This is our menu of 40+ Winter Dinners that are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, and refined sugar free.
Let's face it, finding variety in winter dinner meals that meet dietary needs can be extremely challenging.
Long gone are the days of fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden, orchard or farmer's market.
Still, winter dinner meals can be enjoyable to prepare and delicious to eat.
Trust me, you'll be so excited for winter with these delicious meals on the menu!
Besides special dietary needs in the home, we also have several who struggle with sensory experiences related to food.
Our winter dinner meals always provide accommodations for sensory struggles, ensuring that everyone has something to eat at the table that they enjoy.
This may mean, not putting sauce on meat, until someone's plate is made.
Other times it means not mixing foods together before plates are made.
There's always a way to help everyone enjoy dinner.
40+ Winter Dinners: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Corn Free, Refined Sugar Free
Below you will find a variety of dinner meals that include pork, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, and more!
If you are a vegetarian or vegan, there are so many options for you to enjoy as well. I prefer not to eat meat, so I always try to have an alternative to every meat meal on hand.
Winter Vegetarian Dinner Meals
We usually cook Chicken Tandoori for kids who are allergic to chickpeas or don't eat chickpeas, when preparing this meal. A couple of our kids are not into sauces, but will go for marinades.
We usually cook Thai Peanut Chicken for the kids to go along with this meal to provide another protein option with or without sauce.
3. Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash with Cranberries and Kale with Cranberry Orange Bread
We usually cook pork chops for the kids to who are allergic to chickpeas or don't eat chickpeas, when preparing this meal.
I substitute honey and coconut sugar for white and brown sugar in the bread recipe.
We usually serve some type of sausage for kids who are allergic to chickpeas, or don't eat chickpeas, when preparing this meal.
We usually serve this with Maple Roasted Pork Tenderloin for the carnivores in the family.
6. Kale Pasta with Pine Nuts
Those who love adding meat to recipes will really enjoy adding bacon to this recipe.
When we prepare this dish, we cook and drain Tinkyada brown rice rotini.
A bunch of kale is torn into small pieces and stripped from the stems.
Kale is sauteed in oil, a little garlic, salt and pepper for taste. Pine nuts are roasted. Everything is mixed.
The kids love adding parmesan cheese and bacon to their plates.
We usually serve some type of meat or poultry with this meal for carnivore kiddos. It usually just depends on what I find on sale at the grocery store.
Most other meals on this list include a vegetarian or vegan alternative.
Winter Chicken Dinner Meals
I prepare cauliflower wings for myself when we have this meal as a vegan alternative.
All of the kids absolutely love chicken wings. Some like hot wings. Others like homemade diet-friendly BBQ sauce.
When making onion rings, we use almond milk instead of regular milk.
The boys usually request baked potatoes instead of mashed potatoes.
I prepare fried cauliflower for myself or some other cauliflower based variation as a vegan alternative.
We use coco aminos instead of soy sauce and use honey as the brown sugar substitute when cooking the chicken.
We use coco aminos instead of soy sauce when preparing the rice.
I prepare Teriyaki Chickpeas, Teriyaki Cauliflower, or add pumpkin seeds to my extra vegetable fried rice as a a vegan alternative.
When preparing this meal we do not add chicken to the lo mein.
Tinkyada Brown Rice Spaghetti is used for the lo mein.
We replace soy sauce with coco aminos and corn starch with potato starch or arrowroot.
Before adding oyster sauce, we serve up Sunshine's plate to ensure the dish remains corn free.
I prepare Sweet and Sour Cauliflower or Sticky Sesame Chickpeas as a vegan alternative to sesame chicken.
I use honey and coco aminos as an alternative to kecap manis, and arrowroot is used instead of corn starch in the cauliflower recipe.
I replace soy sauce with coco aminos in the chickpeas recipe.
I usually prepare Roasted Cinnamon Maple Pecans to replace the chicken and add some Brussel sprouts and dried cranberries as a vegan alternative.
When preparing this recipe for Sunshine, we use her tortillas. She chooses to add goat cheese or Daiya cheddar cheese.
Winter Turkey Meals
1. Spaghetti with Red Sauce and Turkey Meatballs and Bread
Depending on our mood, we may make oven baked meatball sandwiches using this gluten free roll recipe.
Other times we may make spaghetti stuffed garlic bread using this Italian bread recipe. Sunshine uses Daiya mozzarella cheese or goat cheese depending on her mood.
I tend to just eliminate the meatballs or make vegan meatballs as a vegan alternative.
When preparing this meal, I usually just enjoy poutine with a few other add ins. My kids love their turkey legs!
3. Turkey Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
When preparing this meal we use our own gluten free bread crumbs instead of panko, beef broth instead of milk, and coco aminos instead of Worchester sauce.
We use Heinz No Sugar Added Ketchup and our own homemade BBQ sauce.
