Healthy, Allergy Friendly Recipes
Here are 5 easy, and healthy weeknight dinners, that are free from dairy, gluten and eggs, most can also be free from nuts as well. The bonus about most of these is that you can very easily double the portion and have a meal that lasts two nights, or another full family meal for the freezer. They all freeze well and are generous sized portions that easily feed my family of 5. They are picky-eater-friendly with lots of hidden veggies.
500 – 700g beef mince
1 grated carrot
1 grated zucchini
200-400g mushrooms – blitz to tiny pieces in food processor
1 head broccoli or a few handfuls of leafy greens (spinach, kale, silverbeet) chopped to tiny pieces by hand or in a food processor/ blender.
Optional extra – Up to 1 cup of any other veggie you have lying around that you feel like hiding – i’ve put in grated parsnip, pumpkin, sweet potato, extra greens.
2 T diced garlic
1/2 bottle tomato passata (350g)
1/2 cup water / stock or broth
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp salt
Chilli to taste (we add ours after to the adult dishes)
1 avocado
1/2 lemon or lime
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander
Optional: small clove of garlic or 1 T garlic olive oil
Chips – corn chips (make sure they are just corn, oil & salt)
kumara chips, grilled kumara slices, or baked tortilla wraps (gluten free if needed)
Brown the mince, add the spices and stir through over the heat for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, stirring every now and then on a med to low heat for 10-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Often I put the tomato passata, garlic and leafy greens in the blender, and blend them all up together so the greens disappear into the sauce and I don’t have to chop the garlic! Then pour in to the mince mix.
While it’s cooking, make the guacamole by mashing the avo and stirring through the rest of the ingredients. Or add everything to a stick blender or mini blender (if I use my full size blender I need to double the mix and add some water so it flows freely through the blades, but it comes out super smooth that way.
Put the mince in the middle of your plate, then surround with your chosen corn chips, grilled kumara slices or baked tortilla chips. Top with grated cheese of your choice (dairy free, zucchini cheese or cows cheese). And guacamole, and then at our house the adults add chilli flakes or chilli oil to their plates to taste.
The prep for this curry is super quick and easy – but it does need some love in the form of time, to infuse it’s flavours and make the beef fall apart. So is best done in a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or on the stovetop low and slow.
700g – 1kg beef stewing steak
2 onions
2-4 cloves garlic
1 thumb ginger
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp salt
3 tsp coriander (dried or fresh)
1.5 cup almond milk (or cashew milk, broth or stock) or coconut milk
If not using coconut milk and nuts are safe – measure out half cup cashew or macadamia nuts (we can’t have cashews so use macadamia) and cover in boiled water and leave to sit min 30 mins, max 4 hours.
Optional – fresh chilli and / or 1 tsp chilli powder or flakes – add with the spoices. We don’t add chilli because our kids don’t like spicy, instead we add chilli flakes to adult plates once served.
Chop the meat – or if you are lazy like me, chuck the whole slab into the slow cooker (or pressure cooker). Finely dice the onion, garlic and ginger and add to pot with all the other ingredients.
Slow cooker: for 8 hours low or 4-5 hours on high, or until the meat is falling apart, if I haven’t cut the meat, I use two forks to pull it apart.
Pressure cooker: for 45 minutes, and rest for 20 mins (same as slow cooker, cut or use forks to pull apart once rested)
Stove top: I’d recommend dicing the meat for this option, then simmer on low, lid on, stirring every 20 minutes to make sure it’s not sticking. Until meat is falling apart. You may need to add more liquid.
If coconut free and using the nuts, blend with half a cup of water in a high powered blender, until it turns into a cream. Add to your curry after cooking, and stir through.
That easy, it’s done!
Serve with rice, salt and pepper and chilli to taste.
1 whole crown pumpkin
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 rashers bacon
400ml stock or broth (water also works if you have neither)
1-2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp natural sea salt
Wash any dirt off the pumpkin and put the entire pumpkin skin, stalk and all into either your slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven.
Slow cook: On high 4-6 hours, low 6-8 hours.
Pressure cooker: Add 1 cup water pressure cook 30 mins and leave to rest 30 mins.
Oven – 180 deg c for 2 hours
Once the pumpkin is cooked, leave to cool. Then peel the skin off – it should only take a minute to get all the skin off and should come away like paper. Pluck the stem out and then cut in half and scoop out the seeds and discard.
Add the flesh to a large stock pot along with the rest of the ingredients and cook until bacon is heated and liquid is simmering. (Usually I pop the lid on and leave to simmer 10 mins).
