Not sure what to do re cooking

[Heckler]

My experience of veganism, earned from a vegan ex wife and vegetarian daughter is that it is a strategy employed to control their environment. Used as a passive aggressive method to ensure that they are always be the centre of attention and guaranteeing that they will always hold the moral high ground.
The only way to to regularise the situation is to lay down ground rules early on the cruise IE. We are meat eaters and intend to continue as such. If your dietary needs differ then you should go shopping and buy supplies of food that you can eat and you can prepare it yourself before we infect the galley with dead animals. We normally eat together as a group and do not get involved in discussions or pass judgement on what others are eating but if that is a struggle for you then you can eat of the foredeck
It works

Typical of our youth today, me me me. Am just reading Steven Kings book, The Stand, for the umpteenth time, A well written book about surviviving after a disaster. I would love to see some of these trying to cope in a situation such as is wtitten about, in fact I would like to transplant some of them to some of the places I worked in Africa where they would be lucky to be able to get anything to eat let alone "special needs" !!
S

 

[duncan99210]

Vegan cooking really isn't a problem. It just needs a little forethought and planning but first off its needs one to turn off the censorious attitude and just accept that someone has a different take on their diet from you.
If you've got a vegan guest coming aboard, first thing to do is ask them what is acceptable and what is not. You'll find, for example, that there's a lot of bread on the market that has no dairy content at all. There's a surprising variety of foods out there that will meet the vegan standard yet provide a tasty alternative for all: I recently made fajitas using quorn and a chilli for the gig club that's was entirely vegan. For the out and out carnivores I laid on some sausages but, interestingly, they didn't sell whereas the chilli all went. It really needn't limit your diet, especially for a few days.
You can use soya or almond milk, many supermarket own brand cereals are vegan and so on and so forth. OK, steaks are out and the old stand by of a cheese sarnie likewise but there's plenty to go at, especially with a bit of advice in advance from your guest. And who knows, you might actually find you like some of the food.....

 

[Davy_S]

 

[vyv_cox]

The simplest solutions are often the best, tell daughter that you saw the new boyfriend with another woman, a lady of the night, hopefully she will dump him, thus saving years of faffing about with a food nutter, its best in the long term.

Excellent response

 

[macd]

Prior to reading this thread I didn't realise food intolerance was so common.

 

[Tranona]

Prior to reading this thread I didn't realise food intolerance was so common.

Features every week in the "quality" papers and magazines along with obesity - but of course popular in different sections of society!

Our family was an "early adopter" as my elder daughter, then a teenager went veggie 35 years ago. Not an easy transition and neither parents nor sibling followed. Her children have never eaten meat and seem none the worse for it, but i never cease to marvel at how quickly they can empty my fridge of fruit when they come to visit.

I recognise a bit of Bertramdriver's point, but she is not fully vegan and it is no problem catering for them - in fact I enjoy the challenge of preparing good veggie meals.

 

[macd]

Features every week in the "quality" papers and magazines along with obesity - but of course popular in different sections of society!

I suspect we're addressing different types of intolerance, Tranona.
One is perhaps more pernicious than the other

 

[Tranona]

I suspect we're addressing different types of intolerance, Tranona.
One is perhaps more pernicious than the other

I see now.

Influenced by the current in thing which is about individual (bodily) intolerance of all the new "healthy" fads. Intolerance in all its forms is all around us and perhaps we are becoming intolerant of intolerance. Where will it all end?

 

[macd]

Influenced by the current in thing which is about individual (bodily) intolerance of all the new "healthy" fads.

Where will it all end?

A lot of truth in that. Puts me in mind of peanut intolerance, the principle cause of which seems to be parents denying children peanuts in their early years. Mind you, I'm still puzzled by "may contain nuts" labelling, when peanuts aren't nuts. That said, there are more than enough to go around. Nuts, that is.

Can't tell you where it (the other type of intolerance) will end, but can suggest a mischievous 'when'. Except it won't.

 

[chrishscorp]

We often have a longterm 25 yrs + veggie sail with us, we just make sure there is some emergency rations on board that are veggie other than that he brings his own grub, then he gets something he wants to eat, if alongside we often eat out. Some vegie stuff is really quite nice. Vegan how ever is more difficult to cater for, suggest he brings some basic staples with him and dont offer him beer or wine that would offend, due to finings, there is always a silver lining with most clouds

 

[Aardee]

You sure they are boyfriend/girlfriend? Or just mates? I didnt think vegans entered into heterosexual relationships?

1970 called, it wants it's attitude back...

 

[Cin70]

Typical of our youth today, me me me. Am just reading Steven Kings book, The Stand, for the umpteenth time, A well written book about surviviving after a disaster. I would love to see some of these trying to cope in a situation such as is wtitten about, in fact I would like to transplant some of them to some of the places I worked in Africa where they would be lucky to be able to get anything to eat let alone "special needs" !!
S

Ah, The Stand, read it 3 times. Have you read TheTalisman? Also brilliant, but not sure what this has to do with the vegan problem? Or have I missed something?

 

[t21]

We are fairly new to sailing and living aboard and I've just discovered my daughter's new boyfriend is vegan. They are both joining us early May for a week. Is it entirely unreasonable that I don't cook for them? I really can't be bothered with all that fussy food thing. What do other liveaboards do when faced with this?

Lots of helpful responses here. I hope there'll be an update after the visit?

