My Plant-Based Family

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Vegan Burgers

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I love a good vegan burger. What can I say, I’m girl who loves burgers and fries. Trying to find a delicious, plant-based, oil-free burger is not impossible. This whole food bean and oat burger is my favorite vegan burger of all.

Vegan Burgers

When I went plant-based in 2011, there were limited vegan burger options. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way! Several restaurants near us offer vegan options, and I can get a frozen burger I enjoy at Sprouts. But this one, it’s my favorite!

Bean and Oat Burger

This burger’s main ingredients are kidney beans and rolled oats. They make up the bulk of the burger and give it a great texture. This burger holds it’s shape very well, I’ve never had it come out crumbly. I can pile it high with toppings and it still stays together.

Vegan Burger

Seasonings and Condiments

This burger recipe uses a mix of spices and condiments to give it a great flavor. I looked back at my first Veggie Burger recipe from 2012 when I first started blogging and tried to improve on that. This recipe uses:

  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • Tamari (or Soy sauce)
  • Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard

If you aren’t a fan of one of those flavors, leave it out. I don’t feel like I can taste any of them on their own. They just make the burger taste more savory.

Burger Toppings

Of course you can add your favorite toppings to your burger. Some days I go with the classic lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard. Other days I go with avocado, tomatoes, onions and peppers. Other times I use every thing I can find!

Burger and Fries

I cook this burger in a 400 degree oven. The main reason is that I wanted to be able to cook these burgers and my oil-free potato wedges or even homemade fries at the same time. I get the potatoes in first, then make the burgers and they are ready about the same time!

Vegan Burgers

These bean and oat burgers are easy and delicious. Your family will love how versatile they are and how well they reheat.

Ingredients

  • 1 can Red Kidney Beans (15 ounce can, drained and rinsed)
  • 3/4 cups Rolled Oats
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tbsp Soy Sauce (or tamari or liquid aminos)
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Yellow Mustard
  • Burger Buns
  • Burger toppings

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Put the rolled oats in the food processor and pulse. The texture should be similar to instant oats.
  3. Add the drained kidney beans, spices and condiments. Pulse 6 or 7 times or until a coarse crumb forms. Do not over mix.
  4. Scoop out roughly 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time and form into equal sized patties. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, carefully flipping halfway through.
  6. Divide between plates and top with your favorite burger toppings.

Store leftover burgers in an air tight container in the fridge for about a week. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

Yield: 3

Vegan Burgers

Vegan Burger

These thick, hearty Vegan Burgers are oil-free and delicious. Enjoy them with your favorite burger toppings.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 can Red Kidney Beans (15 ounce can, drained and rinsed)
  • 3/4 cups Rolled Oats
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tbsp Soy Sauce (or tamari or liquid aminos)
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Yellow Mustard
  • Burger Buns

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Put the rolled oats in the food processor and pulse. The texture should be similar to instant oats.
  3. Add the drained kidney beans, spices and condiments. Pulse 6 or 7 times or until a coarse crumb forms. Do not over mix.
  4. Scoop out roughly 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time and form into equal sized patties. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, carefully flipping halfway through.
  6. Divide between plates and top with your favorite burger toppings.

Notes

This recipe makes three good sized burgers. If you want more, double the recipes. The leftover reheat well.

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Recipes

Weekly Meal Plan Membership is open!

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We just opened enrollment to our weekly Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans! Enrollment will stay open through January 10th, then close again until Spring!

weekly plant-based diet meal plans

Do you ever struggle deciding what to make for dinner?

Do you wish it were easier to get all the ingredients you needed from the store without forgetting things or overbuying items you don’t need?

Do you want to try more plant-based recipes but struggle to find easy and delicious recipes?

This membership solves all of those problems!

Each week, members get a brand new meal plan that includes:

  • Dinners for 5 days
  • A Meal Prep/Batch Plan
  • Shopping list
  • Oil-Free, Plant-Based Recipes
Learn More Now

Weekly Plant-Based Meal Plan Membership

What else do you need to know? The Batch Cooking plan includes a few things. It usually includes either a breakfast, a snack, or both. It also includes one meal, usually a soup that can be made ahead. If other meals on the dinner meal plan could benefit from some meal prep, we will include those too.

