We like to do noodle soup night. I make a big pot of long asian noodles. add ginger & scallions to chicken broth and poach some eggs. We set up a bar of toppings like edamame, spinach, sliced carrots, cubed tofu etc. and everyone assembles their own bowl. total crowd pleaser in our house and comes together quickly with broth (freezer or pantry and veggies (fresh or frozen).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"deconstructed egg rolls" are a huge hit in my family. They are delicious, incredibly fast to make, and healthy.

brown ground meat of your choice
saute peppers and onions thinly sliced (you can leave this out if you want)
add garlic, ginger, something with heat, and soy sauce (all can be fresh or ground and the heat can be anything- jalapenos, siracha, sambal, crushed red pepper, hot sauce...)
add two bags of any slaw mix (cabbage, broccoli, rainbow)
cook it down and add the meat back in
if you want to be fancy, add sesame oil or seeds or peanuts or chopped scallions, but it is fine without.

My whole family loves it.

Do you then put the filling in the rice paper rolls?

My family loves this too. Google “egg roll in a bowl.” There are many recipes online. We use ground pork for the meat, bagged slaw to avoid chopping and I throw in a bag of shredded carrots too.

Anonymous wrote:How do you make quesadillas without dairy?

Honestly it's more of a crunch wrap knockoff with Cashew cheese queso. I really try to limit the amount of alternatives we have to buy because they are expensive. Dairy also hides in a lot of pre packaged foods like the nuggets suggested above and some of the Indian non-spicy jar sauces, pesto (TJ's has a vegan one but we only go there 1-2 a year). Also naan, most grocery store bread, baking mixes, most desserts, etc.

I avoid pasta because I hate it. So we have it once every two weeks and even that is trying to find a sauce that doesn't have dairy in it. There are plenty but it's not just as easy as picking up what's on Sale.

Thanks to all. I've got some ideas to try.

How do you make quesadillas without dairy?

Our family loves breakfast for dinner. We also do chickpea curry, based on MDH Chana Masala mix. It’s very tasty.

A few that we like:

Lemon chickpeas from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken.
Quinoa Patties from Skinnytaste (leave out the Parm)
Indian simmer sauces with chickpeas and veggies.
Chili in the crock pot.
Crock pot french onion soup (still delicious without cheese)
Bbq chicken in the crock pot.
Black bean soup with quesadillas (serious eats and smitten kitchen both have taco ideas that are vegan or dairy optional).
Shaksouka.
Soy and honey glazed chickpeas with a green veggie.
Breakfast sandwiches and fruit salad.

I would do a pasta night. Spaghetti is easy. Add green salad and a crusty bread with or without garlic. To mix it up do a pesto, or a scampi style with some salmon instead of shrimp.

A small spiral ham is easy, with a bake potato (white or sweet) and some steamed carrots or roasted Brussels sprouts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"deconstructed egg rolls" are a huge hit in my family. They are delicious, incredibly fast to make, and healthy.

brown ground meat of your choice
saute peppers and onions thinly sliced (you can leave this out if you want)
add garlic, ginger, something with heat, and soy sauce (all can be fresh or ground and the heat can be anything- jalapenos, siracha, sambal, crushed red pepper, hot sauce...)
add two bags of any slaw mix (cabbage, broccoli, rainbow)
cook it down and add the meat back in
if you want to be fancy, add sesame oil or seeds or peanuts or chopped scallions, but it is fine without.

My whole family loves it.

Do you then put the filling in the rice paper rolls?

Nope, just eat it as is in a bowl.

Anonymous wrote:"deconstructed egg rolls" are a huge hit in my family. They are delicious, incredibly fast to make, and healthy.

brown ground meat of your choice
saute peppers and onions thinly sliced (you can leave this out if you want)
add garlic, ginger, something with heat, and soy sauce (all can be fresh or ground and the heat can be anything- jalapenos, siracha, sambal, crushed red pepper, hot sauce...)
add two bags of any slaw mix (cabbage, broccoli, rainbow)
cook it down and add the meat back in
if you want to be fancy, add sesame oil or seeds or peanuts or chopped scallions, but it is fine without.

My whole family loves it.

Do you then put the filling in the rice paper rolls?

"deconstructed egg rolls" are a huge hit in my family. They are delicious, incredibly fast to make, and healthy.

brown ground meat of your choice
saute peppers and onions thinly sliced (you can leave this out if you want)
add garlic, ginger, something with heat, and soy sauce (all can be fresh or ground and the heat can be anything- jalapenos, siracha, sambal, crushed red pepper, hot sauce...)
add two bags of any slaw mix (cabbage, broccoli, rainbow)
cook it down and add the meat back in
if you want to be fancy, add sesame oil or seeds or peanuts or chopped scallions, but it is fine without.

My whole family loves it.

Google “30 minute meals.”

Miso soup is in our rotation- miso broth, noodles (usually ramen or soba), tofu, bok choy or Savoy cabbage, shredded carrots, etc. It depends what we have on hand. We often pair with Trader Joe’s frozen vegetable dumplings although I feel like it lowers the nutritional value of the meal.

If or when peanuts are safe try chicken satay and pad thai. Easy to buy the sauce, veggies and rice noodles. Satay can be grilled or even baked on a sheet in the oven.

Mild Thai green curry with avocados and tofu is easy to and kid friendly. Introduce on St Patricks day because it’s green.

If you do Costco get the just bare chicken nuggets. Kids love them. You can make it more interesting by throwing them into a salad, in a tortilla wrap or sandwich, tossed with orange sauce for orange chicken, or make a quick lemon sauce.

Indian inspired with lots of veggies is very popular in our house too (6YO, 10YO, DH who “doesn’t like Indian”).
I almost always use jarred/pkged sauce and toss it over maybe 2 chicken breasts and a bunch of veggies / chickpeas. Cauliflower does a great job of feeling meaty but being a veg, as long as the chicken and cauli are cut into roughly the same size pieces.
Chili can be bean-heavy and/or you can add some lentils to lessen the actual meat content. I’ve done this with ground beef tacos, too

Breakfast burritos scrambled eggs, veggies, salsa for adults

Mashed sweet potatoes as a side with a thin chicken scallopini pan fried.

Easy stir fry - one chicken breast, sliced into thin strips and veggies. Try Korean bulgogi sauce (sweet and soy flavors), coconut aminos (slightly sweet lighter than bulgogi), or Mongolian beef sauce. Get cheap Ramen noodles, make as directed with or without seasoning packet, drain with a slotted spoon and throw noodles into stir fry at the end.

Slow cooked pot roast, use beef stew cubes instead of a whole roast and just go heavier on the carrots and potatoes.

My picky eaters actually both loved tikka masala sauce at a young age. You can buy it in a jar. Try it with chicken r chickpeas, serve with rice or naan.