Please help me come up with meal plans for my family...

[seawitch]

So here are the issues.

We are all going sugar free.

The kids need to be completely GFCF.  (They are 3.)  I need to be mostly GFCF but exceptions are OK once in a while.  DH does not need to be GFCF.

DH cannot have anything tomato based.  The rest of us can.  He also does not like nuts or nut butters.  The rest of us like them.  On the other hand, he likes seafood but I am allergic to seafood so I cannot even be around it. 

DH needs about 3000 calories a day.  He cannot fall below 2500 ever.  But he also has to watch his cholesterol.  He hates vegetables.  He will eat a few varieties (namely corn and potatoes and sometimes a salad) but he really doesn't like experimenting with anything.

We need most of our food to be bulk purchased; there just aren't grocery stores around - and the ones there are are really expensive.  We have a very limited food budget but we will somehow swing a freezer chest full of meat, etc, and get lots of fresh fruits and veggies in the summer from local farmer's markets.  Marvelously we have adequate space for a larder, even in our apartment, so I'm happy with that.  But we don't even have a patio to grow our own food.  I can probably swing growing spices and stuff inside but that's about it I think.

I have in the past (before GFCF days) been great with making tons of bread from scratch but I don't dig gluten free baked goods at all.

None of us like beans, unfortunately.  Rice is OK.  I finally figured out how to make rice we all like but I don't want it to be the only thing we eat.

We *cannot* afford the fancy stuff like tons of coconut milk or almond milk or gluten free flour or anything like that.  And we do not do processed food at all.

A typical meal for us would be... roast chicken over a bed of herbed root vegetables and potatoes.  Or chicken vegetable soup with egg noodles and homemade bread (which is now an issue with the GF kids).  Or potato pancakes and ham and eggs.  Or rice and veggies.  Or a steak salad with nuts and fruits in it.

[Graceie]

I'm in the same boat GFCF low sugar and just bought a small chest freezer I was doing today's meal planing when I found this so it will be interesting to see what pops up .one of the easy things I make around here is a meat and veggie loaf I add part ground beef /Turkey shredded veggies carrots onion and really whatever Ive added broccoli or mushrooms and rice plus I few eggs . Ive done it with or without tomato sauce . you could even make some separately  to go on top . then just serve with a salad or some fruit even

more to come!

[BetsyS]

My kids love beans, so I have lots of bean ideas if you're open.  Their favorites are refried beans and hummus.  Refried beans can be tacos (on corn tortillas), nachos (corn chips) or enchiladas very easily. 

We are not GFCF, so I'm not a lot of help, but some things we make that do fall into that category that might give you other ideas:

tamales

enchiladas

chilaquiles

tacos on corn tortillas

nachos

chili--red chili, white chili, over baked potaotes, over rice

chile rellenos.  Sometimes I stuff these with a mixture of ground pork, sometimes with cheese

picadillo over rice

stir fry over rice

Thai curry

chana masala (remember...my kids love some beans!)

kofta kabobs, hummus with veg for dipping, baba ghanouj

meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green veggie

falafels

roast chicken, roasted potatoes, vegetables

gumbo over rice or potato salad

chicken tortilla soup

chicken and rice soup

Italian wedding soup (just chicken nad meatballs; no pasta)

main dish salads--one is lettuce, black beans, corn, pico de gallo, grilled chicken

--another we like is tuna nicoise

--often, for new ideas for salads, I'll look at Chili's, applebee's, or Panera, then copy their menu items

breakfast for supper--eggs, sausage or bacon, potato pancakes or homefries.  To up the calories, you can add corn tortillas to the eggs to make migas

taco bowls--as a copy of somewhere like Chipotle.  I'll make rice, beans, a meat, then top with salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, onion, and lime.  These are infinitely variable.  Our latest favorite is black beans, roasted sweet potato cubes, collards, and roast chicken, with the onion, cilantro, and lime on top, as well as a little hot sauce.  So good, though.