19 replies to this topic

[KnightRobby]

Hello again. I am trying to get some very, very easy meal ideas together. I have some (three meals) but that is it. I heard that it is wise to start out with three meals and work your way up, to make it easy and also less overwhelming.

I really enjoy things like Fried Rice, Chinese Food (White Rice, Chicken, Broccoli), and Alfredo meals (I have one recipe). I know of a few websites that have simple recipes, including Gluten Free Mommy, etc but if you can think of another website that be great.

Thanks for your help!

[sa1937]

You might want to think of very simple meals like meat or fish, potato, veggie and salad, for example. No recipes required. I know you are also concerned about the cost of gluten-free foods. Use the Google search button at the top of your screen and put in words like budget meals, cheap meals, etc. A lot of topics will come up.

Also check out the recipe section for suggestions on Lunch and Dinner. It'll keep you busy for a month of Sundays.

[kareng]

Make extra, whatever you make, so you can microwave left-overs.

http://www.glutenfre...80-597f272fdad1

http://www.bettycroc...t=6&term=gluten free&src=SH#/?st=6&term=gluten%2Bfree&pi=1&ps=9

Might want to get a crockpot. Under $20 at Target or Walmart.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

We like this one I have posted on here before:

This is a crockpot one. Beef stew can be thickened with potato buds (instant mashed potatoes) or even a little corn starch. This one uses Rapid tapioca.


Crockpot Beef Stew
2 lbs beef stew meat, cubed
5 carrots sliced thinly
1 onion, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
5 potatoes cubed (use the yellow potatoes and you don't need to peel them)
28 oz can tomatoes
1/3 cup quick-cooking or "Rapid" tapioca
4 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Combine & cook 10-12 hours on low or 5-6 on high.

[GFinDC]

1 can cooked black beans
1 can mackeral
Herbs
Garlic powder (or fresh if you are that way)
Salt
Black Pepper
Tortilla chips

Throw all that in a pot, except for the tortilla chips. Put the heat on low and breakup the fish with a spoon into small chunks. If you pour the water/juice out of the can of fish first it makes a pretty nice, thick food like substance.. If you leave the juice in the can it will be runny but you can add a little psyillium husks or a tablespoon of Bob's red Mill hot cereal to thicken it. Remember I said low heat tho. Everything is already cooked so it takes a whole 5 minutes to heat this up.

Use your tortilla chips to scoop up the fishy-bean stuff and put it in your chomper. Tastes better than it sounds.

If there are guests you can take the food-like substance out of the pot and put it in a big bowl to dip from. Double dipping should follow local site rules

My simple meal has 7 ingredients and Crayon's has 10. I win! Plus mine is done in 5 minutes. Double win!

[irish daveyboy]

How about rice noodles (Angel Hair)
place them in boiling water for 4 minutes,
drain, stir in a teaspoon or two of green pesto
garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.


That's as simply as you can get!

[kareng]

1 can cooked black beans
1 can mackeral
Herbs
Garlic powder (or fresh if you are that way)
Salt
Black Pepper
Tortilla chips

Throw all that in a pot, except for the tortilla chips. Put the heat on low and breakup the fish with a spoon into small chunks. If you pour the water/juice out of the can of fish first it makes a pretty nice, thick food like substance.. If you leave the juice in the can it will be runny but you can add a little psyillium husks or a tablespoon of Bob's red Mill hot cereal to thicken it. Remember I said low heat tho. Everything is already cooked so it takes a whole 5 minutes to heat this up.

Use your tortilla chips to scoop up the fishy-bean stuff and put it in your chomper. Tastes better than it sounds.

If there are guests you can take the food-like substance out of the pot and put it in a big bowl to dip from. Double dipping should follow local site rules

My simple meal has 7 ingredients and Crayon's has 10. I win! Plus mine is done in 5 minutes. Double win!

But yours has CANNED MACKERAL!

[Celiac Mindwarp]

I'm loving avocado or sweet potato as the basis of meals at the moment.

Today was avocado, king prawns, tomato, cucumber and yellow bell pepper. No cooking either!

I have only been gluten-free about 4 weeks and I am starting to love it.

Cooking for the family is another story, but I love my new food.

Good luck

[GFinDC]

But yours has CANNED MACKERAL!

Yes, but it from China, so it is ok. And you take it out of the can, so it isn't canned anymore.

OK, another one then.

Throw some green beans or peas in a skillett. Add some sliced onion and mushrooms. Fry a few minutes and crack an egg or two on top. Sprinkle with herbs and salt, pepper, psyillium etc. Lid it for a few minutes. Eat.

[Lisa]

Canned Mackerel - eww, I shudder!

