If your significant other is not as thrilled as you are about leaving the animal products behind and eating the Beauty Detox way, there are still ways you can enjoy dinners together without cooking two entrees every night. With only a little extra effort, you can each eat to satisfaction. Cooking ahead for the week will make your evenings much easier, but it’s not necessary.
Keep an Alternative Available for Yourself
On the nights he wants to eat a steak or some chicken, cook up some quinoa for yourself. Here is a recipe for delicious quinoa stuffed peppers. You can mix in the seasonings you like and mix in some of the vegetables you make as a side for your guy. Make a big batch at the beginning of the week and another mid-week so you always have something available for yourself.
You can still eat a big salad together beforehand.
Make Meals with Add-on Options
You don’t have to go full-on buffet-style here, but if you cook up your vegetables, pasta, meat, sauce or dressing, etc, separately, you can both pick and choose what you want on your plate and each of you can build your own meal.
Make enough animal protein (preferably hormone and steroid-free of course!) for a couple of nights and cut up and/or cook some vegetables that will last for a few nights. You can cook some vegetables and leave some raw and ready to go in the fridge so you can build your own meals as you’d like for lunches and dinners. He can have chicken on his salad, for example, and you can toss some extra vegetables and nuts or seeds onto yours. Or you can mix the cooked vegetables with quinoa, rice, or other pasta, and he can eat that exact meal, with meat on top of his.
Make Some of Your Meals into Sides for Him
If you’re making yourself a salad or soup for dinner, why not make a huge batch of it (you can eat the leftovers the next day for lunch!) and give him a smaller portion as a side? He can have the meat he wants to eat and you’re not going too far out of your way to make him a separate meal.
Give Him Fish and Eggs More Often
If you still eat animal products from time to time and he’s not picky as long as he has some kind of animal protein, have fish and eggs instead of land animals as part of your last meal of the day (no more than two dinners per week, though). I don’t personally eat either of these, but several of my clients still enjoy having them, and it’s one way you and your husband or boyfriend can share the same meal without the need for any extras, add-ons, or serious tweaks to the meal. Since fish and eggs may not be as acidic as some other meat products, you’ll be doing your significant other a favor and he may not even realize it! Be sure to check my safe fish list in The Beauty Detox Foods.
Mimic the Flavors and Textures of Meat
If it’s the texture or savory flavor he’s craving, try to mimic it. The walnut mixture in my Raw Taco Mexican Salad and the Raw Taco Gorilla Wraps is so full of flavor, and it has a texture similar to that of ground beef.
Hearty mushrooms, like portobello, can be used in place of meat, too. You can make burgers with them that even look like the real thing. And they’re so good for you! They’re full of antioxidants, and they’re anti-inflammatory. There’s a portobello mushroom burger recipe your guy might love in The Beauty Detox Foods.
Encourage him to try the recipes to get a feel for the texture and flavors and see what he thinks. You may be very pleasantly surprised, as I’ve heard time and time again! Depending on your man, maybe you can tell him what it was after he tries some, for a truly unbiased opinion, without him turning up his nose at “veg” food.
Make Him a Protein Smoothie
If he’s worried about not getting enough protein as a “manly man” (especially if he works out a lot) let him sample the Power Protein Smoothie after a workout. With the amount of protein in the smoothie (it will depend on the protein powder you use, but they’re usually around 20+ grams per serving, plus you’ll have the protein, omega fats and antioxidants from the chia seeds), he shouldn’t worry too much about whether he’s getting enough protein on the days he drinks it. Maybe he’ll be more interested in trying vegetarian meals on those days, since he’s getting so much protein from a snack.
Ask for a Compromise
Try asking for a compromise, especially if he’s enjoyed the Beauty Detox snacks and smoothies you’ve made for him (and those random bites of your meals). Ask if he’ll commit to one Beauty Detox Solution dinner per week. Just one! Make some of the heartier meals that don’t really work within the “build your own meal” or “add-on” framework on those nights to introduce him to the foods you enjoy eating. He’ll feel full and he may start to change his mind about having animal protein at every meal over time. Since it’s just one meal per week, he shouldn’t feel like he’s missing out on too much protein. Eventually, he may feel so good (you can even tell him it helps stop inflammation in the body, especially if he works out a lot), those veg dinners can increase, to 2 or 3 or even more!
Even if he doesn’t change his mind and decide he wants to give up any more meat, that’s okay! The goal isn’t to push the Beauty Detox way of eating onto him if he’s not interested. There are other ways you can meet in the middle and still eat together. Things happen in their own time. Hey, it took my dad a over 4 years to really give up meat, but now he is about 80% vegan. People change in their own time.
Hi Kim,
I would like to know how long Protein Smoothie can be held in the fridge ? Thank you
What about corn. You never mention corn. What’s wrong with it?
You can use corn but it’s better to use the non-GMO organic kind. She mentioned it in her second book. ^_^ Corn doesn’t have a lot of nutrients so she doesn’t personally eat them often.
Hi Kimberly,
Your idea about sharing dishes with your spouse or significant other “buffet” style is Great !
However…..
Let your significant other Prepare and Cook THEIR OWN Meat, if that’s what THEY want.
I used to make dual meals for my husband – mine being vegan, his being carnivore – ,
but I finally had it and couldn’t cook Meat any more with a good conscience.
I finally told him that if he wanted to eat Meat, that HE’d have to cook it himself.
(Besides… What happened to SHARING the household tasks, anyway ?!?)
Interestingly… he started (lazily? LOL!) passing on the Meat option, and eating more of MY meals with me. He eventually forsake eating Meat altogether and became a Vegetarian ! ;)
Sometimes it’s Good to CHANGE old habits, and become Conscious of what we Cook, Prepare, and Eat
just by doing it ourselves. Give your significant other a Chance to Experience this new Consciousness.
