Hi Everyone,
My son is gluten free, I am 98% gluten free, and we are going on vacation to my husbands Grandfathers, and MIL and her family is going as well. Meals will include my 2 kids 2&5, My BIL, age 17. MIL and her hubby, Grandpa and MILs sister and then my hubby and I . So 9 people.
I am trying to think of meals that are going to go far for the amount of people we need to feed. But also keep them kid freindly and Gluten Free. And as cheap as we can.
I will look into a Turkey and a Ham.. these should go far and my son like them. :)
We already have brauts, hamburger, hotdogs etc.. that we give my little guy with out a bun, or GF bun (he does not always eat the GG buns, so we skip it most of the time).
I was thinking a pulled pork- we can add BBQ sauce or not that should go far for everyone, I was alos going to make Itlian beef in the crock pot, that should also go a good distance. but trying to thik of other things we can make that can go either way for the FG for my kiddo.
Also my husband step dad, will not eat anything green. so they are very picky. My son is picky, my daugther is fine and will eat just about anything you give her, as will my hubby and I, and His grandpa and Aunt.. it is MY MIL and her family that is the PAIN.
Thanks, for you r Idea.
mommy of 1, you read my mind.. along with the whole family, we are going in June (usually go in Oct).. way to many things that will not make me happy. Bugs, snakes, ticks and then top it off with his mom :) but I love his grandpa and hence we are going .
Veruca Salt- Thanks for that tip, My son has more than just Gluten challenges, we can not give him a lot of Prepared foods. They have HFCS, Corn Syrup, fructose- all of which he can not have. My hubbys family has an awful sweet tooth.. drives me insane, I like fruit for desert, they do not belive fruit shoudl be a desert.
I guess, I was not thinking that there would be no gluten, like when we BBQ the hamburger buns would be gluten, my sone would skip it or we would get him his GF ones. I was looking for Roasts ideas, I like the Tukey or Ham, we can even keep sauses off the meat until the end. Spaghetti, we will do it seperate for my son. We do a lot of rice, apple cinnamon rice for the kids they LOVE it. I would not cook with out green in my life, it is my favorite color, lol. I was interested in the "WHOLE" of the meal, sides I am not worried about, he does not eat htem, and my kids eat a ton of fruit etc.
Thanks
Doesn't sound like a vacation I'd want to be on! :)
I made a pork roast with bacon and cranberries once for a GF friend and it went over really well. Very moist. Also, sweet potatoes are good (with marshmallows!!). Any potatoes. Rice dishes. You just need to do some Googling and pick out what is easiest.
Also, I made a corn salsa with avocado and that was a hit. It had tomatoes, red onion and some oil and vinegar. Yum!
A lot can be done with "build your own" meals, so that there is variety in choices, & some options for toppings/fillings can be GF.
Some ideas are tacos/nachos, baked potatoes, burgers (optional GF bun, with chips, potato salad, slaw for sides), pastas (2 choices of pasta!), stir fry, etc.
That way green food can be offered, but not forced, & the meal can be both GF and standard.
Hope that helps meet everyone's needs! T. :)
-Teriyaki chicken with rice and a side of veggies (the step dad can avoid it, but you and your family still deserve to have a green veggie).
-homemade pizza with regular and GF crust. depending on the size of the crust, two people can share or each have their own. I always like to cook/grill/sauté the veggies first to get most of the water out. I do not like water cheese on my pizza.
-BBQ steak and potatoes grilled veggies with a nice salad
-GF pasta with a delicious sauce.
How about finding some good quinoa salad recipes? If you google Gluten-free quinoa recipes you will find a lot of tasty ideas. For what it's worth, quinoa mostly carries the flavor of what you cook with it; I like using onions to sweeten the flavor of the dish a little bit (by itself, quinoa can be bland and a teeny bit bitter). My favorite way to make it is with roasted carrots and peppers and onions, toss with pine nuts and chopped parsley (you can leave it on the side) and to cook the quinoa with a stock instead of just water.
If that seems just too far out, try gluten-free rice pasta for a pasta salad?
Pork loin or roast. Salad. Veggie dish. A side of potatoes or rice or something that the other people can eat. Do something like that every night. Roast a chicken or turkey. Veggies. Quinoa, rolls for those who can eat gluten. Homemade pizza night. Make one crust gluten free and the other two regular. Just make them what they like...but make sure there are enough gluten free options too. Easy!
GF pasta for spaghetti is one. Baked potatoes with toppings.
Does everyone know they are being put on a gluten free diet? I would rethink putting whole family on your diet. I know I would not be real happy.
Be careful with barbecue sauce for gluten - I got extremely sick after eating what I thought was perfectly safe barbecue sauce that turned out to have wheat in it. I would stick to rice or potatoes as starches and minimize sauces or anything that might need flour for thickening. And for a grown man to not eat anything green is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That is not a request I would even entertain. I would make a salad with every meal and let him eat around it. It's one thing to eat gluten free on family trips because you need to for an allergy or sensitivity, but when you're simply doing it for the weight loss, I think it's more considerate to make it easy on the group by eating what everyone can. I can't eat wheat - But when visiting family, I insist they not change what they make just to suit me. I eat what I can and fill up on raw fruits and veggies.
Eta- you probably know this, but things like teriyaki chicken, when people suggest that, make me nervous because most Chinese or Japanese dishes have soy sauce, which typically has wheat. There are a lot of hidden sources of gluten. We just traveled to Florida with family and it was maddening because I cut out a ton of things - everything processed - and my extended family uses almost nothing that isn't processed. I stuck to my guns as much as I could and made trips to the grocery store for my own supplies. The hardest part was people challenging my dietary decisions.
What about pasta dishes with GF pasta? I have been having a lot of luck with the Safeway brand pasta, and Barilla's GF stuff as well. That way you can make a whole whatever, and everyone can eat it. Lasagna, spaghetti, Tuna Noodle Casserole from scratch, etc..
I make dinner at my parents every Saturday and since I am GF but they aren't I usually make either a rice or potato dish to go with our breaded fish sticks (for my Autistic son) so I have dinner too. We rarely have any issues and everyone gets full.
Watch sauces, especially bottled, for wheat additives. Oh, and canned chili if you use it, can have a lot But, I have found Stag is usually safe.
