My Plant-Based Family

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Meal Plan Monday

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Soup Week went over pretty well at my house last week, the Minestrone Soup was definitely the best. My husband wants me to make it again this week but I think I’ll have to pass as I’ve had enough soup for a few days. I was eating leftover soup for breakfast, which was delicious by the way. I may start a new trend in breakfast; but now I’m ready to sink my teeth into some heartier fare.

Minestrone Soup

Last week I mentioned that I was excluding rice and all rice products from our Menu Plan to see if my 1 year old’s eczema would clear up. I’m happy to say this his eczema has been much clearer this week. A really weird thing happened on Sunday night. I noticed he was having a reaction after eating peas. He regularly eat’s peas so I’m not sure what the problem is. Typically I just feed him peas from a can but this time I fed him peas that came in a plastic “to go” type of package. The ingredients on the package just say “peas, water, salt” so I wonder if it could be the packaging.

I will continue to keeping rice out of our diet this week and also peas. After his skin clears up again I’ll attempt to feed him the peas.

This week’s Meal Plan

Breakfast will be pancakes, cereal or toast with a nut butter and fruit.

Snack will be fresh fruit, smoothies, or raw veggies with Jalapeno hummus. Our humongous Costco sized container of hummus is almost gone so this will be disappearing this week.

Lunch is typically leftovers or sometimes a sandwich or a wrap. This week I have baked potatoes that I like to top with chili.

Black Bean Burgers

Dinner

Monday: Eggplant Italian Bake (notice the ambiguity, I have no idea what I’m making yet, just that is will have eggplant. Yeah, that is how I roll.)

Tuesday: Pasta with Vegan Alfredo Sauce and veggies, likely asparagus and broccoli

Wednesday: Veggie Pot Pie, I’m hoping for a flaky biscuit like crust.

Thursday:Black Bean Burgers with Mashed Potatoes (these have gotten bumped the last two times I’ve planned them so we will see)

Friday: I have no idea, but probably leftovers, maybe I’ll make the Minestrone Soup after all. 

Have you planned your menu for the week?

My Weight Loss Story: A Health Revival

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I’ve never been overweight, I’m closer to average. I know I weighed more than I needed to but I felt pretty comfortable with the way I looked. I wasn’t planning on strutting my stuff in a bikini anytime soon but whatever. My normal was about 150 lbs and I was (mostly) OK with that. 

Pre-Plant-Based Diet with my amazing Husband

I had a baby in 2009 and lost all of the baby weight within 6 months. In 2010 I decided to work out, get in shape and lose a little weight. I worked out hard for a few months and only gained weight. I started trying to eat “healthy” along with working out and finally lost a few pounds just in time for vacation. Two months later I found out I was 10 weeks pregnant. I should have known. I lost weight when I got pregnant with my first son too. I gained about 25 to 30 pounds with this pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby boy in January.

I was plagued with bladder problems throughout the year; repeated UTI’s and bladder spasms were making leaving the house next to impossible. After a ton of doctors appointments, invasive testing, and mucho frustration I’d had enough. In an act of desperation I sent an email out to about a dozen of my friends telling them about my symptoms, a possible interstitial cystitis diagnosis, and all of the fear and isolation I was feeling. I pleaded for any help anyone could give me and for all of the prayer they could muster.

One friend put me in touch with a family member who had similar symptoms. My long conversations with her gave me hope and pointed me in the direction of Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy.

Another friend introduced me to her mother, Eileen, who is a Whole Food Educator. We communicated primarily through email with a few phone calls. I had to fill out a ton of paperwork and a food diary so she could get a full picture of my health and life style. Eileen started me on a path of Dietary Excellence™ in October of 2011. She also recommended some products to help resolve the chronic infections and improve my digestion. She had faith that I would be symptom free by Christmas. I prayed, I hoped, I made the change.

I watched Forks Over Knives and was encouraged that this would not only help my bladder problems but prevent diseases for the rest of my life. My husband got on board almost immediately and experienced great health benefits as well. He has also lost quite a bit of weight, but I’ll share about that another time.

As I followed this new path I noticed changes right away. Aches and pains that had become an everyday occurrence were gone. I felt more clarity, kind of like the Claritn commercials. Also, weight was almost falling off. I lost 16 pounds in the first 6 weeks. Most of that was in the first two weeks. Even after I stopped losing pounds my shape was definitely improving. 

