Having a very hard time accomodating all the different diets

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 4:36 pm

Cannot come up with a balanced simple dinner plan for all the different diets in my house? How do people do it?
Heart healthy, low cholesterol
gluten free
no meat/chicken or fish
Some don't want to be fleishig
Few will eat meat and chicken

Can't figure this out

amother

Black

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 4:43 pm

Seems everyone there is fine with vegetarian/vegan.
We eat lots of lentils and peas with salads.

amother

Silver

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 4:49 pm

We have similar (3 people gluten free, 1 egg allergy, one vegetarian (no meat/ fish).

We eat lots of vegan.

Lentils (Dahl, chili, "meat"loaf)

Tofu (crispy in stir fry, curry)

GF pasta

And then some meals have 2 mains (burgers, and beyond burgers)

mha3484

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 4:59 pm

I find the barilla or ronzoni pasta is liked by everyone in my family. I need to remind my kids not to say a mezonos. If you want to make pasta its easier to make GF for everyone. Especially if your making something like mac and cheese or baked ziti.

My kids love Tofu and DH hates it so if I make tofu stir fry I take out a portion and serve it as a side dish to chicken for him and everyone else has tofu.

Fish is another idea. I started buying the frozen pollack its a cheaper mild white fish. We do meatless monday and rotate between tofu/fish/bean based dishes.

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:20 pm

I end up not cooking meat or chicken because only one or two people will eat it at most but feel bad for the ones who would eat it maybe they are missing out nutritionally or getting less substantial meals because of it. I could make ziti but keep in mind need something good for lowering cholesterol so that leaves that person out. And one person won’t eat meat OR fish. I am just avoiding coming up with a plan because feels to overwhelming! And then we end up with dinner as to each his own . Or something really plain and not so healthy like pasta and then at least two people be nothing to eat and have to figure something else out.

tichellady

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:22 pm

It sounds hard. A Mexican taco night could work where people can choose what goes in their bowl/taco ( could offer meat or dairy, beans, rice, veggies etc). Could do same idea with falafel, beets, carrots, Israeli salad, etc.
Do you know how to make tofu? Could make red curry tofu stew or red curry red lentil stew. Could also make a filling vegetable soup and serve with fresh bread and salad or sweet potatoes for the gf people

tichellady

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:27 pm

Could also make shakshuka with just egg whites and serve with pita, hummus, Israeli salad and gf wrap. Also lentils and rice, quinoa and pesto and roasted veggies and cheese. Baked potato bar with vegetarian chili, avacado, cheese, etc

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:38 pm

Don’t know much of what to do with tofu have tried unsuccessfully I usually just throw it in soup in cubes

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:40 pm

Thank you appreciate these ideas it is Helping me especially the idea of one main thing that goes with a bunch of ready made variations in different forms

tichellady

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:40 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Don’t know much of what to do with tofu have tried unsuccessfully I usually just throw it in soup in cubes

I can post some recipes

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:41 pm

tichellady wrote:

I can post some recipes

Yes please! Thank you. I like all your ideas

ra_mom

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:44 pm

That sounds really hard. I would cook one dinner each night and portion out into individual containers to freeze. That way every night, everyone would find something that works for them in the freezer and heat through in the microwave.

amother

Silver

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:48 pm

We also do taco night.

The Gardein brand vegetarian ground beef is gluten free.

I do that with a bunch of sides (veggies,, cheese, sour cream, salsa etc) and a choice of hard or soft taco shells. That way everyone can make it how they like.

Also salad bar. (Different veggies, proteins (hard boiled egg, cheeses, chickpea) and dressings. Everyone makes their own.

Same with pasta bar.

tichellady

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:50 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Yes please! Thank you. I like all your ideas

https://www.veganricha.com/veg.....cipe/
Great with rice and broccoli

https://cookieandkate.com/thai.....raps/

https://minimalistbaker.com/10.....ipes/

These are all great blogs with lots of recipes that will work for you

amother

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:51 pm

amother [ Silver ] wrote:

What would you serve for choices with a pasta bar?

amother

Silver

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 7:54 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What would you serve for choices with a pasta bar?

Marinara sauce
Vodka sauce
Al fredo
Chickpeas
Corn
Peas
Shredded cheese
Feta
Olive oil
Butter
Spices
Veggie ground beef

(Some times more choices than others, depends what I have in the house, how organized I am! )

When we had low carb people, I do rice cauliflower too, so they can have that as the base instead of pasta.

lovemymom

Mon, Mar 01 2021, 8:01 pm

How about soups. Can be healthy and filling. Can be optional to add in matzah balls or cheese, noodles.

Bean soup. Vegetable soup..

essie14

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:41 am

tichellady wrote:

https://www.veganricha.com/vegan-orange-tofu-recipe/
Great with rice and broccoli

https://cookieandkate.com/thai.....raps/

https://minimalistbaker.com/10.....ipes/

These are all great blogs with lots of recipes that will work for you

Yum!!! Thanks for sharing

Teomima

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 3:32 am

Get yourself a couple of good vegetarian cookbooks (I recommend pretty much anything from Moosewood, especially Sundays at Moosewood, and The Vegetarian Epicure books). Cooking vegetarian is easy and filling, you don't have to feel like you're missing out on anything. It's all in your mindset. By coincidence just about everything I make to feed my family just happens meets at your criteria.

(For example, as I type this I happen to be eating this for brunch: sauteed kale and tomato with rice, a bit of cheddar, and an egg scrambled in.)

Vegetarian diets are naturally low cholesterol (yes, even with eggs and cheese, as long as you don't go overboard), and when made from scratch they're quite heart healthy, too (plenty of veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds). As for gluten, if you like to eat carb-heavy dishes then it's a bit trickier, but there are plenty of decent gf options and recipes out there (Gluten Free on a Shoestring has some great cookbooks and online recipes).

I'll give you an example of what I happened to make this past shabbat so you can see how easy and fitting it is to your restrictions:

Crustless quiche with chard, spinach and kale, potato kugel, stir fried veggies over rice (I make the sauce with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, GF soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and thickened with cornstarch), popcorn tofu (cubed and coated in a mixture of cornstarch and salt and spices/soup mix powder, then fried), kasha, and vegetarian chollent (I use onions, potatoes, beans, carrots, barley, and vegetarian hotdogs. Seasoned with ketchup, gf soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, paprika, garlic, and salt. If you want to make it gf, omit the hotdogs and add a touch of liquid smoke, and use gf oat groats).

I strongly suggest you look at various "ethnic" meals like Indian, Mexican, etc. Very heavy on there vegetables, less processed foods, and plenty of vegetarian options.
Good luck!

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 11:29 am

Great advice. Thanks so much!