My Plant-Based Family

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

Holly Yzquierdo

Plant-Based Basics is Open

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If you are new to eating a plant-based diet or if you need a little motivation to start again, you will be happy to hear that Plant-Based Basics is open for enrollment. 

Plant-Based Basics is a course to help you transition to a plant-based diet. It’s designed for people who are new to plant-based eating. You can sign up here! 

Plant-Based Basics Plant-Based Course

What You’ll Learn

You’ll learn everything you need to know to start eating a plant-based diet. There are about 20 lessons that are delivered over a month. You’ll also get weekly plant-based meal plans that include a shopping list, and you’ll be a part of an exclusive Facebook group with a weekly Q&A. 

How Much Time Does it Take

Don’t worry if you have a busy schedule, each lesson is only about 5 minutes long. We cut to the chase! If you can find about 25 minutes a week for the lessons, you’ll learn what to eat, how to shop, time saving tips, money saving strategies and more! 

The course only last 4 weeks. That doesn’t sound like a lot of time but we will make the most of it. 

Plant-Based Basics plant-Based Course

Why Plant-Based Basics

There are a lot of doctors, dietitians, and bloggers with plant-based courses and resources. I have nothing bad to say about any of them. What makes Plant-Based Basics different is that we are regular people who went plant-based for health. We both work full time, we have kids that keep us busy, and have to figure out how to make plant-based eating a priority with limited time and resources. 

Course enrollment is only open until January 4, 2020. That means we will have a small community going through the course together. If you have questions or need someone to bounce ideas off, we’re here for you.

What’s Changed

Plant-Based Basics has recently undergone an overhaul! We kept our favorite parts, updated lessons that were out of date, and threw out some that weren’t really relevant. We have completely new Plant-Based Meal Plans with recipes that I’ve never shared publicly. 

Plant-Based Basics has it’s own site! You can log in from your computer, tablet or smart phone to view lessons, download PDFs, or listen to audio of the lessons.  

Sign up at Plant-Based Basics!

The Best Plant-Based Cookbooks

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If you are new to eating a plant-based diet or just looking for some new recipes, a new plant-based cookbook may be a good thing to add to your wish list! Today, I’m going to share a list of the Best Plant-Based Cookbooks! Ok, it’s totally my opinion but these are the books I have on my shelf or hope to add soon!

Best Plant-Based Cookbooks

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The Best Plant-Based Cookbooks

I believe this list of plant-based cookbooks has something for everyone! Most of the authors mentioned have websites where you can do a little research to see if the recipes are your style before purchasing. 

Budget-Friendly Recipes

I’ve always been a fan of Toni Okamoto! I’m pretty sure we would get along great if we ever met in real life and we would definitely enjoy the same foods. I love how she makes plant-based eating attainable for people on a budget. Eating plant-based does not have to be expensive and Toni proves that and gives you quick recipes to help you get going.

If easy and budget friendly plant-based recipes are what you are looking for, try Plant-Based on a Budget. 

Family-Friendly Recipes

Are you looking for recipes your whole family will eat? Then look no further than The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook. Jenn Sebestyen knows how to make delicious plant-based meals that her family love! I’ve been a fan of Jenn for years and know you will be too! 

Instant Pot Recipes

 

I have recommended this book many times and will continue to do so. If you are looking for plant-based recipes for your Instant Pot then buy The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for your Instant Pot! Kathy Hester is a genius! Her vegan queso is life changing and the recipe is in this book!

Plant-Based Newbies

 

I don’t know as much about Gabriel Miller’s new cookbook, the Plant-Based Diet for Beginners, but I’ve seen a lot of excitement about it, and well, it’s contagious! This book is SOS free (salt, oil and sugar free) for people who are avoiding those. I think this book would be helpful to anyone new to plant-based eating but especially young men who could benefit from a former athletes perspective.

 The Most Flavorful

If I had to choose one word to describe Vegan Richa’s Everyday Kitchen it would be FLAVOR! Richa Hingle is known for her amazing recipes and flavors from all over the world. She is passionate about making vegan recipes easy and delicious but admits that many recipes have a long list of spices to create that amazing flavor. Richa provides plenty of substitutions for allergy or dietary needs, FYI some recipes do include oil.

Air Fryer Recipes

I purchased the Vegan Air Fryer by JL Fields in 2017! I really wanted to tackle foods like crispy french fries without the oil! If you have an air fryer and are wondering what to do with it, get JL’s book. 

The Most Variety

 

No list of plant-based cookbooks is complete without mentioning The Forks Over Knives Cookbook written by Del Sroufe. I bought this book in 2012, about a year after I went plant-based. It’s the ultimate plant-based cookbook with over 300 recipes. There is a lot of variety in this book and something for everyone. 

