I Need Dairy-Free Meal Idea Help!

[*Jessica*]

Marc has always had trouble with dairy and has finally decided to cut it out completely. He feels better, which is wonderful! But we're having a hard time with food. We seem to be eating the same few meals over and over again and we're all getting really sick of it! Thankfully we have no other restrictions, so this shouldn't be too hard, but every time I try to come up with a new meal my brain just freezes.

Can someone please help me out with some ideas and recipes?

[Alyantavid]

Our boys are dairy free so I cook mostly dairy free.

These are some things we've had this month (let me know if you want recipes):
stir fry
breakfast - waffles, sausage, eggs
steak
pizza
pork chops
baked trout sandwiches
chili dogs
penne with vodka sauce
baked potatoes
tacos
panini's
sloppy joes
tomato soup
chicken strips
quesadillas

Those are just dinners, lunches are usually sandwiches or leftovers. Breakfasts are oatmeal, eggs, toast, pb&j muffins, bagels, waffles, pancakes or french toast.

I use nutritional yeast in alot of things to add a little cheesy flavor.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

My boys are allergic to dairy, so we cook dairy free as well. Have you looked at godairyfree.org? They have a recipe section that has some good ideas. Also, many of the big recipe sites have searches where you can omit dairy. This one is one of my current favorites.

I made this bistro braised chicken the other night, and it was well received by my family. (I just substitute dairy free margarine, olive oil, or coconut oil for butter in recipes)

Also on my menu this week: beef & barley stew, pork tenderloin with rice & veggies, and we will probably do spaghetti with meat sauce and fried rice (with leftover pork) this weekend.

[*Jessica*]

Thank you! Those are very helpful!

Allyson, what do you put on your pizza? I have one son who would eat pizza for every meal, so finding toppings for a dairy-free pizza is a priority so Marc has something to eat when I make pizza for Nik.

[kjbrown92]

I make this pine nut ricotta to go on pizza. I saute some onions and peppers and garlic and grind that up with the pine nuts for added flavor. Then we do regular toppings: black olives, pineapple, bacon, etc.

We're dairy, soy, corn, gluten free for almost two years, there's still variety.

roast chicken with gravy
roast beef with gravy
roast pork with saurkrat
transylvania goulash
chicken mirabella
chicken marsala
pork carnitas
pulled pork and baked beans
tacos (omit the cheese, plenty of other toppings; we put refried beans, taco meat, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, olives on ours)
chicken soup
veggie soup
turkey soup
beef stew
pasta with meatsauce (italian sausage or ground turkey or beef meatballs)
black beans over rice
black eyed peas
curried chickpeas
sloppy joes
chili over rice
chef salad
salad with grilled chicken
shish-kebabs
bacon wrapped scallopes
grilled tuna steaks
baked salmon
fried chicken

breakfast:
fried eggs, scrambled eggs, hardboiled eggs
oatmeal
pancakes/waffles
bacon, sausage
egg and ham on a bagel
hot buckwheat cereal with cinnamon and raisins

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

Thank you! Those are very helpful!

Allyson, what do you put on your pizza? I have one son who would eat pizza for every meal, so finding toppings for a dairy-free pizza is a priority so Marc has something to eat when I make pizza for Nik.

Not Allyson, but when we do pizza we put all of the toppings we normally would, just no cheese. DS1 can tolerate pepperoni with lactic acid, but DS2 can't, so I'm searching for a truly dairy free pepperoni now. Other than that, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc. Also, there is a dairy free parmesan cheese that is really good. It is in a purple can. I'm nak right now, or I'd look at the brand for you. I don't like most cheese substitutes, but this one I can tolerate.

I'm thinking of other things we've had recently...

gumbo
sausage, peppers & onions sauteed and served w/ pasta tossed w/ garlic & olive oil
sloppy joes
I do a dairy free beef stroganoff
chicken & dumplings (I use bisquick for my dumplings and use rice milk instead of cow milk)
chili
pulled pork
pozole (mexican pork stew w/ hominy)
tacos
chicken enchiladas
beef & bean chimichangas (omit cheese and use DF margarine)
stir fry
teriyaki chicken
blackened tilapia

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

Thank you! Those are very helpful!