I had some bladder flare up’s during the first few months and some infections that just didn’t want to clear up. I got discouraged on more than a few occasions but Eileen was there to encourage me. I was a believer in the plant-based diet. By Christmas I was symptom free. Praise the Lord!!!

We had family visiting during Christmas 2011 so we got a little off track, but not much. We decided to participate in the Physicians  Committee for Responsible Medicine‘s 21 Day Vegan Kickstart. This was the first time we were eating completely vegan as a household. I loved it and I felt great. I was creating delicious recipes every week, with a few duds now and then. I lost another 3.5 pounds bringing the total to 19.5 pounds, I started in a size 14 and now I’m in a size 6!!!

Christmas 2011 with my oldest son 

Suddenly all I could talk about was our plant-based diet. A lot of people were interested. I decided to blog about this journey, what works for us and what doesn’t. I found myself helping friends and encouraging them. 

Eileen has given me permission to share her email address. If you are interested in contacting Eileen she can be reached at ek@havelifelongwellbeing.com. You can also check out her website for more information.

Do you have an encouraging story you’d like to share? Leave a comment with your story or a link to your blog, let us encourage one another.

Minestrone Soup

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One of the best and easiest soups I’ve had since adopting a plant-based diet is Minestrone Soup.

One of the great things about making plant-based Minestrone Soup is that you don’t really have to make all that many changes from your typical recipe.  Plus, you can easily adapt it based on what you have on hand.

I like to use my Dry Veggie Broth Mix in this recipe. If you haven’t tried the broth mix yet you are missing out!

Minestrone Soup is the perfect year round soup. It's meatless, vegan and gluten-free when using GF noodles.

Minestrone Soup

Is perfect for for serving when you are having company. It’s a healthy soup, it’s a comforting soup but it also has an elegant flavor profile that will impress your guests. I recommend you serve it with a simple salad. I’ve served it with a pasta and marinara when I had a crowd to feed.

We make this regularly and take it for lunch the next day. I dare say, it might even taste better the next day.

Minestrone Soup is plant-based, easy to make and delicious.

You could used canned or frozen veggies to save time. 

How to Make Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 4 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 8-10 cups water + Broth Mix or Bouillon (Increase water and mix as needed)
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1½ cups cooked green beans
  • 1½ cups cooked white beans ( or 1 15 oz. can)
  • 1½ cups cooked red beans (or 1 15 oz. can)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 4 cups gluten-free noodles

Instructions

Step 1 – Saute

In a big pot, add onions, celery and carrots. Saute them until they start to brown and the onions get translucent.

Step 2 – Add Water and Beans

Now add water, bouillon, diced tomatoes, beans and green beans. Add only as much water as needed.

Step 3 – Season

Next, add dried oregano and garlic powder.

Step 4 – Simmer

Simmer until all veggies are soft.

Step 5 – Add Spinach and Noodles

About 20 minutes before serving, add spinach and noodles. (I’ll sometimes cook noodles separately since some gluten-free noodles are fragile.

Step 6 – Cook Noodles

Cook until noodles are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is the perfect year round soup. It's meatless, vegan and gluten-free when using GF noodles.

Minestrone Soup is plant-based, easy to make and packed full of nutrients.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 4 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 8-10 cups water + Broth Mix or Bouillon (Increase water and mix as needed)
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1½ cups cooked green beans
  • 1½ cups cooked white beans ( or 1 15 oz. can)
  • 1½ cups cooked red beans (or 1 15 oz. can)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 4 cups gluten-free noodles

Instructions

  1. In a big pot, add onions, celery and carrots. Saute them until they start to brown and the onions get translucent.
  2. Add water, bouillon, diced tomatoes, beans, and green beans. Add only as much water as needed.
  3. Add dried oregano and garlic powder.
  4. Simmer until all veggies are soft.
  5. About 20 minutes before serving add spinach and noodles. (I'll sometimes cook noodles separately since some GF noodles are fragile.)
  6. Cook until noodles are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Notes

Use frozen or canned veggies to save time.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Heather Mayes

Pin this recipe now so you don’t lose it! The check out my other delicious soups!

How To Get It Done

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I’m very fortunate and thankful to be a stay-at-home-mom. I love being home with my kids. Occasionally I miss the working world, usually it is when my kids are driving me crazy. My boys do keep me busy during the day, I can’t just stand in the kitchen for hours at a time.

