To be blunt, if she wants you to respect her diet, she should respect yours. It's your house and she is the guest. I would stock up on food that she eats (and get some recipes ready), but still eat what I want.

I think this is tough, but not impossible. Besides the obvious tack of dedicating one of your meals daily to eggs, you'd have to get creative to have the house fairly odor-neutral to your MIL. (Though what on earth does she do eating out? Surely she doesn't frequent only veggie/vegan restaurants?) I think that you can minimize impregnating the house with the smell of cooking meat, but to be fair your MIL should be willing to tolerate a microwaved or stir-fried meat smell here and there for the sake of HER compromising as a guest! (After all you aren't forcing her to eat it!)

I know from experience the frustration of living in close quarters with parents and inlaws who don't share the same eating lifestyle. Here's my rough sketch of one of the week's potential menus for a meat-averse lacto-ovo staying at a paleo household. There are some compromises but it largely keeps the house from smelling like meat for any long period of time. Hopefully it gives you some ideas?

Sunday

• Breakfast - fried eggs, fruit salad
• Lunch - assemble-your-own salads with loads of different ingredients, you can add Trader Joe's nitrate free precooked bacon to yours
• Dinner - Assemble-your-own stir fries. Eat outside - send your MIL outside with her just cooked stir-fry (over white rice if she needs more), and then cook your meat to go with your own stir-fry.

Monday

• Breakfast - Cheese and veggie quiche, bananas
• Lunch - Veggie soup from the crock pot for MIL, you can add some frozen or cooked-beforehand meat to yours
• Dinner - Grill out kebabs. All-veggie kebabs for your MIL, add some meat or shrimp to yours. Keep MIL inside or otherwise away from the grilling area lest the smell of carnage (yum!) does her in.

Tuesday

• Breakfast - Fruit / coconut milk smoothies. Add some protein powder to yours if you like.
• Lunch - A picnic. Egg salad (I ususally just mash up freshly boiled eggs with some salted Kerrygold and pepper...the butter mixes with the yolk and chills/sets pretty nicely), rice crackers if you like, various fruit and fresh veggies, maybe some gourmet cheese and wine.
• Dinner - Make a massive insalata caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil leaves). Add a whole lot of prosciutto or Trader Joe's nitrate-free precooked bacon to the salad for the meat-eaters. Toss in some chunks of avocado if this isn't big/filling enough.

Wednesday

• Breakfast - Cottage cheese with sliced fruit
• Lunch - Tzatziki dip with veggies, cold cuts for the meat-eaters
• Dinner - Spring rolls. The rice paper is basically harmless starch, so it's a worthy compromise. Cook some meat or shrimp while you send MIL sight-seeing or shopping. Vent the house with open windows while the meat cools. Roll MIL's rolls without meat/shrimp. Other ingredients: rice noodles, shredded pickled veggies, cabbage, etc.

Thursday

• Breakfast - Yoghurt with honey and macadamia nuts
• Lunch - Omelettes made to order (or make MIL make her own!)
• Dinner - Assemble-your-own taco salads. Again, eat outside, and cook your ground beef (or other meat) last while mother-in-law sits outside enjoying a pre-dinner cocktail.

Friday

• Breakfast - Miniquiche muffins
• Lunch - Chipotle or other meal out. Because you truly deserve it if you've made it to this point in the week without snapping!
• Dinner - Pizza - a tolerable 'cheat' with Chebe pizza flour (or your gluten-free pizza crust of choice).

Saturday

• Breakfast - Crepes - there are great recipes with a little coconut flour added - with fresh fruit and mascarpone
• Lunch - Leftovers...surely there are some by now?!
• Dinner - Head to your local steakhouse. Let MIL figure it out herself from the menu.

Get ready to cook more eggs than you'd ever cared to. I read "smell of fish" at first, which wasn't as bad as "smell of flesh". Cook meats out on the grill as a way of demonstrating you are trying. Buy precooked chickens from the grocery store. Make sure you serve her lots of wine to keep her distracted.