 

[lenten]

definitely let him buy his own food---when we had vegan friends to stay my wife would spend a couple of hours going round the supermarket with them and a magnifying glass reading labels---meanwhile i was in the butchers buying meat pies to hide in my shed---from experience i found a couple of days purely vegan food severely upset my stomuch----when we stayed with them they would eat three very large meals a day but all the meals seemed very low in calories----nuts are very high in calories ----get a lot in case he runs short of energy

 

[t21]

actually a real vegan will turn up with their own nuts and won't much want you cooking vegan food with your pots and pans likely a bit too much already used for cooking meat things?

But i wd still like an update of What Happened When Her Vegan Bloke Turned Up On the Boat, please?

 

[Davy_S]

But i wd still like an update of What Happened When Her Vegan Bloke Turned Up On the Boat, please?

We can only guess of course, but my take is, he shed all his clothes when onboard, his genitalia was festooned with rings and studs, he did not wash but smoked a lot of blow, apart from being a vegan, he was a nice bloke.

 

[t21]

We can only guess of course, but my take is, he shed all his clothes when onboard, his genitalia was festooned with rings and studs, he did not wash but smoked a lot of blow, apart from being a vegan, he was a nice bloke.

Yep. Mushrooms will also hopefully feature in the story, and that his daughter is one of the guy's two current girlfriends who all sleep in the same cabin. And he'll have a guitar. No wait! - a sitar or mandolin or other awkward-bugger vegan-style instrument i.e requires not much accuracy or musical ability but has loads of cred. If he doesn't have long hair, he's probably not really a vegan. Any other stereotypical traits we can unload beforehand?

 

[Cin70]

Well I'm sorry but he knows what he can do with his vegan attitude! They arrived and I'd cooked mediterranean roast veg. We had salmon with ours but of course he didn't! His name is Bob by the way. And i didnt much like him. We planned to eat out the next evening but asked Bob if he was ok with that and he said i guess. It wasnt really successful. He had a plate of vegetables again as they didnt have anything else suitable, although they did dress it up and call it a vegetable kebab. The next day my daughter and I went for coffee and full fat including dairy cakes lol, she confided that she doesn't think he's the one and he probably isnt going to last much longer. I gave my commiserations and asked why? She said it was just so much faffing around. She had to read all the ingredients on the packets in the supermarket when shopping, and eating out was limited to a couple of places which were vegan. The other problem is she is a carnivore and apparently he gets really sulky and pissy when she buys steak and fish for herself. They don't even live together! Thank goodness, but it was a long week. Although my culinary expertise now includes bean stew (too many repercussions of the smelly nature) and sweet potato and chilli soup. Anyway, if anybody's daughter is looking for a vegan bloke, I know where they can find one, and it won't be on my boat . . ..

 

[t21]

Well I'm sorry but he knows what he can do with his vegan attitude! They arrived and I'd cooked mediterranean roast veg. We had salmon with ours but of course he didn't! His name is Bob by the way. And i didnt much like him. We planned to eat out the next evening but asked Bob if he was ok with that and he said i guess. It wasnt really successful. He had a plate of vegetables again as they didnt have anything else suitable, although they did dress it up and call it a vegetable kebab. The next day my daughter and I went for coffee and full fat including dairy cakes lol, she confided that she doesn't think he's the one and he probably isnt going to last much longer. I gave my commiserations and asked why? She said it was just so much faffing around. She had to read all the ingredients on the packets in the supermarket when shopping, and eating out was limited to a couple of places which were vegan. The other problem is she is a carnivore and apparently he gets really sulky and pissy when she buys steak and fish for herself. They don't even live together! Thank goodness, but it was a long week. Although my culinary expertise now includes bean stew (too many repercussions of the smelly nature) and sweet potato and chilli soup. Anyway, if anybody's daughter is looking for a vegan bloke, I know where they can find one, and it won't be on my boat . . ..

Hey thanks for the update. Good news your daughter is so well grounded, for which you can rightly take lots of credit. I'm sorry things didn't work out wonderfully, but I suppose I'm also sorry that they weren't wildly out of control along the lines outlined by DavyS. Heyho. Perhaps you might give us the next chapter of bloke #n+1 when he turns up. I do hope so. Thanks again

 

[Davy_S]

Well I'm sorry but he knows what he can do with his vegan attitude! They arrived and I'd cooked mediterranean roast veg. We had salmon with ours but of course he didn't! His name is Bob by the way. And i didnt much like him. We planned to eat out the next evening but asked Bob if he was ok with that and he said i guess. It wasnt really successful. He had a plate of vegetables again as they didnt have anything else suitable, although they did dress it up and call it a vegetable kebab. The next day my daughter and I went for coffee and full fat including dairy cakes lol, she confided that she doesn't think he's the one and he probably isnt going to last much longer. I gave my commiserations and asked why? She said it was just so much faffing around. She had to read all the ingredients on the packets in the supermarket when shopping, and eating out was limited to a couple of places which were vegan. The other problem is she is a carnivore and apparently he gets really sulky and pissy when she buys steak and fish for herself. They don't even live together! Thank goodness, but it was a long week. Although my culinary expertise now includes bean stew (too many repercussions of the smelly nature) and sweet potato and chilli soup. Anyway, if anybody's daughter is looking for a vegan bloke, I know where they can find one, and it won't be on my boat . . ..

Thanks for the update, great response, simply put it down to one of life's experiences, your daughter sounds level headed.:encouragement: