Ok..day 5 Of gluten-free..what's For Dinner? I Haven't A Clue.

[lonewolf]

I've subbed PE for 2 days and lemme tell ya...I am too wiped out to even sit here and concentrate.

I'm a PE teacher, so I can totally relate to that! I do hope that you find some good recipes that your whole family will like. When you get the chance, post some of your "normal" meals and we can help you convert them to gluten-free.

[Phyllis28]

I use refried beans and baked beans as side dishes on a regular basis. Also, I make a lot of meals that can can be put on top rice or rice pasta such as spagetti sauce. Below are some of the meals I make on a regular basis:

Hamburger Patty with side of beans, rice or potatoes(cooked various ways) and sometimes corn on the cob.

Tostadas (Corn torillas, refried beans, hamburger browned with mexican spice and a litte bit of tomato sauce, cheese, raw tomatos and sour cream). This meal is nice because put all the parts down and everyone makes there own.

Spagetti sauce over rice, rice pasta, baked potato, mashed potatoes (this if my favorite), layed in corn torillas or spagetti squash.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes - Cooked meat (chicken, browned hamburger, ham or turkey), cheese, bacon bits (be careful some bacon bits have wheat), and sour cream. This is meal like the tostadas where each pearson makes their meal.

Mexican Casserole - layer corn torillas with cheese, refried beans, and hamburger spiced with mexican seasoning. Side dish when in season - corn on the cobb

Meatloaf - I use cooked white rice in place of the breadcrumbs and top it with tomato sauce and cheese.

Stir fried cashew chicken over rice (make sure the soy sauce in gluten free)

Crock Pot meals - Roast with potatos and carrots, Vegetable Beef soup or stew (I eat this over rice or rice pasta)

Chili over rice or rice pasta

Please consider only making one meal for everyone, at least for dinner. I simply try to make good tasting gluten free meals not replicate gluten meals.

Also, there are lots of gluten free receipes online.

[dionnek]

I agree with the other posters - it is much easier to just make one meal for everyone, and dinners are so easy to make gluten free! Chicken Parm: place boneless skinless breasts in baking dish, pour spaghetti sauce over (Bertoli or the one that starts with a "C" in a glass jar are gluten free - just read the ingredients) and top with cheese - bake at 350 about 35 min. Serve on brown rice spaghetti (you can order various brands of gluten free pastas on amazon and the shipping is free if you order more than $25 (which is easy to do!).

As for the xantham gum, I thought the same things as you did when I saw the price, but I love to bake so I finally broke down and bought a package and, since yoiu only use a teeny tiny amount each time, I still have more than half the bag over a year later! So, it was a good investment if you are going to bake from scratch, but you also need the various rice flours and tapioca starch and potato starch. Alternatively, the Pamela's baking and pancake mix already has xantham gum in it, and you can use this for muffins, cookies, breads, etc. (I use milk instead of water to make the pancakes with it - makes them fluffier). I order this mix on amazon also, and Pamela's bread mix is the best - whole wheat taste instead of white bread taste, which I never cared for (white bread, that is).

Search www.allrecipes.com by typing in gluten free in the search bar and you'll get a ton of recipes. There are so many good ideas. Stir fry is great - just use a gluten free soy sauce (WalMart and Kroger brands are gluten-free, as well as several that you can buy at Whole Foods); chili is naturally gluten free (at least mine is). Your child might like hot dogs (ball park are gluten-free - most are - just read labels). Bell and Evans gluten free chicken nuggets are awesome (in the freezer section with the meats at whole foods - black box).

It will get easier - don't stress too much right now - there is a huge learning curve and you will make mistakes (I still do after 1 1/2 years!). Just keep reading ingredients on everything you buy, as they can change (as I recently found out)

[lilgreen]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but we struggled, too, and just last week we bought the book "Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids" (Open Original Shared Link .com/Incredible-Edible-Gluten-Free-Food-Kids/dp/1890627283). It IS incredible. EVery recipe we've tried so far has been a hit with everyone (including my gluten-eating husband who used to scorn gluten-free food).

I highly recommend that you get it. It's well worth it.

[Kibbie]

I don't make separate meals for my daughter... I just make our dinners gluten free (it keeps me sane this way)

I have not hand to change what we eat at all.... just how I prepare it.

THis week we've had:

Chicken Cordon bleu

Moussaka

Squash soup with ham and cheese sandwiches

pork chops

Oven fried (and breaded) fish sandwiches

Basically I bread things with corn tortilla chips, crumbs from gluten-free pretzles, or bread crumbs from the heels of my gluten free bread (I make my own mostly but I do buy it occasionally)

When a recipe calls for "flour" as a thickner I add corn starch

When a recipe calls for flour to coat someting I use potato starch or flour, gluten-free flour, or pamelas baking mix (what ever I have handy)

When we have something that would require a bun.... I either skip the bun all together or uses bib lettuce instead

I found that most of my spices were gluten free becasue they were whole spices and I bit the bullet and got rid of my spices that did have gluten in them (my neighbors were very happy to take them off my hands)

What a some things you would normally make for her if she WASNT gluten free.... maybe we can help suggest some altrenatives to fix for everyone

[Kara'sMom]

I don't make separate meals for my daughter... I just make our dinners gluten free (it keeps me sane this way)

I have not hand to change what we eat at all.... just how I prepare it.

THis week we've had:

Chicken Cordon bleu

Moussaka

Squash soup with ham and cheese sandwiches

pork chops

Oven fried (and breaded) fish sandwiches

Basically I bread things with corn tortilla chips, crumbs from gluten-free pretzles, or bread crumbs from the heels of my gluten free bread (I make my own mostly but I do buy it occasionally)

When a recipe calls for "flour" as a thickner I add corn starch

When a recipe calls for flour to coat someting I use potato starch or flour, gluten-free flour, or pamelas baking mix (what ever I have handy)

When we have something that would require a bun.... I either skip the bun all together or uses bib lettuce instead

I found that most of my spices were gluten free becasue they were whole spices and I bit the bullet and got rid of my spices that did have gluten in them (my neighbors were very happy to take them off my hands)

What a some things you would normally make for her if she WASNT gluten free.... maybe we can help suggest some altrenatives to fix for everyone

That sounds great. How do you make your chicken Cordon Bleu and what is Moussaka?

mary