Should I eat the meatballs?

[quote]but I'm not sure that I physically can without getting ill?

*eyeroll*

You'r eating your boyfriend's big salami every night, why can't you eat mama's meatballs?

Your boyfriend should have told your mother that you're a vegetarian. It's not that big an accomodation to make. Of course you shouldn't eat the meatballs.

Just have some of the sauce with whatever she's serving as a side dish. If you'd just gone vegetarian last week I'd suggest you just suck it up but eating meat after two years of vegetarianism would most likely make you feel ill. Also, your boyfriend is an arsehole for suggesting you just get on with it.

If you can stand his meatballs you can stand his mother's, you insufferable priss.

Vegetarianism is not a religion.

Millions of people eat meat balls everyday and don't instantly drop dead. Be gracious and have at least one.

I don’t think you’ll get sick unless you mentally convince yourself that’s going to happen. When I ate a hamburger after 20+ years of vegetarianism I was fine.

I don’t know what to tell you about the rest. I used to hate the pressure to “just eat a little” to make someone happy. Vegetarianism is common enough these days that they should be prepared someone isn’t going to want to eat some.

Just say you are vegetarian Mary they wil understand but roll their eyes!

You can eat your bf's meatballs tonight so you don't have to eat his mom's tmr

You're already the gay boyfriend showing up for Sunday dinner OP, don't make it worse by telling them you're a vegetarian.

There are certain foods I make a point to avoid (like carbohydrates) but in social occasions, I got ahead and indulge. It's quite different if you're a recovering alcoholic, and need to refuse alcoholic beverages. If someone likes me enough to invite me over for pizza and a movie, believe me, I'll eat some pizza.

Absolutely!

Your boyfriend doesn't respect you, OP.

If he did, he would have informed his mother that you don't eat meat.

That he want's you to go and eat meat, that says how important you are to him........

(And no, I am not a vegetarian - I'm an avid meat eater).

The important question is if the pasta is sauced in the pot or in the dish. Will she drain that pasta or use a strainer? Finally, will they call it sauce or gravy?

Don’t do it OP. It’s a larger conversation to have with your bf as to why he expects you to compromise your reasons for being a vegetarian to appease his mother.

You'll be setting a precedent if you eat them. Fourth of July is going to roll around and it will be, "but you ate the meatballs, just eat the damn hot dog and make mama happy." It will never end.

Find a boyfriend who respects you.

Is this a pasta dish? Why can't you eat the pasta or whatever else there is and just take the sauce without meatballs? If you haven't had meat in a while it can upset your stomach. I've never been a vegetarian in any form but there was a long spell when I only ate fish, chicken, salads and no red meat - not even deliberately. When I finally ate meat it was almost like a shock to my stomach and intestinal system.

That said I love thick juicy rare steaks and burgers and lamb.

Why would you eat the meatballs? Are you planning on not being a vegetarian anymore? Just tell them you're a vegetarian and don't eat the meatballs. if you eat the meatballs, you're not a vegetarian. It's not like you're breaking a seal, but you'll probably be in the bathroom with the runs. So you're not gaining anything by making that your first meal back on the meat wagon.

I agree with R15 and R16. This is bigger than the meatballs.

If you're going off the wagon for any reason it shouldn't be fucking meatballs.

It's not that complicated, OP. You're a vegetarian. You don't eat meat. So no, you shouldn't eat the meatballs. If your boyfriend has a problem with that, then you need to find a better boyfriend.

R20 It sounds like he's falling off the wagon for Italian sausage. Only an Italian mother would be so offended by someone turning down her meatballs. Though Greeks are a close second when it comes aggressive food pushing. So I think we've got a better idea of his predicament.

Make you bf tell his mother you don't eat meat. I do get that it's complicated. I've been vegeterian for over 20 years and unfortunately I've learnt that some people take it as a personal insult if you don't eat meat at their dinner even though they totally knew you're vegetarian. Actually some people take it as a personal insult that you are vegetarian. It's so very silly.

Boyfriend should have told his mother - she is going to feel bad when she finds out. Any good host or hostess wants to make their guests feel welcome - if I know someone doesn't eat meat I always have a vegetarian offering and always make sure I have beverages of choice - adult and other. Barring that, I would take one on my plate and not eat it - break it up on your plate and move it around to make it look like you ate some. Fill up on pasta (and salad) hopefully. Compliment profusely. FYI - my nutritionist would tell me to bring a baggie and slip it in the baggie and put it in my pocket when no one is looking. Best if it is a ziplock baggie for this operation :)

R24 NO! The only thing worse than turning down an Italian Mama's food is lying about it!

