the only reason i am still a flirt and not full vegan yet is my husband. however, he's very slowly starting to come around! yay! i think it might take a few years..... if ever for him to give up meat completely but he's eating it less often and has found a few vegan recipes that he really enjoys. we also had some really good discussions and i think he's starting to have the feeling that its not right to just kill animals all the time and that he's really become desensitized to eating meat.  he doesn't like to aknowledge that meat is from a living creature that had to be killed for you to eat it. but i'm helping him by reminding him (which he doesn't appreciate) but its working:) i can't wait to finally buy a house in 2 years when he's done with school and then i will buy him a pet so he can really come to acknowledge that they have feelings and are created by a God who loves them too!  and i know that i will feel so much better when i have finally become vegan 100% b/c i will be living what i believe in. its just hard with temptations around (fried egg sandwiches is usually what gets me... and when my husband makes brownies....)

how have you guys handled getting a spouse to embrace a kind diet with you?

I think you are approaching it right, it just takes some people a longer time to make the transition.  It does sound like he is coming around though.  Just keep finding good vegan recipes for him and finding veganized versions of meals that he loves.  WIth all the faux meat now sometimes you can barely tell the difference but it is much healthier.  Also, there are great vegan dessert recipes  . . . even brownies!  Get the books "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and the cookie book by the same authors.  Their stuff is so delish!  The chocolate chip cookies taste just like the homemade ones that we all remember and love from childhood!

slowly and gently, no pushing.  my hubby is still flirting but he has said many times he knows he should join me being vegan.  he started this journey by telling me he was worried about me, was I losing it, why would I want to do something so extreme, etc.  that was 1yr9mos ago.

Our deal is that our home is plant food, and when we eat out the kids and hubby get what they want (about twice a week).  Today for Cinco de Mayo we had veggie burritos in a whole wheat tortilla.  They're all so nice they always choose a place that has great vegan options! 

You seem to be on the right track Spring , keep it up, you'll make a vegan out of him yet;)

Just one thing though, when you do decide to get a pet please consider adopting. Breeding is a terrible practice and doesn't fall in line with vegan values, morals and ideals. Give a home to an animal who really needs it. Don't fund people who are trying to make a profit out of animals.

I wish you all the best with your spouse xx

Excellent point Aine, I'm glad you caught that!

thanks guys! that's a good idea to eat my way at home and then let them get what they want when we go out! we such different tastes in food and i usually try vegan recipes that i think sound good, but i think i need to branch out to recipes that are more his style so he is happier with the food i cook:)

and i will definitley adopt! we always had pets when i was growing up and my parents always adopted! one of our dogs we actually took in from the previous owner of the house we bought and it was so sad b/c you could tell she had been abused. even 10 years later she would still sometimes get worried when you would go to pet her b/c she thought she might get hit. it was soo sad. she was such a sweet  dog and was only a little over a year old when she became part of our family.

good to hear Spring:) x

The key is putting his taste buds first while cooking vegan. Cook with a lot of fat and salt. Make it really decadent. I have some great recipes I would be willing to share. What does he like? What does he hate? When you've been at this a while and he enjoyes a lot of your vegan dishes, you can show him some movies like Earthlings and Peaceable Kingdom.

thanks loves2bme. i would love some recipes! he is not a big fan of lentils and beans too much. he really likes veggies and salads but he says he doesnt feel satisfied without meat. so hearty filling recipes would be good. he enjoys pasta and rice dishes and thai and chinese food.

Oooh, maybe make him a great vegan pot pie or something.  FIlling and feels like home.  :o)  They have recipes on vegweb that include seitan to make it meatier or we made a great one from the Veganomicon cookbook.  A decent amount of work but so good and so worth it!  Yum!

Alright, since he likes pasta, lets start with my super cheezy stuffed manicotti. This has all the fat and decadence of a “real” manicotti, but the fat is from pine nuts! My omni hubby loves to take the leftovers to work the next day.

 Ingredients

1 10 oz package of Wild Wood Super Firm Tofu

1 16 oz package of fresh spinach

1 package of Light Life Veggie Sausage

1 chopped onion

1 ts salt

1 recipe Alfredo sauce (recipe below)

12 manicotti tubes

1 jar marinara

Olive oil

Instructions: Boil manicotti tubes until just UNDER al dente. This makes them easy to fill without breaking. Drain water and coat tubes with a little olive oil, and coat a 9x13 in pan with a little olive oil. In a large pot, heat a little olive oil, add all the spinach, and cover, stirring occasionally until wilted. This shouldn’t take long. Once it’s cooked, squeeze all excess water out and finely chop. In a large sauté pan, heat a little olive oil and sauté chopped onion until translucent. Add sausage small pieces at a time, breaking it up in the pan until golden brown. To this mixture, add crumbled tofu (Wild Wood brand doesn’t need to be drained, but be sure to drain if using a different brand!), spinach, salt, and Alfredo sauce. Feel free to get your hands in there and smoosh it all together! Now for the fun part, filling the tubes. If the tubes are cooked too long, you have to be careful they don’t break.  Just hold one end while filling, then flip and hold the other end while filling. Warning: you will have excess filling. I suppose you could make an extra small one and put it in the freezer. If you have a larger than 9x13 pan you could do a big one. I haven’t worked out that kink yet. Top with the marinara sauce and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Alfredo sauce

1 1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cups water
3 tbs lemon juice
2 ts salt
2 ts miso paste
1 ts garlic powder
1 ts dried minced onion
3 tbs nutritional yeast

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. I get the pine nuts at Costco, but if you can't find em or they're too expensive, use cashews. The cashews will need to be soaked in water for about 8 hours though. As for lemons, I hate buying expensive, imported lemons from the grocery store, so when they are for sale at local farmers markets, I buy a bunch, juice em, and put the juice in ice cube trays. 1 tbs in each square. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bins in the health food department of your local grocery store. It’s chocked full of b vitamins and is a standard vegan ingredient. For nacho cheeze sauce, add 1 ts of paprika.

The veggie sausage comes in a tube.

that sounds delicioius! my husband was saying he was going to miss alfredo. it used to be a regular in our house. i tried a raw recipe for it, but it wasnt even close:)  thanks so much for taking the time to put it up here for me!