MANY BLESSINGS !,
Health Coach Nikki K.
PRAY FOR & IMAGINE PEACE !
I would do the same thing. Besides, i can’t even cook meat anymore, it grosses me out way too much.
slippery slope – don’t trade in your spiritual journey of vegan health for a boyfriend
Janet, you have to remember that some people, (including me!), find a vegan lifestyle after they have been dating/married a person for a very long period of time and care about them very much! I wouldn’t break up with my boyfriend of 4 years because he didn’t take to my vegan tendencies right away, my plan is to break him in slowly and replace things like real milk with almond milk, ect.
We all have to be understanding with each other or there wouldn’t be as many vegans in the world as there are now!
I have an idea he can cook his own dinner!
Hah i was thinking that too, if he wants meat then he can cook meat.
Or girlfriend……
Don’t give up! When I went vegan, I was cooking 2 meals per night (1for each of us) at first….. but once I learned how to cook for a vegan lifestyle I started making some delicious recipes that my husband really liked (it’s really about the taste and if he will feel full after the meal). I started making pasta dishes with veggies for me and adding chicken on his. On days that he wanted something that I couldn’t easily turn vegan I would make it for him and I would just make myself a green smoothie or something easy like that. On days that he wanted a pizza or that I could give him leftovers, I would cook myself something that was entirely for myself and make enough to have leftovers for me. It took about a year and a half but now he is vegan too! At first he just ate a couple of vegan meals a week and went from there… Just be patient and understand that he hasn’t caught up to you yet and he has to get there in his own time.
I have done all of the suggestions above and has worked out great for us. If I eat a large salad for dinner, he eats it as a side dish but he also enjoys a large salad for dinner too. If I buy a package of chicken breasts I make the whole package and save 1/2 for dinner the next night for him.. I am trying the veggie burger and Taco Mexican Salad next week. I have also cut down on how much animal protein we both eat, I still like fish and chicken with some meals.
Ask him to read the book called WHOLE by T. Colin Campbell with Howard Jacobson and he will definitely will want to eat animal product less !
This sounds like something from the 1950s! Women are the only ones interested in eating this way, and are cooking all the meals for their boyfriends/husbands?! Maybe this could be made more inclusive to non-hetero relationships and relationships where the “beauty detoxer” is of either gender, and is maybe not making all the meals.
Thank you Lilia. I got increasingly annoyed while reading this article because of those reasons.
Kim
How do you get young children ( age 9 and picky yet healthy eater) to conform to this style of eating when low weight and a developing brain are a big concern. Trans fat, nitrates and nitrites, food color, artificial stuff, gluten, high fructose and dairy have already been removed from child’s diet. Make most food from scratch. He wont try smoothies any more and salads freak him out. Any suggestions?
Hi,
My son is ten and pretty similar to yours! He likes a lot of foods, but of course they are all fish/seafood/meat products. I just work with what I can. I can’t expect him to eat a complete beauty food diet, but I can’t stick to some guidelines. Two things my son will eat are carrots and mangoes, so before breakfast he has to eat one slice of mango before he can eat his bagel and before dinner (lunch on the weekends) he has to eat a handful of baby carrots before he can eat other stuff. I usually give him the carrots to eat before dinner is ready so he has some time to get them into his system to help him digest his meal. There are usually no arguments, but if he puts up a fuss I tell him that that is the only fruit or veg I’m asking him to eat and if he can’t even eat that then he is grounded. I’m not nasty about it, just matter of fact. Kids can’t be allowed to eat whatever they want, they need to learn what’s healthy. Of course if he doesn’t finish his mango or carrots then no dessert. Dessert doesn’t have to be junk, almond milk or coconut milk ice cream is good! Oat groats are also good to try. You can mix them with avocado or almond milk or you can use them as a rice substitute and mix them with a little garlic salt and olive oil. I found a really great 100% brown rice pasta (Delallo) and I use it to make mac and cheese with goat butter and goat cheese. I know it’s not exactly a “beauty food” but it’s a good start to get away from gluten and cow’s milk.
one thing is that I don’t eat meat due to my research and came to conclusion that meat is not the only protein that I need…. animals/birds not needed to be killed so that what makes me don’t want to cook meat at all so that is been on my thoughts of ways to do, how to do, go about it with my family, guests who do eat meat but especially my husband…I since don’t cook meat, my husband sometimes buy Slumbo’s Sausage for some Sunday BQings for family and I continue make raw/vegan dishes for family n guest as well… the one thing is I don’t cook meat myself for other’s meal…. maybe I have the solution in my subconscious that I already have the answer, I don’t cook meat… good thing my husband not demaning to have meats…. he is so interesting to be on the health side…. Thanks for sharing here this topic. Hugs..
Hi. Why doesn’t my comment appear? It wasn’t offensive or anything. It contained constructive criticism, that’s all. Where is it?
My wife got me to read this – because I want meat at every meal! I’m trying some of the stuff from here that she makes for me, but it’s a battle quite honestly – I need meat! But I am trying – for her sake.
When you eat a balanced, whole-food diet, there’s no need to succumb to the marketing hype regarding high-protein foods, especially not when the protein comes from processed, highly refined soy or dairy and is delivered via processed foods. Stop eating that crap. All of those things go against everything the Beauty Detox plan teaches and will leave you looking less vibrant and feeling worse than ever. To have a strong, toned, beautiful body that ages well, you do not need to consume packaged products with added protein. Quite the opposite.
You need to be really precise here, so something like “Change my calendar on 10th November. Instead act against your feelings and allow them the space they need. The good thing about beer is that it is pretty cheap, so pick up his favorite ale and put a big red bow on the carton.