Can you do better than Chat GPT?

[drspouse]

I asked it to write me two weeks of dinners based on our rather annoying family requirements (mainly due to my newly diagnosed condition): no dairy, tomatoes, or hot spices, one family member doesn't like beans or lentils, one doesn't like rice, and two don't like mushrooms.

Week 1
Mon – Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots & Broccoli
Roast chicken with oil & herbs. Roast potatoes and carrots; steam broccoli.
Tue – Sausages with Root Veg Mash & Onion Gravy
Mash potatoes with carrot/parsnip. Pan-cook sausages; make gravy with stock.
Wed – Baked Salmon, New Potatoes & Green Beans
Bake salmon with lemon. Boil potatoes; steam beans.
Thu – Chicken & Vegetable Orzo
Cook chicken pieces, add orzo, stock, carrot, peas & sweetcorn. Simmer till tender.
Fri – Dairy-Free Fish Pie
Poach fish, make leek & oat-milk sauce, top with mash, bake till golden.
Sat – Vegetarian 🌱
Broccoli & Sweetcorn Pasta
Cook pasta. Toss with steamed broccoli, sweetcorn, garlic, olive oil & splash of oat milk.
Sun – Pork Chops, Roast Potatoes, Cabbage & Apples
Pan-fry chops. Roast potatoes. Boil cabbage; serve apples on the side

Mon – Leftover Roast Chicken Pasta
Warm chicken with garlic, peas, olive oil & oat milk. Stir through pasta.
Tue – Beef Mince & Onion Gravy with Root Veg Mash
Brown mince & onions, add stock. Serve with mash and sweetcorn.
Wed – Pan-Fried Cod, Lemon Potatoes & Spinach
Pan-fry cod. Boil potatoes; wilt spinach with garlic.
Thu – Sausage & Vegetable Orzo
Brown sausages, slice, add orzo, carrot, peas & stock. One-pan meal.
Fri – Homemade Turkey Burgers & Oven Chips
Grill or pan-fry burgers. Bake chips. Serve with lettuce & cucumber.
Sat – Vegetarian 🌱
Creamy (Dairy-Free) Vegetable Orzo
Cook orzo with stock, add broccoli, peas & spinach, finish with oat milk.
Sun – Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Add beef, potatoes, carrot, onion & stock. Cook low all day. Serve with bread

There's just a LOT of potatoes and chicken and the beef gets expensive. Plus it all seems to be meat and potatoes, or a bowl of plain pasta and veg.
Can anyone suggest anything a bit more lively?

We normally have a lot of pizza and pasta with tomato based sauces, fajitas or tacos, and when we have veggie we usually have Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers or Quorn Kiev.
I know you can make "Nomato" sauce but I just haven't the time and DH hasn't the inclination/skills, the reason I asked for quick cooking instructions is because he's not a natural cook.

Flatbreads, lamb skewers and minty yoghurt sauce with a leafy green salad

frittata and salad and new potatots

smoked haddock with fried eggs and crusty bread (if you like fish this is delicious - don’t knock it til you’ve tried it!)

soup and sandwiches

Might need to see if soya Greek yogurt is acceptable to the family (or make my own). These do sound good though!

If it were me, I'd buy foods ok for everyone, focusing on lots of veg, whole grain and simple meats. Then for cooked meals, cook up a mix of the acceptable foods, prioritising items have the soonest use-by dates (or oldest in my fridge). Also... most the family can have rice some nights when the rice-hater can have spuds. Or mushrooms can be served as side dish to all but that person. One night the lentil haters won't be there and the lentil lovers can tuck in to their delight.

Eating a set menu would make me so stressed out.

Smoked haddock is a bit of a local thing here served with crusty bread and peas.

Cooking different meals for everyone and not knowing what we're having each day stresses me out! Good thing everyone is different or the world would be boring.

We have in the past had jacket potatoes beans and cheese when the bean hater has been out but it's not that often as none of us really has anywhere else to eat tea.
Plus, the main lentil dish the others like is Bolognese and no tomatoes means no Bolognese.

Just a couple of ideas, Dairy free pesto pasta and prawns or chicken and ptit pois
Tuna, olive oil, swestcorn and olive pasta
Eggs

Pasta with vegan pesto, black olives and whatever veg you like.

Butternut squash mac and "cheese" e.g this https://ohsheglows.com/smoky-butternut-squash-sauce-with-pasta-and-greens/ ohsheglows.com/smoky-butternut-squash-sauce-with-pasta-and-greens/]] minus the chili is delicious.

Build your own fajitas with chicken or prawns or whatever done in mild spices with bowls of fried onions and peppers, beans, salad etc for people to add as they like.