Alex from PaleoPax

yep, what Carl said, feed her what she wants, cater to her somewhat, but she needs to let you be yourself in your own house. She can sit in the yard while you cook your food. If she is a bitch to you about it, your husband needs to make her knock it off.

When I was a veggie, I had no problem with packing my meals, she should expect to do the same.

Be nice, be polite, but explain that your family also has dietary needs that you feel are best managed with a Paleo diet. She can leave the kitchen when you're cooking.

A good friend of mine is vegetarian and we have dinner about once a week. We really have absolutely no problem finding food that we both enjoy. He is "ovo/lacto" vegetarian with some seafood. I usually cook foods that we both like and we each eat what we like. I skip the pasta and rice, he skips the meat, my family eats basically everything but according to their preference.

It isn't really that hard, as long as everyone has respect for the other viewpoints. Treating a house guest as a second-class citizen because they have a different diet than you is very rude. Would you also disparage a house guest who is Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or some other culture or religion that has dietary restrictions? Learning how to get along with people who are different than you is a virtue.

You can use this as an opportunity to explore unusual ingredients that are both Paleo and vegetarian, for example, seaweed salad, purple tubers, seasonal non-starchy vegetables, etc. It can become fun for everyone to find the common culinary ground.

Another friend of mine (decidedly not vegetarian) who is an avid cook but culturally clueless had an office party at his house, and among the guests was a muslim who had recently come to the US. He made... pork ribs. I was absolutely aghast at his insensitivity.

Two weeks is a long time. I can do a dinner that is gluten free and vegetarian, but 14 is way more of a pain than I am willing to put up with.

If it were me I would probably put my spouse in charge of figuring that one out since she is not my parent and I am probably not the one who is benefiting from the visit.

You could eat out a lot, she could go elsewhere while you cook, you could exist on cold cuts with one good meal cooked elsewhere a week. I might be willing to do these, but I wouldn't be willing to be in charge of the negotiations around the "smell of flesh".

I was a vegetarian for 10 years and still am surrounded by vegetarians and vegans. So, it is not uncommon to have a houseguest who does not eat everything the family is eating. My first bit of advice is to have ground rules. The most important of which no one criticizes anyone's food choices. (It is unacceptable in my home for anyone to say someone else's food is gross - even when it is some nasty, smelly tofu fake food). Next, cook your meals for 2 weeks in coconut oil and butter or ghee. Have meat always served separate from the veggies so she can still have a nice meal. Since she eats eggs, load up on the fritattas. you can even do mini ones (egg cupcakes) so some have meat and veggies and some just veggies. Don't be afraid to eat out more than you normally would. This is a special time (just keep telling yourself that) and should be celebrated. Do not let her insult you, your food, your home, your life. If she pulls that, look her straight in the eye, tell her that comment was hurtful and unfair. You will be dealing with your MIL for a long time - set boundaries now. Make sure your husband understands before she arrives that you want this to be a pleasant trip but, your MIL (and maybe even the hubby) are free to go to a hotel if this does not work.

There are hotels with kitchens she can stay in. I enjoy a veggie dinner here and there, but 14 days, 3 meals a day- that is 42 flesh-free meals... that's a lot of eggs! lol

I think it's quite kind of you to want to be so accommodating in order to make her feel most comfortable. I would probably go with pre-cooked animal flesh especially those that can be eaten cold or room temp. Canned salmon on salad. Rotisserie chicken from the store (you can get pretty good ones at WF) or cook ahead and freeze then thaw in fridge. You can use this on salad or in frittata or omelets (I never smell animal protein that is included in an egg mixture. Even roast beef or fajita-type beef can be eaten cold or room temp-ish. Obviously lots of hard boiled eggs/deviled eggs as snacks would be good to include to bump up protein outside of main meals. If you do dairy you can get a pretty good protein kick from cheese.

Good luck!

