lau3turtle

You might be a prepper if you rarely qualify for the express checkout lane. (Unless a case qualifies as a single item.)

Mexican casserole: pinto beans, rice, hominy, black olives, grilled onions, diced potatoes and napa cabbage in an enchilada sauce.

I spent most of the day rearranging things on my semi-enclosed patio to make a work table out of prep buckets and a long cabinet door I found in the alley a while ago. I'll hide the buckets with the canvas drop cloths I can never seem to store neatly. Heh. Doing this enabled me to move the tool and hardware boxes back out to the patio, now I can move the dresser away from the wall in my bedroom to put preps behind the dresser. I'll use a couple boards and a spare sheet to disguise it. My place is tiny, and rearranging is a lot like those sliding plastic puzzles for children, but it's worth the hassle if it means I can store more preps discretely. I can use the work table for all the prepping projects I have been trying to do, as a potting table, etc. Solar charged my emergency radio to test it. I listened to the news on the radio, staying informed, and staying motivated to prep. I also spent some time learning valuable information on this site. I love the inspiration I have gotten from this thread.

I can't eat meat, dairy, eggs, or gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oats) and I have to avoid or limit some other foods (green peppers, soy, pineapple, walnuts, etc. ). I have Celiac and multiple allergies and food intolerances. I certainly have staples and favorite dishes (beans, rice, corn, gluten free pastas with sauces, flat-bread, lots of fruit and veggies.) , but even with a limited diet (and budget) I don't have trouble with food fatigue. I have been exploring the cuisines of cultures that use a lot of the same ingredients I can eat. Indian food, Mediterranean, dishes from the various Latin American countries, Middle Eastern, Asian, etc. Many dishes I have found use or can be easily adapted to ingredients that are off limits to me (which may work for you), and I have also been able to find many that I can adapt to my needs. I live in an area where I can find markets that carry the spices and ingredients that make these dishes unique. If this is not the case for you, ordering online may be a possibility to consider. Health food stores also carry some ingredients you may not find at a supermarket. I'm not picky (can't afford to be), but even I have foods I just don't like. For instance I have hated eggplant my whole life. But roasted and pureed with tahini, it is one of my favorite foods. I'm going to try some Japanese eggplant soon (as long as I can keep the critters from stealing/ruining the ones I'm growing), as it has a milder flavor, so hopefully I can expand my diet even more. One of the benefits of my exploration has been finding stores that carry the staples I use in bulk at low prices, without having to pay for a membership. This has made stocking my cupboards(and closet, etc.) much easier for me. With my favorite dishes, I try to regularly change things a little bit. When I first went gluten free, (I was already vegan) I didn't know very much about what foods were gluten free. I ate a lot of spaghetti sauce, rotating between 3 or 4 different shapes of rice pasta. I still vary my pasta this way, and I change up the sauce too, sometime I add mushrooms, or capers, or olives, etc., or I make a simple marinara. (I also now know how to make many other sauces too. Heh.) (Sorry this is so long, but hopefully it helps. )

Hummus is a great way to use garbanzo/chickpeas. Here is an easy recipe http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/hummusbitahini.htm Black beans and chickpeas make excellent veggie burgers. But pretty much any bean or lentil will do. Beans and lentils can also be used to extend ground meat, and re-fried beans mixed with ground turkey makes a much better burger, from what I recall. http://www.veglite.com/2011/02/05/black-bean-chickpea-burgers Hummus on a black bean burger is delicious.

Thanks!

http://www.dollaradaybook.com/kitchen There are a few cheap recipes here, and they adapt well to food storage using canned or dehydrated food. Paradox-- There is an easy recipe on that page for re-fried beans. It can be used for any variety of beans (white beans tend to have a milder flavor). I've known plenty of kids who don't care for beans, unless they are mashed up. If you have a slow cooker this recipe is great! For cheap gluten free flat bread I have been mixing masa harina (Smart and Final sells it for as little as half the price at the grocery store) with a little baking powder and salt, enough (homemade) stock to make a very wet dough, and a little additional flour (rice, millet, garbanzo, etc.) to make the dough drier, but not crumbly. Shape or roll it into thin discs and cook on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, lightly browning both sides. I'm sorry I don't have an exact recipe, I make it slightly different every time. If you have an Asian grocery near you, you could check there for cheap rice pasta. I find that it's less than half the cost of rice pasta from the grocery store.

Ambergris -- If your quinoa tastes bitter it may need to be rinsed before it is cooked. Quinoa tastes much better without it's natural, bitter coating of saponin. Just a thought, in case you want to give it another try. Tonight's dinner was an avocado, re-fried beans and rice on millet and masa harina flat-bread, with fruity lemonade.