No Wheat, No Meat oh my! (Not to mention no tomatoes!)

I recently made a drastic life change and have returned to school for my Ph.D. in Social Work!! Unfortunately the program is only available in Phoenix, about 120 miles from my house; fortunately my parents have a home in Phoenix – so here I am, back to living with my folks three days a week! While I miss my daughters and husband, my parents are wonderful and take good care of me. In exchange for all they are doing for me, I wanted to contribute to the household and I figured what better way than to make them dinner the nights I stay with them. This seemed like a great idea until I remembered the dietary restrictions, but heck, I’m up for the challenge.  My mom is gluten free, and allergic to tomatoes, my dad is a recent vegetarian. This may be a good time to add that I love my carbs – pasta, bread, anything with wheat. I am also allergic to soy, so the no meat thing poses some additional challenges. Thankfully my dad does eat fish – giving me a few more options.

So far I’ve had three nights and each was a success. Night one I made calabacita enchiladas, sans tomatoes and enchilada sauce for my mom – she proclaimed they were still scrumptious. Night two was a halibut steak marinated in a cherry sauce with mango, pineapple, avocado salsa and roasted red potatoes.

Tonight, night three, was stuffed bell peppers with a green salad topped with strawberries and avocado, dressed with balsamic and olive oil.

I stuffed the peppers with rice, grilled onions, garlic, yellow squash and morning star fake sausages for dad and ground turkey for mom and me. Baked in the oven topped with cheese – I didn’t even miss my regular side of bread!

So stay tuned, more meat, gluten, tomato, soy free ideas to come!