R24, getting caught not eating the food and trying to slip it into a bag discreetly would probably be the most humiliating situation ever.

R26 - I was joking. No sense of humor???

R26 He might not live through it.

A real vegetarian wouldn't even eat the sauce that had meatballs and sausage simmering in it.

Bring a vegetarian main dish that you can eat and share with everyone else. Problem solved. Stop being so dramatic.

even better idea

What R3 said. Are you this stupid. That woman needs to have been told you eat Italian cock but no animal meat.

Eat the meatballs. When you throw up, say it's your variation on the original recipe. They'll be flattered.

It depends on the age of the mom. The older generations might not understand or would understand less, but that is only a generalization. Their children were the children of the '60's and 70's. My IA relatives of that generation and younger are VERY health and diet conscious. Many refuse sugar even. Some have at least attempted vegetarianism. Why not ask boyfriend to mention this to mom BEFORE you arrive.

I'm so sorry you're bf is someone who has put you and his mother in this awkward situation. He owes you both an apology and should correct this asap. He'll be a better a man if he does.

I had my nephew over since he goes to college in my city and said he could bring a friend. He later informed me his friend was a vegetarian. I was cooking turkey chilli and so I made a separate batch of it without adding the turkey, and had some other appetizers with cheese for starters and some ice cream for dessert. Problem solved. I think the bf could tell his Mom that you don't eat meat and just have her put aside some of her great tomato sauce before she adds all the sausages and meat to it for. Add some cheese and problem solved. You'll still be eating her cooking - just be sure to compliment her sauce a lot!

OP, is your boyfriend a big meat-eater? Do you cook for him? How are you going to make this relationship work?

to it for "you".

Yes. How can you have a bf who's not vegetarian in the first place? Don't you get grossed out by his meat eating ways.

Don’t eat them. Your stomach WILL react badly. You’ll have compromised your values, and will have shown that you weren’t really that committed to something you said is important to you. Deflect their urging by complimenting her on how great one other specific item tastes and change the subject. Ask her if it’s her family’s sauce recipe, etc.

This dinner is his way of giving you the last chance to show him you will eat meat for him. Or else, he's gonna dump you for a meat eater.

Do you swallow your meat eating boyfriend's copious Italian splooge?

I ❤ r2 Bet b.f. is u.c.

It would be way more embarrassing to barf on her table. Have your boyfriend tell her pronto that you are vegetarian. Offer to bring something so she doesn't have to cook extra.

Pick out all the meat and feed it to your dumb bf in front of his mother. If he doesn't dump you, it's true love.

You will always be less important to him than pleasing his mother.

Is your father in law hot? Big bulge?

The people telling you to eat the meatballs are assholes. If your bf gave a damn about you and had just told his mom you are vegetarian, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Would be quite easy to set aside some plain marinara for your pasta. Problem solved.

Now it is all blown out of proportion.

Yes this is D.L. and we also care about the male meat! Details O.P.

[quote] Bring a vegetarian main dish that you can eat and share with everyone else.

Oh yeah--that will really go over well. Bring something else and ask everyone to eat it. the cook will really be honored by such a gesture.

Attention: please forget R24 and R26. Erase them from your minds.

I'm going to come back in a couple of months with an EST about hiding a meatball in my pocket and then forgetting about it and taking my jacket off after dinner. To further complicate matters, my future mother-in-law will hang the meatballed jacket in the guest-room closet and we'll all forget that it's there until a week later when my boyfriend casually mentions that his mother thinks something died in the wall. I won't remind him of the jacket because they're both very sensitive about their meatballs and finding out what I did will destroy our wedding plans.

I'm going to come to you, DL, asking for suggestions on how best to secretly drug mama so that she doesn't wake up when I break into her house to retrieve the jacket before the boyfriend has a chance to go there to search for the dead rodent.

Just go live in a cave, you don't need to be around other human beings, op.

Not only should you not eat the meatballs, but you should punch and delete the bf ASAP.

Don’t bring a dish. Just eat what you can and pay compliments on that. As a vegetarian or 20+ years I wouldn’t eat the sauce either if it had meat juices in it; hopefully this can be conveyed to the mother so she can set some aside before adding the meat.

Good luck, but he is not worth it.

I say, tell her you are one of those ridiculous, vegaterians, she will get over it.

Beware though, OP. I once dated a sexy Mexican and though his mom made meat-free dishes for me, animal products would show up in unexpected places. She used lard to make both tortillas and beans, and even used chicken stock in her cooked salsas. So things that should've been vegetarian weren't.

Omnivores just don't even think about stuff like that. And a lot of even plain tomato sauces are cooked with chicken broth. It's a minefield!

