Starch free dinner for family ideas

[iLoveSugar]

For those that eat little or no starch, what does a typical family friendly dinner look like?

 

[i_nomad]

We are in the same boat, unsure about what exactly to have regularly for the family. Have been having smoothies a lot - frozen fruit, sherbet, milk/juice and collagen powder. Have also been eating rice or potato’s with meals on occasion for some variety.

 

[LucyL]

We cook the meat and starch components separately, low carb recipes are good for this ;-) I'm more particular starch than low starch, but principle would be the same. So there is a bit of something for everyone. A typical dinner is like Salisbury steak (from a low carb recipe), mac n cheese and squash and maybe a vegetable. I don't eat mac n cheese, some of the kids don't eat squash, hubby doesn't eat veggies it works. If I were lowering starch, I would probably have more fruit sauces (like applesauce, pear sauce) or more dessertish fruit compotes with the meal. Pretty sure the kids would like that option being available.

 

[Nemo]

For those that eat little or no starch, what does a typical family friendly dinner look like?

You can tell no one around here cooks, except for a daily burger.

 

[tankasnowgod]

For those that eat little or no starch, what does a typical family friendly dinner look like?

For a while, I was cooking ground beef with things like Mango and Pineapple, maybe with things like bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions. But, then I just got lazy. So, it would be ground beef and juice or a soda, or I would add some honey. I guess it was important to me to have the idea of some sort of side dish...... but for the most part, I just don't make them.

I agree with the idea of using Low Carb recipes, and then adding in some fruit here or there, or just drinking juice or a soda or whatever.

 

[tankasnowgod]

You can tell no one around here cooks, except for a daily burger.

I mean, I also do Gordon Ramsey's scrambled eggs pretty regularly.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0


But again, just the eggs. I don't bother with the toast or mushrooms or tomatoes.

 

[Nemo]

I mean, I also do Gordon Ramsey's scrambled eggs pretty regularly.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0


But again, just the eggs. I don't bother with the toast or mushrooms or tomatoes.

Yeah, tanka, I do shrimp etouffee too. Just without everything but the shrimp.

 

[Christopher R.]

You center it around a high quality protein, and pair it with a complimentary sweet sauce, to hide the absence of a starch. Something like a well-prepared and presented white fish recipe, with a homemade marmalade side or honey glaze. Or even a fruit side like cranberry sauce. Then you have a delicious cooked protein and a complimentary sweet accompaniment or sauce. What sane person, presented with such a dish, would miss the starch?

 

[Lejeboca]

Let me tag @Lollipop2 . She cooks all from scratch, and I remember reading some nice ideas from her.

I often serve meatballs with a lot of tomato sauce (kind of like a bowl of soupe).

 

[Christopher R.]

Also, if your family members insisted on some starch, you could provide them with the safest kind, namely baby potatoes that have been cooked for an hour until the starch is broken down, then mashed with butter and/or cheese.

Mushrooms are safe, and would also be viewed as an acceptable "vegetable" to many people.

 

[Zpol]

- 3 lb beef stew meat cooked for 15 min in the instant pot, drain and cover with one bottle of KC Natural Mastodon (or homemade sweet and sour sauce) sauce and baked pineapple drizzled with coconut aminos (I use canned and try to rinse off the ascorbic acid). My husband has cottage cheese and milk with this, I have a fruit smoothie and egg shell for calcium.

- pulled chicken ( we don't eat pork)... Bake chicken, shred. Saute some onion and celery. Combine and smother in Mastodon sauce (or BBQ) and coconut oil. Baked apples on the side (or fresh if you find them truly ripe). Same calcium sides as above.

- chicken stir fry... Saute some onion, celery, carrot, greens, bamboo shoots (cook till mushy) in coconut oil and coconut aminos. Add in a couple scrambled eggs and pre cooked shredded chicken, add more coconut aminos and oil to saturate every thing and cook on low a few more mins to combine all the flavors. Carrot salad instead of rice on the side Same calcium sides as above.

- coconut wraps... Fat free turkey slices plus cheese. Pickles and carrot salad on the side. Fruit compote on the side (usually cherries and peaches). My husband will have greek yogurt with the compote, I eat it plain, maybe sprinkle on some cinnamon.

- tuna salad... Fat free canned tuna, plus Choosen foods "Keto" mayonnaise (it's made with MCT oil, no PUFA, 'keto' is such a gimmick these days lol), add some chopped green onion or chives, lots of salt. Carrot salad and ripe apple as a side. I would have sugary, creamy coffee with this. If my nieces/nephews were over I'd give them hot chocolate or chocolate milk shakes. (Edit...) We have freeze dried carrots with this or else carrot sticks.

