My Plant-Based Family

Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget

Holly Yzquierdo

Week Night Plant-Based Dinners

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Every week I share my Plant-Based Meal Plan. Last week I only shared our dinners and it went so well I thought I’d do it again and share our Week Night Plant-Based Dinners Meal Plan. I’ll give you some breakfast and lunch suggestions also.

Week Night Plant-Based Dinners Meal Plan

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Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast: I’ve been moving away from oatmeal and hot breakfasts over the last week or so. Two mornings a week we have early morning appointments and I try to start working by 8:00 the other mornings.

I still offer oatmeal but my kids have been requesting toast with fruit, bagels or cereal, most mornings. This summer, we are encouraging them to be more independent so some mornings they make their own breakfast. Peanut Butter Overnight Oats is a great option to have in the fridge for those mornings we need a little extra.

Lunch: Most days lunch will be leftover dinner or sandwiches. On Sunday I cooked Enchilada Soup in my Instant Pot and cooked my One Pot Broccoli and Rice Casserole so we have those ready for lunch all week. Typically I’ll eat the soup, my husband and youngest son will eat the casserole and my other son will have sandwiches.

Week Night Plant-Based Dinners

Monday: Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry is a super easy, oil-free stir fry that is easy to adapt, based on what you have and what you like. You can even use frozen veggies if you don’t have any fresh. I’m working on clearing out my freezer and pantry so I’ll probably use frozen this time.

Tuesday: One Pot Pizza Pasta is as simple as it sounds. I like having pasta at least once a week for an easy meal. I add extra sauce to mine once it’s in the bowl and my boys add olives to theirs. Just like pizza, we all have completely different preferences, we use the basics in the pasta then load up our favorite toppings on the side. This is perfect with a side salad with Creamy Italian or Sweet and Tangy Salad Dressing.

Wednesday: Instant Pot Mexican Casserole is one of my oldest and most loved recipes! It’s worthy of a permanent spot on the meal plan. The leftovers are perfect for lunches too.

Thursday: Southwest Tofu Scramble is another easy recipe. This time I’m making it as an excuse to make my Mango Salsa! I really want the Mango Salsa and I think this scramble will be the perfect pairing!

Friday: Nacho Night! I’ll use my Instant Pot Refried Beans recipe, Kathy Hester’s Instant Pot Queso from the Ultimate Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, and all our favorite toppings!

I also have a few bananas that are getting ripe and almost perfect for Banana Bread. I usually make Blueberry Muffins while I’m at it. I’ve got a new Pampered Chef Brownie Pan that I really want to use for the muffins!

What are your favorite week night plant-based dinners? 

Instant Pot Plant-Based Meal Plan

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This weeks Instant Pot Plant-Based Meal Plan will only include our dinner plan. We just returned from a long weekend away so I don’t have anything prepped and just started working on my grocery list.

Instant Pot Plant-Based Meal Plan

We have plenty of oatmeal already and I’ve added cereal to my list. We will be keeping things super simple this week because we put our house on the market and want to keep things tidy. I won’t be cooking many elaborate meals but will use my Instant Pot to cook meals we can enjoy for lunch and dinner a couple of times.

Instant Pot Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday: Soup and Salad feature Broccoli Potato Soup. I’ve recently received several messages about this soup and people are loving it. Some people are even sharing with co-workers because they smell it and want to try it! If you don’t have an Instant Pot don’t worry, I have a stove top version too!

Tuesday: Busy Night Pasta with a side salad. This is an easy meal to dump in the Instant Pot. We have pasta often because it’s so easy but I normally cook it on the stove. This one will mean I don’t have to clean up when my pot boils over, because it always does, while I’m working on the salad.

Wednesday: Refried Beans for easy Bean Burritos! My kiddos may opt for tortilla chips instead of a tortilla but that’s ok with me. They both love beans. One prefers them whole so I may scoop out a cup for him before I mash and season these. I’ll make a big batch so we can enjoy them in meals tomorrow too!