I can't imagine how vegans live. Being vegetarian is hard enough in social situations.

If this were real, I would say: you should have made it clear to the boyfriend long before the night of the dinner that his mother knows you are vegetarian and accommodates you. That is not at all a huge thing to ask in 2018, and everyone knows that.

But obviously, since it [bold]IS[/bold] 2018, and you say your boyfriend expects you as a vegetarian to "take one for the team" and eat meat just to please his mother, we of course know this of course is an invented scenario.

So, in the spirit of Datalounge ESTs of years past, my advice would be to bring your Pedi-Egg for your callouses over and offer to use it to grate cheese for the spaghetti.

I always roll my eyes and vegetarians but I don't let them know. I think they are just silly freaks.

MAMMA MIA! When-a will-a de tears-a stop?

R52 just fuck off, you intolerant twat. Some people don't eat meat. Get over it already.

Vegans are impossible, I will admit. But vegetarians are quite reasonable and it isn't difficult to accommodate them.

I wouldn't want to know you.

Introduce her to some vegetarian meatballs!

OP, really? Eating a meatball will make you sick? How emotional, how delicate you must be. Ah, such a snowflake, little wonder yuou've a big Italian stud fucking you. I you an't eat Momma's meat, dump the boy. You deserve an asshole like R59.

Non-meat eaters are insufferable people.

If the reason you're a vegetarian is moral, like animals shouldn't suffer then don't eat any of the meat. If it's a health thing eating meat one day won't kill you and if you throw up it's all in your mind.

The day before you go, tell your boyfriend to tell his mother you aren't feeling well. Be non specific. Just say stomach problems. Tell his Ma you have to "take it easy" but you definitely wouldn't want to miss Sunday dinner. Then go, eat the pasta take one meatball, cut it up, take just a couple of bites and spread it around the plate a bit, and then when they tell you to "eat something" Tell them you are doing your best, but you dare not because you have to have medical tests in the next few days. You will develop a "medical condition" that forces you to eat a special diet, in the future that does not include meatballs. if they want more details tell them it involves your pancreas. That'll back them off.

Is the mother Italian??

If so, she will not take no for an answer. It’s very insulting to an italian to say you don’t want to eat their food.

You don’t know what you’re getting into.

Eating the sauce, the pasta, and other dishes momma cooked ought to be enough, so as not to be rude. More militant types probably wouldn't even touch the sauce after the meat has braised in it for hours. I do not enjoy turkey, or goat but will eat them if served. Some of us are just raised that way. You should strike for a happy medium and not make yourself sick.

R66 ... goat?

Guess he doesn’t talk to his mother about you or she would know you don’t eats the meats. Rude. Dump Him.

r64, that's ridiculously complicated. It's like a plot involving George from a "Seinfeld" episode.

The OP should just be honest. (Or rather, he should have been had this been an actual scenario.)

The only thing worse than a militant vegetarian is a pussy vegetarian. Eat what’s right for you and shut the fuck up about it.

Yes R67, it is almost trendy with certain foodies. It is considered quite cosmopolitan. I find it vile and quite funky. I'm not keen on goat's milk or cheese either. I have been served it in other countries, and forced it down. Those who try to tell you it is like lamb are liars!

R34, his parents are in the their 60s, very active. My boyfriend and I are early 30s and have been dating seriously for three years. They've actually know he is gay for a few years, but I'm the first actual boyfriend that they've met. I've met them before, but never been over to their house to eat. Partially that is me being intimidated, too. R66, yeah they are Italian-American and friendly to me.

R37, I do cook for him sometimes. Pasta dishes or other simple dishes that are light on meat, and I'll have a meatless version. I'm not averse to handling meat, just not for me anymore. We order takeout a lot and just eat different entrees. The reason my boyfriend hasn't told them I'm vegetarian is because he thinks his mom will worry that he is not eating right or healthy enough and he doesn't want to make her worry. They live out of town so it's not like I have to see them that often. Sorry, typing from phone, so taking too long to respond to all questions, will respond some more later.

"If you throw up it's all in your mind."

And on the carpet, table, laps, etc.

To those who deride vegetarians, think about something meaningful to you. Then think about someone mocking that. How does it feel?

OP, aka you pathetic twat, you're a vegetarian. No, you are not going to eat your partner's mother's meatballs. There will be pasta and salad and bread and so on. I'm sure the lady has heard of vegetarians and should already have been told about your dietary needs by your partner.

R73, no one comes to the DL looking to read posts from a nagging mommy/nanny. Stop it.

Three years and neither you nor your BF have thought about how to handle this day. I call EST BS on this whole thread. You are a twat but not because you're a vegetarian but because you are either a liar or a moron.

