competition: atkins vs veggie... veggie lost!

okay, so maybe my title was a little melodramatic... but i'm entering a serious crisis here!

Quick background: Normally, i do all the cooking, and since my brothers and parents do not  like to cook/shop, they eat whatever i make.  I try for health/vegetarian (greek/bean salads, stir frys, vegetarian chilis/casseroles - occasionally i use fish/chicken, mostly though, i steer clear of meat, and its never beef or pork).  I feel that eating meat is wrong.  I won't get into my reasons, as this is a vegetarian forum.

Anyways, my lovely aunt came to visit for six monthes from Toronto, (she's taking a course at the university here).  She came on Wednesday.  She loves to cook/shop, and she's on Atkins.  She has a morning class, and as a thank you to my family for letting her stay, she does gardening, housework, and COOKING...

Here in lies the problem:  last night for dinner she made steak, cheese sausages,  with cucumbers.  I'm not even joking, other then meat, cucumbers was the only food offered!!!!!!  Of course, after i come home from work, to find my family gathered around he dinner table waiting for me, I couldn't turn it down, so I ate her greasy fare.  My parents would consider that rude.

The night before we had chicken fingers, with a small iceberg lettuce salad, and biscuits, (these of course she didn't touch).  Breakfast: southwestern sausage omelett, with pan fried bacon, bleh!  (I went without breakfast, there being a good excuse that I wasn't hungry.)

Tonight she's making hamburgers. 

Of course she has quickly converted my family. They love her cooking, and never particularly liked mine (of course not, mine was good for them and the world!!!)  My brothers are born meat eaters, same with my dad.  My mother is rarely home for supper, and doesn't care.  I lose.  I mean, how can you argue tofu-pepper stirfry against  bacon and hamburgers, to a family of men?

What makes me the most angry is that people like me, who try so hard to reduce meat consumption, in order to save animals from slaughter/horrible living conditions, work so HARD -- and then there are people like her, who eat daily enough meat for ten people!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, I'm aware that there's nothing i can do: she's our guest, and my family loves her, (especially her cooking).  I'll just have to tough it out, and announce occasionally that I'll be making dinner tomorow night... although my meals in themselves might be rude, because she's on atkins, so what can i feed her???? eggs????

Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to tell some people who might actually understand the horror of my situation (AKA you guys...)

It isn't rude to refuse to eat meat.  Granted, you're all family, but you live there and she's a guest.  It seems there should be a happy medium where she puts her meat on the table and you put your vegetarian fare on the table and people will help themselves to what they want.  You can't force them to be vegetarian, but you shouldn't let them force you to eat meat. 

wow, that is one rough situation.  I completely hear you though...

I absolutely despise atkins... my philosophy regarding food is this:  if you have moral problems harvesting it yourself, for instance, i couldn't go out and shoot a cute little cow between its pretty brown eyes, then you shouldn't eat it.  you feel like its less wrong just because you're not doing it yourself, well it's not.

yeah, you're right, guys love their meat, and there's no competing.  My brother/father thinks meat makes them men (eye roll).  And it's tough when you live at home and your parents thinking that vegetarianism means your 'picky'

I have no advice.  Only sympathy.

Families can be tough.  My best suggestion is to look after yourself.  You don't have to eat the meat, and I'm sure you can find a polite way to explain that you're vegetarian and would rather just prepare your own meals to avoid causing any inconvenience.  I like the suggestion to prepare a vegetarian alternative for anybody that wants it.  Good luck!

"What makes me the most angry is that people like me, who try so hard to reduce meat consumption, in order to save animals from slaughter/horrible living conditions, work so HARD -- and then there are people like her, who eat daily enough meat for ten people!!!!!!!!!!"

Yes. Yes and one more YES.

Doesn't it SUCK?! Uggg.

EXCU-UUUSE MEEE!  If someone (anyone) tromped into my house and tried to feed my family unhealthy meals made up of pounds of flesh, that person would be having a very serious meeting with me before the next meal-time.

When I am a guest, I bring veggie alternatives; but I don't try to change the house rules.

This story is sad and disgusting, and not just to us, veggies.  Miss Manners would freak out over this too.  It's just uncouth!

its great that she is trying to help you out....but maybe you should encourage her to atleast add more vegetables to the dinner. and even use chicken instead of beef. if anyone should understand eating healthy/choices you make, it should be family

and if that doesnt work, make your own scrumptous dinner that will make even her jealous :)

6 months? i won't let anyone in my house do the cooking regularly for that long.  i personally would start cooking my own food and adding it to the table, even if i'm the only one who eats it...because i wouldn't eat anything you mentioned except the cucumbers, polite or not.  heck it would make me ill anyways.

i never bring up the issue of encouraging people to eat less meat unless they start telling me to eat meat/dairy/ect...nor do i get upset if they don't eat my cooking as long as i don't have to eat theirs.  it's a good negociating tactic, because more often than not, i find avid "protein" eaters to be pushier about their beliefs than fellow veggies.