Weekly Meal Plan

Example Meal Plan

The weekly meal plans vary every week. We don’t follow a formula but we have discovered some strategies that work best for our members.

A typical week could include:

  • Hearty Veggie Soup
  • Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burrito Bowl/Salad
  • Lentil Bolognese with Pasta
  • Tostadas
  • Veggie Wraps

For this example, the batch plan/meal prep part of the meal plan would include:

  • Big Baked Oatmeal
  • Hearty Veggie Soup
  • Roasted Sweet Potatoes to be used in the Burrito Bowl/Salad
  • Hummus to use in the veggie wrap

The Big Baked Oatmeal, Hearty Veggie Soup, roasted sweet potatoes and hummus can easily be made in about an hour if you choose to make those ahead of time.

The rest of the meal plan consists of quick meals that are made in less than 30 minutes. If we have a menu item that takes an hour (or so) to make, we let you know so you can choose the best day to make that option.

The forth and fifth meals of the week are often really quick meals that can be made on the busiest days or saved for another time.

Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans

What are Members Saying?

Thank you so much for all of your hard work on these meal plans. I appreciate you making it so simple to learn how to batch cook. Thank you for occasionally doing the live cooking sessions. It really helps to see how you do things & also to hear you say “It’ll be fine”. I’m learning to be more creative about substituting when I don’t have an ingredient on hand.

Keri, Member since September 2020

I love all the meal plans, I like to know what to have for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Instead of trying to wing it and figure out what to cook on my own… I love it, they love it, my husband’s happy, my daughter’s happy. To me, it’s awesome. I love all the food. Everything is great!

Yvonne, Member since September 2020

Enrollment Ends Soon

Enrollment closes January 10th. We will open enrollment again in spring of 2021.

Sign Up Now!

Why Sign Up Now?

This weekly plant-based meal plan membership will save you time and money. You’ll know exactly what to eat for dinner, you’ll be able to prep some of the items ahead of time making week night meals quick and easy, and you won’t waste food because you’ll have a plan and purpose for everything you buy.

What do our Meal Plans look like?

This video will show you behind the scenes of what our meal plans look like. The link is set to start the video about a minute and a half into the video to save you a little time.

If you want to view a longer, in depth explanation and Q&A about the Weekly Meal Plan membership you can view it here.

If you are looking for a way to simplify eating a plant-based diet, even if you are short on time and don’t have family support, this Weekly Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans may be the solution you’ve been looking for! Sign up here!

Sign Up Now!

Oatmeal Cups

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These vegan Oatmeal Cups are beautiful and delicious. I started making these in early 2020. We were addicted and made a batch every week until it became too hot to bake here in Arizona.

Vegan Oatmeal Cups

I’ve made a lot of baked oatmeal recipes but these always seemed more festive. The combination of the dried fruit and the nuts and seeds always made them feel like a Christmas snack. I decided to wait all year to share them and now it’s time.

Most of the time I made them in my Pampered Chef brownie pan. You may have seen some Instagram stories of them. They taste just as good whether they are square or round.

Vegan Oatmeal Cups

I love that these are oil-free but taste decadent thanks to the seeds, nuts, and dried fruit. Those all help them to be really filling too! We eat them for breakfast, snack and dessert!

Another bonus to this recipe is it makes 18 oatmeal cups. Trust me, a dozen is never enough for our crew. We are also able to package some up and give them to others.

Yield: 18

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Cups

Vegan Oatmeal Cups

These plant-based Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Cups are not only delicious, they are also beautiful.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed
  • 6 Tablespoons water
  • 3/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup dried fruit (I use a cranberry, golden raisin and cherry mix)
  • 1/4 cup dried fruit (for topping)
  • 2 Tablespoon raw pepitas (divided)
  • 2 Tablespoon hemp seeds (divided)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cup plant-based milk (we use rice milk)

Instructions

  1. Make flax eggs by combining ground flax seed and water in a small bowl. Stir well then set aside.
  2. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
  3. In a big bowl, add applesauce, vanilla, salt, maple syrup, pumpkin spice seasoning together and stir well.
  4. Next, add baking soda, 1 cup of the dried fruit, have the hemp seeds and half the raw pepitas, and all the walnuts. Stir well.
  5. Add the oats, flax seed mixture, plant-based milk and stir well. I like to let this sit for 5-10 minutes so the oats absorb the liquid.
  6. Scoop the mixture into a muffin pan. My muffin pan is nonstick. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup. The muffin cups will rise slightly. If things tend to stick in your pan, use a little cooking spray.
  7. Sprinkle the remaining dried fruit and seeds on top of the muffin cup. (If you forgot and added it all inside that is ok too. You can add a little more on top if you want).
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The oatmeal cups will be golden brown.

