I am needing new ideas for dinners for myself and family. My hubby is so picky!! I am trying to keep low carb for the entire family but it's hard finding a new side to replace potatoes and rice. I am going to try to sneak in cauliflower soon and get rid of the potatoes. Any ideas??

I haven't been sleeved yet but I also serve a lot of pasta, rice or potatoes as a side dish. This past weekend I made chicken & just served vegetables & salad & no one complained! (YAY!!) I did make cauliflower! My kids LOVED it. I first steamed it & then I (golden) browned it in a pan in just a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil & some minced garlic. We all loved the cauliflower browned a little bit. That almost did feel like a starchy veggie. I also made fresh steamed broccoli & a salad.

The cauliflower browned sounds good! I keep spoiling my family and make the starches but my one bite became 2, 3 and more. So I have to cut them out completely. Do you have a surgery date yet?

Sometimes a stir fry works well....I'll sautee some lean pork chops or chicken sliced very thin and cooked quickly, then removed from the skillet and then sautee onions, garlic, julienned carrots, tiny bits of broccoli, almost a whole cabbage shredded, and then at the last minute topped with bean sprouts. The seasonings are basically soy sauce, garlic salt and pepper, maybe some ginger powder. Add back the meat back at the same time you put in the bean sprouts. It makes a generous serving for family members and is low carb/low cal. For my family members I might put a bed of chinese crunchy noodles on the bottom and serve it on top, for me, just the protein and veggies.

Buffalo marinaded chicken breast (I buy it pre-marinaded from Costco), brown rice or quinoa (haven't decided which for tonight) and salad (lettuce, julienned red peppers, toasted almond slices, cucumbers and celery w/Newman's light balsamic dressing).

I'm cooking for my boys, I'm still on my post-op liquid diet. But if I was able to eat it all now, it seems like a fairly sleeve-friendly dinner to me.

DH is Asian, and we used to eat white sticky rice with every meal. We've made the switch to brown rice, and everyone in the fam has been loving it! But I've cut back on the rice (and potatoes) all around, really.

We've been doing a lot of grilled veggies and stir fries with our Protein. Baby bok choy w/tofu, w/a bit of coconut or sesame oil, sprinkled lightly with soy sauce and sesame seeds and some Korean pepper flakes is DH's new favorite side.

My teenager loves grilled skewers, usually with bell peppers, onions, and pineapple.

My favorite is grilled asparagus drizzled with balsamic reduction, or roasted with a spritz of olive oil, Kosher salt and parmesan.

My hubby HATES meatloaf. However, I made some turkey meatloaf and just put Lawry's seasoned salt, celery, carrots, and onion- all chopped very thin of course. He loved it. The kids liked it with a little bit of gravy on top. Very moist and tasty.

Sorry I didn't notice you were looking for side dishes. What about sliced zucchini with season salt grilled in a small drizzle of olive oil? Add Monterey Jack cheese just thrown on top. My picky hubby and kids love it. I also use that instead of pasta when I make mushroom chicken. The mushroom soup tastes very good on top of the zucchini. I know it sounds weird but it really is delicious, you just need them to give it a try.

If you're up for trying a new turkey meatloaf recipe, this one from cookinglight.com is aahhhmazing: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-freezable-recipes-00412000070172/page16.html

I like butternut squash for something starchy, but good for you. Target sells it in frozen cubes. I just saute it quickly or add it to stir frys. I do better with whole grains, which fill me up better. Brown rice, 100% whole grain bread, and whole wheat Pasta. I often eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes too.

For even lower carb side dishes, it's probably gonna be veggies. For variety, I roast them in the oven (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, asparagus, summer squash all do well), stir fry them, or eat them in Soups or salads.

One of my summer favs is garlic lime chicken, http://savingdinner.com/garliclimechicken/ , with a salad of baby butter lettuce, sliced almonds, and a few mandarin orange segments.

In spring, while you're roasting Cornish game hens, throw in a pan of veggies. Add a little balsamic vinegar right at the end for a little kick.