Blend everything until smooth, I use my vitamix and blend in batches.
Serve with more salt, cracked black pepper and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream if you can have it. Fresh herbs that lend well are parsley, chives & coriander.
Notes:
If it seems bland or unbalanced it usually means it needs more salt.
Sometimes I cook the pumpkin then store the cooked flesh in the fridge to make soup later in the week. Sometimes I save some flesh to put in baking (like these muffins or waffles) or to hide in other dishes like mince (my kids don’t like plain pumpkin).
This dairy free and coconut free butter chicken is one that the whole family can enjoy. When we were coconut free I missed curry so much, I spent a lot of time trying to create something that was just as delicious as the cream or coconut laden version, that was family friendly as well. At the time I made this we were dairy free, coconut free and cashew free (among other things) and it was so hard to find recipes that could resemble anything creamy without any of those ingredients. It’s safe to say that iv’e nailed this one. No dairy or coconut required as the cauliflower helps to achieve that creamy texture. It’s fragrant, smooth and delicious.
Anyone else struggle to get veggies into the kids at dinner every night? Eight veggies crammed in and disguised as butter chicken in here! This one is solving all sorts of problems!
The lemon juice
If you don’t have lemon juice on hand, you can replace that with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
Veggies out of season?
Here in New Zealand when veggies go out of season, you either need to take a second mortgage to pay for them, or they are just straight up not available. Seeing as i’m also budget conscious I’ve adapted to do without certain veggies when they are out of season:
Zucchini – replace with another ¼ of a cauliflower.
Tomatoes – replace with another ½ cup tomato passata / puree.
If you would like a delicious gluten, dairy, soy, egg, nut, yeast, grain and coconut free (instant!) naan bread recipe to go with this, you can find that here.
I love to hear when you make my recipes, don’t forget to tag me on Facebook and Instagram.
Paula’s Mac n Cheese!
Over on facebook I said I wanted to help you guys, to do a meal make over by creating a dish of your choice and make it fit your dietary requirements. This Mac n Cheese Requested by Paula, proved to be quite popular, so i thought id better put it on the blog for easy reference. Mac n Cheese – free from gluten, dairy, nightshades, yeast, (no nutritional yeast or dairy free cheese) low histamine and also free from soy, eggs, nuts, coconut and packed with veggies.
I made the recipe and tested it on my family. I made a huge pot and there was not a scrap leftover. So I’ll take that as a big thumbs up!
Feeds 4 hungry people
You need:
3 zucchini, peeled & diced
1/2 cauliflower – chopped
1 carrot – grated
2 T fresh garlic
3 rashers bacon
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika (omit for nightshade free)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (ideally white pepper but any is fine)
Juice of one big lemon
Fry off the bacon and garlic, then add all the other ingredients, except the lemon, and cover.
Simmer over medium heat with lid on until the veggies are tender. Add the lemon juice and blend up the mixture until smooth.
Stir through 250 – 300g cooked gluten free macaroni and serve with crispy bacon and fresh cracked black pepper.
This Thai curry is sooooo quick and easy, it’s faster to make than it is to order take out. A bonus is that it’s free from dairy, soy, wheat, gluten, eggs, nuts and tomato.
Serves 5, probably with leftovers.
Packet of Thai red (or green) curry paste (become a label reading detective – I’ve found the very best ones with no vegetable oils (often means soy) come from Asian grocers or fruit and vege shops.
500g chicken or fish
2 cans coconut cream + 1 extra can if you have kids who don’t like spicy food (yep, Ashton, I’m looking at you)
500 – 700 g of frozen veggies of your choice, Or chopped fresh veggies like carrot, capsicum, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and pumpkin
Splash of oil
Put your splash of oil in a large wok or pot / pan that’s going to be roomy enough for a great big curry.
Follow the instructions on the packet of curry paste as to how much to use. Sometimes the super authentic ones don’t have instructions – in which case I use two scant tablespoons, but could start with one and add more later. It’s easier to add spice than to take it away!
Heat your oil and curry paste over a low – med heat until fragrant. Chop the meat into thin slices. Add the meat*, veggies and one can coconut cream to the paste. Simmer gently for ten mins until everything is cooked through. Add the other can coconut cream and heat through.
*If using fresh veggies, add these first, after the paste, cook gently with the lid on for 10 minutes before adding the coconut cream, and then the meat.
Wallah, done!
Serve with rice and garnish with coriander if your feelin fancy.
For the boys, who don’t like a really spicy curry, I laddle out a couple spoons of chicken and veggies and mix with half a tin of coconut cream for them in a separate bowl. So they have meat, veggies and coconut cream with a hint of red curry.
If you find you’d like more spice or flavour in a small pan you can sauté more curry paste with oil, then add it to the main curry. It’s important to cook it first to help release the flavours.
Some curry paste instructions recommend you add some sugar and soy sauce or fish sauce to your curry near the end. I usually use 2 t coconut sugar and either 1 T fish sauce or coconut aminos for soy free.
Lasagne is a family favourite, but usually lends itself to a little more time in the kitchen due to making the mince, the cheese sauce, and cooking the veggies to go in it. So for us it’s perfect for a Sunday to make up a huge 8+ serve dish for a couple nights or some portions for dinner and the freezer. If you don’t want to make such a big batch, then you could halve the recipe.
Serves 8
The mince
1kg beef or lamb mince (or a combo)
1 700ml jar tomato Passata
2 large carrots
2 courgette or parsnip
6 cloves garlic
2 T basil
2 T oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
The dairy free cheese sauce
Half head cauliflower
1 med potato
1 leek or onion
2-3 rashers bacon
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup of dairy free cheese, grated or 1 T nutritional yeast
1 cup broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
Juice of half a lemon
1 pack gluten free lasange sheets or eggplant or zucchini sliced lengthways
To assemble (optional)
1 large kumara, 1 large potato and a wedge of pumpkin – sliced into 1cm thick slices and roasted,
A bunch of finely sliced greens (silverbeet, kale or spinach)
Preheat the oven to 180c fanbake.
the mince:
sautée garlic and veggies in oil. Add the mince and brown, then add the herbs. Add the passata and simmer everything on low heat for 20 mins.
While the mince is cooking, if you are using, slice up the potato, kumara and pumpkin and put in the oven to roast.
The cheese sauce:
Fry the garlic, onions and bacon in a saucepan for a couple mins. Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and simmer on med heat until the veggies are tender. When they are tender pour into the blender and blend until smooth. Add the cheese and blend again.
To assemble:
layer the roasted veggie slices on the bottom of your lasange dish. Top with some mince, greens, cheese sauce and your lasange sheets or zucchini / eggplant. You need to reserve enough cheese sauce to cover the whole top layer of lasange at the end. Add another layer of mince, greens, cheese sauce, lasange sheet. I’m usually all out of mince by now, but if you have enough then continue for a third layer. Cover the final layer of lasange with cheese sauce. And if you like, sprinkle with grated dairy free cheese.
Bake in the bottom shelf of the oven for about 40 minutes, after then, if the top hasn’t already browned then you can move to the top for the last bit of cooking to create a beautiful browned crispy layer on top.
My lasange dish is sooooo full I usually have something at the bottom of the oven to catch the inevitable overflow. You might be more sensible and less greedy than me and just not overfill your dish. But if you pack it in, then maybe put another dish under your lasagne one, to stop spillage crusting into the bottom of your oven.
Nachoes without meat OR beans! I’m not a huge fan of beans, i’d rather just eat veggies, so this is how we created our veggie nachoes, which came along well before we had kids, and has been a recipe I can easily adapt to suit the ever changing allergy needs of the family. Win!
Some in season root veggies – Carrot, pumpkin, kumara, potato (or whatever is in season – other veggies that work are capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower)
Natural corn chips (ingredients corn & oil) or kumara chips
Sauce:
1 T chopped garlic
1/2 diced onion
1 diced capsicum (red, orange or yellow or a combo)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground corriander
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 jar tomato puree
optional – chilli powder or fresh chilli
salt & pepper
Cheese or dairy free cheese
Sour cream / coconut yogurt / avocado
Dice veggies (carrot, pumpkin, Kumara, potato) into small cubes and roast them in olive oil until crispy.
Dice garlic, onion, capsicum and fry off in pan. Mix up equal parts cumin, smoked paprika and ground coriander (2tsp each) Add half to each the veggies in the pan and the veggies roasting in the oven and plenty of salt and pepper.
Add a jar of tomato purée to the onion capsicum mix on the stove and blend everything until smooth to make a tomato sauce (you can also leave chunky, but my small people would no doubt try and pick out the bits!)
Can also add some chilli, we prefer to so this at the table so the kids don’t moan in-case I make it too spicy!
Serve the roasted veggies on top of corn chips, covered in the tomato sauce, cheese and sour cream. – make dairy free by using zucchini cheese or dairy free cheese, and use coconut yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon and / or mashed avocado on top (pictured: zucchini cheese & coconut yoghurt)
