Paleo Shabbos Meal- Frugally? (Paleo=no grain, no legume)

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 1:46 am

I'm having a guest for shabbos who is on the Paleo diet...
I need ideas of what I can serve that is Paleo friendly and won't blow the budget and is shabbosdik enough. (I don't need traditional fare at all, I just need something other than scrambled eggs, iykwim, and so my guest feels like we're doing something nice for him.)
For those unaware of what the Paleo diet is, its a meat-fish-chicken-dairy-eggs-vegetables-fruit-nuts-seeds ONLY diet, meaning no grains, no legumes, no artificial flavorings/sweeteners, nothing processed, etc... The only permitted sweeteners are honey or fruit. No potatoes or sweet potatoes (though there are some people that do allow them).

Anyhow, people in the paleo diet usually fill up on animal products, having a lot of them, with a large quantity of veggies as well (but veggies aren't the filling art, the animal products are).
Uh yea, animal products are expensive, and they're rationed in this house- I can't serve huge quantities of fleishigs to anyone, guest or not, we can't afford it...
The other filling paleo foods are nuts... also expensive, which I can't afford to serve (and anyhow don't have in my house).

The usual fillers we have in our house are gluten free grains and carbs (like rice, corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes) and legumes (beans, lentils, etc....), all forbidden on the paleo diet.

I already did my shopping for shabbos, and I don't want to have to go shopping again...

So, I'm looking for suggestions of good, filling, shabbosdik foods that I can serve to someone on a Paleo diet... that aren't huge quantities of meat, etc. (For example, in our home, usually each person gets a chicken 8th, not a quarter, at the shabbos meal.)

What do I have to work with?
Lots of eggs- I'd like suggestions of egg based shabbosdik paleo foods, because thats the cheapest animal product I have lots of in the house...
1 package of wings and 1 whole chicken. (This needs to be sufficient for meals for 3 adults and 2 kids for 3 shabbos meals, plus for 2 adults for a non shabbos meal.)
Lots of greens.
1/2 head cabbage
1/2 butternut squash
1 leek
1 zucchini
A few tomatoes
A few beets
1 head cauliflower
A few avocados
Some carrots
Can of mushrooms
Can of olives
Tomato paste
Some onions
Fenugreek seeds
Sunflower seeds
Honey
Paleo friendly oils
Pretty much every spice under the sun

What I was thinking of making was...

Friday night:
Chilbeh
Coleslaw with homemade mayo, honey, and lemon
Tomato and greens salad.
Chicken soup with the leeks, wings, onion, zucchini, carrots, and the butternut squash.
Grain free greens quiche, with homemde sunflower milk instead of milk in the quiche.

Shabbos lunch:
Uhm??
Chilbeh
Coleslaw with homemade mayo, honey, and lemon
Tomato and greens salad.
If I can figure out how to make a paleo friendly recipe for crepes (that doesn't call for almond flour or coconut flour), I'll make paleo wraps filled with grilled chicken chunks, greens, tomatoes, avocado, olives, and a mayo based dressing or something...
If I can't figure out how to make paleo crepes, any suggestions?

What else? The aforementioned doesn't seem like enough...

I also would prefer not to use up every single vegetable in my house for this meal...

I just found out that he does eat quinoa. (He called when I was writing this post.)

So, what should I serve?

curlgirl

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:04 am

Quinoa is pretty expensive, but if you decide to use it:

Stuff some kind of veggie with it.

OR do a veggie stir-fry over quinoa. For added protein, scramble some eggs into the stir-fry when your veggies reach desired done-ness (Or of course you can add chicken if you have enough).
Even a small handful of nuts on top would go a long way in adding taste and appeal to this dish.

sarahd

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:18 am

Make your wraps with thinly fried omelettes, like Pesach noodles without the potato starch (thin the batter with some water or almond milk.)

Serve deviled eggs or stuffed eggs for Shabbos day.

I would have suggested a hot cabbage soup for Friday night with the cabbage, beets, tomato paste, leek, carrots, onions. I personally find that very filling. But chicken soup sounds nice too.

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:23 am

I personally can't eat cabbage or quinoa, which is why I don't mind making it to serve to our guest, because that way its not just sitting around our house. So I'd rather not put quinoa or cabbage in the main dishes, because then I wouldn't be able to eat it.

Yea, I know quinoa is expensive, but I have some that I already bought and then learned I can't eat...

BeershevaBubby

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:24 am

What about Shakshukah?

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:37 am

YESHASettler wrote:

What about Shakshukah?

I was thinking that, but you can't reheat it shabbos day, and I thought you need peppers for it, which I don't have.

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:38 am

sarahd wrote:

Make your wraps with thinly fried omelettes, like Pesach noodles without the potato starch (thin the batter with some water or almond milk.)

Will they bend easily and be "wrapable" or is it more likely to bend? What about 24 hours after making them (because they can't be so fresh if I serve them shabbos day)?

BeershevaBubby

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:39 am

Stuffed cabbage, make the filling with rice and eggs and other veggies? Put it in the crock pot raw right before Shabbat and keep it on low. Should be quite tasty for lunch...