Notes

Store muffin cups in the refrigerator in an air tight container for about a week.

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Breakfast

Substitutions

This versatile recipe works with a lot of substitutions.

  • If you don’t have applesauce you can used mashed bananas. See more tips here.
  • Can’t have nuts, you can skip them all together.
  • Can’t have seeds? The flax seeds work as a binder so you could try an egg replacer. I think it would work fine if you skipped it.
  • Can’t have oats? We are working on some variations using other grains because my husband can’t have oats.
  • Don’t have this dried fruit mix? You can use other dried fruit like raisins or dried cherries. I haven’t tried dried tropical fruit yet.
  • No maple syrup? You can use another sweetener like date paste or agave. You could also use sugar.
  • Want to use less sweetener? Go for it. The applesauce and dried fruit provide some sweetener already.
Vegan Oatmeal Cups

Our family LOVES this oatmeal cups recipe! If you make these I’d love to hear what you think!

Gift a Meal Plan Membership

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If you are looking for a plant-based gift or looking for something for your own wish list, check out the three packages we’ve made available for our Plant-Based Diet Meal Plan Membership!

Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans

We opened up enrollment to Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans last September for a week. If you’ve been kicking yourself for missing it, or have decided now is the right time to prioritize plant-based eating, you are in luck!

Between now and December 25th, you can purchase a 3 month, 6 month or 12 month membership! This membership includes plant-based meal plans delivered to your in box each week! Each meal plan includes dinner for five days, a breakfast or snack option, and a plan for items that can be batch cooked or meal prepped ahead of time.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowl

Limited Time

This option is only available for a limited time. We will open enrollment a few times per year. The next open enrollment will be in January 2021 but the price will increase. If you are interested in trying this membership at the current price, sign up before December 25th.

What Recipes are in the Meal Plan

All our recipes are whole food, plant-based, oil-free recipes. Some recipes do use salt but you can easily omit it.

Each week, our dinner meal plan usually includes a soup, a hearty salad or bowl, and a quick and easy recipe. We always include tried and true reader favorites. Our members often get a first look at new recipes too.

Each recipe offers substitution ideas if you are missing an ingredient or have food allergies. We also include suggestions to keep your meat and dairy eating family members happy.

oil-free potato wedges

How Much is the Membership

We’ve never offered membership packages like this before. During our regular enrollment, we have only offered monthly subscriptions. We know that some people may want to gift a membership so we created these three packages to fit multiple budgets.

We have three packages available! A 3 month package that is $45, a 6 month package that is $75, and a 12 month package that is $150.

What are Members Saying About the Membership

Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes and meal plans. We are enjoying them and the meal plans are helping me.

Amy, Member since September 2020

I love all the meal plans, I like to know what to have for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Instead of trying to wing it and figure out what to cook on my own… I love it, they love it, my husband’s happy, my daughter’s happy. To me, it’s awesome. I love all the food. Everything is great!

Yvonne, member since September 2020.

Giving a meal plan membership is a great way to support a loved one’s plant-based goals. Heading into the new year with a plan will give you a head start toward your plant-based goals. We will also include a PDF certificate you can print and wrap for the holidays.

Visit Plant-Based Diet Meal Plans to learn more!

Cooking and Reheating Potatoes

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We love potatoes! I’ve always loved potatoes but after transitioning to a plant-based diet, my love of potatoes has grown. Often, I’ll cook potatoes on the weekend to eat all week long. Through trial and error, I’ve discovered my favorite ways to cook and reheat potatoes.

The cooking and reheating method will vary based on the type of potato. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

I normally cook russets in my Instant Pot for “Baked” potatoes. I know they aren’t technically baked, but I don’t care. I don’t want to tie up my oven when my Instant Pot cooks potatoes so quickly and easily.

