Allergy Free Cooking on a Budget: Beans!

People often comment that feeding a large family with food allergies must be very expensive.  It certainly can be! But I have also found that there is a learning curve as far as balancing food limitations, good nutrition, and the family  food budget. To put it simply, at first just do what you have to do "get by" while you get everything figured out. Use mixes, buy ready made food that you know is acceptable....after all, you are probably spending all your free time reading and learning about your new lifestyle!  But know that this phase will not last forever! Gradually move on to making more and more things by scratch. 

Using simple ingredients, fresh food, and great spices will go a long way in providing healthy, tasty, and affordable meals. One of my favorite reasons to stick to fresh ingredients is that there are no labels to read!  (Can I please hear a hallelujah and four amens?!) Until you get your feet on the ground in dealing with all the dietary changes, keep dinner simple: a meat, rice , and veggies. And don't forget beans....

Since I am currently feeding a husband who does hard, physical labor, three active teens, and two growing youngsters, we need affordable,  filling food in large quantities. More and more we are turning to beans as either a main or side dish. Nearly every night I am soaking  beans or cooking beans in the crock pot.  They freeze well and can be pulled out and quickly defrosted to put in bean dishes as needed ( ...very important when dealing with allergies! Going out to eat is generally not even an option, so use your freezer to stay ahead in the meal preparation game!). Here is how I prepare red beans:

Soak one package overnight. Rinse beans the next morning.
Place in crock pot with water and a bit of ham, sausage, or left over pork chops.
Add a few tsp. of salt and pepper, 4 cloves garlic, and 2 cans tomato sauce.
Cover with water and cook on low for 12 hours. If I need them for dinner I will cook them 6 hours on high, and then on low until dinner time.

These are delicious for dinner served onto of rice, but they also are great in the following dish:

Cajun Beans
1 package all natural chicken and garlic sausage ( I use Applegate brand), cut into bite sized pieces
red beans (several cups as prepares above or several cans if you can find some without preservatives)
1-2 cans crushed tomatoes with green chills ( I use Rotel brand)
1 onion, chopped
Cajun seasoning as desired ( I use McCormick)

Cook on low in crock pot for 8 hours for a wonderful, affordable, healthy allergy-free meal! This can be served over rice, or with roasted potatoes and carrots as pictured above. Enjoy!