Allyson, what do you put on your pizza? I have one son who would eat pizza for every meal, so finding toppings for a dairy-free pizza is a priority so Marc has something to eat when I make pizza for Nik.

We mostly do just pepperoni. I make the sauce and add nutritional yeast to that and then top with pepperoni. Everyone I know thinks this is so gross, but I used to eat pizza without the cheese as a kid and loved it and my kids like it this way.

We've done sausage and onions, pepperoni, onions and peppers as well. It's just whatever you like, minus the cheese.

The cheese substitutes are kind of icky in my opinion. Alot of them contain casein, which my youngest son can't tolerate at all. The other ones we've tried haven't just been weird, so we avoid the subs for the most part and just go without cheese.

[hildare]

we were vegan for a long time; i used to check out vegan cookbooks from the library (depends on where you live whether you'll find lots, though) and used this site:
http://www.vegweb.com/
they have lots of recipes! good luck.

[Rosehip]

salmon broiled with olive oil, mustard, diced shallot
roast chicken
pasta w/tomato, onion & bacon sauce
roast brussel sprouts
white fish (cod or mahi mahi is what I've used lately) broiled with lemon, garlic, olive oil, s&p
rice
any kind of sandwich sans cheese
chili - I make it a mix of ground meats and lots of beans & veggies and serve over rice
pasta with oil, garlic & sausage

[*Jessica*]

Thank you so much, everyone! I was finally starting to get a good meal plan and grocery list together with your suggestions.....and then our fridge started acting up! I now have to make it through a few days without a refrigerator while I shop for and then wait for a new fridge to be delivered! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

[*Jessica*]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

quesadillas

What do you put in your quesadillas?

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Also on my menu this week: beef & barley stew, pork tenderloin with rice & veggies, and we will probably do spaghetti with meat sauce and fried rice (with leftover pork) this weekend.

Marc loves Beef Barley Soup! That's one I had forgotten about. Thanks!

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

I make this pine nut ricotta to go on pizza. I saute some onions and peppers and garlic and grind that up with the pine nuts for added flavor. Then we do regular toppings: black olives, pineapple, bacon, etc.

Yum!

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

transylvania goulash
chicken mirabella
chicken marsala
pork carnitas

Do you have recipes handy?

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

I do a dairy free beef stroganoff

Do you have the recipe handy? I would love to have it!

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

What do you put in your quesadillas?

My kids like just plain refried beans.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Well, I kind of wing it when it comes to beef stroganoff. Next time I make it I'll have to write down more exact measurements. Basically I saute onions & mushrooms in DF margarine, then add ground beef and cook through, add some garlic towards the end of cooking that. Then I sprinkle with flour (maybe a tbsp or so?) and add beef broth or stock to the pan. About 2 cups I would guess. Simmer until it gets thicker and seems like gravy consistency. Then I add about 1/2 cup of tofutti "sour cream" just before serving over egg noodles. Oh, and S&P to taste. Both of my kids love this.

[*Jessica*]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

My kids like just plain refried beans.

Thanks! One of my kids won't eat them, but the rest of us will.

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Well, I kind of wing it when it comes to beef stroganoff. Next time I make it I'll have to write down more exact measurements. Basically I saute onions & mushrooms in DF margarine, then add ground beef and cook through, add some garlic towards the end of cooking that. Then I sprinkle with flour (maybe a tbsp or so?) and add beef broth or stock to the pan. About 2 cups I would guess. Simmer until it gets thicker and seems like gravy consistency. Then I add about 1/2 cup of tofutti "sour cream" just before serving over egg noodles. Oh, and S&P to taste. Both of my kids love this.

Thanks! I'll try it. Tofutti "sour cream" sounds scary, but you can't really have Stroganoff without sour cream and it's my favorite meal.

[kjbrown92]

I'm pretty sure all the recipes I mentioned are on my blog (look at my profile). It's sortable by allergen.

[JessicaS]

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/in...ken_pitas.html

I love to make chicken pitas

I just use soy yogurt instead

This is one of my staples

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

I *love* tomato soup but I haven't really enjoyed it since I have quit dairy.

I am planning on trying this

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...up-recipe.html It sounds good..

If you are eating sandwiches or salad I don't even miss the dairy if there is some avocado.