Help With Meals

[mamaathome]

I am the mother and wife of celiacs, and so I have been recruited to help plan some meals for a speaker, who is a celiac, coming to a conference in our town. I am having trouble though, because her list of forbidden foods is much more expansive than my husband and daughter's. I am hoping maybe some of you might have some suggestions, and/or recipes! Here are her requirements:

She can eat/drink:

All fruits & veggies

All plain cheeses (cheddar is best)

Fish (not shell) and any kind of meat are fine if they are free of ingredients, unmarinated, and without sauce or gravy

Seasonings: butter, olive oil, salt & pepper, lemon & honey

Water & all teas (regular & herbal)

What she cannot eat/drink:

Any kind of grain, including wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, corn & potatoes and products made from them

Any product containing sugar in any form

Coffee (even decaf)

She also says, "Even a crumb or speck of flour made from those grains will make me ill. Please be careful not to make my food in pans that have flour or crumbs on them from other food preparation. I cannot have bread, breadcrumbs, flour, whole wheat flour, semolina, soy sauce, rye breadcrumbs & flour, barley malt, pearl barley, orzo, oats, oat flour or oatmeal, starch, modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable or plant protein, cakes, cookies, buns or rolls, and sauces made from canned or powdered stocks. I must also avoid low- and non-fat foods, marinated foods and foods cooked in any sauce or gravy."

I greatly appreciate any input!

[lovegrov]

I hope somebody can help you; I wouldn't even know where to begin. Generally, people who have this many restrictions take care of their own foods to avoid mistakes or contamination.

richard

[Jenn2005]

Good Luck. I think you're going to need it.

Jennifer

[lizzy]

hi maybe you should email her and ask her what her favorite meals are and how to prepare them rather than do something she dosent like and cant eat, i would be terrified if i had to cook for her and she became ill from it liz

[Guest nini]

I agree that you should contact her directly and ask her about her favorites.

Personally I would do something like a yellow squash casserole (lightly steamed squash, olive oil, garlic, pure parmesan cheese and bake until brown and crispy) a meat or fish dish, broiled or roasted garnished with pretty veggies, a fruit salad (all kinds of fresh pretty seasonal fruits cut up and mixed together) and a dinner salad, greens and other veggies and whatever salad dressing she likes... Good luck.

[jenvan]

i would also asked...but to start with...

how about grilled or sauteed fish in olive oil with salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil. if your grill has had gluten on it though...you will need to cook in foil. you could also poach it. salmon or tilapia (think i spelled that wrong).

steamed veggies or veggies sauteed with onion/garlic.

tossed fresh fruit for dessert

[Carriefaith]

I have a few ideas,

Fresh Veggies cooked in a wok in olive oil, you could add chicken too

Baked Salmon

Veggy salad with safe salad dressing

Fruit salad with honey

Chicken soup

Spaghetti Squash

Pizza made with bean flour

The book called Breaking the Vicious Cycle has a ton of recipes that she could eat. I don't have it here with me now, but I can post some recipes if you are interested.

[mamaathome]

Wow! Thanks for all of the ideas! I am in the process of trying to find a way to reach this woman to ask her personally what she normally eats (thanks for the idea, not sure why I didn't think of it)! All of the things you guys wrote sound great. I have passed them on to the people who will be doing the actual cooking (I stink at cooking)!

Carrie (or anyone who may know),

I was wondering what kind of pasta would work for the spaghetti and the chicken noodle soup? I am very new to reading labels, etc. and am only aware of rice and corn pasta, which she cannot have. I know there must be others, but don't know what they are and which ones taste good! Thanks again to everyone for all of the ideas!!!!

[mamaathome]

Ahh, I'm sorry. You did not say chicken NOODLE soup, just chicken soup. So maybe there isn't pasta that would work. Sometimes I'm a bit slow!!! That book you suggested, Carrie, sounds great!

[Carriefaith]

Spaghetti squash noodles are made directly from the squash! Crazy but it works. Cut a spaghetti squash into 2 and boil the pieces for like 10-15 mintues. Then, use a fork to scrape down the inside of the squash to create noodles! Then you can pour your sauce on top!

I should go to bed right now, but when I have time I will post some recipes from the book if you are interested. The recipes are designed for people on that kind of diet. The book is probably worth buying if you are going to be doing a lot of cooking. I personally don't agree with everything that is said in the book, but the recipes are worth it.

[mamaathome]

Wow! That is amazing! I am so clueless! I would love it if you could post some of those recipes! Thank you so much.

[tarnalberry]

I am the mother and wife of celiacs, and so I have been recruited to help plan some meals for a speaker, who is a celiac,  coming to a conference in our town.  I am having trouble though, because her list of forbidden foods is much more expansive than my husband and daughter's.  I am hoping maybe some of you might have some suggestions, and/or recipes!  Here are her requirements:

She can eat/drink:

All fruits & veggies

All plain cheeses (cheddar is best)

Fish (not shell) and any kind of meat are fine if they are free of ingredients, unmarinated, and without sauce or gravy

Seasonings: butter, olive oil, salt & pepper, lemon & honey

Water & all teas (regular & herbal)

What she cannot eat/drink:

Any kind of grain, including wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, corn & potatoes and products made from them

Any product containing sugar in any form

Coffee (even decaf)

She also says, "Even a crumb or speck of flour made from those grains will make me ill. Please be careful not to make my food in pans that have flour or crumbs on them from other food preparation. I cannot have bread, breadcrumbs, flour, whole wheat flour, semolina, soy sauce, rye breadcrumbs & flour, barley malt, pearl barley, orzo, oats, oat flour or oatmeal, starch, modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable or plant protein, cakes, cookies, buns or rolls, and sauces made from canned or powdered stocks. I must also avoid low- and non-fat foods, marinated foods and foods cooked in any sauce or gravy."