Just scrub your potatoes, I like to pierce them with a fork if I remember but I don’t usually remember. I put them on a wire rack in my Instant Pot with one cup of water. Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and set the time for 14 minutes. If you are making big potatoes then set it for 16-20 minutes. The size of the potatoes makes a big difference. Once done, let the pressure come down naturally for at least 20 minutes. I prefer to wait an hour before eating them, especially if they are really big.

If you aren’t sure how long to cook your potatoes just guess. Here is some unofficial guidance. If you can hold two potatoes in one hand then 14 minutes will work. If you can’t, then go with 16 minutes. If you are cooking a giant potato that is as big as your face, go with 20 minutes.

To store the potatoes, after they are cooled off, I’ll put them in a zip lock bag or air tight container and store them in the fridge.

Reheating Baked Potatoes

When I’m ready to use them, I usually chop them up (at least in half but often in fourth’s so they look like 4 long wedges). This works best when I have good toppings to use like chili, beans, or some other moist food. I don’t use butter or Earth Balance or vegan cheese but those may work. If I don’t have any moist toppings I will heat them in the microwave (covered) for 2 minutes, then sprinkle on Everything Bagel seasoning.

Often I’ll dice up the leftover potato and add it to a bowl of soup. I reheat in the microwave for a minute or two. Our microwave takes 2 minutes to get food really hot, especially if it’s straight out of the fridge. This is a great way to make brothy soups even more filling.

You could also reheat in the Instant Pot or oven. If reheating in the Instant Pot, you’ll want put the potatoes on the wire rack, add one cup of water, and cook for 5 minutes for big potatoes. If the potatoes are small, 3-4 minutes would work.

If you want to reheat in the oven, I recommend baking at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Fries, Baked Potato Wedges and Roasted Potatoes

We rarely reheat these because they just aren’t as good as fresh. If we do, we heat the oven to 400 degrees, cook them for 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes we will then cook them under the broiler for a few minutes. These are the hardest to reheat.

Instant Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes

We have two main ways we cook sweet potatoes. If we cook them whole it’s usually in the Instant Pot. Yes, it easy to cook them in the oven but I prefer cooking whole, baked sweet potatoes (and yams) in the Instant Pot.

To cook whole sweet potatoes (or yams) in the Instant Pot, just scrub them. Put the wire rack in the Instant Pot and place the sweet potatoes on top. Add one cup of water. Cook on Manual (new IP’s have a Pressure Cook button) for 14 minutes. If you have exceptionally large sweet potatoes you will want to add about 5 minutes to that time. Once done, let the pressure come down naturally. I like to let them sit for about an hour before eating.

Cooking sweet potatoes whole in the Instant Pot is best way to cook them when you want to make a Sweet Potato Casserole for Thanksgiving!

Once cooled, we store them in the fridge, uncovered (just on a plate or bowl with skin still on). When it’s time to reheat we cut them in half , cover them, and heat in the microwave.

Roasting Sweet Potatoes

The other way we cook them (pretty much weekly) is we peel and dice them into bite sized pieces. Then we bake them at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. We store them in an airtight container and eat them cold or microwave them for 30 seconds to a minute. We eat them as side dishes, or in salads. These reheat really well. 

New Potatoes and Yellow Potatoes

I love to cook new potatoes and yellow (gold) potatoes in the Instant Pot. These are usually small, though I have gotten a few that were really big. They cook quickly but I’ll give them a quick scrub and cook them in my Instant Pot for about 10 minutes on manual. I prefer to let them rest for at least 15 minutes but sometimes I’ll forget them for hours. Oops. They taste creamy and go with everything.

If all your potatoes are small you can cook them less but I inevitably have various sizes. Ten minutes is a good catch all.

I store them uncovered in the fridge but in a zip lock back would work too. Since they are so versatile, I’ll often throw them in soups, salads, or eat them as sides. They are perfect for a quick breakfast too.

Then I cut them in fourth’s (like long wedges) and reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Then I top them with Everything Bagel seasoning. These reheat so much better than russets. They stay moist inside and don’t need a moist topping like russets.

Sometimes I’ll cook them in my Instant Pot then make mashed potatoes by adding some rice milk and seasoning like garlic and onion powder. These are really good for a side dish reheated.