There is no way I could include every book in this list! There are so many good ones! I hope this list has something for everyone! 

If you have a favorite plant-based cookbook, let me know! Maybe I’ll add it to the list!

If you are looking for more book recommendations, check out my list of my The Best Plant-Based Diet Books. 

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Our plant-based meal plan is full of easy recipes your family will love! I’ll be using my Instant Pot when I can but I also have a skillet meal, a hearty salad that is perfect for winter and a casserole on the menu for this week. 

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Plant-Based Meal Plan

This week is full of school, work, appointments and hopefully some fun! Having our meal plan ready allows us to plan ahead. If we need to skip some of the planned meals, I know which ones can wait and which ones provide enough leftovers for the next night. 

I’m thinking of making this Spiced Apple Cider soon. I may wait until we start our Christmas decorating. I know, we are behind but we attended a Christmas party over the weekend and have another one planned for next weekend. 

Plant-Based Breakfast

Last week we had Instant Pot Breakfast Rice as our main breakfast. This week, we have gluten-free Blueberry Muffins. I used a one-to-one gluten-free flour blend and my regular Blueberry Muffin recipe.

One of my sons is a big coconut fan! I think the Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding will be a big hit! 

Plant-Based Lunch

As usual, we have a few meals cooked on the weekends to eat for lunches during the week. At my husbands request, we have One Pot Broccoli Rice Casserole. He loves it. I just had to reorder my nutritional yeast (I get the big bag) so I will have enough to make it again next week.

We also made a batch of pasta. Just noodles and sauce or an easy lunch. We can easily add some veggies too. We will also eat dinner leftovers for lunch. This week’s dinners are all good leftovers. 

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is one of my favorite soups! We use Banza Pasta to make it gluten-free. 

Tuesday: Quick and Easy Veggie Pad Thai is perfect for busy nights. It also makes delicious leftovers. 

Wednesday: I love my Mexican Casserole but I make a similar dish that is quicker! I think you’ll love my Mexican Quinoa! Let me know if you’d like me to share the recipe soon!

Thursday: Quinoa (or Rice) Lentil Salad is a hearty salad that works as a whole meal. It’s perfect for meal prep because you can cook your grains and lentils ahead, then throw everything together. I like to heat up the grains and lentils and mix them with cold veggies! 

Friday: Enchilada Casserole is a great dish to feed a crowed. My husband loves it! It will make great leftovers too.

What are you eating this week? Are you planning to use your Instant Pot?

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Can you believe there is only one month left of this year? Soon, your evenings will be full of holiday parties and events. You’ll probably find yourself eating out more than you should. It’s a good idea to create a plant-based meal plan so that you plan to stay on track!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

This time of year, many of us tend to over indulge in treats. I’ve been pulling one of my kid-friendly strategies to make sure all of us eat more veggies. As much as 30 minutes before dinner, I’ll chop up some veggies and set out a dip. You’d be surprised how many people come to the kitchen once they smell food. When they see veggies and dip on the counter they don’t even think about having a little snack, they dig in!

Veggies and Hummus

The key is having veggies they like. We tend to have carrots, broccoli, and cucumbers as our main three. Depending on what else we have, we may add celery, tomatoes, mushrooms and more! You can see all of my favorite dips and dressings and choose one your family will love.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

We knew we wanted to have easy breakfasts and lunches ready so we made both over the weekend! We made a big batch of Instant Pot Breakfast Rice! It’s so nice to have on cool mornings and a great change from our typical oatmeal. 

Since we are having rice for breakfast we decided not to make the One Pot Broccoli and Rice this week. Instead we made a big pot of Hearty Veggie Soup! We love this soup! I’ve heard from some many of you who love it too!

Plant-Based Breakfast

As mentioned we have Instant Pot Breakfast Rice ready to go. This time I added some pumpkin pie spice for a little different twist. 

I have some bananas that are almost perfect for being made into Banana Bread! I plan to make them into muffins instead of a loaf for easy on the go breakfasts and snacks.

Plant-Based Lunch

In addition to the Hearty Veggie Soup, we will enjoy other leftovers from dinner. We will probably have plenty of leftover beans and goulash this week that will make for delicious lunches!

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Chickpea Noodle Soup is a quick and easy soup if you use canned chickpeas. Pick your favorite type of pasta, long spaghetti noodles or short macaroni noodles all work well.

Tuesday: Bean Burritos are something the whole family enjoys. Thankfully making Instant Pot Refried Beans is easy-peasy! Plus, we love leftover beans for Plant-Based Nachos or Tostadas.