O.P. mama will be initially hurt however bring nice flowers, amaretti cookies nice Italian wine and a head of cauliflower she can cook with you in olive oil to make a nice Italian side dish for All to enjoy!

And do describe your boyfriend to us. No names please.

Big shlong

OP is definitely the bottom.

That’s slippery slope, OP. Right now he is inviting you just to this dinner. Then it will be dinner every week, then twice a week...

R75, nobody likes a tight-ass scold. Stop it.

Tell your bf's mom you got enough protein from her son. So no meat for you.

He might be trying to propose to you by hiding a ring inside of the meatball, OP.

If you don’t eat the meatballs, you might ruin the whole surprise!

I'll never understand these fucking hosts who would actually EXPECT their guests to put something in their bodies they don't like or want just so they can tell them how YUMMY their shit food is.

I had a cunt aunt who did this and if you didn't eat EVERYTHING or extol it to the gods she would have a existential meltdown.

A host's role is to make their guests feel welcome and accommodated-----not hostage to their insecurities. FUCK. THEM.

And incidentally, if your BF had any meatballs of his own or cared about you in the slightest, he'd TELL his mother that you don't eat meat. She'd probably understand unless she's a total selfish bitch.

Just don't swallow the ring. You'll have a pleasant few days if you do.

Swallow the ring. Dump the Bf. Hawk the ring.

Is a vegetarian eating meatballs worse than a Jew eating bacon?

Did your goyim husband propose by hiding the ring in his mother's bacon bowl quiche?

Mama says: If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

Moronic comparison R87 as many Jews eat pork, especially bacon. Pork loin, chops or roasts usually aren't so popular, but the rest is, pork in Chinese food, sausage, etc. Vegetarians do NOT eat meat as a rule. Perhaps you had meant to say an Orthodox Jew who keeps Kosher eating bacon.

OP, the meatballs could be a test of your commitment. In the Bronx Tale, one of the characters had a car door test, where if the girl didn't lean across and open up the car door for her guy, she wasn't worth it.

These meatballs might be your car door test.

You have the wrong boy friend, OP. I'm a meat-eater myself, but pressuring someone into eating something he doesn't want to eat is loathsome.

And for what reason, to placate his mother's rage if you don't happen to eat meat? What the fuck do your eating choices have to do with her? Obviously, there will be pasta along with the sauce. Eat that.

Or better yet, don't go. Tell your boy friend that if he doesn't respect your limits, you don't want to know him anymore. It won't be hard to find another boy friend with a live and let live attitude.

I have a close friend who's a vegetarian. We often eat together, and never once has it even occurred to me to try to make him eat meat. The very notion is stupid. I return to the questio9n of your boy friend. Does he really think his mother's cooking is more important than your relationship?

And if you do go to this dinner, the others there will start in you, guaranteed.

Show some grit and don't go.

R91, OP's bf already failed the thoughtfulness test.

Telling them beforehand that you're not feeling well is a good idea, except everyone might be afraid to sit next to you that they'll catch stomach flu or something, lol.

In some Italian families pasta is served first then the dishes are cleared and meat is served on it's own. It they do that it will be more conspicuous if you don't eat the meat so if you go with not feeling well act sick from the get go and don't eat much of anything. Besides, OP. if the sauce is made with all kinds of meat, face it, even if you just have pasta and sauce you're still eating meat so maybe just go with it. '

Why don't you claim a toothache? This way his mother won't worry her baby boy will catch something from you and no one else will worry either and you can put on a good show of it from the first bite and say your mouth hurts too much to eat, that you can hardly open it to get a fork in and can you just have some wine or soda or something? Ask for a straw just for to make the point of how much pain you're in. Tell them if you didn't want to meet them so much you would have stayed at home and taken a pain killer and slept the pain away.

Vegetarianism is a self-inflicted disease. Humans are opportunistic omnivores. I can understand eating more vegetables than meat, but to go fanatic about it is just foolish.

The mother is going to hate you.

Italians are very distrustful of people that don’t like to eat good food. She will definitely believe that there is something wrong with you.

[quote] You will always be less important to him than pleasing his mother.

R46 is right. I realized that with my first boyfriend & have never regretted breaking it off before things got too complicated.

Tell her you'd prefer the pasta with just the sauce (even though the meatballs probably were simmered in the sauce.). No big deal. I've been a vegetarian for years, have never had an issue.

Better to be honest, OP. You could be missing out on plenty of good food in the future like eggplant parm. There are plenty of old school Italian-American dishes that are meatless.

If you eat them and rave, you will be eating them forever. Trust me on this.

