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Forum -> Recipe Collection -> Shabbos and Supper menus
ISO menu ideas: healthy, budget, easy, and picky eaters!
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 2:52 pm
I know, I ask a lot! But I'm seriously so low on ideas lately. I can't even seem to remember what I did in the past, though it probably took a little more energy and money than I have at the moment (though not much, I've always lived on a budget and been pretty busy...) We're eating a lot of pasta lately just because I can't think of what else to make.

Anyway, here are the main requirements:
1. No fish
2. No cheese
3. No need for meat/chicken ideas, I have plenty of dishes I like with those already but can't afford to serve them more than once a week, I usually do twice but always feel like I shouldn't.
4. I know whole grains make things healthier and more filling, but I can't look at them while I'm pregnant (which, by the way I feel, is going to be forever), so need OTHER ways to cut down on the refined carbs/sugars in our meals.
5. Not too much prep work of standing over stove, etc. I have close to zero energy these days, throwing pasta in the pot is about as good as it gets much of the time...
6. No fancy expensive or hard-to-get ingredients.

I know I'm asking a tall order, especially when it comes to not too much prep work - in the past basically the way I kept on budget was by doing more myself, it doesn't really take that much time, but it does take energy and I just can't count on it.

The main problem right now is making lunches AND dinners without getting redundant. I can't serve pasta for lunch AND dinner three days in a row, even though I'd probably be ok with it for one meal on each day. Also lunch cuts deeply into my budget and energy supply - September to June DH gets lunch in yeshiva and DD gets lunch at the babysitter, and I'm not so hard to please because I can just eat a late breakfast, a healthy snack, and I'm good until supper. But with everyone home for lunch every day, coming up with both ideas and the actual goods for all meals every day is overwhelming to me.

Seeking mainly inspiration, even if I don't actually end up using your exact ideas. Because mainly I'm just low on inspiration, I think "hmmmm what are we gonna eat today" and because I don't come up with anything, we have macaroni again by default. I might make falafel for tonight but that would be a huge energy expenditure that I can't really afford so well... sigh. But at least I'll feel like I'm feeding my family something healthy, wholesome, cheap, and homemade, even if I don't accomplish anything else all day. And if I make a big batch, it freezes well so we can have that once a week for a while. Still need another 5 suppers and 6 lunches per week, though, so bring it on!
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kb




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:00 pm
Well, if you take out fish, cheese, and chicken/meat, I'd say the only protein you're left with is eggs. How's that for inspiration? And tofu, but that's probably expensive/hard to get - not that I would know. I'd be scared to buy tofu!

Peanut butter sandwiches? Soups - though it is really hot now, so I wouldn't be too eager for soup right now...
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:00 pm
I make large batches of pancakes (whole wheat does make them healthier, but your call) and freeze them. It takes about 45 seconds in the microwave to zap 3 of them for a quick breakfast.

Can you do interesting salads for you and DH? Those can be made and then last a couple of days. Chickpea salad provides protein and veggies and is healthy. For kids, plain uncooked veggies or microwaved peas are easy favorites.

For lunch, sandwiches are easy, and maybe other people in the family can make them? Yogurt is also good, healthy, and easy.

You might want to think about doing some omelettes or fritattas with eggs for the hot meals; those are quick. And, of course, soups are pretty easy and filling. You can cut lots of veggies at once and make several different kinds that can be frozen into portion size and served on different days.

Hope these ideas get the wheels turning! Good luck!
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:07 pm
Soups in summer? I do that during the year a LOT but it just seems so... hot.

Yeah, we're fine with salads and veggies. It's proteins and sides that I'm getting stuck on.

Eggs are nice but not every day. Also it's supposed to be not good to have more than one or two a day. And DH almost always has himself a couple for breakfast, so there goes supper...

Yes, we do sandwiches for lunch a lot. Still leaves dinner.

