Frugal Gluten-Free Menu Planning--help me out please!

[maize]

I am really, really, really bad at menu planning.

I just can't wrap my brain around it.

Unfortunately I'm also bad at coming up with nutritious meals on the fly.

 

Will y'all help me? Pretty Please?

I want a week's worth of meals for a family of 8 that won't break the bank. They need to be gluten free, do not need to imitate gluten foods. I also prefer limited rice. If anyone has a gluten free bread recipe not based on rice flour that they love I would be interested in that as well.

 

Ingredients I like to use include lentils, garbanzo beans, black beans, eggs, ground beef, all vegetables and fruits, cheeses, curries and other seasonings. We're open to recipes from any part of the world. Prefer one-pot meals as much as possible--stir-fries, casseroles, baking sheet meals, crock pot or insta-pot meals...My kids need a decent amount of protein at every meal, especially breakfast (which does not need to be typical breakfast foods). Menus don't need to be limited to these ingredients though, I'm open to any ideas!

 

If you can throw whatever ideas you have at me they would be much appreciated!

[prairiewindmomma]

Costco rotisserie chicken is glutenfree. That, and a box of salad is my quick and easy emergency meal. 

 

We're currently eating GFCF.  I don't have time to retype our menu, and I don't know if it'd be of interest to you as we are also casein free....

 

but our favorite meals right now are:

 

ground beef + black beans + taco seasoning in the skillet over corn chips with lettuce, tomato, etc.

quinoa pasta + marinara sauce with beef

chex cereal for breakfast

eggs, bacon(cooked in the oven ) + fruit salad

[scbusf]

Here are some of our favorites. I use plantoeat.com as my menu planner.  It takes a bit of work to get started, but once you have your recipes imported, you can make a calendar and then it will make your grocery list for you!!!!!

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/83296/balsamic-chicken-and-fresh-mozzarella/

 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts/

 

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/05/delicious-and-simple-lemon-garlic-drumsticks.html

 

http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2015/09/slow-cooker-chicken-marsala.html

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/235997/unstuffed-cabbage-roll/?lnkid=fb2951

 

Another thing I do - for some recipes, I make double and freeze it!

[KungFuPanda]

Have you visited the crockpot 365 site? I used about 3-4 recipes before I even noticed it was GF.

[Um_2_4]

Can you just make some breakfast options and rotate through:

fried eggs over seasoned black beans

scrambled egg cups (can be made ahead) and fruit

yogurt and fruit

can you get gluten free oats easily? There are really good oatmeal based muffins (pinterest can lead you to many, most include bananas and plain yogurt, no other grains)

fried eggs over hash browns(fried potatoes) with some onions/peppers maybe

 

[Ms.Ivy]

Tacos and quesadillas are big around here.  You can make tacos 100 different ways.  I often make lentil tacos.  Ridiculously cheap.  I also like to make homemade falafel using dried garbanzo beans.  Sooooooo good.  

[zoobie]

Cube white and/or sweet potatoes, toss with seasonings and oil, bake at 375 for 15 minutes, stir, 15 more, then add cubed, seasoned chicken breast and cook 15, stir, top with shredded cheese and bake 5-10 more. You can use any kind of seasoning, any cheese, add bacon... We like BBQ rub or onion/garlic/smoked paprika/salt, Greek seasoning with lemon and feta, lemon and garlic.

 

With the lemon and garlic, I've thrown broccoli in to roast with everything. Otherwise I do a salad or steamed veggie on the side.

Edited April 1, 2016 by zoobie

[Butter]

All of my kids love baked cheeseburgers and roasted carrots.  Use 80 or 85% ground beef.  Otherwise it gets dry.  Cut the carrots into fries.  Toss them with oil, salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like.  Bake at 425* for about 30 minutes.  Mix the ground beef with salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like and make into patties.  Cook the burgers on a foil-lined greased baking sheet.  Bake the burgers (with the carrots still in the oven) 15-20 minutes depending how thick you made them.  Top the burgers with cheese as soon as they are out of the oven.  The carrots may or may not be done at the same time.  Sometimes they need a few more minutes.

 

They also like roasted sweet potatoes cut into cubes and seasoned and baked like the carrots.  Those go well with chicken (I add the chicken the last 20-30 minutes of baking depending on how big I cut them).

[kewb]

A lot of great ideas here:

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/

[zoobie]

My phone just refreshed and I lost a longer post. Argh.

 

ATK Tacos with added can of refried black beans--no one notices the beans at my house. Lentils would stretch it nicely too. Good on salad, nachos, and as tacos.

 

Kalyn's Kitchen cabbage bowls

 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/asian-turkey-meatballs-with-lime-sesame/

Switch regular breadcrumbs for GF or almond meal

 

http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2012/04/04/cornerstone-cooking-crunchy-black-bean-tacos/#more-33746

 

Sweet potato and black bean (multiple online versions) filling for tacos, burritos, rice bows or cabbage bowls

 

Baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes. Top with canned chili (TJs is good) if desperate. Leftover pulled pork is good too.

Edited April 1, 2016 by zoobie

[Lizzie in Ma]

I suck at it too, and we are gluten free too.

This site rocks and I like a lot of the recipes.

http://newleafwellness.biz/2015/10/19/31-gluten-free-dairy-free-crockpot-freezer-meals/

[Pink and Green Mom]

I love this Buffalo Spaghetti Squash recipe when I'm doing Whole 30.  It is grain free, dairy free and soy free.  It is delicious and my kids and DH gobbled it right up.

 

http://paleomg.com/sneak-peek-recipe-from-juli-bauers-paleo-cookbook-buffalo-chicken-casserole/

 

I second the crockpot 365 website as well.