Big meat eater!! need help reducing

miss_corerupted

Hi, My boyf is a great meat eater. Sausages, bacon for breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch and then something meaty for tea. We were discussing this last night and said he eats to much meat. Response was it's not a proper meal without meat.

I'm not very handy in the kitchen so would appreciate some ideas for meat free/ less meat ideas for meals.

Not only would this be better for him but also cheaper for us

Pink.

Hi miss_corerupted,

If he is a big meat eater try changing just one meal per week to begin with as it may be difficult to change his eating habits overnight. My family, given the choice, would be big meat eaters but I have been cutting back on meat for a couple of years now, gradually introducing veggie pasta sauces, pies, quiches etc and I really don't think that they are aware that three or four days a week they are eating only vegetarian food. There are some ideas on this older thread that may help: Fussy, Meat-Eating Hubby! Help!

If he is insisting on having meat with each meal then perhaps cheaper cuts is the best way to go so that it costs less but he still gets his meat. This thread may help: cheaper cuts of meat

For some meatless meals these threads may give you some inspiration:

Gingham's Vegetarian Meal Planner

Gingham's vegetarian meal planner - SUMMER

Gingham's vegetarian menu planner SPRING

Vegan and vegetarian food on the cheap

A vegetarian meal planner, please

Vegetarian OSers

Cooking for the freezer - vegetarian

Good luck,

Pink

HelenYorkshire

Hi,
In things like spag bol, instead of mince try mixed beans? You can get tins which have a mix of e.g. kidney, haricot etc. Ends up with a similar kind of "bulk" to the meal.

Lunar_Eclipse

miss_corerupted wrote: »

Hi, My boyf is a great meat eater. Sausages, bacon for breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch and then something meaty for tea. We were discussing this last night and said he eats to much meat. Response was it's not a proper meal without meat.

I'm not very handy in the kitchen so would appreciate some ideas for meat free/ less meat ideas for meals.

Not only would this be better for him but also cheaper for us

My New Zealand husband is a bit like this, in terms of his expectation (primarily for a hot evening meal to be fair, but regardless of what he's eaten earlier in the day - aagghhh!), yet he acknowledges that it isn't great for a healthy balanced diet. Additionally I was a fish eating vegetarian when we met.:rolleyes:

Sadly for him, I don't cook any red meat. I used to, but I really struggle to handle it and deal with the smell of it 'cooking' so now I occasionally buy him an expensive high end lamb or beef based meal from cook.net or M&S/Waitrose. But I haven't done so for months. And he's never even commented on the fact I don't serve red meat at home.

We eat a vegetarian meal at least once a week. Last night we had Chickpea Dhal. And a fish based meal once a week too. Other meals would include chicken or pork. Over the next few days we'll be having Bacon lasagne (tonight), Chicken Enchiladas, Bean Chilli Nachos, Tuna Pasta Bake and Chicken Risotto.

But if he's a meat, potatoes and 2 veg (why 2? surely it's more like 4!) kinda guy, I agree with whoever said slow and steady (changes) must prevail. Something like Chickpea Fajitas would be a yummy and fun start! Or Chilli con Carne using some soya mince alongside the meat? Beans are also very filling, which would help.:)

What you eat should be a compromise after all - in terms of preference, money and expectations. If you do more or all of the shopping and cooking, then you should however have more say IMO.:D

newlywed

If you cook any dish with mince, try bulking it out with red lentils, extra mushrooms, sweetcorn, grated carrots - add a beef stock cube to make sure it still tastes "beefy" and gradually increase the amount of bulking out you do so he doesn't notice too much

sally76

I agree with newlywed! We're really trying to cut down on the grocery bills at the moment which equates to using less meat. I make meat based dishes such as spaghetti bolognaise, shepherds pie, chilli con carne etc with lots of finely diced carrot and celery and a good couple of handfuls of orange lentils and then I use a beef stock cube for the beefy flavour. If you cook the meat for a good long time the vegetables and lentils disappear into sauce and no-one knows that they are there. It is healthier and you can make a pack of mince into 2 good sized meals! My hubbie has not noticed yet, and he is also a huge meat eater. What I also do is to add a little bit of crispy bacon to his meal when we have something like vegetable risotto/ pasta. It's enough for him to feel like he's not eating a vegetarian meal and I get a day off of meat! Hope that helps

Plum_Pie

I have bulked out mince-ased meals with large brown lentils boiled in chicken stock. They taste meaty and when they are so well cooked they start collapsing, you can't tell they been added to the beef or lamb mince.

I also like to use finely chopped chorizo or bacon or pancetta to get the flavour of meat but not the cost. However, eating alot of meat, especially a lot of cured pork (sausages, bacon etc) increases your risk of certain kinds of cancer.

Also, make sure you season your lentils and beans A LOT if you arte not used to cooking them, it's true that without this vegetarian/reduced meat dishes can be very bland.

miss_corerupted

all good ideas. he's the main cook he enjoys it i don't. i love meat but i find everymeal to much. I'll be on maternity leave from dec so i will prob try and take a bigger step into the kitchen. I don't think there is much i can do about his breakfast and sarnies. i'm going to start offering to cook once a week and bulk it up with veggies like suggested and put stock in so he still gets the meaty flavour.

Skint_Catt

Break him in gently! As I am doing Slimming World I've started to use Quorn pieces for currys and Quorn mince for lasagne/chilli - OH prefers it to meat now! It absorbs the flavours better too and it has a similar texture to chicken/mince.

bevrob

i've been vegetarian for nearly 2 years now along with my 16 year old daughter. My husband and my youngest daughter are meat eaters. we used to buy loeads of meat, but have cut down drastically coz of my love for all animals. i tend to stretch the meat out a lot more. ie now i use 1 chicken breast when making a chicken curry instead of 3 or 4, and bulk it outwith more veg. your husband wont notice if done slowly. in pasta dishes use a little bacon( just enoufg that he sees the meat) that should keep him happy. i can make a whole chicken make 4 meals at least. same with mince for spag bol,only use half the amount.put in more mushrooms as they have a meaty texture.if you, like us, have had a full english on a sunday morning, now we have scrambled egg, no meat. It did take a while, but change things slowly. you'll be surprised at the amount of money that you save.could talk more but i'll save it for tomorrow. bev

miss_corerupted

cool thanks. he loves his cooked breakfast but every day i think is prob to much!!!! planning hot meals that i can reduce the meat in it.