Vegetarian company is coming - recipe and meal ideas?

nvmomketo

Soon my in-laws will be coming to stay for a week. They are vegetarian and a bit of a challenge to feed - for me. They are usually high carb and my house is low to moderate carb, and gluten free. Plus my son has a tree nut allergy so I can't cook with nuts. To make it trickier, my husband is dairy free right now as a dietary trial due to some health issues. LOL

I'm hoping you all could point me at some good recipes that are low to medium carb and vegetarian. I am sure I will will have some higher carb meals, like a pasta a cheese bake with sides of meat and veggies, but I am looking for more ideas. I don't mind making a few dishes for dinners since feeding everyone safely (grain free to nut free to dairy free) is hard.

Breakfast is easy. Lots of eggs and coconut flour muffins.

Snacks will involve trail mix, fruits, veggies and cheese.

Dinners are the tricky part. My meals are so meat centered thatit is tricky to know where to start.

cstehansen

My wife found this link helpful. She is a vegetarian who is trying to cut out grains.

https://www.pinterest.com/risabright/low-carb-grain-free-vegetarian-recipes/

nikoba

When I make dinner for my vegetarian friend, I tend to stick with stir fries and fajitas. While not vegan, she prefers to stay away from dairy too. Stir fries I'll just cook up the veggies and sauce in the wok and make a separate pan of the meat for me. Same with the fajitas...veggies in one pan, meat in another. Offer up some black beans as a protein source for her and make an assembly line of the add ons (guac, salsa, sour cream, cheese)

You could probably do up a batch of plain cauliflower rice to serve with both of these meals in addition to some regular rice for the other folks? You could have your fajita fixings in a salad while they use tortillas?

Soup and salads could work too. Make a veggie soup that you would like and maybe cook up some chicken or sausage that you could add to yours. Make a salad buffet set up so people can add what they like. Have some garbanzo beans or something for the vegetarians...bacon for you...hard boiled eggs, avocado, etc.

cstehansen

nikoba wrote: »

When I make dinner for my vegetarian friend, I tend to stick with stir fries and fajitas. While not vegan, she prefers to stay away from dairy too. Stir fries I'll just cook up the veggies and sauce in the wok and make a separate pan of the meat for me. Same with the fajitas...veggies in one pan, meat in another. Offer up some black beans as a protein source for her and make an assembly line of the add ons (guac, salsa, sour cream, cheese)

You could probably do up a batch of plain cauliflower rice to serve with both of these meals in addition to some regular rice for the other folks?

Along a similar line, taco salad works well because you can set it up as an assembly line also. We do this frequently in my family for get togethers. One of my brothers and his wife are both vegan, my wife is a vegetarian, I am borderline carnivore and my other siblings and parents are in between. This can be done to cover the whole gambit.

nvmomketo

cstehansen wrote: »

My wife found this link helpful. She is a vegetarian who is trying to cut out grains.

https://www.pinterest.com/risabright/low-carb-grain-free-vegetarian-recipes/

Thanks so much.

nvmomketo

nikoba wrote: »

When I make dinner for my vegetarian friend, I tend to stick with stir fries and fajitas. While not vegan, she prefers to stay away from dairy too. Stir fries I'll just cook up the veggies and sauce in the wok and make a separate pan of the meat for me. Same with the fajitas...veggies in one pan, meat in another. Offer up some black beans as a protein source for her and make an assembly line of the add ons (guac, salsa, sour cream, cheese)

You could probably do up a batch of plain cauliflower rice to serve with both of these meals in addition to some regular rice for the other folks? You could have your fajita fixings in a salad while they use tortillas?

Soup and salads could work too. Make a veggie soup that you would like and maybe cook up some chicken or sausage that you could add to yours. Make a salad buffet set up so people can add what they like. Have some garbanzo beans or something for the vegetarians...bacon for you...hard boiled eggs, avocado, etc.

Good ideas. Thank you. I was planning fajitas or tacos since it is a build your own sort of thing. I agree that assembly line style is smart. The stirfry is a good idea too.

Soup is another really good idea. And eggs! Egg dishes and add-ins are always good.

I am starting my grocery list....

tcunbeliever

pasta or lasagne using zucchini/yellow squash instead of the wheat noodles - you can go with an alfredo type sauce (using plain soy milk) instead of tomato based if you prefer

lentil mushroom shepherds pie (you could make it with either less mashed potato or sub cauliflower or turnips for the potato)

caesar salad - chicken option for the meat eaters - boiled eggs for the vegetarians if they eat them

these are just a few of my favorites, have fun with company and it's awesome that you are trying to work around their food preferences

WVWalkerFriend

I say a well labeled smorgasboard. Have some vegetarian options, no dairy options, low carb options, and just skip the tree nuts all together. Maybe a baked potato/cauliflower bar with all the fixings separate and people can create their own.

nvmomketo

tcunbeliever wrote: »

pasta or lasagne using zucchini/yellow squash instead of the wheat noodles - you can go with an alfredo type sauce (using plain soy milk) instead of tomato based if you prefer

lentil mushroom shepherds pie (you could make it with either less mashed potato or sub cauliflower or turnips for the potato)

caesar salad - chicken option for the meat eaters - boiled eggs for the vegetarians if they eat them

these are just a few of my favorites, have fun with company and it's awesome that you are trying to work around their food preferences

I've never tried zucchini noodles.... I'll look into that too.

Lentil, mushroom shepherd's pie sounds intriguing. I need to look that up. Thanks.

I always try to accommodate people's food needs... for my own selfish reasons. I'm a celiac and my kids are GF too, so I figure that if I help others, they'll be more likely to accommodate us back.

nvmomketo

LowCarb4Me2016 wrote: »

I say a well labeled smorgasboard. Have some vegetarian options, no dairy options, low carb options, and just skip the tree nuts all together. Maybe a baked potato/cauliflower bar with all the fixings separate and people can create their own.

I agree. I think I'll go with buffet style a lot. It will keep things easiest. And if I make a TONNE, I can produce leftover overlap each night so everyone will have more options.

Thanks.