touching meat issue.

[Anonymous]

The only meat I'm willing to cook (once in awhile) is chicken/turkey/fish. Pork and beef, never. I wouldnt cook stuff that grosses you out.

[Anonymous]

Since your kids are older, maybe try a cooking class for them? This way maybe they could help with the prep.

I would also stick to basic cuts that don't require much trimming--chicken breasts, chops, etc.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PPs. Don't cook carnitas -- that's gross even to a meat eater like me -- or anything that's gross. Focus on making the non-meat dishes as tasty as possible and bake some chicken breasts with a store bought marinade dumped on there. You're the cook. Do what you want.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a good time to start teaching your sons and husband how to cook. If they want meat, they can cook it. You can teach them their favorites and still offer to buy the products but they're responsible for putting the meal together if they want it. That way you can transition out of handling the meat and you'll teach them important life skills.