My Plant-Based Family

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

Holly Yzquierdo

Dinner Meal Plan, the one with Hot Dogs

by Leave a Comment

This week we have a very special interruption to our Dinner Meal Plan. We have a birthday and my soon to be 6 year old has requested hot dogs. It’s a tradition for the birthday boy to choose dinner so hot dogs it will be. Last year he requested a cake with black and white stripes and Angry Birds on it. Here is a picture of the excitement!

 

birthday

The Meals

I’ve gotten away from planning every meal of the day but I’ll give you a few ideas of what we are eating. Breakfast has been Breakfast Rice, cereal and Baked Sweet Potatoes (these come out perfect in the Instant Pot) and Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats also in the Instant Pot.

Lunches are usually leftovers. I’ll admit to skipping lunch a few days a week when I’m in the office. I love what I’m doing and don’t even think about lunch until it’s almost time to leave. I pack my kids lunches and snacks every day. I just did a recap last week.

Meal Plan Monday

Dinner Meal Plan

Faux Cheezy Black Bean Quesadillas with Mexican Rice

Potato Kale Soup

Hot Dogs and Birthday Cake

Burritos with Unfried Black Beans, Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Pico de Gallo

Fiesta Pasta

I’ll save time this week by using Black Beans for 3 different dishes! I’ll cook up a large batch in my Instant Pot. If you don’t have an Instant Pot you can read my Beans Guide for soaking and cooking directions.

This meal plan is really easy because most of the recipes use similar ingredients which I usually keep on hand. The biggest deal will be making the birthday cake and reading the ingredient list on a dozen packages of hot dogs before I find the right ones. I’ll come up with some side dishes for the birthday dinner as well.

We’ve had a complete lack of Mexican Food lately so I’m making up for it this week.

This post contains affiliate links.

Oil-Free Fried Rice and Gardein

by 16 Comments

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.
Oil-Free Fried Rice

I’ve been making oil-free fried rice since before we removed meat and dairy from our diet. I’ve never been a big fan of oil and would omit it every chance I got. This is one of those recipes that I didn’t even think of sharing but after having people ask about it, I decided it was time.

Like most of my recipes, it’s also really easy.

Oil-free Vegan Fried Rice

Oil-Free Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2-3 Tbsp’s Soy Sauce, Tamari or Braggs Liquid Aminos
  • 4 cups cooked Brown Rice
  • a little water as needed

Do

  1. Heat skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water in the skillet to make sure it is hot.
  2. Once hot add the onions and garlic. Stir regularly. As the onions begin to brown (see the photo), pour a little water into the pan then give it a good stir. Continue to cook the onions repeating the step of adding water as often as necessary until the onions are translucent and soft.
  3. Add the veggies and stir them into the onions. Cover with a lid and cook until carrots are soft.
  4. Add the cooked rice and soy sauce and stir once more. Reduce the heat to low and heat until everything is warm.Oil-Free Fried Rice

Inspired by Chef. Created by You.

You can add a little more umph by adding Gardein™ to the dish! Gardein is deliciously meat-free and really convenient. I cooked the Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n in a skillet in just a few minutes. It’s so easy, you don’t even need a recipe! Cook the chick’n until it is nice and crispy. While it is cooking, defrost the sauce packet in a bowl of warm water. Once it is defrosted simply snip the corner off the sauce packet and pour it over the Crispy Chick’n. Stir it quickly so that all of the chick’n gets covered.

This was a huge treat for my 5 year old. He kept asking for more, then finally said, “Can I just have the whole bowl.”

If you want to try the Crispy Chick’n or the Sliders I made last month you can get a $1 off coupon on the Meet Chef page.

Gardein Mandarin Crispy Chick'n and Fried Rice

You can follow Gardein on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram or the Gardein website.

Gardein Mandarin Crispy Chick'n and Fried Rice

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.

Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.

Lunch Box Check In

by 6 Comments

I thought it was time I check in with a lunch box update! When school started last fall I posted lunch box recipes, tips, and even back to school meal plans, it was basically a two month event.

I’ve gotten a lot more lax about what I pack in my kids lunch boxes since then. Their lunches are always vegan and my little guy always has an allergy-friendly lunch box but I need more convenience these days. When school started our schedule was so different. I had a lot of extra time then, now I need easy items that are safe for my sons allergies.

snack and lunch

 

So Different

My 5 year old barely eats anything, he would skip lunch all together if I let him. My 4 year old eats everything. My boys are completely different with what they can (and will) eat. I’m constantly searching for things that make them both happy. I pack a minimum of 10 lunches per week (and 10 snacks per week).

The photo above is the 4 year old’s snack (on the left) and lunch (on the right). The mystery item in the lunch box is black eyed peas in case you are wondering. Everything is gluten-free!

They each get a main dish which may be half a sandwich, a rice-based casserole or sometimes a baked sweet potato. They each get fruit, typically apple slices, cuties, or blueberries depending on the season. Lastly, I like to pack something with a little crunch, this is their treat. My go-to crunchy snack has been Quaker Popped in the Apple Cinnamon flavor.

I found them in Walmart, I’ve been buying a lot of great gluten-free items there lately. I can pass them off as snack or dessert which makes my job easier.

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Walmart, AMP, and Sverve. All opinions are my own.