Also, your bf needs to grow a pair and speak up on your behalf.

Do NOT eat the meatballs, just the sauce.

If you eat the meatballs now, his family will never believe you're a vegetarian, and will spend the length of your relationship assuming that you're pretending to be a vegetarian to make them uncomfortable.

At least eat the cannoli.

That's the real problem here, R99 -- the BF doesn't respect OP as much as he fears his mother. That problem isn't going to be solved by what OP eats or doesn't eat, no matter how great a cook mom is.

OP, this is sort of a deeper subject, I think. Sometimes, social occasions ask you to stretch your boundaries, and eating things you'd normally not eat is part of that. If you eat your boyfriend's mama's meatballs and compliment her, and she later finds out that you're vegetarian, she's going to think you're a real catch for her baby boy, for doing your best to fit in with his family. That's worth something.

My favorite president (Obama) made a point to order my local, weird chili when he was in town during a campaign. Do I really think he wanted to eat it? No! But it was "good optics" and was well-received.

I'm somewhat old (late 50s) and some of the few regrets that come back to haunt me are when I've refused food as a guest in some kind person's house, because of my own finicky issues. If I could go back and undo those mistakes, I would. When a person welcomes you by cooking for you, you should eat it, unless it's impossible.

Vegetarianism usually isn't due to 'finickiness," Uncle Bottom at r103; it's due to deep-seated ethical issues. While I'm sure you're happy now acting against your principles to please other people in your Uncle Bottom way, I don't think other people should.

Telling the OP he should do it just this one time to please other people is ridiculous. Would you say the same thing if the boyfriend's mother served the OP cat or dog? "Just do it this once--just please her! That's the whole point of life--don't make waves!"

R104, a big kiss to you!

Ignore-dar reveals that the OP has dumped his cookies in the last few hours since first posting, and that he started over again froma new Internet address at r72.

That's a pretty clear sign he's definitely a troll, and so this is indeed just an elaborate scenario he's concocted.

Why don’t you just eat them for his moms sake? And for his?

Then you can just go out on the front lawn later and vomit them up.

I once was a vegetarian during secondary school.... I still ate a little meat or chicken when served it. I didn't wish to offend my hosts, or draw attention to myself. It never made me sick either. If you are NOT trolling OP, make an effort to ingratiate yourself to his momma. Be true to yourself too. I think someone ought to begin a thread on closeted vegetarians! I daresay this is a problem... glass closet, or opaque solid wood door.

How very ridiculous you are R103. I'm not a bottom. You assume quite a lot. What a cunt you are. If the OP has ethical issues, he needed to state them up front, and ask his partner to help him address those issues. Instead, he's apparently facing a more difficult decision, on how to behave. He didn't really ask for your "ethical" cunting opinions, you mewling cunt.

[quote] Why don't you claim a toothache?

When I was a kid my family had rosh hashana dinner at my brother’s mother-in-law’s house. I was a vegetarian and the MIL kindly made some meat free stuffed cabbage for me. Unfortunately I had a mouth full of sores and the vinegar made it agonizing to eat them. My brother’s bitch wife would not shut the fuck up and kept guilting me into eating more. “My mother made them specially for you!” Sure, my mouth is on fire, but I don’t want to offend anyone.

[quote]Unfortunately I had a mouth full of sores

Just how many cocks had you been sucking?

[quote] Unfortunately I had a mouth full of sores

had you contracted oral herpes from a playmate?

[quote] My brother’s bitch wife would not shut the fuck up and kept guilting me into eating more. “My mother made them specially for you!”

Well, now you're an adult, getting payback should be incredibly easy. Just bring her specially two slices of Minnie Jackson's special chocolate pie (see "The Help").

Does his mom have a dog? Maybe you can sneak some under the table. Fido would love that..

Put them in your mouth, swish them around a little bit and then excuse yourself and go spit them out in the toilet.

You see OP, R110 is proof that saying you have a toothache is a great idea. Seriously, if you have a really bad one you will not be able to eat and anyone who has had a toothache would know that. Just drink and wince every time you do even that. Ask for a couple of Tylenol or aspirin since the food "looks so good" but then claim the pain is so bad the pills can't even touch it, not even a little. Tell them you will make an emergency appointment with a dentist first thing in the morning. If you can manage a couple of tears of pain that would be great. Maybe pull out a nose hair or something.

They might notice that Fido has garlic breath.

Y'all have horrible coping skills. Be an adult, be honest, and maintain your self respect.

Eat the balls.