I use this vegan meatloaf recipe when I don't want to eat meat.
When preparing this meal we use our homemade gluten free bread crumbs and diet-friendly homemade hoisin sauce. We use coco aminos instead of soy sauce.
I prepare Vegetarian Sesame Chickpea Meatballs as a vegan alternative.
I either use the same sauce as others or use the sesame sauce in the vegetarian recipe, switching out coco aminos for soy and arrowroot or potato starch for corn starch.
When preparing this recipe we use Tinkyada Fettucine, Primal Kitchen Mayo, and the vegan parmesan cheese recipe linked in the post.
I will toss in chickpeas in place of chicken when eating this meal as a vegan alternative.
Duck Meal
When we prepare this recipe, we do not use fennel.
I will usually prepare a stuffed acorn squash in place of the roasted duck as a vegan alternative, if I don't want to eat meat.
Winter Pork Meals
We leave out the lime and add that as a garnish to accommodate Bulldozer's citrus allergy. We make diet-friendly tortillas for Sunshine.
I usually mix some black beans with spices and use those in place of pork.
I make sure that I always have vegetarian options in the potato bar.
This meal is easy to make without the pork for those that are vegetarian. It tastes so good with gluten-free crusted bread.
4. Bacon, Brussel Sprouts and French Fries
This meal is easy to prepare.
Cook bacon and break up into small pieces.
Cook french fries. Prepare brussel sprouts( boil or bake).
Mix together with oil, paprika, salt, and pepper over heat to desired taste.
The paprika covers brussel sprouts and fries giving the meal a delicious flavor.
When we make this meal, we usually also make German Soft Pretzels for those who don't eat the other sides.
I sauté mushrooms and make the mushroom sauce included in the spaetzle recipe instead of eating the schnitzel as a vegan option.
6. Kielbasa Sausage with Mashed Potatoes and Kale
When making this meal, we peel and cut a 5 lb bag of yellow potatoes, placing them in a pot of water to boil.
Next we take a bunch of kale, taking off stems and breaking into small pieces, and place it in the water on top of potatoes. They boil together.
Last we place diet-friendly kielbasa sausage in the pot and boil until potatoes are cooked.
Sausage is removed and cut up.
Potatoes and kale are drained and then mashed mixing with diet-friendly milk and margarine. All three ingredients are served together.
I usually switch out my favorite mushrooms with sausage in this recipe.
Winter Beef Meals
This is one of Sunshine's favorite meals minus the mushrooms and anchovy paste.
To accommodate our autistic boys we prepare a plain patty served with a baked potato.
I usually just omit the steak and enjoy the mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes and green beans.
If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll make a lentil patty in place of the salisbury steak as a vegan alternative.
I'm a big fan of mushrooms, so I usually just prepare mushrooms in place of the roast.
If I want to go all out, this Jackfruit Pot Roast is a delicious vegan alternative.
I enjoy the mushrooms in this meal. If I want something more I may roast chickpeas as a vegan option.
We use arrowroot or potato starch instead of corn starch.
When we prepare this recipe, I often use ground turkey instead of beef, but either will work.
We use coco aminos instead of Worcestershire sauce.
Tinkyada rotini brown rice pasta is used instead of egg noodles.
Kite Hill non-dairy sour cream is used instead of regular sour cream.
I often just enjoy the mushroom sauce without meat as a vegan alternative.
I prepare black beans in place of barbacoa for myself as a vegan alternative.
Everyone loves this meal. When I'm not feeling up to eating meat, the latkes and apple sauce are usually filling enough.
When preparing this dish we use coco aminos instead of soy sauce and potato starch or arrowroot instead of cornstarch.
We make homemade diet-friendly gochujang and replace sugar with honey or coconut sugar.
When preparing this dish we omit oyster sauce for Sunshine. Soy sauce is replaced with coco aminos. We use potato starch or arrowroot instead of corn starch and honey instead of sugar.
I usually substitute mushrooms for beef as a vegan alternative.
Winter Seafood Meals
2. Lobster Rolls with Homemade Macaroni and Cheese and Vegetables
I use my original macaroni and cheese recipe when making an alternative for Sunshine, with a few modifications.
3 tbsp diet-friendly margarine
2 tbsp gluten free flour
1 tsp salt
Heat and mix.
Add 2 1/2 cups of unsweetened almond milk.
Mix until thickened. Stir often so it doesn't burn.
Add bag of Daiya cheddar or mozzarella cheese.
Stir until it melts.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.
When preparing this dish we make
millet polenta. Sunshine uses either Daiya cheddar cheese or goat cheese instead of cheddar cheese.
5. Fish and Chips with Coleslaw
No matter what dietary needs or sensory struggles may be present, everyone can enjoy meal time in the winter!
These recipes are sure to please and are easy when accommodating those who don't enjoy sauces or foods mixed.
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