My Plant-Based Family

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

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November 2, 2015 Meal Plan

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I can’t believe it is November. This year has flown by, my kids are already talking about Christmas! I’m thinking about Thanksgiving myself. (I big THANK YOU to all of you who purchased the Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cook Book already!)

I hope you survived the time change this weekend without missing anything important. Fun fact: Arizona doesn’t observe day light savings time so our time never changes. I just have to remember my family and business contacts time difference when making phone calls.

I’m also looking forward to my trip to Denver for the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference next weekend. I’ll be on a panel with Erica Dermer and Keely McGuire on Saturday morning so say a little prayer for me. In fact, I’ll be taking next week off from blogging while I get ready to travel. I’ll still be traveling the following Monday so feel free to view the meal plan archives for ideas or download the Free Meal Plan I shared a few weeks ago.

Lastly, I want to give a big shout out to Maddie and Connie! They have started making some of my recipes and their own healthy recipes. Then they text me about it. I love it! Thanks for brightening my day ladies!

November Meal Plan for a plant-based, vegan diet.

November 2, 2015 Meal Plan

Back to this week, we have a lot on the schedule. I’ll rely on my Crock Pot for easy meals and some of my favorite fast meals.

Breakfast

My kids are on an oatmeal kick. Who can blame them? We will be enjoying oatmeal most of the week and maybe some blueberry muffins later this week. I usually make steel cut oats in my Instant Pot (it’s a great price on Amazon).

Lunch

I’ll stick to leftovers for lunches but I’ve really been craving veggie sandwiches. I think I miss the fresh tomatoes that come with summer.

Dinner

What does your week look like? Do you have enough time to cook or will you be using your Crock Pot too?

This page contains affiliate links. 

Plant-Based Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is already on my mind! I know it is still October, but just barely. We’ve already made plans to host this year and we will be joined by two other families that we’ve spent most of the last 4 Thanksgivings with.

A Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cook Book contains 20 plant-based recipes that are also gluten-free and allergy-friendly. Perfect for vegetarians and vegans during the holidays.

Favorite Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes

I know some people worry and fret about what to make for Thanksgiving but I never do. I usually make the same things every year. In my mind there are six must-haves when it comes to Thanksgiving.

  • Dressing (this is similar but different that stuffing)
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Thanksgiving Gravy
  • Mashed Sweet Potatoes
  • Green Bean Casserole
  • Pumpkin Pie

I’ve been eating these things every Thanksgiving for my whole life. In 2012 I gave them a healthy makeover for a plant-based Thanksgiving that is also oil-free and gluten-free.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and “Thanksgiving food” is my favorite food. Even though we don’t live near any of our extended family when we gather with friends and enjoy these traditional Thanksgiving foods it feels like it did when I was a kid.

More Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes

I’ve gathered all of my favorite recipes and have them available in a Holiday Meal Plan and Cook Book. In addition to the six recipes mentioned above this also contains the following recipes.

  • Cranberry Sauce
  • Holiday Lentil Loaf
  • Cheezy Potatoes (Vegan Scalloped Potatoes)
  • Faux Cheese Sauce
  • Dry Veggie Broth Mix
  • Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Oil-Free Cranberry Dressing
  • Oil-Free Cranberry Salad Dressing
  • Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
  • Veggie Pot Pie (this recipe contains gluten but can be made GF using the GF Pie Crust Recipe)
  • Recipe for Easy All Purpose Sauce for Veggie Pot Pie
  • Roasted Asparagus
  • Maple Glazed Carrots
  • Gluten-Free Pie Crust
  • Apple Pie
  • Creamy Apple Pie Bars

With the exception of Veggie Pot Pie every recipe is gluten-free.

I know that choosing the recipes isn’t even the most stressful part. It’s the planning. 

The Planning Guide

The planning guide will give you several different options to get my six favorite recipes ready at the right time. For example if you need to cook everything on Thanksgiving Day it will tell you what time to start. If you can start a few days early the planning guide will tell you what to cook early and what to cook on Thanksgiving Day. It includes lots of other helpful tips too.

Shopping List

I almost forgot to mention that I include a shopping list for the first six recipes mentioned above. Basically, I assume you want to make those because they ARE Thanksgiving (to me anyway) and put them all on a well-organized shopping list. You can add additional ingredients if you are going to make more of the recipes or cross ingredients off if you are going to skip something. Easy Peasy!

When Anne got her copy she said, “Thanks for making my thanksgiving so much easier.” That is exactly the point! I want to make Thanksgiving a fun, stress free holiday that you actually enjoy!

These recipes are just limited to Thanksgiving, it’s my Christmas dinner recipe too. If we decide to make a big Easter dinner I use these recipes! I told you, this is my favorite kind of food.

