Sometimes living with omni's is gross!
Posted by Siava on May 30, 2008 · Member since May 2008 · 61 posts
So I've pretty much been having a losing streak for a week while trying out new recipes. 'Course, to me, they're fine, but my omni family doesn't quite agree. The night before last I broke down, went to the grocery store, and bought some ground beef for tacos. Just for them. I ate my tacos with seasoned refried beans, but I wanted to give them a break from my failing endeavors in the kitchen. Hehe. Anyhoo, I was literally holding back gags as I cooked up the meat for them. It's been awhile since I've cooked it and it smelled disgusting! I can't believe I used to eat that stuff.
I know there are others here with omni families. Do you cook meat for them? Does the smell alone make you gag, too?
I am lucky to have a veg*n daughter, but I have recently had to cook chicken livers for an anemic kitty and the smell made me gag so badly I thought I would barf. I can certainly sympathize. MD has a good idea about trying the veggie crumbles. Have you tried using any other meat substitutes on them?
I can sympathize with you Storm! My husband is an omni and he's a busy grad student...so he expects me to cook meat for him when he doesn't have the time. I really don't like doing it, I can't stand the smell and I especially hate the feel of raw meat. I haven't had much success getting him to eat vegan meals...there are only a few vegan entrees he'll touch! I've tried the burger crumbles and he wouldn't even take one bite. Hopefully, your omni family is easier to please! All I can say is keep trying, eventually you'll find something they like. My husband actually enjoys the recipe for "best mac & cheese in the world" on this site, you could give that a try.
I tried the crumbles with little success. I think I'll have to hide them in casseroles. >:D
It's just me and DH, here. He's omnivore but doesn't eat meat at home. He made the remark the other night that the McDonald's fast food and other junk just doesn't taste good to him anymore when he eats lunch out with coworkers. He's given up cooking sausages for the Gimme Lean faux stuff. When he cooks for both of us, he cooks veggie and the only animal products he eats at home are milk, yogurt and eggs. I make him buy the free range kind even though I doubt they get much of a "range", it's better than battery caged chicken eggs. I guess I'm lucky. Now if he'd just put his dirty dishes in the sink and not leave his empty yogurt container on the coffee table with a spoon in it and not throw his underwear and socks on the floor and change about a million other little things, he'd be perfect.
Offer them more than standard taco fixings. Have rice mixed with salsa on hand, have two types of spiced whole beans; garbanzo and kidney, have garlic refried beans, have some soyrizo or Gimmie Lean sausage sauted up with onion and also have Tofutti Better than Sour Cream with all the usual suspects like lettuce, tomato, avocado, spinach, salsa, and guacamole. You could also do two or three different salsas and sauces; Chunky salsa in a medium, thin taco sauce in spicy and a lovely salsa verde in mild.
I also like to have lime and chili sauted veggies on hand as well but that can turn taco night into a week of burritos, tacos, enchilladas and finally taco salad. mmmmm
With all that spread on the table, no one will think twice about saying "Hey, what about my ground beef?!" Overwhelm them with options and offerings that are all fresh and great tasting.
Note: To make Lime and Chili Sauted veggies simply dice onion, bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower and saute on medium high in a tablespoon of oil. After a few minutes squeeze on the juice of one lime and toss in the zest of the lime. Sprinkle with chili powder or add in diced hot peppers (no seeds or membrane unless you like it fiery!) and saute until the veggies are done to your liking. Usually takes about 10 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper and serve!
I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest not using meat analogues. I haven't had meat in years, but I can tell you, they don't taste anything like beef. Quite frankly, most of them just don't taste very good at all. I think Cali's suggestion hit the mark. Whenever vegans make something for omnis, the unfortunately have to put in a lot more effort. Just dress up your food so much that they stop caring about what it doesn't have, and impress them with what it does. For example, I just ate at my omni cousin's house and we made pizza. I'm also not a fan of faux-cheese, and I knew they wouldn't either, so we started by making our own dough, rubbing it with garlic and olive oil and rosemary, and piling so many toppings on the pizza that you really couldn't tell if there was cheese hiding underneath or not. I was told it was the best pizza they had ever had. (But then, I don't really think they make their own pizza often).
I feel your pain though. I love eating Indian food all the time, and I can't convince omni's to partake.
One last tip. USE FAT. Vegan food tends to be a lot lower in fat than omni food, so it isn't as satisfying. Go all out, use oil and avocado, and coconut milk to make your dishes seem more savory. Good Luck.
My BF is an extremely picky meat-eater. I hesitate to even call him an omni because meat makes up sooo much of his diet. I try to get him to eat more healthy food but it is a slow, slow process. He cooks all his own meat...we basically make two separate meals every night. Meat does seem really disgusting once you stop eating it. BF was making a sandwich with cold cuts the other day and the smell was disgusting.
All that to say, I know how frustrating it is to make a vegetarian meal that you think is delicious and to have someone just look at it and say "That looks gross" without even trying it. I admire your perseverance to try and cook healthy meals that your whole family will enjoy. Please let me know about successful meals you make, and I will try them out on my own Mr. Picky ;)
OMGLOL!!!! You too??? :D ;D :-D ::)
The one meat that gets to me is turkey!
it's the COOKED smell that bothers me!
Now, raw beef can make me ill if I dont have the stove fan and the window open! LOL
I do cook chicken that's already cooked, you just have to heat it up and brown it. It's smell is virtually not there... especially after i layer seasonings on it! ;)
but raw red meat and cooked turkey make me heave! LOL
Thankfully I dont cook meat for my family that often... maybe once every 2 weeks.
That's mostly just chicken. Turkey is once a year IF we have family over ... and red meat is maybe 3 times a year.
Fortunately, my kids and I went veg at the same time. My hubby is omni, but a GREAT sport and will eat anything I cook, provided it tastes good. He really likes the vegan Boca "chicken" patties.
As far as the smell, that doesn't really bother me. But...looking at it does. My kids and I talk all the time about how gross meat is and we can't believe we actually ate it. It kinda makes us gag to think about it...
I don't think I would be comfortable buying or cooking meat at this point, but would if it was a medical necessity.
Good luck with your family. Keep trying...you'll get them there yet! :)
I feel the same way as you all! The smell of raw chicken grosses me out and so does cooked meat without the seasonings (with the seasonings it doesn't smell so bad) I sometimes cook for my family and it kind of grosses me out too. I just feel bad cooking up the animal to give it to them to eat. :(
I feel the same way as you all! The smell of raw chicken grosses me out and so does cooked meat without the seasonings (with the seasonings it doesn't smell so bad) I sometimes cook for my family and it kind of grosses me out too. I just feel bad cooking up the animal to give it to them to eat. :(
I think this is what got to me the most. I mean, sure, feeling the slimy texture of the beef in my hands and smelling it while cooking it turned my stomach, but then I started thinking about the poor creature and that almost did me in. Maybe I'm just a sentimental fool, but I almost cried over the pan. :'(
The Gimmie Lean brand ground beef substitue is much better than the morning star farms.... I think it will just take tril & error to figure out what they will & will not eat.
The Gimmie Lean brand ground beef substitue is much better than the morning star farms.... I think it will just take tril & error to figure out what they will & will not eat.
I concur. I still haven't seen the Gimmie Lean brand, but I'll keep checking. I know someone has to carry it around here. We did try the Tofurkey Italian "sausages" and we all agreed to not ever eat it again. The honey bunny has been very sweet as of late (after I had a meltdown). He spent Sunday evening giving me tips and showing me tricks. With the support here and from him, the motivational peg has moved way up on the scale. Thanks, folks!!