Menu for my diabetic father: feedback and suggestions, please!

Hi all,

My dad's birthday is coming up soon, and since I suck at giving gifts, I thought it'd be nice to make him a scrumptious meal. Unfortunately, he's a diabetic with some really bad eating habits, and it's making his health deteriorate fast. I'm hoping that I could show him that healthy meals can be delicious meals with this dinner, and hopefully start transitioning him away from his current food choices.

I'm hoping to get some feedback on the menu I've got planned, as well as some suggestions for possible side dishes?

Also, I'm a from a cooking culture that never measures anything and does everything by eye/taste, so I apologize for not having exact measurements of anything. I'll probably be slightly winging it as I go, so further apologies for unclear instructions.

Without further ado, here's the menu I've got so far:

Main dish: Chicken/Vegetable Fajita tacos

• Chicken breast

• Assorted bell peppers and poblano peppers

• Red onion

• Mushrooms

• Spices (chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne) and seasoning

• Directions: Season chicken breast and cook, let rest. Char poblano peppers and de-skin; chop. Meanwhile, stir fry all other vegetables with spices, season. Slice breast into thin slices, toss with all other veggies. Serve in corn flour tortillas with sides.

Sides: Pico de Gallo, sliced avocado (self explanatory), "healthy" sour cream, black beans

• Pico de gallo: dice tomatoes, onion, and jalepeno. Squeeze fresh lime juice, add chopped cilantro, and season. Let rest.

• "Healthy" sour cream: loosen plain greek yogurt with fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro; season

• Black beans: drain, rinse, and let rest as water seeps out. Reheat in pan with some cumin and cayenne; season to taste.

Dessert: Panna Cotta

• Make vanilla panna cotta (heat heavy cream, dissolve gelatin, etc.). Fill 3 oz ramekins; once ready to serve, top with thin freshly sliced mangoes and toasted flaked coconut.
  

So, I've got some questions:

1. Any other vegetables I could add to the fajitas? I would really like to introduce him to a wide variety, so any suggestions are welcome :)

2. I know I've got some sides, but are there any potential side dishes I could do? Or do you think this is enough and adding anything else would "declutter" the menu?

3. Improvements on my panna cotta is welcome! I was trying to give it a tropical twist to go along with the tex-mex-ish menu, but I'm not sure if I did a good job.

Thanks in advance!

Submitted March 08, 2017 at 05:55PM by cealion http://ift.tt/2m3RSyj