Get Your Copy

I went a step further to give you two purchasing options. You can buy this on Amazon for kindle or download a PDF to print. I prefer my recipes printed out so I can make notes but I know a lot of you like to keep them on your phone or iPad. That is why I have two options.

You won’t be disappointed with this Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cook Book. It makes preparing a big holiday meal so much easier.

Purchase on Amazon for Kindle or the downloadable and printable PDF! After you’ve used this I’d really appreciate if you would leave a review on Amazon!

Attention Bloggers: If you are a blogger you can become an affiliate and earn money! Send me an email to myplantbasedfamilyATgmailDOTcom with AFFILIATE in the subject line for details! 

This page contains affiliate links.

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan Oct 26, 2015

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I’m not sure what you all love more, plant-based meal plans or free stuff but almost 300 of you have downloaded the free Cheapest Plant-Based Meal Plan (Fall Edition). A few of you even paid a little something for it so thanks for that. It’s set up so you can download it for free or pay a donation.

I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people who are so thankful because their budget is really tight right now. I’m going to write some more posts that I think will help with saving money so look for them over the next two months.

I also want to mention that you can enter a giveaway right now for the ebook Whole Food Plant Based on $5 a Day by Emma Roche or Plant Plate. In the book she creates meal plans (for 28 days) and includes shopping lists so you can eat healthy on $5 a day. The book is only $6.95.

I’m almost hesitant to even list a meal plan with such great resources listed above but I’ll relent and post a Dinner meal plan for this week.

Plant Based Meal Plan

Breakfast will be are usual which means cereal, toast, smoothies and of course oatmeal!

Lunches will be packed for the boys with sandwiches or baked potatoes as main dishes. We will also use leftovers for lunches.

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

White Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Hearty Lentil and Barley Stew (substitute rice or quinoa for barley to make it gluten-free)

Lentil Tacos with leftover Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Potato and Broccoli Soup (this post is from my 2nd week blogging many years ago, the pictures are awful but the soup was good. I think I need to repost this with an update…adding it to the list.)

Easy Mexican Casserole will be our standby recipe.

I have a question you can help with.

We are going to a pot luck on Wednesday night. I’m trying to decide what to bring. There will be 8-10 adults and 15 or so kids, all omni. What do you recommend?

Whole Food Plant Based on $5 a Day Giveaway

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If you want to be successful you need to plan.

Most people won’t succeed unless they are deliberate about their actions. The same goes for eating a plant-based diet.

That is the main reason I’m always encouraging people to make a meal plan. When you plan your meals and purchase the ingredients you set yourself up for the win. It is no longer left to chance.

Whole Food Plant Based on $5 a Day ebook is a comprehensive guide to eating nutritious and delicious plant-based meals.

My pal Emma Roche from Plant Plate recently published a new ebook called Whole Food Plant Based on $5 a Day!

This incredible ebook makes eating healthy really easy. Her goal was to make healthy eating accessible for people regardless of income or cooking ability. She not only tells you what to do but how to do it.

The book includes four weeks of meal plans (for couples or individuals) and delicious, well-written recipes. Before she even gets there she gives you valuable information about how to cook beans and rice.

Since this ebook is budget focused Emma shows how much everything costs but also includes how to save money. Part of that includes shopping tips and information about storing and reheating leftovers.

Peek Inside

All recipes are 100% vegan, made without added oils, and can be adapted for a gluten-free diet.

The four weekly meal plans include:

  • Grocery lists
  • Recipes
  • Day-by-day preparation instructions
  • Money-saving tips for the supermarket
  • Kitchen and cooking guides

Recipes include:

  • Cinnamon Crunch Granola
  • Banana Oat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce
  • Veggie-Packed Chilli & Cornbread
  • Moroccan Chickpea Stew
  • Italian Barley Bowls

plus many more!

If you are a visual learner you will love how the book is layed out. The photography is stunning and could lead to lots of healthy cravings.

You can purchase this ebook for download for only $6.95! It’s worth every penny!

I also have a chance for you to win a free digital download of this ebook!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a free copy of this book for review. I was not compensated for my opinion. 

Hangry Plant-Based Meal Plan October 19, 2015

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Last week’s meal plan was a huge hit. If you haven’t seen it yet go ahead a take a look. It’s a robust meal plan that includes a shopping list to feed a family of 4 for less than $55 a week. It’s been downloaded over 200 times in the last week.

This week I’ll be posting our regular weekly meal plan. It doesn’t include a shopping list but I may do more of those in the future.

It’s easy to make your own shopping list!