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:42 am

YESHASettler wrote:

Stuffed cabbage, make the filling with rice and eggs and other veggies? Put it in the crock pot raw right before Shabbat and keep it on low. Should be quite tasty for lunch...

The cabbage I have is cut across the middle, so there's no whole leaves to stuff. I probably should have mentioned that.
That sounds yummy, but guest won't eat rice, and I don't eat cabbage... if I had whole cabbage leaves, I probably could have tried that with quinoa though, but...

sarahd

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:43 am

Seraph wrote:

sarahd wrote:

Make your wraps with thinly fried omelettes, like Pesach noodles without the potato starch (thin the batter with some water or almond milk.)

Will they bend easily and be "wrapable" or is it more likely to bend? What about 24 hours after making them (because they can't be so fresh if I serve them shabbos day)?

They should be bendable. We use our Pesach noodle leaves for blintzes and they fold quite nicely. We do use potato starch in them, but I don't think that should make a difference.

The leaves can stay in the fridge for a couple of days, no problem. Texture almost the same as fresh.

Last edited by sarahd on Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:44 am; edited 1 time in total

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:44 am

sarahd wrote:

MServe deviled eggs or stuffed eggs for Shabbos day.

Deviled eggs sounds cool- I'm thinking shaleshudes.
What are stuffed eggs?

BeershevaBubby

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:44 am

Quinoa-veggie-tuna-egg latkes?

sarahd

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:46 am

Seraph wrote:

sarahd wrote:

MServe deviled eggs or stuffed eggs for Shabbos day.

Deviled eggs sounds cool- I'm thinking shaleshudes.
What are stuffed eggs?

Same idea as deviled eggs, except you add stuff to the yolks, like finely chopped veggies, pickles, olives, sauteed onions.

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:48 am

sarahd wrote:

Seraph wrote:

sarahd wrote:

Make your wraps with thinly fried omelettes, like Pesach noodles without the potato starch (thin the batter with some water or almond milk.)

Will they bend easily and be "wrapable" or is it more likely to bend? What about 24 hours after making them (because they can't be so fresh if I serve them shabbos day)?

I also use pesach crepes for blintzes... but I think the starch would make a difference...

sarahd

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 4:56 am

You think? I seem to remember making leaves without potato starch one Pesach and they held up well and folded nicely. I thought the starch was there more to make the crepe-making easier.

I could make a wrap out of an ordinary omelette, I think.

ewa-jo

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 8:39 am

Can I add something politically incorrect???

Unless there are legitimate medical reasons for your friend's diet, you should do your best and make what you want to make/have ingredients for and that's that.

If someone is *voluntarily* on a diet or has chosen to eat a specific way (not because their body doesn't tolerate the food, but because they decide) then they shouldn't expect everyone to dance around them and make special foods, beyond some reasonable accommodations. Either that, or not go out.

Seraph - you have a new baby and two little toddler people - don't kill yourself over your menu.

I think people imposing their diet on others is not nice. I'm vegetarian since age 7 (or so..) and I grew up with the idea that you eat what people give you. When my parents served meat, I wouldn't eat it... I would e at other parts of the meal and be happy. Same thing when we went to other people's homes. Even now, I don't make a big deal out of the "I'm vegetarian" thing.... if someone asks, then I say, but otherwise I'm happy to make a meal of challah and kugel and salad. (and I won't drop dead because that one meal didn't have a vegetarian protein source)

sarahd

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 8:44 am

Right on, ewa-jo. I was thinking the same thing.

And Seraph, I forgot you have a tiny baby. Please, take it easy, don't make those wraps and your guest will survive.

speaks the truth

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 3:17 pm

can your guest eat tofu? I know you went shopping already but that can really widen the menu. I dont know if its expensive where you live though. where I live its cheaper than chicken.

Seraph

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 3:27 pm

ewa-jo wrote:

My guest is on this strict diet for health reasons, instead of taking medication to heal a specific medical problem he has. He can tolerate other foods, but this isn't just a "oh, I feel like doing xyz" thing.

Quote:

Seraph - you have a new baby and two little toddler people - don't kill yourself over your menu.

I think people imposing their diet on others is not nice. I'm vegetarian since age 7 (or so..) and I grew up with the idea that you eat what people give you. When my parents served meat, I wouldn't eat it... I would e at other parts of the meal and be happy. Same thing when we went to other people's homes. Even now, I don't make a big deal out of the "I'm vegetarian" thing.... if someone asks, then I say, but otherwise I'm happy to make a meal of challah and kugel and salad. (and I won't drop dead because that one meal didn't have a vegetarian protein source)

Its not imposing his diet. He just would go hungry instead of eating something not permitted on the diet, and I'd feel terrible if anyone staying at my house went hungry. There's no filling up on challah and not caring if there was no protein- the problem is I need foods that he can fill up on, and challah isn't it.

This guest is a close relative who isn't coming to us just stam because he feels like it, but because he legitimately needs a place to go this shabbos and we're the only option.

justcallmeima

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 4:00 pm

If he's a close relative, then he knows you just had a baby, and that you live on a tight budget. Would it be ok for you to ask him to bring something? That's what I would do in this situation.