I greatly appreciate any input!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about:

* Orange Soup (puree cooked carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes, with a bit of olive oil and salt)

* Grilled Chicken (marinated in olive oil, salt, and rosemary if she can have it)

* Sauteed Vegetables (broccoli in olive oil w/ a bit of lemon and salt is good, maybe adding a slivered carrot, and garlic if she can have it)

* she didn't say anything about beans... if she can have that, then Bean Soup, Refried Beans, Lentil Soup, Bean Dip with Fresh Veggies

[kabowman]

I would stick to plain meats and veggies--she is probably accustomed to those and may feel safest. Homemade fruit salad makes a great desert or breakfast.

Don't grill unless you use foil and let her know that will be how you are preparing it...I wouldn't trust food from someone elses grill myself. Use a baking dish (not stone) or a dedicated pan...only. It sounds like she is very sensitive (I know how she feels). It also sounds like she is giving broad instructions on bread products for someone who may not understand celiac disease.

Use lemon & olive oil and make your own marinades and have a full list of ingredients ready for her to review before you start cooking. Even crushed/minced garlic sold in jars are different...one has soybean oil, one has citric acid. Be very specific.

It also sounds like she might be concerned about fillers in spices since she only mentioned salt and pepper so you might want to check with her on if she can have any or if she is being cautious about extra ingredients.

She can have chili if you make it from scratch.

[kabowman]

Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Gormet Cooks Comfort Foods has a recipe for egg noodles (page 93) that is rice and dairy and gluten free which I use to make my Chicken Noodle Soup. Substitute the corn starch with arrowroot flour.

Even people visiting couldn't tell it was gluten-free and my family begs for Chicken Soup every WEEK. If I don't produce that, I had better provide my homemade Chili in exchange.

[Guest imsohungry]

I'm not sure how "formal" this meal must be...but how about something as simple as chili?

You can make a lot for fairly inexpensive, and it's fast to make and I think it meets her dietary requirements. Anyway, just a thought.

Several veggies/salads go well with chili also. She could even top with cheese and have "chili mac."

Hope this helps. -Julie

[mamaathome]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have sent on all of this info to the ladies who will be in charge of the final decisions. Thank you for all of your input! This is just great!

[Carriefaith]

Here are some recipes from Breaking The Vicious Cycle (I shortened the wording in some of them)

Honey-Garlic Chicken Wings

2 lbs chicken wings

1 tablespoon butter (or another equivalent)

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Put the wings in a baking dish. Melt butter. Mix honey, garlic, lemon juice, lemon rind. Pour half over wings, coat evenly. Bake at 350 for 15 mintues. Add the rest of the mixture. Continue baking until done.

Pizza

Crust:

1/2 cup almond flour (add more if necessary for a workable dough)

1 egg

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Italien spices such as oregano and basil

Mix all ingredients in a bowel, add more flour if needed. Oil a pan with olive oil. Make a pizza on the pan. Preheat the oven to 350.

Topping:

Your choice of toppings

I'm sure that you can use the spaghetti sauce below for the pizza sauce

Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes.

Spaghetti

1 lb ground beef

1 large can tomato juice

3-4 fresh tomatoes (optional?)

1 large onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1/2-1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 spaghetti squash (most large supermarkets can get these)

Sauce: Chop onion and garlic and brown in oil in a heavy skillet. Remove onion, set aside, and brown meat in the same pan. Transfer meat and onion to a large pot and add tomato juice, bay leaf, oregano, (tomatoes?), and seasonings. Simmer to desired thickness; this may take 1 hour or longer.

Spaghetti Sqush:

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Steam on a rack over boiling hot water in a large covered pan or steamer until just tender. Do not overcook I cook mine for (10-15 mintues). Lift out strings from the squash with a fork. Serve with sauce.

Vegetable Meat Loaf

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 egg

1 medium fresh tomato or 1/2 cup tomatoe juice

1 medium onion, cut in pieces

sprig of parsley

1 stalk of celery, cut in peices

small amount of green pepper

1 carrot, cut in pieces

Places tomatoe or juice into blender. Add egg and blend. Add everything except the meat into the blender and blend until smooth. Empty into a bowel and mix with beef.

Season with salt and pepper. Put into a loaf and place in a shallow pan. Spread top with homemade ketchup (see below). Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Ketchup

1 cups tomato juice

1-3 tablespoon white vinegar

honey and/or saccharin to taste

bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except sweetener and simmer on stove until thick, stirring often. When almost the desired thickness, add sweetener to taste and complete cooking. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal immediately or place in small containers and freeze.

I hope these are good!

[kevsmom]

If you do chili - how about making a taco salad. You can add thawed frozen peas, chopped carrots and corn to really make it festive. Serve with a fruit salad for desert.

[mamaathome]

These are great! Thanks eveyrone!