Communicating your expectations and making sure she communicates hers is vital. Having had a mother in law for 27 years THIS I know. While it hasn't been about food (usually) it definitely has been about many and various subjects. Feeding a vegetarian in a paleo household shouldn't be difficult...if smell bothers her and that's the only issue then go without bacon and use garlic and onion on lots of other things. I'm sure she eats garlic and onion, right? But communication is key, ask her what she would like to do while you cook your food, tell her that you will have plenty of delicious mother-in-law friendly foods there for her to eat....find out specifically WHAT she likes to eat and just add your proteins to your dishes that YOUR family will be eating. If she's going to be petty about the "smell" then it's definitely time to sit and have a heart to heart about it. Just be open asap and I think things will go well. In my experience with mine, MIL's are about the "upper hand"...let them "think" they have the upper hand and life is good :) It's a dance I participate in a few times a year to keep peace and make my life easier and happier....I respect her enough to just do it. She doesn't live with me, she's given me a wonderful man so I guess I can dance her dance once in awhile :) Hope that helps.

If I were you, and I'm glad I'm not, I'd ask my spouse to be an intermediary and negotiate a compromise.

Is it summer where you are? A few meals could be awesome salads, topped with eggs for her, and you can add meats for yourself.

As far as peace and respect are involved, I would politely inform her before you start cooking anything offensive. This way she has the chance to step away. Perhaps also batch-cook while she's taking your kids to the park or something.

If she's open minded you could tell her about why you eat the way you do. Mark Sisson's son is a vegetarian, but still mostly follows the primal lifestyle. It's not impossible to be both. I'm not saying that you try to convert her, but by showing interest in improving her health, you're proving that you care. Gotta be delicate with that.

Anyhow, I agree with previous posts. Lots of wine. Not just for her :D

Oh, and you may need to lay some ground rules about what "cheats and treats" she is allowed to give your children, if that matters. Even a cheat sheet. You know, 'chocolate covered nuts and ice cream are okay, but please don't buy them a cookie or a cupcake' kinda stuff. Be sure to include some things that she can really spoil them with, and tell her just how much of a treat THAT would be.

Slip some organ meat in her quorn chilli.

I would never go to my children's homes and expect them to eat as I do. Respect is the foundation of good relationships, and going to someone's home is a privilege to be treated with the utmost respect. As long as you provide for her food needs, she has no right to demand that you live/eat other than as you would normally. Parents of adult children must give them the same respect that they would a non-relative. Would she turn the tables and allow meat to dominate at her house? Of course not, so it is quid pro quo. If I couldn't abide soemthing at my kids' homes, I would get a hotel room.

I gather you guys eat fish regularly. What I would do is have plenty of veg-friendly options around, prepare other meats that you would normally eat that she can choose to avoid, and make fish before she arrives or when she is out of the house. As a house guest and family member, you might be able to accommodate her to some extent, but if fish is a dietary staple in your house, she should figure out how to tolerate or avoid the smell the few times it might become a mild discomfort during her stay. Plus, I'm pretty sure this is how Dear Prudence from Slate would answer.

I would do my best to not offend them and make them welcome in my house, it's the human thing to do.

Go heavy on the fritattas and quiches- Everyday Paleo has a bunch of great recipes. Surf around vegan recipe sites if you don't do dairy. Ask your MIL to provide you with some of her favorite recipes but specify that they must be grain/dairy free or whatever YOUR dietary restrictions may be. Many grain-free stirfry and curry recipes can be made without the meat. I'm making one of my FAVORITES tonight so should have it on my blog this weekend... I'll repost with a link. Also look into some Indian recipes using Paneer, a soft cheese.

She is your guest so from here it's more of an "Ask Alice" question. It's not going to kill you to take a break from meat for a weekend, but two weeks is kind of long to go without. I, personally, feel kind of icky without meat for a day or so. The biggest issue, IMHO, is with her inability to "take the smell of flesh," and its implication that YOU won't be able to eat meat for two weeks. What kind of "flesh" is she referring to? Fish, poultry, pork, or beef? You can always cook it up separately for the non-veggies or you could cook a bunch of, say, shredded chicken beforehand and freeze it in batches to add to salads/stirfries.

Oh, and leave a copy of The Paleo Solution on her nightstand ;-)