My Dinner Meal Plan for the week

by Leave a Comment

I didn’t get much batch cooking done this weekend so this week I’ll mostly stick to easy meals, especially the first few days of the week. Veggie Pad Thai is always a favorite at our house. It is different every time because I use whatever I have on hand. This weeks version will be especially good because I have more veggies than usual to work with.

I also have a new recipe for you. I’ve been making oil-free fried rice since before I was plant-based. I’ve made it so long didn’t even think about sharing it so this week I finally will. It’s not fancy or exotic, it’s simple and delicious.

This week our breakfasts will mostly be cereal but I just bought Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats and I have a membership to Amazon Prime
so I’ll have those in two days. I plan to try them in my Instant Pot for the first time. Yes, I get excited about this kind of stuff.

We will enjoy leftovers for lunches. My husband always takes his lunch to work and one of his co-workers was admiring it every day, so he started to share. Occasionally he takes two lunches now, one for him and one for his buddy.

With that in mind, check out my plant-based dinner meal plan for the week!

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Veggie Pad Thai

Oil-Free Fried Rice Recipe Coming Soon (I’ll try to post some teasers on Instagram tonight.)

Potato Kale Soup

White Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Homemade Pizza using a recipe from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

What are you eating this week?

This post contains affiliate links.

Potato Kale Soup

by 29 Comments

If you typically turn your nose up at kale, then this plant based potato kale soup is for you. Using frozen, chopped kale is part of the secret that makes it so good (and easy).

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting up the potatoes. I’m including instructions for making this soup on the stove, in the Crock Pot AND in the Instant Pot!

Potato Kale Soup Recipe

Simple is often the best way to go with vegan food. With only five ingredients, you can taste every flavor in this potato kale soup.

Leave the peels on the potatoes to cut down on time. Using frozen kale eliminates the need to wash and process it. And you should have veggie broth mix or bullion on hand. It truly is a simple soup to put together, yet very satisfying.

How to Make Potato Kale Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces (peeling is optional)
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 10 oz bag of frozen kale
  • 1/3 cup dry veggie broth mix (or bullion) (you can add more if needed)
  • Enough water to “just” cover everything

Note: This soup can be made on the stove, in the Crock Pot or in the Instant Pot.

Instructions

1. Place all of the veggies into the pot. Sprinkle in Dry Veggie Broth Mix or use your favorite broth or bullion.

2. Cover with water and give it a good stir.

3. Cook covered.

Stove Top version: Cook over medium heat for about 30 minute. The time will vary depending on how large the veggies are.

Crock Pot version: Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.

Instant Pot version: Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button, for 10 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the soup to natural release for another 5 minutes and the release the remainder of the pressure.

Serve

This would be great as a starter leading up to a meal but we usually just eat it on it’s own. If you are a baker I recommend making a nice crusty bread to go with it.

This may be the easiest soup you’ll ever make. There is only one measurement involved and a little cutting. Everyone in my family loved it. This is my favorite way to eat kale.

0 Reasons I bought an Instant Pot

If you aren’t sure what an Instant Pot is be sure to check out 10 Reasons I Bought an Instant Pot!

More Delicious Soups

Check out these other plant based soups packed with veggies:

Potato Kale Soup

Vegan potato kale soup

Potato Kale Soup that even people who don't like kale will love.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces (peeling is optional)
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 10 oz bag of frozen kale
  • 1/3 cup dry veggie broth mix (or bullion) (you can add more if needed)
  • Enough water to “just” cover everything

Instructions

    1. Place all of the veggies into the pot. Sprinkle in Dry Veggie Broth Mix or use your favorite broth or bullion.
    2. Cover with water and give it a good stir.
    3. Cook covered. (See Notes for variations)

Notes

  • Stove Top - Cook over medium heat for about 30 minute. The time will vary depending on how large the veggies are.
  • Crock Pot - Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.
  • Instant Pot - Press the manual or pressure cook button, for 10 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the soup to natural release for another 5 minutes and the release the remainder of the pressure.

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see it! Tag us and use #MyPlantBasedFamily!

© Holly Yzquierdo

Using Frozen Kale in Soup

This soup recipe uses frozen kale because it’s so easy to work with and it’s convenient to keep it in the freezer until you are ready to use it. I never have to worry about using it all before it goes bad. You can use fresh kale instead, simply wash and chop the fresh kale and add it to the recipe. I prefer to remove the stems before using kale. They are fibrous and harder to eat until you love them.

Meal Plan Monday is Back!

by 2 Comments

The 31 Day Plant-Based eCourse is now over, except for a few people who started late. It’s been replaced with a “self-paced” eCourse. I can now return to my normal schedule. Part of that is bringing back Meal Plan Monday!

Let’s hop to it! I’ve already did some batch cooking last night, yes during the Super Bowl. I have breakfast rice, brown rice, lentils and leftover Veggie Pad Thai to work with.

Meal Plan Monday

For breakfast I made a giant batch of Breakfast Rice (with apples and blueberries) in my Instant Pot. We will nosh on that throughout the week. Lunches will be leftovers and Bean and Grain bowls for the grown ups. I pack lunches for my kids.

Dinner Meal Plan

Leftover Veggie Pad Thai

Lentil-Quinoa Salad (made with rice instead of quinoa)

Lentil Tacos with Mexican Rice

Cheesy Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole (Crock Pot)

Minestrone Soup with a giant salad

Did you create a Meal Plan yet this week? What are you eating? 

For more inspiration check out my Meal Planning archives!