Thursday: Lentil Tacos with leftover refried beans. Instead of tacos we may actually have Taco Salad using the lentils. I LOVE taco salad, especially when I have the taco filling and refried beans. I add tomatoes and peppers when I have them but salsa is a must!

Friday: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is one of my favorite soups! It’s a little more work than some of my other soups because of the variety of veggies that need to be chopped but you could save time by purchasing frozen veggies. I like the chopping, it’s cathartic. This Instant Pot version is just as good as the stove top version.

Of course with our house for sale and people coming to take a look, we could have to run out so who knows what our week will actually look like! Hopefully we get plenty of viewings and offers, while still enjoying healthy meals at home.

If you get my weekly plant-based tips email you may notice that it was a day late. Don’t forget to open it and checkout photos from our weekend.

Oh, and don’t forget to follow my Instant Pot board on Pinterest!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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One thing about this Plant-Based Meal Plan that you should know is that it’s not a completely accurate picture of our meals. Sure, I make a plan but we don’t always, scratch that, we never follow it with 100% accuracy. Also, it doesn’t take into account the gazillion snacks my kids eat each day.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

I don’t know if you can relate but my kids are always hungry. One kid would happily snack on fruit all day while the other isn’t interested in fruit at all. That reminds me, I bought the juiciest, sweetest, most perfect nectarines this week.

Another thing about this meal plan is that if we have leftovers, we usually eat them for the next day lunch and sometimes dinner. I will skip whatever meal I have planned if we have something else to eat. There is also those nights where we are all too tired to cook and the kids fend for themselves and have oatmeal, sandwiches or cereal.

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Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Breakfast: Banana Nut Oatmeal

Lunch: Veggie Sandwich

Dinner: Spaghetti with side salad and Oil-Free Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

Tuesday

Breakfast: Strawberry Chia Pudding

Lunch: Leftover Spaghetti

Dinner: Instant Pot Refried Beans and Mexican Rice

Wednesday

Breakfast: Cereal or smoothies

Lunch: Burritos using leftover Beans and Rice

Dinner: Chickpea and Quinoa Stir Fry

Thursday

Breakfast: Instant Pot Oatmeal with Blueberries

Lunch: Salad with leftover stir fry

Dinner: Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

Friday

Breakfast: Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: One Pot Broccoli and Rice

I’ve been making a lot of Banana Bread the last few months too! If you are looking for an amazing Banana Bread recipe you’ll want to try mine.

Most of my Instant Pot recipes also have stove top versions. I’m still working to convert some of them. If you’ve been thinking of getting an Instant Pot I highly recommend it. Now that it’s heating up in our area, my Instant Pot will be used even more so I can avoid heating up my kitchen.

Mango Salsa

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Are you looking for something that will bring the WOW back to your regular favorites? Try adding this Mango Salsa to your salads, tacos, burritos and more!

Mango Salsa

I’ve been a fan of fruit salsa’s long before I ate plant-based. There is something about the sweetness and spiciness mixed together that I find irresistible. Fruit salsas, especially Mango Salsa, will elevate your favorite recipes to a whole new level.

It’s no secret that I love salsa. I have salsa almost every day. Mexican food is my favorite and we almost always have something I can pour salsa on. In the summer when my favorite fruits are in season, I might go a little overboard with all the wonderful salsa combinations.

Mango Salsa

Today, I’m going to focus on this incredibly easy Mango Salsa recipe!

Trust me, if you bring this to a potluck or share it with friends, they will devour it and want the recipe. It doesn’t’ matter if they are plant-based, they will love it.

You can serve it on salad, my Mango Black Bean Salad is very similar to this, just add black beans and greens. In fact, I’d rather have Mango Salsa than any salad dressing!

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

If you like mango, you are going to love this super simple Mango Salsa. Feel free to change it up to suit your taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, or your favorite tomato
  • 1 Large mango, diced (approximately 1 Cup)
  • 1-2 Jalapenos, finely diced (depending your heat preference, remove the seeds for a milder heat)
  • 1/3 Cup Red Onion, diced
  • ½ Cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 Lime, juiced (1/4 Cup juice)
  • Pinch of salt

Do

  1. Dice tomatoes, place tomatoes in a medium sized bowl, then add the remaining diced ingredients and give it a gentle stir.
  2. Add the chopped cilantro, lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Mix well and serve.