You shouldn't be rude to your aunt. Maybe there is some way of cooking together? and adding more veggies to the table? I mean, she's practically paying rent by helping out, and she's doing the best she can. Next time, when it's shopping time, go along, and add stuff you like to the cart. She can make you a veggie burger and a veggie sausage, right?

Maybe the two of you can do some menu planing together. Talk about your diets - what you do and don't eat - and figure out a way for you both to be well-fed without harming the other's nutrition or feelings.

For example:

Taco Salad with spicy beef, spicy beans, corn chips, cheese, tomato salsa and lots of veggies. You skip the beef and load up on the veggies and beans, she skips the chips (and beans?) and enjoys the meat.

I'm sure there are lots of ways to accomodate both of you. You will need to comunicate together and respect one another's foodways. But it can work.

Yes you should probably tell her that you are a vegetarian and that You dont want to eat what she makes. then make what you like. It is your house still and you have every right to feel comfortable eating what you want to eat in it.

hmph....why dont you calm down and talk to her about it

she (and your fam) can have her meat and you can made the side dishes ..and just eat those for your main dish...im sure if shes a nice lady like you seem to imply she would totally understand if you wanted to limit/not eat the meat she cooks....just dont start preaching to her

i understand how you feel..

im the only one in my family that doesnt eat meat.  they keep telling me that even if i stop eating it everyone else still would  and animals would still be killed, but i think one person can make a difference...

btw, i live in a hick family, and hicks love meat....e_e

Sometimes I feel like I'm being rude when I turn down a dinner prepared by someone else, but then I remind myself that it is in no way a secret tht I'm veg, and that it is actually kinda rude for them to not bring even something simple without meat, and still expect me to eat it. But, hey, there's always the excuse that you are sick or are "in a rush" and can't stay for supper.

i have a question....how can you lose weight on the atkins? it seems to me that she is eating alot of greasy high fat foods (bacon, sausage, cheese steaks...) and no veggies. is there something i am missing?

on atkins you cut out the carbs and eat meat fat and some veggies, but not all that much. usually works like a charm the first couple of weeks ( unless you go nuts) and then when you start eating carbs again, you bounce right back.

I tried to lose weight awhile back and went on atkins.  It was REALLY hard for me because I'm vegetarian by nature.  All I could stand to eat was chicken, bacon, cheese and butter, lol. My cholesterol shot up 100 points!

I'm back to vegetarian.  I still eat cheese occassionally, but no meat, fish, chicken, milk or eggs.  My cholesterol went from 283 down to 175.

My husband though LOVES meat.  So I cook for him, I cook for me.  I make his meat on the side, and add it to whatever veggie dish I'm making for me just for him.

I know it is your family, but no way would I stand for that.  I'd tell them I don't eat this. PERIOD.  If you are not going to make some veggies / salads on the side, then I'm going to prep some and eat them along with the rest of the family.  I'd dish up my bowl of veggies and salad whatver and eat that while they eat their greasy meat meal.

If you do cook, cook some chicken / fish / whatever on the side for her then cook a bunch of veggies.  There are low-carb veggies (like broccolli, mushrooms come to mind) that you can cook and she can eat too.

 It is such an unhealthy way to eat feel free to quote my stats on cholesterol if it will help sway your family to eat better along with you.  Good luck!

You lose mostly water weight.  The idea is that you're supposed to go into ketosis and get thin much like a carnivore is thin.  But you have unintended consequences that range from mildly annoying (bad breath and stinky sweat - dogs, for example, live in a constant state of ketosis) to downright dangerous (heart disease, cancer, etc).

It's so crazy to me that people follow the Atkins diet when Dr. Atkins himself suffered heart disease and was morbidly obese when he died.   The atkins diet and other protein stuffed diets are dangerous and have been shown to be absolutely unproductive in the long run.

I definitely feel sorry for the original poster... 

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/vegetarian/V egetarian_Low_Carb_Resources.htm

http://www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb/

http://www.lowcarb-recipes.net/recipes/Main-D ish/Vegetarian/



print out recipes to share with your aunt. you could make stuff together. im sure she would like that a lot better than any other type of confrontation.

i dont know how you ate that. after i have gone without meat for awhile..its way too smelly to eat. and i feel like i am going to throw up from the aftertaste. yecky.

My boyfriend and I moved in together a couple of months ago, thus creating a household involving one meat-loving carnivore and one non-dairy, gluten free, nut free vegetarian. lol guess which one is ME. Anyway, since we go shopping together he started buying meat-substitutes.  He REALLY loves the veggie burgers, veggie taylor ham, veggie breakfast sausages and etc.  It's good for him and it makes me happy! Have you ever thought of making something like that?