Wednesday: Plant-Based Goulash is perfect this time of year. I’ll probably make it in my Instant Pot but I have a stove top version too. This hearty meal makes great leftovers too.

Thursday: Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry is great with rice but I may sub some Asian noodles instead! 

Friday: Baked Potatoes and steamed veggies topped with Brown Gravy is 100% comfort food. I cook my potatoes in the Instant Pot so it’s super easy. 

What are you eating this week? Follow my Instagram Stories and I’ll show you what we are eating this week!

Chocolate Banana Bread

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For years I’ve been using the same recipe for banana bread! We love it! The only change we ever made was to add chocolate chips! I love it with chocolate chips but my husband prefers it plain. One of my sons has a sweet tooth like me so we doubled down and made Double Chocolate Banana Bread! 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This recipe is just as easy at the original, it only has two extra ingredients, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I should probably mention straight away that I always use dairy-free chocolate chips. Enjoy Life Foods are my favorite because they are allergy-friendly and come in different varieties from mini chips, chocolate chunks, and dark chocolate.

You can use whichever brand you love!

Chocolate Banana Bread

This Double Chocolate Banana Bread is perfect for chocolate lovers! It’s oil-free except for whatever oil could be in the chocolate chips. I’ll admit, chocolate chips are not a health food. We don’t have them all the time but they really elevate and add a decadent flare to oil-free desserts.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.
  3. Add the bananas, plant milk and vanilla then mix well.
  4. Add baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix again.
  5. Add half the optional nuts and chocolate chips into the batter. 
  6. Pour into a sprayed loaf pan. Then top with the remaining nuts and chocolate chips.
  7. Cook for 40 minutes, then test every 10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 
  8. Remove from pan once cool.

I enjoy this Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe with a glass of rice milk. 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 12 slices

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This decadent Double Chocolate Banana Bread is perfect for parties or potlucks! The chocolate lovers in your house will love this plant-based recipe.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar or raw sugar (I’ve used agave with a good result also)
  • 3 extra ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 Tbsp plant milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips 
  • 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup turbinado sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.
  3. Add the bananas, plant milk and vanilla then mix well.
  4. Add baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour. Mix again.
  5. Add half the optional nuts and chocolate chips into the batter. 
  6. Pour into a sprayed loaf pan. Then top with the remaining nuts and chocolate chips.
  7. Cook for 40 minutes, then test every 10 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 
  8. Remove from pan once cool.

Did you make this recipe?

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Dessert

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I’ve been sick but I’m finally getting better. This week’s Plant-Based Meal Plan includes our new favorite soup, pasta, and a new recipe!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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My husband and I worked together to get some meals ready for the week! We made his favorite One Pot Broccoli Rice Casserole that he takes every day to work for lunch. A couple of his coworkers have sampled it and love it too. 

Next week is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and I have family coming to visit so I won’t be sharing a meal plan. If you’ve signed up for my weekly emails, you’ll find out my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Plant-Based Breakfast

In addition to our favorite Instant Pot Oatmeal, Breakfast Cookies are planned for this week. We also have cuties, blueberries, strawberries, apples and bananas to go with our breakfasts.

Plant-Based Lunch

My newest recipe, my Hearty Veggie Soup will make up most of my lunches! I love this soup and I’ve had a lot of good feedback that many of you love it too! One lady told me it was her first plant-based meal! Over the weekend, I made it in the Instant Pot! I’ll update the recipe soon with Instant Pot instructions but if you can’t wait, just dump it all in the Instant Pot and cook it for 5 minutes. It will take a long time to come up to pressure and then come down after it’s done cooking, but it’ll be worth it. 

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Green Chili, Cilantro and Lime Soup is so good! My kids don’t like it, they think it’s spicy, but I love it. It’s more of a grown up meal, more for us!

Tuesday: Pizza Pasta, raw veggies, homemade oil-free hummus, and some kind of bread. We’ve been loving Banza Pasta lately! It’s gluten-free and made from chickpeas! 

Wednesday: Texas-Style Chili and Baked Potatoes are perfect for fall. We are expecting a rainy day so this will be perfect.

Thursday: Lentil Tacos with Instant Pot Refried Beans and Mexican Rice will be a little more work than I like to do mid week but it will be worth it. Tacos are always worth it!

Friday: Leftover taco night!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This week I plan to share a new take on an old family recipe! I’ve made it before but never shared the recipe because it seemed more festive to share during the holidays. Stay tuned for my Double Chocolate Banana Bread! Perfect for potlucks and gift giving!