This salsa is perfect immediately but it can also be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. I love it after the first day when all the flavors have gotten a chance to meld together.

You can serve this salsa with just about anything! If you need some ideas, try it with tortilla chips, Lentil Tacos, Breakfast Tacos, Taco Salad, Veggie Burger, Tofu Scramble or Southwest Tofu Scramble, or anything else you can think of.

I’d love to hear how you enjoy this Mango Salsa! Don’t forget to pin this recipe and add it to your meal plan! I’ve pinned it in my “Favorites” board.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Try adding this Mango Salsa to your salads, tacos, burritos and more!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, or your favorite tomato
  • 1 Large mango, diced (approximately 1 Cup)
  • 1-2 Jalapenos, finely diced (depending your heat preference, remove the seeds for a milder heat)
  • 1/3 Cup Red Onion, diced
  • ½ Cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 Lime, juiced (1/4 Cup juice)
  • Pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

  1. Dice tomatoes, place tomatoes in a medium sized bowl, then add the remaining diced ingredients and give it a gentle stir.
  2. Add the chopped cilantro, lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Mix well and serve.

Notes

This salsa is perfect immediately but it can also be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. I love it after the first day when all the flavors have gotten a chance to meld together.

Did you make this recipe?

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Recipes

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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This week our Plant-Based Meal Plan has a lot of our family favorites. I’m planning to use leftovers to cut down on cooking. Of course, I’ll use my Instant Pot so I can make easy meals while I’m busy.

Plant-Based Meal Plan full of our family's favorite plant-based recipes.

Now that the kids are out of school for summer break, they are having all three meals at home. I will be sharing lots of lunch ideas for kids and have already started a blog post about it. You can check out this pin for a quick and easy lunch box reference. I’m working on them being more independent so we are keeping it simple.

When they first get up they will usually make themselves something like toast, cereal or fruit. Then mid morning, I’ll make all of us a smoothie. We typically eat an early lunch or leftovers or easy meals like beans or oatmeal. Mid afternoon they are hungry again and will start looking for snacks. Sometimes it’s fruit, granola, popsicles, etc.

My husband takes his lunch and snacks to work. This week I once again made his favorite, One Pot Broccoli Rice Casserole. There are 3-4 servings in the fridge ready for him. He also takes a lot of fresh fruits and veggies to snack on.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Breakfast: Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

Lunch: Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl

Dinner: Busy Night Pasta

Tuesday

Breakfast: Banana Bread and Smoothies

Lunch: Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl

Dinner: Lentil and Rice Salad

Wednesday

Breakfast: Instant Pot Breakfast Rice

Lunch: Veggie Filled Pita with Hummus

Dinner: Easy Mexican Casserole (Instant Pot Version)

Thursday

Breakfast: Leftover Instant Pot Breakfast Rice

Lunch: Leftover Mexican Casserole

Dinner: Southwest Tofu Scramble

Friday

Breakfast: Leftover Tofu Scramble

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Enchilada Casserole

We have a few treats planned as well. Last week I made my No Bake Chocolate Bites, they are kinda like a peanut butter and chocolate oat ball. They were a big hit with my 10 year old and he isn’t very adventurous with food. I also made my Banana Bread and a new Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe that I’ll be sharing soon.

In other news, my husband and I celebrated our 14th anniversary last weekend. A lot of our friend’s kids were graduating over the last couple weeks. It reminded me that my own high school graduation was 20 years ago. Then an old friend from high school found me on social media and we’ve been catching up. So fun!

Plant-Based Eating Q&A

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Today, I held a Facebook Live to answer your questions about plant-based eating. I answered everything from questions about what I eat, what to eat if you don’t like beans or veggies and so much more.

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. All of these questions came from people who get my weekly plant-based emails. There is a sign up form at the bottom of this page.

If you sent in a question that I didn’t get to, I’ll answer it in a future video, email or blog post.