I also love this soup recipe: http://savingdinner.com/healthy-vegetarian-recipes/soup-good-food/ To make it lower carb, add more veggies and leave out the potatoes.

Lynda

The cauliflower browned sounds good! I keep spoiling my family and make the starches but my one bite became 2, 3 and more. So I have to cut them out completely. Do you have a surgery date yet?

Oh yeah, it is good. In fact, my kids have asked me when I'm making it again & tonight might be the night!

No surgery date for me yet. I meet with the surgeon next week Friday & at that meeting supposedly, I'll get a surgery date. I'm praying it will be during the summer so it won't affect my children's school life. My oldest is signed up to attend a special film school the last week of July, so just hoping it won't be that week either. He wants to go into Film Making so this is something really important to him & if he doesn't get his license before that week, I'd have to take him. So we'll see....

Let us know what you ended up making as side dishes! We can all use the advice!

My hubby HATES meatloaf. However' date=' I made some turkey meatloaf and just put Lawry's seasoned salt, celery, carrots, and onion- all chopped very thin of course. He loved it. The kids liked it with a little bit of gravy on top. Very moist and tasty.[/quote']

A man that hates meatloaf??? I thought that was a staple for them. Lol yours sounds really good.

Buffalo marinaded chicken breast (I buy it pre-marinaded from Costco)' date=' brown rice or quinoa (haven't decided which for tonight) and salad (lettuce, julienned red peppers, toasted almond slices, cucumbers and celery w/Newman's light balsamic dressing).

I'm cooking for my boys, I'm still on my post-op liquid diet. But if I was able to eat it all now, it seems like a fairly sleeve-friendly dinner to me.

DH is Asian, and we used to eat white sticky rice with every meal. We've made the switch to brown rice, and everyone in the fam has been loving it! But I've cut back on the rice (and potatoes) all around, really.

We've been doing a lot of grilled veggies and stir fries with our Protein. Baby bok choy w/tofu, w/a bit of coconut or sesame oil, sprinkled lightly with soy sauce and sesame seeds and some Korean pepper flakes is DH's new favorite side.

My teenager loves grilled skewers, usually with bell peppers, onions, and pineapple.

My favorite is grilled asparagus drizzled with balsamic reduction, or roasted with a spritz of olive oil, Kosher salt and parmesan.[/quote']

I love stir fry. I haven't done one in a while. I probably will this weekend.

Sorry I didn't notice you were looking for side dishes. What about sliced zucchini with season salt grilled in a small drizzle of olive oil? Add Monterey Jack cheese just thrown on top. My picky hubby and kids love it. I also use that instead of Pasta when I make mushroom chicken. The mushroom Soup tastes very good on top of the zucchini. I know it sounds weird but it really is delicious' date=' you just need them to give it a try.[/quote']

Side or main dishes it really doesn't matter. I will take any new ideas. Hmmm mushroom soup does sound odd on zucchini. But I will try anything once.

I like butternut squash for something starchy' date=' but good for you. Target sells it in frozen cubes. I just saute it quickly or add it to stir frys. I do better with whole grains, which fill me up better. Brown rice, 100% whole grain bread, and whole wheat Pasta. I often eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes too.

For even lower carb side dishes, it's probably gonna be veggies. For variety, I roast them in the oven (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, asparagus, summer squash all do well), stir fry them, or eat them in Soups or salads.

One of my summer favs is garlic lime chicken, http://savingdinner.com/garliclimechicken/ , with a salad of baby butter lettuce, sliced almonds, and a few mandarin orange segments.

In spring, while you're roasting Cornish game hens, throw in a pan of veggies. Add a little balsamic vinegar right at the end for a little kick.

I also love this soup recipe: http://savingdinner.com/healthy-vegetarian-recipes/soup-good-food/ To make it lower carb, add more veggies and leave out the potatoes.

Lynda

You are full of new ideas for me thanks! I will be trying some of them out soon.

If you're up for trying a new turkey meatloaf recipe' date=' this one from cookinglight.com is aahhhmazing: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-freezable-recipes-00412000070172/page16.html[/quote']

Confession-- I have never tried Turkey meatloaf. I may have too soon with this recipe.