difficulty with menu planning (need recipes)

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mymasterskitten
mymasterskitten Posts: 12
in Recipes
i cook for a family that has a lot of varied diet restrictions, and am having trouble finding good recipes for the whole family.
the recipes need to be:
pork free (my finance is jewish. he doesn't keep strict kosher, but pork is out)
poultry free (my roommate is allergic)
no mushrooms or fish (my roommates don't like them)
low calorie (so i can stick to my diet)
low cost (we're on a pretty tight budget)
no, or very little artificial sweeteners (they don't agree with my niece's digestion)

it kind of makes menu planning a bit difficult. any ideas?

Replies

  • beccala18
    beccala18 Posts: 293 Member
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    It seems like you need to look up some vegetarian recipes. Chili is good and lasts. Stir fry with tons of vegetables (which you can buy frozen or fresh). Black bean tacos might work - you could do it as a salad instead of on the tortilla.
  • wrevhn
    wrevhn Posts: 864 Member
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    I'm a google girl. google "healthy vegan" or "healthy kosher". You might need to dig threw a few to find good ones. I'm picky and gluten free so I understand. no poultry is really restrictive, but consider fish! so many kinds, low cal, so good for you! stay away from white starches like white rice or potatos, and corn. eat green and red veggies, nuts and fruit. that is the basic good diet rules. oh and good grains!
  • Sandikh
    Sandikh Posts: 116
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    Tacos or taco salad. Use extra lean ground beef OR you could skip the meat altogether and do a vegetarian version with Refried beans and Spanish rice. I just made a simple and easy version of "spanish rice' yesterday before work. I put Instant brown rice in a microwaveable bowl with an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, cumin, taco seasoning and a little garlic salt. You will want to cut the water back a bit from what the directions say on the box because of the tomato sauce. There are many good low carb/fat/calorie versions of tortilla shells on the market - just pick your favorite.
  • JanerZzz
    JanerZzz Posts: 276
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    Man I hope your fiance doesn't mistreat you, with you calling him a "Master" and all. Yikes.and I also hope you're doing the losing weight for your own happiness and not for him.
    as for cooking...sounds like you should go the vegetarian route to please everyone with occasional beef dishes (since beef is pricey, it'd have to be occasional).

    Make chilli, turkey cutlets, zucchini lasagnas, mashed cauliflower, variety of vegetarian soups like lentil, bean etc.
  • kseeger
    kseeger Posts: 1
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    It appears that you will be eating mostly beef, lamb and no meat meals. As for the tight budget that may rule out lamb depending on where you live. To start you off with a specific recipe I love marinated flank steak. Flank steak is not the most pricey cut of meat and you should be able to feed a decent number of people with it. My suggestion is to marinate in teriyaki sauce over night, grill to medium-rare, let stand for 10 min after removing from heat, slice into thin (1/4") thick slices against the grain of the meat.

    For a great abundance of good recipes at a reasonable budget I would check out, http://2peasinablog.com/. They have lots of great recipes of all types. Also, I know the authors and her food is always FANTASTIC when she has cooked for me. I hope this is a helpful start of you. Please let me know if you need other ideas.

    Karl
  • mymasterskitten
    mymasterskitten Posts: 12
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    thanks for all the ideas so far! my family is such picky eaters it's crazy! i do think it's time for me to try some more vegetarian dishes.

    @ wrevhn - i would love to consider fish! but half the people in the house don't like it at all, and it's too pricey. :/

    @ Sandikh - taco salad is a favorite. i've tried many different spanish rice recipes, and my housemates don't seem to ever like it. :/

    @ JanerZzz - lol, no he doesn't mistreat me, he's very good to me. i've been trying to lose weight since long before i even met him. i realize my lifestlye is a bit different, but it works for us. :)
    we do tend to use ground beef most of the time, which, at about $3 a pound is a little pricey, but can be made to go alot farther, and everybody likes it, so it doesn't go to waste.

    @ kseeger - yeah, lamb is expensive here, and my housemates don't like it. lamb and goat are two of my favorite meats, though! thank you for the link, i'll definitely be checking it out!

    again, thank you everyone! keep the ideas coming! :D

    kitten
  • AriesGrl
    AriesGrl Posts: 174 Member
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    I highly recomend this book "The $7 a meal healthy cook book" By: Chef Susan Irby........there are some great meals in there that toally fit your standards my kids even love them!!!!
  • mymasterskitten
    mymasterskitten Posts: 12
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    ooh, thank you! i'll definitely have to check it out! i wonder if my library might have it.... :D
  • StephanieJ82
    StephanieJ82 Posts: 233
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    make a big salad and have a few cans of tuna and canned chunk chicken or turkey. Then who ever wants chicken or tuna in their salad can go ahead and decide for them selves.

    Make a big pot of Veggie Soup with lots of beans in them.

    Make Veggie Stirfry and Parboiled rice

    If you BBQ, get skewers and a veggies like tomatoes, bell peppers ect and buy 1 chicken breast, 1 steak and 1 pork chop. Cut all the meat into bite size cubes and let everyone make their own kabobs.

    a nice breakfast for dinner is always a nice change. make eggs, potatoes, turkey bacon or sausages with toast. mmm

    Another idea is something I make all the time Pita or tortilla pizzas. You can use marinara sauce or Pesto sauce for the base and top with everyones fave veggies and fave cheese. I always have pesto sauce, tomatoes, feta, canned chicken that i rinse and pan fry a bit. Then serve with a salad.

    when you make tacos, use ground turkey instead of beef for your low fat. And for the people that cant eat turkey, they can fill theirs with refried beans.

    if you make meatballs, use beef for the beef eaters not on a diet and ground turkey for yours. to make the turkey meatballs taste better i add a couple scoops of low cal ranch dressing into it with spices.

    another soup i make, chicken or veggie broth onions, carrots, celery, and Tortellini noodles. eat with dinner rolls. the tortellini makes it filling and you dont need much.

    Hope this helps :)
  • Dippydog
    Dippydog Posts: 154
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    Stop cooking for everyone else and let them cook for themselves.:wink:
  • mymasterskitten
    mymasterskitten Posts: 12
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    thanks for the ideas StephanieJ82! :D

    i can't Dippydog, i'm living rent free at the moment, and cooking is one of the ways i earn my keep. ^.^

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