My Plant-Based Family

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

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The Cheapest Plant-Based Meal Plan Ever

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The Cheapest Plant-Based Meal Plan Ever

Is it too expensive to eat a Plant-Based Diet? This Meal Plan will show you exactly how cheap a Plant-Based Diet can be.

This isn’t the healthiest Meal Plan I’ve ever created; but it is a nutritious Meal Plan for those lean times when you really have to watch your budget.

I’ll assume you have some spices and other pantry staples. This Meal Plan will feed a family of 4 for less than $55 a week. Food prices vary by area but these meals use ingredients that are generally inexpensive, seasonal (for Fall) and available in most places. If someone in your family has food allergies you may need to make a few substitutions. For example, if you can’t tolerate gluten I recommend you skip the bread, pancakes and oats since the specialty (gluten-free) versions will cost more.  I have had good experiences with a gluten-free pancake mix from Walmart called Maple Grove Farms Pancake and Waffle Mix.

The Cheapest Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

If you have a wheat allergy I recommend you remove the oatmeal and pancakes from the Meal Plan and replace them with Baked Potatoes and Veggie Breakfast Stir-Frys.

  • Oatmeal with Apples
  • Oatmeal with Peanut Butter and Sliced Bananas
  • Overnight Oats
  • Breakfast Rice with Diced Apples
  • Pancakes
  • Pancakes with Peanut Butter and Bananas
  • Pancakes with Baked Apples

Lunch

Cook extra for dinner each evening so you have enough leftovers for lunch. Eating out for lunch is a big budget buster.

  • Bean and Grain Bowl
  • Baked Potatoes with Leftover Chili
  • Potato Soup with a side salad
  • Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches
  • Taco Salad
  • Bean and Rice Burritos or Bowls

Snacks

Stick with fresh fruit and veggies, processed foods are expensive. If you need a snack that is a little more filling try leftover soup or baked potato.

  • Carrot Sticks
  • Apple Slices and Peanut Butter
  • Orange Slices
  • Bake Potatoes

Dinner

These dinners are perfect for cool Fall weather. If you are missing an ingredient just substitute something else.

Here is the Free Printable Shopping List for The Cheapest Plant-Base Meal Plan Ever (Fall Edition). You may spend less than $55 if you already have some items available. I even included what I consider to be luxury items like tortillas and bread, if you omit them you could spend less than $50. I looked at store advertisements and asked around to determine prices. If something on the list is expensive fresh consider buying the frozen version. I also have some duplicate items like “frozen veggies” just to make sure you have enough available. If your family dislikes something on the list just omit it and work around it. We don’t eat a lot of oranges at our house but they are fairly inexpensive in our area now so I included them.

 

Plant-Based Tostadas

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Tostadas are a beloved Mexican dish known for their crispy tortilla base topped with layers of flavorful ingredients. While traditional tostadas often feature meat or seafood, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy this tasty treat in a plant-based form. In fact, plant-based tostadas offer a fantastic opportunity to showcase the vibrant flavors and textures of vegetables, beans, and other wholesome ingredients.

Plant-Based Tostadas are a fun and easy meal idea. Kids love tostadas and they are healthy too.

Gluten-Free, Allergy Friendly Tostadas

I rediscovered the Tostada when we learned my son had a wheat/gluten allergy. Tostadas are made with corn tortillas, so they were safe for him. Always read the ingredient label though!

Plant-based tostadas are incredibly versatile and adaptable to various dietary preferences and restrictions. Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, or following a specific eating plan, you can easily customize your tostadas to suit your needs. With a wide array of colorful vegetables, flavorful spices, and protein-rich beans at your disposal, the possibilities are endless when it comes to creating plant-based tostadas that are both satisfying and nourishing.

