picky eater young adult side dishes - ideas needed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetarian stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce. Works for some, not all.

Mac and cheese as a main for the veggies. Nothing weird or fancy.

Tons of roasted veggies: maple sweet potatoes, lemony carrots, balsamic brussels, pretty purple cauliflower, and throw in some cubed tofu roasted with whatever sauce you want.

Simple salad: cheese or nuts on side only. Bread.

Should have said make the Mac and cheese with Banza!

[Anonymous]

Just be sure to leave butter out of everything and let people add it at the table. That will open more options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetarian stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce. Works for some, not all.

Mac and cheese as a main for the veggies. Nothing weird or fancy.

Tons of roasted veggies: maple sweet potatoes, lemony carrots, balsamic brussels, pretty purple cauliflower, and throw in some cubed tofu roasted with whatever sauce you want.

Simple salad: cheese or nuts on side only. Bread.

Should have said make the Mac and cheese with Banza!

Banza is really good but it still has legumes (chickpeas)...

[Anonymous]

Make your own salad bar with everything marked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetarian stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce. Works for some, not all.

Mac and cheese as a main for the veggies. Nothing weird or fancy.

Tons of roasted veggies: maple sweet potatoes, lemony carrots, balsamic brussels, pretty purple cauliflower, and throw in some cubed tofu roasted with whatever sauce you want.

Simple salad: cheese or nuts on side only. Bread.

Roasted veggies should be plain too.

[Anonymous]

For #1&5: normal Thanksgiving dinner, just make sure to serve all the condiments/gravies/sauces on the side so they can decide what they want to add and can keep things plain/dairy-free as desired (providing vegan butter or olive oil in lieu of butter would probably be polite too)

For #3&4: big salad with seeds/nuts/dried fruit as add-ons (again on the side assuming the nut allergy is not anaphylactic; if it is stick to seeds/fruit) with some vegan dressings offered, veggie platter with hummus, gluten-free crackers, etc.

For #2: mac and cheese

Benefit of this is that I imagine other guests will be happy to snack on salad, veg and hummus, mac and cheese so it won't be like these are dishes just for them, but everyone will have something they actually want to eat that includes some form of protein. And you won't be stuck with a leftover vegan mac and cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One nice thing with nuts legumes, one nice cheesy thing. Spend your efforts on making more things, rather than one thing that all the groups will like kind of.

This is what I would do -- several vegetable and legume dishes, maybe with any cheese on the side, rather than trying to find one or two dishes that will work for everyone. Roasted veggies of all sorts are good, and a green salad, and maybe a grain and legume salad.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Yeah -- as I was doing errands yesterday it occurred to me I was overthinking this. I think I will go with our usual mac and cheese that they all loved as kids; sometimes the "vegans" and "dairy free" people have been known to make an exception "just for today" when it is comfort food.

And then a lot of roasted vegetables with herbs, and a salad with various dressings. I like the roasted root vegetables idea; and then we will have roasted brussel sprouts; and perhaps some acorn squash.

I'm not making two stuffings, and I LOVE my stuffing with butter and chicken broth! But all the other sides besides stuffing and mac and cheese can be vegan and nut free so it should cover everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First -- all 6 young adults (older HS- recent graduates of college) coming to my Thanksgiving meal are some combination of vegan-vegetarian-allergic-gluten free-dairy free-selective eaters and NO ONE has asked me to cater to them in any way, least of all the parents -- however for various reasons, asking the guests to just bring their own food isn't possible or isn't what I want to do.

I WANT to be hospitable and have some foods everyone is happy to eat. But, I can put a lot of effort and energy into making some dish that none of them will eat because they are picky in addition to their dietary issues.

SO this is what I am dealing with.

#1) no red meat - no dairy
#2) vegetarian-allergic to legumes and tree nuts-LOVES cheese and milk- picky, plain food
#3) vegan-gluten free-dairy free-low fat LIVES ON AIR
#4) vegan-gluten free-limited dairy
#5) no restrictions but eats plain food
#6) no restrictions, loves meat and turkey and stuffing. (Will eat with the grownups!!)

Adults have no restrictions.

In the past as kids they all ate a lot of mac and cheese but now only two of them can/will eat it, and they are the ones who will eat regular Thanksgiving food as long as it isn't too fancy.

I'm thinking for the ones who apparently live on air, I'll have a substantial vegetable platter with basic stuff like carrots, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and 1 hummus dip (for those not allergic) plus 1 ranch type dip (for those allergic to legumes)?

Then maybe some corn tortilla chips plus guacamole? Very plain food.

They can take what they like or make a salad from that? Maybe an extra bowl of nuts or pepitas?

Some gluten free, plain rice crackers, plus a plate of sliced cheeses? What will the vegans put on the crackers though?

The problem I am running into is everything I would do for the vegans seems to involve legumes or nuts, which aren't good for the vegetarian with allergies! And the cheesy things for the vegetarian don't help me with the vegans! And anything that works for both -- like beet hummus -- is too weird for the picky ones which includes both the vegetarians and the vegans....

So... is there anything obvious I am missing? Please only answer if you enjoy these kinds of menu permutations. I get it, I don't have to cater to everyone. I just want to!

Ask the guests for guidance on what you should have onhand for them.

[Anonymous]

Do two bowls of mashed potato. Scoop some plain into a bowl, add the dairy stuff to the rest. Easy and no extra work.

[Anonymous]

I think you have some good ideas here. And always remember that you can’t make the anorexic/orthorexic eat (the lives on air person). You will have some plain options without meat, nuts, or dairy. They eat or they don’t - don’t put their issues on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions!

Yeah -- as I was doing errands yesterday it occurred to me I was overthinking this. I think I will go with our usual mac and cheese that they all loved as kids; sometimes the "vegans" and "dairy free" people have been known to make an exception "just for today" when it is comfort food.

And then a lot of roasted vegetables with herbs, and a salad with various dressings. I like the roasted root vegetables idea; and then we will have roasted brussel sprouts; and perhaps some acorn squash.

I'm not making two stuffings, and I LOVE my stuffing with butter and chicken broth! But all the other sides besides stuffing and mac and cheese can be vegan and nut free so it should cover everyone.

Just make the stuffing with veggie broth and the vegetarians can eat it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions!

Yeah -- as I was doing errands yesterday it occurred to me I was overthinking this. I think I will go with our usual mac and cheese that they all loved as kids; sometimes the "vegans" and "dairy free" people have been known to make an exception "just for today" when it is comfort food.

And then a lot of roasted vegetables with herbs, and a salad with various dressings. I like the roasted root vegetables idea; and then we will have roasted brussel sprouts; and perhaps some acorn squash.

I'm not making two stuffings, and I LOVE my stuffing with butter and chicken broth! But all the other sides besides stuffing and mac and cheese can be vegan and nut free so it should cover everyone.

Just make the stuffing with veggie broth and the vegetarians can eat it too.

+1