I think I'm asking the impossible dream. I wish I could remember what we did in the past before I hit this big slump. For the first four months of this pregnancy I was literally unable to do ANYTHING, not sure what DH fed himself and DD but I'm sure it was unbalanced and expensive. Then for the next month or so the best I could manage was basically of the pasta or sandwiches variety. Now I'm starting to feel like it's time to get real again, but I have zero inspiration, and there's also the lunch problem - if yeshiva was serving DH chicken or fish (I'm the one who can't stand that) for lunch then I could get away with sandwiches for supper. Now he can take a sandwich for lunch every day, but I still need to come up with another meal. And it's HOT when you turn on the stove or oven, and I can't stand hot! The window does more harm than help these days! Baaaaah. </vent>
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thankyou




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:12 pm
I make zucchini quiche but a healthy version-
I fry onions and zucchini and close the pot for around 20 min to let the zucchini become soft.
Then I let cool for a few mins and add an egg or two , sometimes cottage cheese or really any type of cheese I have in the fridge and salt.
I take bread crumbs and put a think layer in a pan, add the zucchini mixture and some more bread crumbs on top ( sometimes with cheese too) and put in the oven till ready.
It's really easy and most of the time you don't have to be doing much and it's healthy Smile
(no cheese needed its great without it too!)
Also you can make lots of sandwiches with different type of stuff in them,

You can take an apple, throw some cinnamon an maybe sugar on and put in the oven - sweet and healthy.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:14 pm
The quiche sounds good, thanks for sharing!
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:21 pm
You can make the pasta into a salad with chickpeas and veg so its a complete meal, including protein.

A quick and nutritious meal that's I've been making for lunch lately: homemade pita chips with bean dip. I use this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/rec......html and don't bother with a food processor, just use a hand blender. Prep time is literally five minutes.
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There4you




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 3:57 pm
My kids love rice and beans for a meal. You can make lentils. Pasta can be made many ways, with sauce and. Cheese, or with tuna, is yum if u like tuna. I have an app on my iPhone epicurious. I can type in search with the specific ingredients I want to use and it gives me a variety of ideas.
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There4you




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 4:07 pm
I didn't realize no cheese or fish. Another idea is an egg white omelet or quiche, with your favorite veggies. I'll sauté zucchini with garlic, onions or scallions, tomatoes, peppers, dill or parsley. They are all great in eggs!
How about French toast with soy milk?
You can try cold cucumber soup. I had it once and it was surprisingly tasty!
orzo with veggies.
Mini potatoes. Oven roasted vegetables.
Avocado wraps.
Garlic bread or garlic knots.
Corn shnitzel
Eggplant with Tehina. It's a yummy side dish. You vmcan even peel te eggplant after baking or roasting and put Tehina golmit, lemon, salt, parsley atop.
Latkes - sweet potato, zucchini etc...
Couscous. My husband makes it with butternut squash and other chunky veggies as a soup atop it.
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Seraph




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 5:06 pm
http://www.pennilessparenting.......html

This is my favorite legume recipe as of late. Its got a terriyaki like flavor.

And I love this mock tuna salad with chickpeas. Its delish-
http://www.pennilessparenting.......html
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bgirl33




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 6:01 pm
What about foccacia? You can buy premade pizza dough and top with premade sauce and whatever veggies you like. Filling and inexpensive.

I'd also think about cooking some building blocks in the beginning of the week and having them on-hand. Chickpeas/beans/rice etc. can be used to create many different meals. You can mix with veggies and premade dressing for a filling salad, keep wraps in the fridge and make burritos/quesadillas, etc. It will cut down on having to prepare each meal from scratch.

Tofu isn't expensive compared to meat and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Grilled, baked, fried, stir-fried, etc. It is a good source of protein given your restrictions. Puree it and add to dips/dressings for some hidden protein and creaminess.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 7:45 pm
homemade pizza doesn't need much cheese. make a quick dough, mix up a tomato paste based sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and that's it.

you can make legume burgers with canned beans for ease. they're pretty cheap at large national chain supermarkets.

frittata is delicious. make it easier by using veggies that don't need to be sauteed first. just mix up, pour into a greased round pan, and bake.
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skinny




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 8:35 pm
stuffed baked potatoes if u have a micro pretty quick when bakedd fill top with sauce or any veggies u like& bake a lil longer, filling cheap quick!
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skinny




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 01 2012, 8:45 pm
also can make baked french toast (can use soymilk) its pretty quick and easy but on the sweeter side
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goodmorning




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 2:47 pm
Portabella mushroom burgers?
Vegatarian chili? (Involves some chopping prep work, but you can make it very canned bean-heavy to make it easier)
Burritos?