Customization and Variations

  • Get creative with your toppings by incorporating different vegetables, such as grilled corn, sautéed mushrooms, or roasted sweet potatoes.
  • Add protein-rich ingredients like tofu, tempeh, or seitan for added satiety and flavor.
  • Experiment with different salsas, guacamole recipes, or homemade cashew cream for a personalized touch.
Plant-Based Tostadas

We are always changing up our Plant-Based Tostadas! Sure we need a crispy tortilla and beans but sometimes we used Instant Pot Refried Beans and other times we use Refried Black Beans. Lettuce and tomatoes are usual staples but sometimes we add Pico de Gallo, when the garden is growing we will make Oven Roasted Salsa. Another fun addition is Mango Salsa!

Anything goes! Just use what you have.

Plant-Based Tostadas

Ingredients

  • Soft Corn Tortillas (or buy the crispy tostada tortillas)
  • Unfried Pinto or Unfried Black Beans (store-bought refried beans can be used but read the label)
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Dice Tomato
  • Salsa (optional)

Instructions

Step 1 – Preheat Oven

If using soft corn tortillas, preheat oven to 350° and place tortillas on cookie sheet (I use parchment paper on my cookie sheet).

Step 2 – Bake Tortillas

Bake tortillas for 15 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes until you can handle them. They may not feel crisp but they will get crispier as they cool. Leftover tortillas can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Step 3 – Add Toppings

Spread beans onto tortillas. Top with lettuce, tomato and any other toppings you prefer.

Step 4 – Serve

These are great as an afternoon snack but also good for lunch or dinner. If serving as a meal I highly recommend making Mexican Rice to go with them. Tostadas are so simple that many kids could assemble them without much help, and they would also be a fun party food.

Plant-Based Tostadas

More Easy Plant Based Meal Ideas

If you like this recipe, you’ll love these plant based meals too:

Plant-Based Tostadas

Plant-Based Tostadas

Plant-Based Tostadas are an easy and family-friendly recipe to add to your plant-based meal plan! They can be customized to meet any allergy-friendly needs too.

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

Ingredients

  • Soft Corn Tortillas (or buy the crispy tostada tortillas)
  • Oil-Free Refried Beans
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Diced Tomato
  • Salsa, peppers, your favorite toppings (optional)

Instructions

  1. If using soft corn tortillas, preheat oven to 350° and place tortillas on cookie sheet (I use parchment paper on my cookie sheet).
  2. Bake tortillas for 15 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes until you can handle them. They may not feel crisp but they will get crispier as they cool. Leftover tortillas can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
  3. Spread beans onto tortillas in a thick layer.
  4. Add lettuce, tomato, and any other topping you will enjoy.

Notes

You can use canned beans to save time. One 15 ounce can of fat free refried beans is enough for about 4 people or 8 tostadas. You may need to add some water to the canned beans to get them smooth enough to spread.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Holly Yzquierdo

Got Snacks? Try Dry Roasted Edamame

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Got Snacks?

My family of 4 eats a plant-based diet, 2 of us are also gluten-free and 1 nut and oat free. Do you realize how hard it is to find good snacks that fit the bill. I’m always looking for snacks that are easy for my 2 year old to eat and not too messy. Sometimes we end up with a variety of granola bars, cereal bars, fruit pouches, etc. but have to be careful about cross-contamination.  It’s tough.

One Snack the Whole Family Can Enjoy

When I first heard about Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame I was intrigued. We tried the Lightly Salted, Sea Salt, Spicy Wasabi and Goji Blend. They were so good! I didn’t let my 2 or 4 year old try the Spicy Wasabi but they loved the other flavors. I love them all! These are coming with us on our next road trip. We eat a lot of snacks on the road! 🙂

I even shared them with some of the attenders at Healthy Cravings and they loved them as well. The Sea Salt seemed to be the favorite among many of them. I think the Lightly Salted are my favorite. My boys had already eaten all of the Goji Blend so no one else got to taste those. I’d never had dry roasted edamame, I thought they had a nutty flavor.