Using this weeks Meal Plan I’m going to give you examples of how I prepare our dinners. I’ll give you a day by day run down of what I’ve done and how it works for us. We primarily use dried beans and grains. If that doesn’t work for you feel free to use canned beans. Dried beans are less expensive so I prefer them. I do keep canned beans in the pantry for those days I don’t plan ahead. Sometimes I do all of the soaking and cooking on the weekend; that approach may work better if you work full time during the week.

Saturday: I put about 3 cups of rinsed quinoa in 6 cups of water to soak over night. You do not have to soak your quinoa but we prefer it this way.  If you don’t know how to cook quinoa check out this link from The Kitchn.

Sunday: I rinsed the quinoa, again you don’t have to do this step but I prefer it this way. I put it in a sauce pan and with new water and cooked it for about 15 minutes. Once it cooled we put some away for my husband to take to work and the rest is stored for meals throughout the week.

On Sunday night I rinsed 2 cups of white beans and 2 cups of red beans and left them both to soak in 4 cups of water each.

Monday: I cooked both set’s of beans in the morning. It will be hard to resist those come lunch time. They could be combined and cooked in a slow cooker as well. This evening I’ll throw the red and white beans into a large pot with all of the other ingredients for Minestrone Soup. While I’m cutting veggies for this soup I may cut extra for tomorrow nights soup as well.

Tuesday: Cook Potato and Broccoli Soup, this could be done in a slow cooker before you left for work. No prep work unless I want to cut veggies for tomorrow nights meal.

Wednesday: I’ll cook a Veggie Noodle Soup. While it is cooking I will rinse black beans and soak them in water over night.

Thursday: I’ll soak beans to use in Friday night’s Chili. I may have enough leftover beans and not need to cook any new beans.

Friday: I’ll cook Chili. Depending on our leftover situation I may start something new soaking. I try to use up all our leftovers over the weekend so I can shop for groceries and plan a new week of meals.

This works for us but may not work for you. Some nights we just grab bean burritos from a drive thou or eat a PB&J.

If you’ve planned your meals for this week try thinking ahead. What can you do now to save time later?

 

Gratituesday: Being a SAHM

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Yes, I’m a Stay-At-Home-Mom. I wear this badge proudly. I’m very fortunate that my husband is able to provide for us so that I can stay home during the day with my boys. 

My boys are crazy and learn new things everyday. I’m so glad that I get to be here with them instead of missing all of these milestones. There may come a time in our life where I go back to the workforce, maybe I’ll need to put my kids in daycare and that would be OK. For now I’m thankful for this season! 

My boys have been awake for 2 hours. We’ve already survived 1 tantrum, 1 locking him self in the pantry, 2 wardrobe changes and 1 bad idea, my son thought he could out run Momma. OK most of that was from the oldest who is almost 3 years old. He will be swinging from the curtains like Tarzan soon.

What are you thankful for today?

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Meal Plan Monday: Soup Week

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Potato Soup

My household is a little under the weather this week. I want to pack as much wholesome nutrition into our meals as I can, hopefully we will recover quickly. With that in mind, I have proclaimed that this is Soup Week. And no, it has nothing to do with the Super Bowl.

For the next few weeks I will not have any rice or rice products (rice milk, rice noodles, etc.) in the Meal Plan. My 1 year old has eczema. It has gotten much better since I removed dairy from my diet (he is still nursing). Sometimes I notice reactions to rice products so I’ve decided to eliminate all rice for a few weeks to see if his eczema gets better. Instead of rice I’ll be adding plenty of other grains like quinoa, millet, and maybe even amaranth. 

This week’s Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal or toast with a nut butter and fruit.

Snack will be fresh fruit, smoothies, or raw veggies with Jalapeno hummus.

Lunch is typically leftovers or sometimes a sandwich or a wrap. My favorite lunch is throwing together leftover grains, beans, and seasonings or salsa.

Dinner

Monday: Minestrone Soup

Tuesday: Potato and Broccoli Soup

Wednesday: Veggie Noodle Soup

Thursday: Black Bean Soup

Friday: Chili

The Best Chili Ever

Last week was much less hectic since I had a meal plan, click here to see it. I had already done the shopping and planning, there was no reason to dread the question, “what’s for dinner.” I didn’t stick to it the plan perfectly but I didn’t plan to. On Thursday night we ended up having bean burritos instead of the black bean burgers. We went out to eat on Friday so there was no planning involved.

Have you planned your menu for the week?