Dealing With Family and Veganism

[Cirion Spellbinder]

Hello comrades,
My boyfriend has been wanting to go vegan for some time now, and one of the main things holding him back is his parents. He would like to go vegan, however he does not want to inconvenience his mother who is the primary cook in the family. He is also a very studious individual and realistically does not have the time to cook meals without harming his academic scores. (He also wants me to state that he wants to be vegan and it is not because of my existence in his life though I might be a catalyst) Any and all advice will be appreciated. (He also wonders if he will just have to accept some things as being inconvenient)
Thank you for your time and assistance!

[Jebus]

Hi Cirion,

What does his mother think of veganism? Is there any chance of influencing her? Usually a mother wants her kids to eat as healthful as possible so I would try showing her something like "Forks over Knives" which illustrates the health benefits of a plant based diet.

I was a student for many years and I really don't believe you can study effectively without taking any breaks. Perhaps a 30 minute cooking break is actually what your boyfriend needs to optimize his learning. Eventually his mother might catch on to his cooking habits and help him or take over the plant based cooking entirely.

Here is a clip of Gary Yourofsky talking about his experience with non-vegan family members. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW-sP98fmNs

[brimstoneSalad]

Are you two still in highschool?

Why don't you start by preparing food for him? It's not much harder to cook for two rather than one.

But keep in mind, a satisfying vegan meal can also be as simple as a sandwich. What is his daily food budget?
It doesn't necessarily take much time to prepare something.

[Cirion Spellbinder]

In response to brimstoneSalad's response he asked me to state:
"Yes but I wouldn't want to inconvenience his mother. I guess I could start off by making myself vegan/vegetarian food for school and slowly and eating vegan/vegetarian when going out. I have a budget of about 20 a week, on top of the food my mother already provides that is vegan."

[Cirion Spellbinder]

In response to Jebus's post he requested I state:
"The problem is the rest of my family. My mother has thought about being vegan but my sister, dad and grandfather are huge meat eaters so she doesn't want to in order to inconvenience them. I wouldn't mind taking a cooking break but I normally eat right from school. I guess i should just get used to cooking for myself."

[brimstoneSalad]

The problem is the rest of my family. My mother has thought about being vegan

Then you wouldn't be inconveniencing her. You would be giving her the motivation and reason she needs to cook an extra meal both for you and her. Yes, she would be cooking more, but it would also benefit HER health (and she'll live longer because of it).

It's also not two completely separate meals. Hardened carnists will often accept up to 3/4 of their dishes being vegan. The vegetable, the dessert, and the starch can all easily be vegan.

All your mother needs to do is prepare two "proteins", like some beans for you and her, which the other family members might also like as an optional side.
The other family members can add extra butter or whatever to the veggies at the table, if for some crazy reason they want to make healthy food unhealthy.

I wouldn't mind taking a cooking break but I normally eat right from school. I guess i should just get used to cooking for myself.

Usually, you'd want to prepare a larger pot, or several dishes, that are refrigerated or frozen. So, right after school you'd have something to eat; just pop it in the microwave to warm it up (if you like it warm).

I have a budget of about 20 a week, on top of the food my mother already provides that is vegan.

That's plenty. At almost $3 a day, that would be enough to feed you completely, every day, without any of the food your mother provides.
If it only has to cover half of your food, that's very easy.

The most convenient/cheap thing in California is going to be corn tortillas, fat free vegetarian refried beans, and salsa.
Buy a big can of fat free vegetarian refried beans at Walmart, along with a huge bag of corn tortillas, and a big bottle of salsa that you like.
Open can and lay out some tortillas. Use a knife to spread beans on tortillas evenly (as if you're making a peanut butter sandwich). Roll them up. Lay them on an oiled baking sheet, and bake them in the oven until they're crispy on the outside, then eat with the salsa.
For a faster method, you can just microwave them, but that can be a little soggy.

It will take maybe ten minutes to roll up a whole sheet of them, then you just leave them in the oven.
My guess, 350 degrees on convection for 30 minutes, if you have a full cookie sheet of them (depends on how many are in there).
The first time you do it, check every five minutes until they start getting a little brown and crispy, then write down how long it took for the ideal crispiness. After that, you can just set the timer and go work until it's done.

The beans pack the protein. The tortillas provide whole grain starch and wrap up the beans in nice crispy packages. And the salsa provides most of the flavor.

You can improve the recipe by adding more things into the tortillas as you learn what you like.
Try it out and let me know what you like, and I can give more suggestions of what to put inside as an upgrade.

[Cirion Spellbinder]

My boyfriend and I would like to formally thank all those who assisted in providing support. Thank you! Furthermore, he is likely going to join the forum (which I am happy about!)

[brimstoneSalad]

Welcome to him!
And I'm glad if we were able to help.