I sometimes secretly give my vegan boyfriend chicken and minced meat

Marijke’s (37) boyfriend has been eating vegan for a year now, whereas before they could always enjoy a piece of meat or fish together. He expected Marijke to join him, but she has no intention of doing so. And she actually wants him to stop.

Honestly, I think vegan food is such nonsense. I like and eat everything myself, and I really enjoy food too. But just because I eat everything doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what’s on my plate. Factory-farmed chickens definitely don’t make it into my kitchen. I buy organic as much as possible and certainly don’t eat a steak every day. I do think I’m conscious enough about it.

Timo, my boyfriend, used to feel exactly the same way. Until he completely changed course a year ago. He was suffering terribly from back and joint pain, so he started doing yoga and Pilates. Fortunately, that turned out to help quite a bit, but the people he met there aren’t really my type, to put it mildly.

Cooking more creatively

They told him there that he needed to change his diet, because it would make him feel much better. Eating meat and fish supposedly wasn’t good for him at all, and he’d be better off cutting them from his diet. Timo was willing to give it a try, and I fully supported him. I can really enjoy vegetarian food too, after all. And in a way, I thought it was fun, because it challenged both of us to cook a little more creatively. We didn’t exactly fancy falafel or tofu every day, of course. We even started having fun with it. When we went out to eat, I simply ordered whatever I wanted, even if it was meat or fish, and Timo was completely fine with that.

Stupid idea

But at some point he decided he wanted to avoid all animal products. Well, I absolutely cannot get behind that. I’m not going to eat vegan mayonnaise or never make an omelet again. Oat milk is fine, but I’m really not going to go to extra lengths to stock the house with all kinds of vegan food. And since I’m the one who cooks for us most often, I’m not going to change everything because he’s had some stupid idea like this vegan thing of his. I’ve always cooked with beef or chicken stock and never stopped, not even during our vegetarian phase. He never noticed. He thinks I make banana bread vegan, but there are simply a couple of eggs in it. And he thinks it’s the best banana bread there is.

Vegan for nothing

I don’t really feel guilty about these things. It’s awful, actually, but I notice myself becoming increasingly defiant about it. He thought a Beyond Meat burger was a regular burger. I think that if you don’t even notice things like that, you’re really eating vegan for nothing. He thinks it all tastes absolutely delicious, too.

Of course I know he’ll be furious when he finds out about things like this, although he knows I really think his vegan diet is nonsense. It’s a bit of a trust issue, and I’m very aware that I’m not handling that part well. I just think it’s such nonsense, and I also hope he’ll come to realize that when he finds out.’

Marijke’s name has been changed for privacy reasons. Her real name is known to the editors. Do you also have a personal story to share (anonymously!)? You can email us at info@favorflav.com

Also read:

• Mats tries to save a restaurant: financial plan gets completely out of hand
• Being called extremely fat on a terrace: there is a lot of suffering
• Guusje isn’t allowed sweets: ‘what a load of nonsense’

Source: Franska