Oooh, wait. I have a better idea. Buy some soy meatballs and sneak mama's meatballs into the napkin and replace them with your vegetarian ones. Quickly get some sauce on them so they match Mama's. Sneak the napkin into your pocket and take it home with you. Wash and bleach it and sneak it back the next time you're invited or maybe Mama won't even miss it. Better still if the napkins are paper, you can just excuse yourself and flush them.

Be warned if Mama makes her Sunday gravy the real way there will also be other kinds of meat in it, sausage usually, maybe even ribs or a piece of pork. So back to the toothache idea I guess.

[quote] He didn't really ask for your "ethical" cunting opinions, you mewling cunt.

Oh boo hoo hooey hoo hoo, Uncle Bottom.

Look. You need to make it clear. You're a vegetarian. Period. I know from personal experience that when I eat red meat or any meat for that matter it fucks up my digestive system. Don't eat the fucking meatballs. And make sure you tell your boyfriend you won't be eating them. Now if you and your boyfriend cheat once in a while that's a different story. But let me ask you another question OP. Does your boyfriend support you being a vegetarian? Does he mock you or try to sabotage you or try to get you to eat meat once in a while ? Because if he does, you need your head examined for staying with him.

lol. Funniest thread I’ve read in awhile.

All this lying is bullshit. Tell the truth. I'd call Mama myself if it was me. No one except an ass wants to serve food someone can't eat.

Uncle Bottom is a vile cunt BTW, probably sitting at home alone furiously masterbating under his caftan.

Feigning a toothache will lead to one place and one place only — a Faces of Meth poster. Sure, OP will get away with it the first time but what happens when she feels bad that OP missed out on her raison d'être and offers to make dinner the following week...and the following...and the one following that? How many believable excuses can be made?

Eventually, the only way out of it will be to produce a mouth overflowing with genuinely rotten teeth and OP will be forced to turn to meth to obtain them quickly.

Don't do it. I'm telling you NOW so I don't have to tell you THEN!

R121, you are spot on, sir! And so masterful too, sir. Are you naked to the waist and wearing tight khakis? Oh, I forgot to say sir, sir. What is my punishment for that, sir? I was a bad boy. Oh, sir, forgot again!

All you EST scolds can sod off. You and all the "This Never Happened!" gossip scolds have ruined DL.

We know it's an EST, or at the very least embellished for the Drama! it will cause here. Nevertheless, most of the good ones are scenarios many of us have experienced IRL. The real advice and pithy replies more than make up for the probable veracity void.

Italian mothers will never forgive you

I ❤r123!

Your BF should have told them you are a vegetarian. Maybe bring a salad or something.

Low level Italian-Americans eat a lot of meat, see chris christie.

Real Italians eat a lot of fruit and veggies, actually heirloom.

I am actually of Italian heritage.

Christie is Italian?

Chrissie Christie, by his own admission lives on Hostess snack cakes!

What region of Italy makes the best snack cakes?

Hoboken

Wait a minute here....how is it you are going to Mama's house to begin with? He's Italian-American and he's bringing home his BOYFRIEND??? I thought that never happened in Italian-American households. IMO, if she is that open minded that she will meet her son's boyfriend, then will she really be upset about you being a vegetarian??

You're a troll, if you were actually a vegetarian you wouldn't even consider eating this.

Venet-ho-ho

R134, she thinks OP is the ROOMMATE.

Eat the mother’s pussy and call it a night. Problem solved!

Really R138? I don't think that is what's being served!

Better to choke down a meatball or two than mama's snatch!

Of course you shouldn't eat them. Meat eaters are fucking disgusting and have no souls. They engage in horrific acts of killing, dismemberment, and mutilation They are lacking completely in empathy and compassion and never have a fucking clue why anyone would care about an animal's death, or why they wouldn't want to stuff ground up animal corpse flesh into their colons.

Stick to your guns, although you may end up with a different boyfriend when it's over.

Ask your future ex-boyfriend the size of mom's famous meatballs. Follow the above meatless recipe and bring some in a Ziploc bag. Boyfriend then "helps mom" in the kitchen and surreptitiously plates your fake balls.

If mom likes you, bf can inform her of your vegetarian status before the next meal.

When she says, "but he ate my meatballs," bf says "That's amore!"

When some meat makes you gag, are you really a fag? That's amore.

When a smidgen of pork makes you toss out your fork, that's amore!

R108: You were never a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't "occasionally eat meat when served." They don't eat meat, period. You were simply an omnivore who rarely ate meat. Which is fine, but let's call it what it was.

Asking a vegetarian to eat meat just to please someone else is utter bullshit.

I used to go out with such a cute Italian guy. I loved his mom’s cooking! That’s what I miss the most from that relationship

Hilarious. OP most definitely needs to let us know what happens. Did he eat the meatballs? Was his vegetarianism revealed?

