Good eats

There's nothing like a lazy Sunday on a three-day-weekend weekend. Normally, Sundays are a clean-the-house, do-the-laundry, try-to-delay-the-work-week kind of event. On three-day-weekend Sundays, wedged between a Saturday of decompression and a Monday full of fun, there's a free pass to really kick back.

Part of the kicking-back perks include not rushing to do anything, and that includes food. Food on lazy Sundays is a favorite affair around here. On weekdays, we usually eat just one full meal together, if that, but sometimes on weekends we get lucky. Which makes me think today would be a good day to post about how awesome I find it to live with someone with a different diet lifestyle.

I eat an increasingly plant-based diet, and I am currently striving to all but eliminate processed foods from my everyday use as body (and soul) fuel. S describes his diet as panoramic, which is to say, he eats everything and anything, except, he says, bugs.

My coworkers do not know how this is possible. They think, at the least, it would be challenging to eat this way as a family, and at most, it would be impossible to survive together. They are not the only ones who believe that mixing diets in a family is a recipe for hardship (no pun intended). Some of my favorite books on diet and lifestyle have whole chapters or sections on the challenges of and solutions to eating differently than those close to you.

I took for granted that these sections must be helpful to other people and that my co-workers opinions must be valid for them and their families. But then, just recently, I have begun to question all of that, based on the culmination of my own experience. S and I have been drastically different eaters for years now, and fairly different eaters since we've known each other. We've had very few if any serious problems relationally based on our different diets. So while our experience might not be the case for others, perhaps it can be equally helpful to others as all the tips out there for making it work. After all, we haven't had to "make it work" much at all. It's been pretty easy and enjoyable for us both.

Here's why I think this is the case:

1. Food preparation of plant-based meals is usually less time-consuming than meals with meat. This means that preparing both a plant protein and a meat protein can almost always be one in the same food preparation routine, without any additional time added on in preparation. Since most plants or plant products can be eaten raw to charred, just working in a plant-based dish or item while the meat cooks is easy peasy.
2. We know we are the boss of our own bodies, and not each other's. S and I do not, beyond a joke or two every now and then, expect each other to like the same foods or eat in the same ways. There is not any social pressure around our dinner table to finish all the food on the plate, to try something new, or to eat what the other is having. This respect goes across all kinds of foods (staples, snacks, desserts, categories) and has always existed between us, even before I stopped eating animal products. There is no guilt, pressure or judgment. For instance, S likes fermented tofu; I think it is disgusting, and I will not eat it. He also likes bacon, which I do not eat based on my dietary principles. We both like sauerkraut a lot, and olives, and french fries. S would rather not eat a ton of beans, or bananas, which I think of as staples, and he dislikes coffee. The trick is not to treat someone's dietary standards any differently than you would their preferences. Everyone's an individual, and that's a good thing!
3. There are so many commonalities between even the most at-odds-appearing diets. We all need water, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, and fats. We all, at different times, crave something sweet or something salty. We all need to eat proportionately, according to our metabolism and to meet our activity level. There have been quite a few days when S and I do not even think about, "How can we cooperatively and compatibly eat today?" because it's natural to do so. For instance:

Lazy Sunday is a beautiful, beautiful time of week -

And both S and I like the ritual of a somewhat special Sunday brunch. See how very fancy we get?

So we go to our mutual favorite place to grab brunch, The Sunnyside Café, and order a super yummy meal.

Oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, and walnuts for me, with a side of hash browns, and the "Eggpress" for him, with bacon, pancakes, two eggs and home fries.

After a hike, and as a treat in between brunch and dinner, S and I grab ice cream.

A traditional hot fudge sundae for him and a raspberry lemonade Italian ice for me. We go to a local spot that's once again a shared favorite, and bring home our desserts to enjoy on the porch.

Lest you think we never cook, we usually do for dinner.

We have coffee for me, ice water for him, Mediterranean pasta for us both (linguine and whole grain spaghetti with Mediterranean spices, sea salt and olives), apples, confetti beans (soup bean medley with BBQ sauce, Season All, red pepper, black pepper and salt) and pan cooked steak for S. If these look like huge portions to you, they are. The whole thing cost about $4, including one leftover meal.

I point this all out, because as important as it is to very carefully consider a family's eating to make sure it's nutritious and harmonious, I don't think food or diet differences need to translate into difficulties. I think this can even be the case with kids – after all, parents handle picky eaters all the time, and in my opinion, different eaters aren't as big of a challenge. We've never had to argue about food, waste food, or break a budget to contently live different diet lifestyles together. In fact, it's been a lot of fun! So don't worry - everyone can survive, thrive, and still talk to each other at the end of the day without fermented tofu or bugs becoming a big issue.

I promise.