Scrambled eggs with rice on the side

Sauteed chicken, add frozen Chinese veggies, over rice (LaChoy Soy Sauce)

Marinated anything with La Choy Teriyaki Sauce...chicken, pork, seafood, beef - baked or pan fried

Stuffed Baked Potato - with anything in your fridge.

Pancakes with Biscuit Gluten Free Mix - and BACON!

Home made Pizza - Gluten free crust, Hunts tomato sauce (a shake or two of Italian herbs/red pepper flakes), pepperoni and cheese or anything at your pleasure.

Soup (Amy's, Pacific, Progresso - read labels) and Salad

Steamed shrimp with Cocktail Sauce.

....just thinkin' easy. If you need more, just ask.

Oh... All Classico Sauces are gluten free, including Alfredo and Three Cheeses. - BUT always read labels.

[KnightRobby]

Great meal tips. Will definitely use them for sure. I found some Gluten-free pancakes and the first batch, by following the instructions exactly, turned out way, way too dry. So I added double the eggs and water and it instantly reminded of good ol' pancakes! So that is good news.

And then to sweeten the deal, there's always chocolate pancakes to try out as a snack

[T.H.]

- for many green veggies, stir fried with a little gluten-free soy sauce and minced garlic. Served over rice

- steamed chicken breast. Brush it with rice wine and a little salt, steam it, and then cut into strips and dip in gluten-free soy sauce.

- pork chops and homemade apple sauce. We marinate the pork ahead of time, sometimes in salt water, sometimes in apple cider vinegar, and sometimes in apple juice with a little extra salt added. Apple sauce, we just chop apples and cook them a while. If we want it thinner, we blend them in the blender a little at the end.

- Shepherd's pie. Meat, carrots, celery, a few seasonings and a little extra water (or gluten-free broth), and top with mashed potatoes and bake. We sometimes thicken the gravy inside with a little potato starch, sometimes not.

- if you aren't a vegetarian, big slabs o' meat. Roast beef, roasted chicken with herbs, roasted turkey. These take a long time to COOK, but very little of actual time that you need to spend in the kitchen, if that makes sense? These are also nice to take for lunch, because they tend to taste fine cold as well as hot.

For snacks:
- sliced apples dipped in peanut butter, honey, or both mixed together. For a change up, use sunflower butter instead.

- popcorn or popped sorghum. To make it more robust, we add other things like salted nuts or seeds, dried fruit sometimes. Sometimes to sweeten it, rather than put butter (or olive oil and salt) on the popcorn, we put in a little honey instead to the melted oil/butter and mix that up. Got that from a friend from China who said they always had honey-butter on their popcorn. It's pretty good, actually!

- brown rice cakes with cream cheese. One of those college 'we have no money and two foods in the house' recipes, LOL. But it turned out awesome and I ate it for years afterward. As long as you don't get rice cakes that are too soft, these are great. The crunch has to be there to make this work.

[lpellegr]

Open a can of tuna, mix in a bowl with some mayo (or skip the mayo), scoop up with celery or Nut Thins crackers.

Slice an apple, eat with cheese or spread with peanut butter.

Hummus and carrots/celery or crackers.

Roll up lunchmeat (packaged, not sliced in the deli unless you are SURE the slicer has been cleaned) and cheese together and eat with your fingers.

Refried beans from a can, tostada shells or broken hard taco shells, shredded cheese, tomatoes or salsa.

Bowl of any kind of rice with just about any leftovers on top.

Salad greens, hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, random raw or cooked veggies, leftover chicken or ham, olive oil and interesting vinegar.

Greek yogurt with honey or fruit and nuts.

Scrambled eggs or omelet with or without cheese and crumbled bacon or leftover ham or even Spam. Throw in some thawed frozen spinach so that the nutrition police will approve.

Most of these require no or minimal cooking (although cooking ahead to make intended leftovers is good). The occasional rotisserie chicken can be the basis for quite a few meals, and you can even make soup from the bones.

[user853]

Squacos - squash tacos. Roasted squash, can black beans, avocado, salsa, corn tortillas. Also great with sweet potatoes.

Bowl of quinoa, left over veggies, salsa, avocado

Hummus and veggies wrapped on swiss chard wrap

Salad!

Soup

[KnightRobby]

Thank you all for the excellent ideas!

[1974girl]

I am making my easy meal tonight. I got it off the crock pot 365 site. 1 pack chicken, 20 Oz pineapple, 1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce like la choy. Put all in crock pot for3-4 in low or 5-6 on high. Serve over rice or spinach leaves. 3 ingredients! (You can add red pepper flakes if you want but my kids hate them)