I love eating my Italian partner’s meatballs. I always end up with a mouth full of hair

[quote] I always end up with a mouth full of hair

Funny. Same thing happens after I eat my mother-in-law’s rigatoni!

The only proper solution is to show up with a pan of Stouffer’s vegetarian lasagna and tell Mama this is what Italian cooking should be.

So the meat, sausage, pork, beef or whatever that cooks for hours in the tomato sauce isn't going to bother you OP just the balls?

R144 Believe what you want, I don't care because I'm the type that didn't want to make a big deal out of it, like you DO. You are obviously quite insecure and trying to compete for #1 Best Vegetarian Award! You are as hopeless as you are ridiculous. You sound like many militant absolutists on this forum. You need to check your bloody militancy. Take a pill or go run around the block, take a deep breath, and do your mantras.

Is proposing by hiding a ring in a meatball a real thing??

OP's bf isn't proposing anything, except that he can't be himself.

I'm a vegetarian, and I wouldn't dream of compromising for anybody. Sometimes relatives make non-meat versions of meals for me, and sometimes I bring my own.

Eat the damn meatballs! You lick your bf's cock and balls, you can eat one meatball!

R155 = momma

Yes we get it R154 It's like a religion for you.

If I were the Italian mama, I would be quite angry at my son for not letting me know that his BF is vegetarian. Tell your BF that she might be mad at him when she finds out because she wasn't prepared to feed you what you want.

I’d research traditional Italian recipes, call Mama and tell her I’m a vegetarian but don’t worry, I’m bringing an Italian main dish of something I can eat. Make it something fattening and rich so the others will eat it too. Then bring something else they all would like to eat, like a desert.

Go trade recipes with Mama and pay a lot of attention to her. Be really sweet. Make sure she understands you have no problems with other people eating meat, you just can’t eat it yourself. When you bring out the double chocolate cake that you made with your own hands, they will just think you like to cook and wanted to share your food with them.

^^dessert, not desert!

We have to kick this toothache bit up a notch. The next time she invites you, "The doctors found a suspicious patch on my the roof of my mouth." The next invite, "They're running painful tests. I have painful stitches"...moan between words here. Next invite, with crying sounds, "They found cancer." (whisper the word cancer. Old people don't like to say it out loud.) Then, with a hysterical pitch to your voice, "I'm not leaving my home anymore. I look like a monster after the surgery. I'll work from home (so Mama doesn't think her son will have to support you.) It was nice to meet you but I will never see you again. Don't try to see me. I'm not allowing my own parents to see me again. Goodbye cruel world!"

Then never be in contact with his family again.

Or...eat the fucking meatball!

R159, I'm ready to adopt you into my family & we're not even Italian! If America ever gets a real Pres. again & a resurrected State Dept., I hope you'll apply for a diplomat job.

Looking at those meatballs in the photo, I would happily trade places with OP!

Mama didn't like you from the get go, so don't eat the meatballs and keep your dignity.

Yes Rose R152, it's an ancient Sicilian tradition!

Come sit by me R165, let's talk about these two with tiny dicks. Bug Italian Studs, NOT, 'tween the two they weigh 202. 5

I Love how the media followed up especially television made out that the Royal wedding was like a fantasy dream, especially all the big name anchors who were sent there. The Chicago fire and brimstone slavery sermon to Royals made to seem charming, quaint and "colorful" not Abrasive, alarming and disturbing if not amusing and absurd to Church of England guests in audience. Willful Cinderella really got her way at this wedding.

R167, I think you are a bit lost, dear.

Sorry this post was meant for Harry and Sparkle thread r168!

OP, the parents have already had to accept that their son is gay. Do you really have to push it even further by piling on that you're also a vegetarian?

Whatever you do just don't take a meatball and then pretend you're too full to eat it. She'll think you don't like her cooking and then she'll hate you.

Tell your be to take the Darfur orphan instead. He'll eat the meatballs, the pasta, the anti-pasti, the cannoli, the paper napkins and the dog sick.

You don't wanna eat good home cooking and you think meat is bad for you? Where you come from?

Mama is not going to be happy, OP.

Saw this thread on the DL twitter feed and knew it would be funny. Didn't disappoint!

R175, Sit down I bring you a big plate of spaghetti. I bet yo no afraid of my meatballs huh?

[quote] [R134], she thinks OP is the ROOMMATE.

R137 sort of has a point. OP, are you sure he has introduced you as the boyfriend and not just his roommate or best bud?

Nobody eats meatballs without pasta for Sunday dinner, you lying weasel. You take some pasta, put butter on it & voila, you’re done.