Dairy free aldredo sauce https://yupitsvegan.com/vegan-one-pot-creamy-garlic-pasta/

Can the no beans person have just butter and cheese, or coleslaw or tuna on a jacket? I eat beans but only with chips or on toast.

My MIL makes mince without toms and my son actually prefers it to mine……

I don’t think it hurts to have a sandwich type dinner once a week…..

Baked beans have tomato in... The Chat GPT menu had a lot of variations of mince and potatoes and once a fortnight is ok but not more than that.

Clearly…… so none of you can eat tomato? It’s not clear.

“We have in the past had jacket potatoes beans and cheese when the bean hater has been out but it's not that often as none of us really has anywhere else to eat tea.”

I have a very recently diagnosed condition which means I can't eat tomato any more. Or dairy or any hot spicy food.
Separately, one family member doesn't like beans.

You can always keep going with AI it’s not a one hit wonder - tell it that’s too boring and you’d like a plan with more variety. If there’s one you really like ask for more like that; or say you don’t like certain ones. It’s worth spending a bit more time on the prompting usually.

There’s no mention of tofu in that menu from my quick skim through… would adding a meal including that be useful?
Id think there should be some Asian inspired meals with no chilli and using noodles instead of rice in the mix.

Egg fried rice using up bits of chicken etc from the fridge. Serve with steamed veg and spicy gouchujang sauce for those who want spice.

Chicken in a satay sauce (coconut milk, peanut butteron and a bit of chilli a Jacket potato.

Soups

Fish cakes and salad

Falafel in pittas with salad, include grated carrot and some sort of picked veg.

I'm afraid not liking beans extends to not liking tofu and not liking falafel. I'm the only one that likes tofu in fact.

And there's rice in egg fried rice. And chilli in chilli...

We have found dairy free fish cakes though.

Chicken tagine with cous cous - sautee onions with cumin, cinnamon and ground coriander, add a dash of honey, add chicken thighs, 300ml stock and simmer for 30 min, then a squeeze of lemon juice. Add carrots, courgettes, chickpeas too if you like.

Salmon but with roasted new potatoes, I bung in tomatoes to roast too but you could leave those out. tenderstem broccoli towards the end. Served with a dairy free dill pesto - dill, broad beans, cashew nuts, lemon zest, olive oil and seasoning. So good. Can have the leftover pesto with pasta.

Stir fry with satay sauce. It’s easy to make from scratch with coconut milk and peanut butter - you don’t need any chilli. Or a sweet and sour sauce.

You have my sympathies because cooking without tomatoes or dairy is hard.

Noodles instead of rice? Stir fry, pad Thai, pho, ramen etc. adjust/remove spice accordingly
a ham in the slow cooker can be cheaper than other cuts of meat
roasted veg tray bake with chicken/fish/sausages
fish finger butties & potato wedges

Anyone who can’t eat rice can just have the same thing with noodles or bread or potato etc

I've been through my recipe saving app up to R!

Any of these any good?

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/baked-cod-chorizo-crumb-lemon-aioli

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/british/bangers-braised-in-cider

https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/bean-herb-pasta
https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/chard-bacon-rosemary-chilli-pasta

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/honey-and-soy-glazed-pork-with-sweet-potato-mash/

https://recipesfromanormalmum.com/2015/01/28/sliced-potato-topping/

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/lemony-chicken-broth-with-orzo-pasta-and-chard/

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/oct/14/quick-easy-miso-salmon-ginger-noodles-recipe-rukmini-iyer

Felicity Cloake's Perfect Patata Bravas

https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/pasta/rigatoni-with-cavolo-nero-and-olive-oil

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-sausage-squash-mustard-sage

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-sweet-potato-squash-garlic-mash

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/roasted-carrot-courgette-and-bulgur-with-pistachio-and-mint/

So many of those would be better with chilli... And we'd just started to up the spice in the DCs food to get them used to it ..

Well yes but you’ve told us you can’t eat chilli hence the suggestions! My DH can’t eat chilli so I do understand the struggle and it sucks but we just make the best of it.

Can’t the rest of the family can have dairy, chilli and tomatoes though?

They can but I'm not cooking two meals. Leaving the sauce off is one thing but making a tomato sauce to have with meatballs and a really complicated multiple veg non-tomato sauce both at the same time is not going to happen on a week day.

Only DH would actively miss chilli, though as I say we were hoping to add a bit to the DCs food. But if I am making fajitas, say, if I put the fajita spice in with the chicken and veggies I'm not going to make a separate pan and separate bowl of chicken and veggies without chilli - I'll just make a chilli-free single dish.

If you have time and inclination to make a separate sauce or a separate side for one member of the family, fair play to you, but I don't.

With something like pad Thai or stir fry, could DH garnish his own with some chopped raw chillies if he’s really missing them?

That's not a bad idea - we usually keep hot salsa in for our regular taco/fajita nights.