  1. Pick out the recipes you’ll use for the week.
  2. Make a master list of all the ingredients. If you use black beans in 3 recipes, tomatoes in 4 and peppers in 1, etc.  Just add up how much you need of each.
  3. Don’t forget breakfast, lunch and snacks too!

I’ve got a few other meal plans you can purchase. I created them last fall but there wasn’t enough demand to warrant that amount of work on my part.

I’ve been creating meal plans here for 4 years. You can always go back and look at the meal plan archives to get inspiration.

I encourage you to use these plans as inspiration for your week but adapt it to suit your needs. That is one of the reasons I don’t assign specific days to each meal, just a list of breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

a plant-based meal plan for fall.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Before you take a look at the actual meal plan I’ll warn you I’m really hungry as I sit here a type. You might even say I’m hangry. 

Hangry is when you are so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.

I’m not really angry but I’m distracted by my desire for food. You know how when you go grocery shopping when you are hungry how you buy too much food and usually buy things you don’t need. Something similar happens when you meal plan when you are hungry so grab a banana and proceed. 

Breakfast

I’ve been craving breakfasts that are a little more complicated lately. Maybe because it is fall. Some are still simple like oatmeal but others are best made on the weekend and reheated during the week.

  • Breakfast Tacos (I can almost taste these right now, and guess what, they aren’t just for breakfast)
  • Pancakes topped with Peanut Butter or SoyNut Butter and bananas
  • Baked Sweet Potatoes with raisins and cinnamon. This is easy in my Instant Pot.
  • Oatmeal with diced apples and cinnamon
  • Oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon

Lunch

We use leftovers for lunch most of the time but also rely on sandwiches, soups and salads. Our 1st grader gets a packed lunch everyday.

Dinner

I’m craving real, whole food! I have a lot I want to eat but will be limited by time. I’ll do my best to make what I can and I’m hoping to sneak a new recipe in this week if possible.

Can you tell I’m writing this when I’m hungry? You may be really hungry (or hangry) now too. I want to eat all of it RIGHT NOW! That is the “hangry” speaking. Maybe hungry isn’t the best word but I am irrationally hungry and I don’ have a word for that.

I’m hoping to do some baking this week too! I’ve been hearing some apple muffins calling my name.

Cheap Plant-Based Meal Plan

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My husband started teaching a new class at our church this weekend. It’s a six-week stewardship class using the book Money: God or Gift.

People come to the class for many reasons, some come because they want to learn to budget, other want to get out of debt and other want to learn to trust God in a new way, with their finances.

During the class today I started thinking about different ways to save money, actually just ways to spend less money and the grocery budget is one of the best I can think of.

Think about it for a minute, you can’t really change your mortgage/rent payment, insurance, etc. mostly stay the same. Some utilities vary by season like the electric bill or gas. The grocery bill can fluctuate based on what you choose to buy.

Get this FREE Plant-Based Meal Plan of Fall Recipes

The Cheapest Plant-Based Meal Plan

A few years ago I created a really cheap plant-based meal plan. Unlike my normal weekly meal plans this meal plan was designed for a family of four (two adult and two children) for seven days. This meal plan also includes a shopping list to feed your family for $55 or less per week!

I’ll admit that you may have to alter this meal plan a bit, especially if you have food allergies. The goal of it was to eat an inexpensively as possible, not as healthy as possible Still, I think it is a great start for anyone trying to cut your food budget.

Stretch Even Further

Prices will vary based on where you live and what stores you have available. If you are really struggling financially you can make this spread even further by getting a food box from a local food pantry.

I personally know some people who are really struggling financial and they refuse to ask for help. Let me say this very clearly. There is no shame in getting help. Most of us have donated to food drives or to charities. Everyone struggles from time to time. If you need help ask for it. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be too proud.

It has been over a year since my husband lost his job. In some ways it seems like it was only yesterday and in other ways it seems like a lifetime ago. Our life has changed a lot since then including a role reversal at home. I went to work full-time and Jim is the stay at home dad. We both have side business’ but haven’t replaced the income we lost in August of 2014.

Get the Meal Plan Free

I’m offering this meal plan for FREE. Why? Because I want to prove you don’t have to be rich to eat healthy.

The pdf includes meals planned for breakfast, lunch and dinner, links to recipes and a shopping list. It is only 5 pages (you can skip printing the cover).

All you have to do is to sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get your FREE copy.

You don’t have to be plant-based to use this meal plan. Sure, you won’t find meat or dairy but you will find filling, healthy inexpensive food. I challenge anyone trying to save money on their grocery bill to try this.

Advice Wanted

What advice do you have for someone trying to trim their budget, food or otherwise? Have you lost a job and had to get by on a lot less? Share you stories, you never know who you may encourage.