[quote] The Chicago fire and brimstone slavery sermon to Royals made to seem charming, quaint and "colorful"

You know everyone thought he was saying “there is a bomb in Gilead.”

[quote] Real Italians eat a lot of fruit and veggies, actually heirloom.

And lots of fresh seafood. And pasta is a side dish, not a meal in Italy.

She's gonna smack you with a wooden spoon if you don't eat it.

Sunday gravy has far more than just meatballs, so OP has more to contend with than just meatballs.

This is how Sally Draper dealt with the same problem.

R182, does it have all kinds of nastybits?

Why is it so important to conform with everyone? If you are a vegetarian, your boyfriend should respect that and explain to his mother. If she is an intelligent and secure woman she should know that it is not a knock to her cooking. Expecting people to do something that is totally anathema to them is wrong, especially when it is just to appease someone else. On the other hand, as a carnivore myself I would sure be digging into that dinner. Italian is my favorite.

You sound nice, even if you are a...

I fear OP may have died from eating a meatball.

The trick to vegetarianism is not to make your chosen lifestyle a burden on others. Certainly there will be tons of stuff you can load up on there. (Bring a power bar or something in your coat pocket, just in case.) Don't draw an annoying line over the pasta sauce, which probably had meat cooked in it. Just avoid the obvious meat items.

Surely you've been in tougher situations in life...

Vegetarianism and Italian mothers DO NOT MIX.

Licking his son's balls and then not eating his wife's meatballs DO NOT MIX with Italian fathers.

OMG 190!!😂

You've had worse things in your mouth, OP.

r16 nails it

I keep reading this as “Should I eat the mothballs” and thinking it’s one of those millennial “terrible things are secretly good for you” threads.

He's Italian American? What did his parents come over on a boat 2 years ago?

They're in their 60's?!!! You make it sound like his parents are like my born and raised in Italy grandparents who died years ago.

Italian women even in Italy let alone here know what vegetarianism is and how important it is.

And they wear slacks and modern clothes and everything.

Your boyfriend is nasty and jerking you around or you're pretending it's 1965 and jerking us around.

No r195, we Old School. Who don't like meat? You don't see any vegans on The Jersey Shore!

Oh he's a guido named Vinnie. Lower middle class NJ. I get it now.

Vinnys got the Big One!

VInny has the Biggest one!

A lower middle class NJ Italian American woman is not going to spend all of Sunday morning simmering and slaving over an Italian tomato sauce filled with a lot of different types of meat.

She's going to a diner.

Wrong, R200. Stirring the gravy on a Sunday for a mob of family members is a Jersey wife's dream come true.

It's tomato sauce. And not anymore. Maybe back in the 60s. Ok I'll give you major holidays like Christmas and Easter. Anyway any woman today would even in her ancient elderly 60s understand in advance the concept of vegetarianism and make accommodations for a guest.

The op is making the mother sound like the concept of an Italian grandmother who would be completely bewildered that died out years ago.

R16 got it right.

So? The dinner was yesterday. Did you eat the meatballs or not?

OP died. He ate the proposal ring.

R202, there are still plenty of families who still get together every week for Sunday dinner. Maybe not for this same sauce all of the time, but other big family meals too.

I’m 61. I get vegetarianism. And veganism. Not to mention people who will not eat anything that isn’t organic and locally sourced. I don’t make Sunday dinner. If we’re having guests, I make reservations.

OP has been detained and is currently undergoing deprogramming.

Mama, the boyfriend, and Uncle Sal asked me to relay the message that the restraints are for his own safety and that he's fine. He sends his love!

I bet those two have great meatballs.

You do know that true Italian cooking is heavily dependent on vegetables? It is the Southern Italia/American food that is so meat dependent. You give me some fresh basil, good quality olive oil some garlic and tasty succulent tomatoes and I will give you something wonderful! Oh, and OP this is definitely showing a fissure in your relationship with you boyfriend. he should have told Mama a long time ago you are vegetarian. I stopped eating red meat about 20 yrs ago, and If I eat it now I get sick from it. My body, and my GI tract specifically reject it. The point is for all of you who think not eating the meatballs is a preference, it isn't.

Come cook for me?

LOVE you R205!

You're already eating his cazzo aren't you?

It is the role of the bf to tell his mom in advance that OP doesn't eat meat. The mom may understand and will prepare for the situation.

His mother will says he's gay and he doesn't eat meat?! The hypocrite!

Or 'Caro your love life must be very boring.'

[quote]R210 You give me some fresh basil, good quality olive oil...

Ina?

R205, at least the ring wasn't part of a dead animal. Is it OK for vegetarians to eat rocks?