My Plant-Based Family

Eating Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet recipes, On a Budget.

Archives for April 2012

Snacking While Traveling

by Leave a Comment

We have not taken a family trip since before we went to a Plant-Based Diet. A lot of the fun of our trips was related to food. We would pack a ton of snacks and stop at gas stations and buy tons more. Once we little one’s came along we had to be intentional about buy them healthy and kid friendly snacks because there was no way I would feed my precious babies the garbage we were eating. 😉

Another tradition that will continue is making a freezing PB&J’s or AB&J’s. They slowly defrost throughout the day for a quick and timely lunch. We pack easy to eat fruit and crackers, dried fruit and trail mix has always been a big hit with us. 

This year we will take Go Go squeeZ. GoGo squeeZ is applesauce in little handy pouches, I know you’ve seen them. They are easy to use because they require no dishes, perfect for my 3 year old. (They are a much better deal at Costco so if you have a membership buy them there instead of a regular store.) Additionally they are all natural and gluten, nut, and dairy free.

I’ll share my experience of traveling with kids and eating a Plant-Based diet in a few weeks, but for now I seek your advice. What would you take on a trip?

If you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook you will get to see how it is going in real time because somethings are just to funny to wait. 

How Much is that Muffin in the Window

by Leave a Comment

One of the stores I shop at most often is called Fresh & Easy and it is indeed fresh and easy. It is the closes store to my house. I could walk there if I had to but I usually just stop in on my way home. I can get in and out in 15 minutes and that is if I go down every isle. They are usually well stocked with almond and coconut milk (although they have stopped carrying soy creamer-BOO!) They have fresh produce and an amazing clearance section. They also have a lot of ready made foods that are pretty darn good, including their spicy hummus, yum!

Recently they started carrying some vegan muffins made with super food. I’ve wanted to try them but I did want to spend the money if I didn’t like them. A good friend of mine bought some yesterday and brought them to our Bible study. I was excited to get a taste but I acted cool and didn’t pounce on them immediately. After a few more minutes had passed I put one on my plate, peeled back the paper and took a small bite. I can not tell you how glad I was that it was only a small bite because they tasted awful. There was no hiding the look on my face although I did refrain from spiting it out. Maybe they were not so bad, I was just expecting something sweet and I vaguely remember the package they came in saying something about fruit, I could see raisins or something, but alas no sweetness. 

When my friend inquired as to how they tasted I just said, “these do not taste like MY MUFFINS.” The other muffins sat neatly on the table the whole time. If the weird one of the group (ME) wouldn’t eat them was their really a chance for anyone else.

Have you had an experience like that? Excitement to try a new product or dish only to be very disappointed. It also happened to me Sunday night when I tried freeze dried veggies-Bleck!

Gratituesday: Time with Friends

by Leave a Comment

For the past five years Tuesday mornings have been a day I would spend time with girlfriends at our weekly Bible study/group therapy sessions/brunch. Childcare is provided so we can just sit together and have a great time with out changing diapers, cleaning up messes, or any of the other things we normally do during that time period. This year I have only been able to attend a few times and I sure have missed it.  

I’m so grateful for the women I get to spend time with, the ladies who volunteer their time to love on our babies, and our church who provides a place for us to get together.

What do you do to keep your sanity during the hustle and bustle of a busy week? 

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Meal Plan Monday: How I Plan

by Leave a Comment

I sit here a fully admit I don’t know what we are eating this week. At the end of the week half of our household will be going on a trip to see family. I did not buy much at the grocery store because I did not want to leave a bunch of food that would go bad.

I thought that this would be a good opportunity to walk you through how I Meal Plan. First I take all of the food we have into consideration:

  • Carrots*
  • Potatoes*
  • A little Spinach
  • Sprouted grain bread
  • Oatmeal*
  • Cooked quinoa**
  • Cooked pinto beans**
  • Several vats of hummus
  • 7 cups of cooked chickpeas**
  • Fresh (but going downhill) Strawberries**
  • Several Gluten Free Cereals*

At the store I picked up:

  • Almond Milk
  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Broccoli**
  • Freeze-dried Veggies I wanted to try (Bleck…not a fan!)*

Item with * will be fine when I return from traveling and do not need to be used immediately. Items with ** can be frozen and used another time. I have a well stocked pantry and freezer so I have other options available. When my fridge is empty I plan meals based on what produce is the best value while also balancing nutrition and taste.

The Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, cereal and smoothies.

Lunches will be leftovers, Nachos made with Pinto Beans, PB&J or AB&J, Not So Tuna Salad sandwiches or wraps, and my favorite Spinach, carrot and hummus Wrap.

Snacks will be hummus with fresh veggies, smoothies, chickpeas, and fruit with nut butter.  

Dinner will not be completely planned because I want to focus on using up everything the will not last while I travel. A few of the things that we may eat are:

  • Bean Burrtios
  • Quinoa Tacos
  • Veggie Soup with Chickpeas
  • Steamed Spinach with Chickpeas (I had this yesterday and it was tasty)
  • Nachos
  • Baked Potatoes
  • Potato and Broccoli Soup
Each evening I’ll decide what needs to be eaten and focus on that food type. Some things can be combined like the beans and quinoa to make nachos, or everything thrown together for soup. Most of these things are already cooked so I’ll just have to throw it together and warm it up, or throw it in a pot to simmer. 
 
I also try to eat several different colors of food throughout the day. If I feel like we are missing out on something I’ll make a smoothie because I can throw in spinach, blueberries, pineapple, mango, cherries, or strawberries and feel like we are covering all of or bases. We typically eat a lot of whole grains and carrots so we are rarely missing out on those. 
Do you Meal Plan? It saves me money and frustration each week, give it a try.

The Versatile Blogger Award

by Leave a Comment

A very big and appreciative Thank You goes goes out to Fine Frugality for nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award. Check out Fine Frugality for more information on all things frugal.

The Versatile Blogger Award is a great way to introduce different bloggers to each other and to promote quality blogs that awardees and their readers may not have discovered on their own. It’s a great way to reach out and of course, it’s an honor in itself to be recognized!

Once you have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award, here’s what you do next:

  1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
  2. In the same post, add The Versatile Blogger Award.
  3. In the same post, thank the blogger that nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
  4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
  5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
  6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

Here are my 15 nominations. These are blogs that I find useful, brilliant, or just plain inspirational.

  1.  Spilled Milk and Wet Kisses
  2. An Unrefined Vegan
  3. In Pursuit of More
  4. Veggie Grettie
  5. Johnny Sized
  6. Silly Things My Kids Say
  7. Live and Learn Toss and Turn
  8. While Chasing Kids
  9. Kid Tested Firefighter Approved
  10. Luminous Vegans
  11. Tia Tofu
  12. Plants Only
  13. Shine Like Stars
  14. Vegan Bloggers Unite
  15. Heart Healthy Eats

Now for the random information. Some of these are even unknown by my closest buds.

  1. According to family tradition I am related to Lyndon B Johnson, Buddy Holly, and Patrick Swayze.
  2. I’d love to foster or adopt in the future.
  3. I haven’t had any form of cable or satellite television in over 10 years.
  4. I laugh like my mom and my big kids point it out every chance they get.
  5. I competed in Speech/Debate/Drama in high school and college.
  6. I never picked up my high school diploma because I would have had to go back to the school to get it.
  7. I’ve worked as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch.

There you have it, take a minute to check out some of my favorite blogs.

Gratituesday: Easter

by 2 Comments

This last weekend we celebrated Easter. As a kid I looked forward to an Easter basket filled with candy and small toys, a big meal and spending the day with family. 

How time has changed; this year there were no baskets, no toys, and no big family meal. I do not think those things are bad we just chose not to focus on them. Instead I want to focus on my Savior, Jesus.

I believe that Jesus is the son of God, that He died and rose from the grave and ascended to heaven as the scriptures foretold.

I believe that his life and death paid the penalty for my sin, something I could never deserve or pay on my own.

I believe He did this because of His great love for us.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

I am not offended if you choose a different path. I won’t debate my beliefs, but I will not waiver. I don’t live out my faith perfectly. I fail miserably sometimes all the time, but I am grateful that Jesus will not fail me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI]