I’ve been quietly dating someone for the past two months. Since this is a recipe blog (and for privacy), I wasn’t sure if I should even mention it on the site. However, his name might come up in the commentary or comment section, so I tried to casually introduce him a few posts back. (That turned out to be an awkward way to bring it up.)
I’m not really planning to elaborate much, unlike with my last relationship.
When I look back on those posts from a few years ago, I cringe with embarrassment at how I went on and on (and on) about “Sports Store Hottie.” (Yes, I really did nickname him Sports Store Hottie for the blog. What was I, twelve??)
I know one question will come up, though: Is he a vegan? No, not at all. And yes there are some challenges when you’re a vegan dating a non-vegan. But dining out isn’t one of them; at least not in this case. It’s easy to find things we both like at restaurants such as Pei Wei, Clay Pit, or Penne Pomodoro. Last night we made it really easy and just went to Whole Foods for dinner! Classy.
I started out with the veggie spring rolls. Their peanut sauce is my favorite part of the dish, and I could slurp it through a straw. Too bad that wouldn’t be ladylike.
Ladyike is overrated.
Above, a bunch of other random foods from the hot bar. There’s quinoa hiding somewhere under the peppers.
No photos of the boy’s dinner: I wasn’t about to snap photos of his meal; I felt self-conscious enough taking pictures of mine! Also, his food was very un-vegetarian. And no, I don’t have any secret plans to turn him into a vegan. I do, however, have some not-so-secret plans to get him to at least try tofu.
Unfortunately he already knows the secret in my Chocolate Bar Pie.
After dinner, we went over to the mall to catch a movie, but everything of interest was either sold out, had already started, or wouldn’t start until much later. So we settled (settled?) for ice cream instead. Paciugos Gelateria (which has 40 locations across the US) offers at least two dairy-free flavors every day. Yesterday’s flavors were Mixed Berry and Chocolate Banana.
Obviously I went with the Mixed Berry. (Right…)
Question of the Day:
Have you ever been in a relationship with someone whose eating habits were completely different from yours?
I was already a vegetarian when I met my first boyfriend, so I’ve actually never been in a relationship where we’ve seen completely eye-to-eye in terms of eating. However, I don’t think it’s right for one person in a relationship to expect the other to change or compromise his or her ethics. If a guy respects you, he’ll respect your right to hold different beliefs. And it’s a two-way street.
*I’m not counting my middle-school “relationships.” Sorry, but is it really a relationship when your mom drives you both to the movies and his dad sits two rows behind you and then takes you home? 😉
Link of the Day:
Julie at LessSugarNaturally says
I had to laugh at the Whole Foods date comment. My husband and I went away for a very rare romantic weekend with no kids…last month. We went past a Whole Foods which we don’t have where I lived. It was my first time and needless to say…he had to literally pull me out of the store. Later, I made him take me there for dinner.
As far as eating different foods…2 of us in the family eat low-sugar..and the other two drink pop and eat sugar. I’ve learned you have to shut up about it and enjoy what you can together. People thrive best in relationships with mutual respect rather than having similarities.
Katie says
Love this post!! But my question is…WHEN do you tell a new boyfriend/date that you’re vegetarian/vegan? Wait until it comes up? Bring it up yourself? How??? (if you can’t tell, this is a problem I’m currently struggling with!)
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I was lucky in this case, because he already knew. But I did feel a little awkward when I brought it up with my previous bf… I just kept telling myself that this was important to me and that if he didn’t get it, he obviously wasn’t the guy for me! 🙂
Julie (A Case of the Runs) says
Hey, great to hear that things are going well with *someone*! I was veg when I met my finace (now eat fish), and people make more of a big deal out of it than we do. Luckily, he’s open-minded, and to some extent, so am I (I am willing to eat stuff off of the same plate as meat). Most of the time, it just feels natural.
Alisa says
I love paciagos! I moved from Texas two months ago and I really miss it, specifically paciagos. Lucky!
Elle says
Congratulations Katie! 🙂
I’m a vegan and my boyfriend is an omnivore. He knew I was vegan prior to us dating as we’d been friends for years beforehand, so he was aware of what he was in store for! Although he’d occasionally poked fun at me in the past, since I made him aware of the reasons why I’m vegan, he’s shown nothing but understanding and respect for my decision. I don’t think he’ll even become vegan but he loves vegan food and will often order a vegan option when we dine out so that we can share our food. 🙂 Admittedly, I do cringe when I see him eat meat, but I don’t give him a hard time about it. I don’t agree with his choices, but I respect them, just as he respects mine. I’m fortunate to have found someone so understanding! 🙂
Sandy says
Hi Katie
Just wanted to encourage you with a little message!! I’m vegan and my husband isn’t and despite what some people might think – we have a perfectly happy marriage. I don’t believe it gets in the way unless people think it does!
Enjoy your boyfriend and enjoy him for who he is – not what he isn’t!
🙂
Natasha says
When I started dating my boyfriend, he was vegan and I still ate meat. Back then I hardly ate any vegetables. But dating a vegan is a really good way to try new food 🙂 I starting eating more vegetables and learning about vegan cooking and baking. He did most of the cooking at the start of our relationship, but when we moved in together he was working more so I’ve been cooking a lot. I’ve been mostly vegetarian since then, but I still ate meat when I visited my family. You can’t read vegan food blogs without learning about all the reasons people are vegan and I recently became vegan too.
It’s difficult to eat out since many of the restaurants in our town don’t even have a vegetarian option. But I think the food I’m making at home is really amazing these days.
Lisa says
I am a recent Vegan and had encouraged my boyfriend to look at the things/sites I had seen that had brought me to the decision of being Vegan, and that helped him realize that I wasn’t completely crazy.
We’re both thinking marriage is definitely in the future, which is another interesting twist.
I’ve told him I’m not going to force him to be Vegan (I completely agree with you it’s a two way street!) and he respects me in holding to my convictions of Veganism, but when we’re married I’m not too keen on preparing anything that’s not Vegan. If he wants to make it, then sure. Is that being too…what’s the word…harsh..inflexible? It’s just hard because I had a period of time of transitioning already before turning Vegan from an omnivore and I know a small part of me (just being honest here) wants him to be as enthusiastic or share that bond in being a Vegan–have support from him since we know we both want to be married to each other.
I’m really glad to know I’m not the only one out there who is Vegan when the significant other is not!
Dan Griffin says
Very interesting. I see this is and old post, so this may or may not be relevant any longer. I met my wife when I was 29, so I dated a lot in my 20s. I found that food was a great way to connect with dates — and the ones who liked to cooked usually lasted (at least for a while).
Now that I’ve been married for 4 years, food/cooking is a huge part of our life. I think we have evolved toward healthy/organic/veg together, so that makes it a lot of fun to share. If we weren’t on the same page, I think it would make it really difficult to eat healthy. As it is…if I bust out some chickpea brownies, my wife thinks it is pretty cool.
Anonymous says
Don’t worry so much. You are clearly a very good cook – this will impress boys more than the lack of meat will drive them away. If they want meat, you can go to a restaurant, of he can just throw some chicken wings in the oven and have them as a side dish.
Stephanie says
I’m glad I went vegan AFTER I got married. 😛
My husband completely supports my switch to veganism. Mostly because he wants to see me healthy. I used to weigh 230 pounds and I’m now just a few pounds away from being in the 100’s again. I love being vegan and it’s helped a lot of my health issues. My husband used to say he’d never commit to going vegetarian or vegan but now that he’s seen the results and learned more about it, he wants to do it too! 😀