Can you have sandwiches for lunch and just vary the fillings (maybe the bread too)? Peanut butter, hummus, avocado and hard boiled egg, scrambled egg, maybe vegetarian liver or something? Pair with bread/rolls/pita/toast/wraps and a fruit and/or vegetable and you have variety but it's always sandwiches.

Can you look at ANY whole grains? Quinoa (a complete protein too), kasha, anything like that?

JOOC, what did you used to eat on this no cheese/fish, limited fleishigs diet? Maybe there are some not too labor intensive conversions?
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piegirl




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 3:04 pm
megadara is good. it's basically rice and lentils. I have a recipe from this site if you want.

you can also make oshpelau. I don't have a recipe, but it's basically a little bit of chicken or meat mixed in with lots of rice and carrots. it's really not expensive, especially if you buy the cheaper pieces of chicken to use. it also happens to be really really yum Smile
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Mrs Bissli




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 5:16 pm
Tofu stir-fry: Veggies don't have to be cut into too small pieces. Use lots of different kinds like red/yellow peppers, green and yellow courgettes, beansprouts, carrots, mushrooms. The trick is to marinade tofu (firm or extra firm) first in a mix of soy sauce, OJ, a bit of toasted sesame oil (if possible). Actual cooking time is rather short.

Gazpacho is healthy, not fussy, no fish/cheese and no heat involved.

Tinned beans--chickpea salad, pasta with chickpeas, rice with chickpeas. They're healthy, budget, easy and non fish/cheese--meets your criteria perfectly!

Another vote for medjara (rice n' lentil). Lentils don't need pre-soaking, cooks pretty fast.
You can do daal, which is lentil curry. Sautee chopped onion and garlic, add red lentil, curry powder and water, cook over low flame for 30-45min (only needs occasional stirring) till done. Serve with rice.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 5:41 pm
Thanks for all the ideas! You're really on a roll, wow. I haven't been responding much because I'm just listening!

Goodmorning, I could probably handle quinoa, it's pretty white and doesn't have a strong taste. I've also been doing ok with some brown rice from some brands (the lighter-tasting ones) in some recipes. As for what we did before, during the year I never had to worry about lunch, in the past there were times when we could afford more chicken/meat, and I always used lots of whole grains for filling and nutritious until my body started whacking out on me. So 7 suppers a week: Shabbos, two fleishig, 1-2 pasta based, some whole wheat pizza with cheeseless for those who don't cheese, and the remaining day or two would change up, whatever I thought of that time... sometimes simple improvisation like sandwiches if lunch in yeshiva was good. Other than that I don't really remember.
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ez-pass




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 6:15 pm
I am almost in the same boat as you- I am almost 4 month pregnant and have a 12 month old baby.I don't eat dairy and am just beginning to tolerate fih and chicken/meat once in a while. What has helped me was that in the beginning before I got nauciou I put chicken, made burgers, meatballs, breaded fish and chicken in the freezer for times when I didnt feel up to making supper. DH would take it out and make it heat it up and I went to another room. I also make 2 soups on Sunday. They are in the fridge till they get finished- the baby has every day for lunch a diff soup.
besides those things I make tufu with brown rice, saute veggie with a bit of oil and put in a wrap. I also eat veggie burgers and lots of alads. I put a hard boiled egg or chickpeas in salad a lot so I have protein. I also make chilli and eat with taco shells. I also make vegetarian tofu lasagna sometimes.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 02 2012, 6:48 pm
Haha I also thought I was smart like that - got terribly nauseous the first 3 months with DD, so as soon as I found out about this pregnancy I started cooking extra and freezing. That was pretty nice for DH and DD some of the time, but I couldn't go near the stuff! Sometimes I even told DH not to heat it up while I was even home because it made me so nauseous! Plus, the nausea lasted more like 4-5 months this time so they ran out way too soon. Siiiigh.

I think the main point I'm getting out of this thread is that I should learn about tofu. It's not like I'm shy or anything, but it was just so not a part of my diet growing up that I never think of looking at it. In fact I have no idea what it looks or tastes like despite having known for a long time in theory that it's a good protein idea for those of us who don't do fish.

I'm not big on beans or chickpeas unless they can be camouflaged well. I don't like the taste much. But I have used them to stretch ground meat farther and that seems to work.
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