ideas for meat-free dairy-free family meals please!

[elliott]

We are eating more and more as a family and I think I need to diversify our repertoire of family meals. we only eat meat about once a week and I don't have any difficulty thinking of what to do with it; but a lot of the other things we can all eat together seem to be based on cheese or milk. Me and DH will get very fat and unhealthy if we continue like this!
So any alternatives - I guess we're talking meals based on lentils/beans or fish really. They don't have to be completely dairy free but I'd like to try and use less cheese. Oh, and ds1 doesn't like anything too obviously tomatoey, which doesn't help!
Thanks!

well it seems to me you're looking at baked fish

take waxy potatoes, like desiree, peel and slice them and lay them in a buttered oven proof dish layering them with salt and white pepper and a clove of crushed garlic and some thyme or other favourite aromatic herb, and pour over a couple of tablespoons of goo olive oil an put them in a hot oven covered with a lid or foil for 15 minutes.

Then get your fish steak, halibut is good, it mush be a firm steaky fish, an lay it on top of the partially cooked potatoes, season it with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice an then pour over half a can of udiluted Campells mushroom soup and a splash of water just to make sure the fish and potatoes are covered and return to the hot oven for about 20-25 minutes uncovering it for the last five

Serve with green vegetables

Lentil sauce for pasta (OK this is essentially the lentil thing I've been cooking since I was 18, can be soup if it's less concentrated): onion, garlic, ground cumin, add the lentils cook the lentils in stock (I'd add tomatoes but you don't have to) till done, add squeeze of lemon. You can add mushrooms at the early stage and/or spinach at the last one, or really anything else you fancy.

Fishcakes as well. Which you can make quite a few of and freeze too (DP is a dab hand with a fishcake). And also baked whole fish like trout or mackerel, which you can do in the oven and also bung in a few veg you fancy like potatoes and onions and quite possibly tomatoes as well for people who like tomatoes. Rice and dal (no tomatoes unlike my top recommendation of chickpea curry).

This does have a bit of dairy in, so my apologies, but it's half-fat creme fraiche so should be okay for you if it's cutting out fat you want to do!

You will need:

• 1 medium fennel, sliced thinly
• 450g new potatoes, cut into quarters
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 teaspoons of dill
• 1 stock cube (made up to 1 pint)
• 4 tablespoons white wine (we make it without the wine usually)
• 225g fresh salmon, cut into chunks
• 225g haddock, cut into chunks
• 4 tablespoons half-fat creme fraiche
• salt & pepper

Chuck the first six ingredients in a saucepan, cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 mins.

Add the chunks of fish, cook for 3 mins.

Stir in the creme fraiche and the salt and pepper. Voila.

My DD loves chilli. You can make less spicy so all the family can eat. I am vegetarian so usually use soy mince instead of meat.

mmm, these sound great! We must try and do more fish. But I am put off by both the contaminants in oily (and especially farmed) fish and also the weekly press reports about over-fishing which seem to argue against atlantic cod and halibut...is there any white fish which is ok on all scores?
Would be interested in the chickpea curry thing MI, ds1 will eat chickpeas with spinach and tomatoes if we puree them so that he doesn't notice any tomatoey lumps!

I am from Morocco which is quite expensive for meat but super cheap for fish etc so many recipes I give to my kids are meat free.

Spicy Cabbage (your choice of heat)
Aubergine Salad
Lentils and Potatoes
Fish and potatoe roast (very nice)
I would be happy to give you the recipes if you are still looking for something new.

sahara, lentil and potatoes and fish and potato roast sound good (well so do the others but I don't think they'd go down so well with the ds's!) Would appreciate the recipes....thanks!

Hi Sahara - I wonder if I could have your receipes as well please.

Thanks