- zucchini noodles mixed with ground beef, italian style... Cook both on stove top, combine, add a jar of spaghetti sauce and voila! Cottage cheese on the side and fruit.

- also we make chicken soup frequently.. cook chicken, separate, put the bones and skin back in the instant pot for 1.5 hour, cook veggies, drain broth, combine and heat.

 

[Lollipop2]

Let me tag @Lollipop2 . She cooks all from scratch, and I remember reading some nice ideas from her.

I often serve meatballs with a lot of tomato sauce (kind of like a bowl of soupe).

Thank you @Lejeboca! I do have quite a few ideas and I do everything from scratch. I include white jasmine rice, corn tortillas, and potatoes; along with meat I have developed quite a list of foods. Here are a few examples:

*Chicken enchiladas
*Street tacos with corn tortilla, roasted red bell pepper, green salsa, grated cheese, sour cream, ground beef
*Meatloaf with chili sauce
*Mashed potatoes
*“Salad” without greens but with eggs, apples, crumbled cheese, grated carrot, sometimes tomatoes and I use a homemade dressing with fresh lemon, EVOO, garlic, Dijon mustard - yummy really
*Creamy mushroom soup
*Rice Pudding - super yummy
*Roasted cauliflower and garlic
*Beef sausage (not from scratch)
*Crustless quiche with mushrooms and cheese
*White Fish
*Shrimp sautéed with garlic and butter
*Beef Stew with chuck, onion, garlic, russet potatoes

ETC...

As you can see there is quite a lot of options if you get creative. I personally use organic, grassfed and pastured everything.

 

[Hgreen56]

For those that eat little or no starch, what does a typical family friendly dinner look like?

barbecue/grill
Everyone loves meat. so meat/fish can never go wrong

 

[GelatinGoblin]

Serious deja vu

 

[GelatinGoblin]

Probably meat etc plus lots of OJ

 

[Lejeboca]

Thank you @Lejeboca! I do have quite a few ideas and I do everything from scratch. I include white jasmine rice, corn tortillas, and potatoes; along with meat I have developed quite a list of foods. Here are a few examples:

*Chicken enchiladas
*Street tacos with corn tortilla, roasted red bell pepper, green salsa, grated cheese, sour cream, ground beef
*Meatloaf with chili sauce
*Mashed potatoes
*“Salad” without greens but with eggs, apples, crumbled cheese, grated carrot, sometimes tomatoes and I use a homemade dressing with fresh lemon, EVOO, garlic, Dijon mustard - yummy really
*Creamy mushroom soup
*Rice Pudding - super yummy
*Roasted cauliflower and garlic
*Beef sausage (not from scratch)
*Crustless quiche with mushrooms and cheese
*White Fish
*Shrimp sautéed with garlic and butter
*Beef Stew with chuck, onion, garlic, russet potatoes

ETC...

As you can see there is quite a lot of options if you get creative. I personally use organic, grassfed and pastured everything.

* Do you have a recipe for meatloaf, by chance? I would love to try.
I have a simple recipe for beef heart. I've come to like this organ meat . Picks me up as good as liver does, probably because heart has some T.
* Do you make any corn bread? I'd like to try but don't know of a good recipe.
And final question in this barrage,
* Do you have favorite substitutes from non-peaty to peaty ingredients? For example, I cannot buy a good cream all that I see in the US stores has some carrageenan, gum, or other far-from-milk ingredients, so I've been using milk w/gelatin mixture as substitute but I is hard to get their relative proportions to resemble cream consistency.

Thanks so much.

 

[Lollipop2]

* Do you have a recipe for meatloaf, by chance? I would love to try.
I have a simple recipe for beef heart. I've come to like this organ meat . Picks me up as good as liver does, probably because heart has some T.
* Do you make any corn bread? I'd like to try but don't know of a good recipe.
And final question in this barrage,
* Do you have favorite substitutes from non-peaty to peaty ingredients? For example, I cannot buy a good cream all that I see in the US stores has some carrageenan, gum, or other far-from-milk ingredients, so I've been using milk w/gelatin mixture as substitute but I is hard to get their relative proportions to resemble cream consistency.

Thanks so much.

Hi @Lejeboca!
I ask the butcher to combine organs in my ground beef. Liver etc. So good. Here is my meatloaf recipe and sauce. Instead of bread it uses oats. You could try without the oats but it sort of helps hold the loaf together and they disappear in the final product - you don’t even know they are there. I love it:

Lisa’s Yummy Meatloaf:

Ingredients:
2 tbls butter
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 pounds ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
cup uncooked regular oats
1/4 cup chili sauce (I bought an organic one from Whole Foods - Peat Friendly)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Meatloaf Sauce (recipe below)

Instructions:
*Sauté in butter all the garlic green bell pepper and onion for a few min to soften.
*Combine 1/2 of the onion mixture, ground beef, eggs, oats, chili sauce, sea salt.
*Shape into a loaf.
*Place in a lightly greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. I use butter to grease pan.

*Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. *Remove from oven, and pour off pan juices.
*Spread half of Meat Loaf Sauce evenly over meat loaf.
*Bake 25 more minutes.
*Remove from pan.
*Serve with remaining Meat Loaf Sauce.

Meat Loaf Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 of the onion mixture sautéed above
3/4 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

*Mix everything together and cook on low until the sauce thickens to your preference. You might even want to add more chili sauce.

Interesting you should mention corn bread as I am currently trying to get a good one. Mine have been okay but not to my full satisfaction. I will let you know when I succeed.

Substitutions:

I have found Peat friendly items for pretty much every product.

For soy sauce, I use Coconut Aminos with some salt (tends to be sweet) I like to use in my chicken fried rice.

For dairy:
Instead of cream look for “whipping cream - I have seen it in regular stores that is clean.
You might can use half and half in some recipes and you should be able to find it clean.
I have also used full fat Greek yogurt plain. It should be clean.

Brands that are good:
*Fage has sour cream with no bad additives.
*Good has cottage cheese that has no bad additives - their sour cream does unfortunately.
*Nancy’s has all of her products with no bad additives: cream, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, etc.
*Maple Hill
*Look for local products

You are correct milk and gelatin wouldn’t work well in a lot of recipes.

Do you have any other substitutions you need? My mind is drawing a blank - lol.

 

[Lejeboca]

Hi @Lejeboca!
I ask the butcher to combine organs in my ground beef. Liver etc. So good. Here is my meatloaf recipe and sauce. Instead of bread it uses oats. You could try without the oats but it sort of helps hold the loaf together and they disappear in the final product - you don’t even know they are there. I love it:

Lisa’s Yummy Meatloaf:

Ingredients:
2 tbls butter
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 pounds ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
cup uncooked regular oats
1/4 cup chili sauce (I bought an organic one from Whole Foods - Peat Friendly)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Meatloaf Sauce (recipe below)

Instructions:
*Sauté in butter all the garlic green bell pepper and onion for a few min to soften.
*Combine 1/2 of the onion mixture, ground beef, eggs, oats, chili sauce, sea salt.
*Shape into a loaf.
*Place in a lightly greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. I use butter to grease pan.

*Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. *Remove from oven, and pour off pan juices.
*Spread half of Meat Loaf Sauce evenly over meat loaf.
*Bake 25 more minutes.
*Remove from pan.
*Serve with remaining Meat Loaf Sauce.

Meat Loaf Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 of the onion mixture sautéed above
3/4 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

*Mix everything together and cook on low until the sauce thickens to your preference. You might even want to add more chili sauce.

Interesting you should mention corn bread as I am currently trying to get a good one. Mine have been okay but not to my full satisfaction. I will let you know when I succeed.

substitutions:

Instead of cream look for “whipping cream - I have seen it in regular stores that is clean.
You might can use half and half in some recipes and you should be able to find it clean.
I have also used full fat Greek yogurt plain. It should be clean.

Brands that are good:
*Fage has sour cream with nothing else.
*Good has cottage cheese that has nothing else.
*Nancy’s has all of her products with nothing else: cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese
*Maple Hill
*Look for local products

You are correct milk and gelatin wouldn’t work well in a lot of recipes.

Hope this helps!

The meatloaf recipe looks yummy! Thank you. I will cook it soon. Just happens that I have ground beef in the freezer ;-) and oats on the shelf. And I like experimenting with new things to cook.

 

[Lollipop2]

The meatloaf recipe looks yummy! Thank you. I will cook it soon. Just happens that I have ground beef in the freezer ;-) and oats on the shelf. And I like experimenting with new things to cook.

Cool! Do you have any other substitution suggestions? I was drawing a blank and had to edit a bunch.

 

[Lejeboca]

Do you have any other substitution suggestions?

I am still at substituting for heavy cream but now in desserts: I've used condensed milk (1:1) for heavy cream in a ganache recipe. Tuned out good even though I've skimped on butter. The latter affected only consistency but not taste much, I figured.

I substitute unsweetened coconut milk for milk in (canned) oyster stew. And often add coconut milk to make my tomato sauce creamier, such as for meatballs. Note that a splash of vinegar or lemon juice added is better for taste when coconut milk is used this way.

I often substitute part of the butter for coconut oil (leaving butter for taste mostly). Note that I use refined or hydrogenated coconut oil.

Sometimes, I substitute vinegar for lemon juice concentrate (1:1).

Oh, and another important substitute, when a recipe calls for almond slices, as in almond-cracker cookies, I use shredded coconut with a bit less sugar.