What are your favorite methods for cooking and reheating potatoes?

Plant-Based Foods to Embraced this Year

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Even though we started eating plant-based in 2011, we wanted to push ourselves to be healthier than ever this year. We found these plant-based foods to embrace this year. Some of these foods were added because we learned about their health benefits, others were added because we learned to love them and they worked well in our family’s routine.

Plant-Based Foods

This page contains affiliate links. I may make a small commission if you purchase something using my link.

I credit Dr. Bulsiewicz and Dr. Gregor for opening my eyes to to a few of these foods. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fiber Fueled, How Not to Die and How Not to Diet to anyone wanting to learn more about plant-based eating and eating for health.

Fermented Foods

This summer we bought some sauerkraut but it wasn’t anything special. After learning more about fermented foods we decided to try again and found a delicious sauerkraut that we love.

We add it to salads and soups more than anything else but that’s because we have those almost every day. You could also add it to sandwiches, wraps or veggie burgers.

We haven’t started fermenting our on food yet but I’m thinking of trying it.

Broccoli Sprouts

I plan to start growing our own sprouts soon but we’ve been buying them at our local Sprouts Market (it’s like a specialty grocery store if you aren’t familiar). We add them to salads but they are also good in sandwiches. I started by adding about a tablespoon of them to my salads and worked my way up.

We just purchased these sprouting lids and seeds so we can make our own. I think we will find a good routine so we always have some but don’t let them go to waste.

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

Oats

We have really jumped on the oats bandwagon. We make steel cut oats in the Instant Pot, and make Baked Oatmeal and Overnight Oats with rolled oats. We love the versatility of oats. We all have our favorites.

Since we make steel cut oats so often I buy them in bulk. These gluten-free steep cut oats our my favorite! I buy these rolled oats.

oil-free potato wedges

Potatoes

Potatoes aren’t new to our diet but we have embraced them more than ever. We usually make diced, roasted sweet potatoes every Sunday and eat them all week long.

They reheat well and we enjoy them as a side dish or in salads. We make a lot of fries and potatoes wedges, baked potatoes and occasionally mashed potatoes. I even bought bigger baking pans so I’d have room for more potatoes!

I have another post planned to share all the ways we reheat potatoes!

greens

Variety of Greens

We aren’t going too crazy with greens but since we eat salads most days, instead of only buying one kind of lettuce, we’ve been buying several kinds and blends. We eat more spinach, mixed greens, and I love baby lettuces.

A Soup a Week

I think it was last spring when we started incorporating a new soup every week into our meal plan. We usually rotate through the flavors. One week it may be Hearty Veggie Soup, the next week Taco Soup, the next week Chickpea Rice Soup, followed by Vegan Chili.

Each soup will make between 4-8 servings so we eat it 2-4 times. Our kids won’t even think about the spicy soups. Often we will stretch the soups even further by adding extra beans, veggies or potatoes. A toasted piece of sourdough bread is a great side.

We prefer soups without noodles or grains because they absorb all the broth. They turn into a casserole which is still good but not the same.

We love having a soup each week for a few reasons. First, we cook it once and it feeds us over and over. Second, we get a lot of variety of plants since most of our soups will have between 8-12 ingredients (veggies and spices). This helps us get closer to Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen. More plants are better! Third, most of our soups have veggies and beans so they keep us full longer.

Nuts and Seeds

For a long time, we didn’t eat many nuts or seeds. Earlier this year we added more seeds. I was blown away learning all the benefits of ground flax seed and was determined to add it to my routine.

I also love hemp seeds and raw pepitas. I would mostly add these to my oatmeal in the mornings.

Then we started buying more nuts. I know a lot of people are divided on adding nuts to a plant-based diet. Our household has excellent cholesterol and heart health so we weren’t concerned from that stand point.

We started buying different kinds of nuts and adding them to salads, eating them with fruit, baked oatmeal, etc. I noticed something, I had a lot more energy when I added just a couple of tablespoons of nuts to my day.

We already eat a lot of beans, whole grains, veggies and fruit but we are always trying to get more variety! If you are new to eating plant-based and haven’t embraced beans, whole grains and trying new fruit and veggies, I recommend you start there first.

Do you eat all of these? I wonder what my next food to embrace will be?