I Love that these dry roasted edamame are:

  • Gluten-Free
  • Vegan
  • Non-GMO

These are delicious and perfect for those times you want a crunchy (and salty) snack.

FTC Disclaimer: I receive free product samples from Seapoint Farms. All opinions are my own and not influenced by the Seapoint Farms.

My Taste of Pritikin Experience

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Have you ever been to a health resort or spa? Last month I had the opportunity to visit Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa.

Everyone keeps asking about my trip but I’ve held off on talking about it partly because I needed time to reflect on it, partly because I was busy but also because I wanted to see how the trip would impact me in the long run.

Pritikin1

The Cook-Off

If you remember I won the trip after entering a recipe contest and creating a recipe for Cilantro-Lime Infused Quinoa with Black Beans. You can watch a short video about the contest HERE, mostly I’m just nodding in the video. 🙂 The cook-off was really a lot of fun. I was completely comfortable since I regularly cook for a crowd and regularly speak in public. Also, my dish, like most of my recipes was simple and easy to prepare. Although I didn’t win the grand prize I was happy to get the audience’s vote. Chef Anthony and the Nutritionist Kimberly Gomer voted for Toni’s Chicken Fajita dish but both said they loved mine and that it was the healthiest choice. The recipes were very similar and both used quinoa and black beans.

Chef Anthony gave me a schmancy Chef Knife too! It is shown in the video, it is much bigger than the mini-chef knife I’m used to so I was being very careful not to cut off my fingers. 🙂

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The Grounds

The Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa is part of the Trump Hotel Collection. It is currently under renovation and will be even more fabulous soon. It is right on the Blue Monster at the Doral for all of you golf enthusiasts. Our rooms were nice and very comfortable. They have a spacious gym full of workout equipment and weights. My favorite part of the property was the SPA! Oh yes, they have an incredible sauna, jacuzzi, a steam room that smelled of eucalyptus and a sensory shower. There were many more features but we were short on time. We didn’t even get to spend time in the pools or check out the hot and cold massaging hydrofalls. Pritikin also threw in a free massage which was heavenly.

pritikin5

The Classes

There are classes scheduled all day. I had hurt my back a few days before the trip so I didn’t participate in many of the exercise classes. They also had plenty of nutrition and cooking classes. I wish I would have had more time to attend all of these. We attended a Conscience Eating Luncheon with the nutritionist and realized a lot of mistakes I make while eating like multitasking, watching television and eating too quickly.

pritikin6

The Food

One of my favorite things about this trip is that I didn’t have to prepare all the food. HA! I only cooked once for the Cook-Off and I loved it but since I normally cook all of our meals I was delighted to take a few days off. While Pritikin promotes a mostly plant-based diet they also incorporate small amounts of animal protein and dairy. These were easy to avoid but I ran into a little more trouble avoiding gluten. Even when they serve meat, although only at dinner, they always have a veggie burger or veggie loaf option but they contain gluten. They would offer me something else or sometimes just ask what I would like. The service was wonderful. Breakfasts where a choice of cooked whole grains, breads, cereals and lots of beautiful fruit. The offered mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Lunch always has assorted soups, a salad bar and delicious fruit.  My favorite meal of the day was always Happy Hour. Fresh juices and some incredible food including the best asparagus I’ve ever had. If you get a chance to visit Pritikin, prioritize the Happy Hour and go or the alcohol-free mojito.

pritikin2

The People

We met some wonderful people. The other people staying at the resort were open and friendly, the staff was eager to help, Toni (the other blogger in the cook-off from Food. Just Saying’) and her husband were a lot of fun. I brought my friend Mandy who was the perfect traveling partner. We stayed up late for girl-talk and enjoyed taking in the whole experience.

The Difference

The biggest difference for my was salt. Pritikin preaches a salt-free diet. I had already been cutting back on salt but this trip acted as a salt cleanse for me. While I use small amounts of salt at home I don’t cook with it or add it to every meal. I also realized that I need to adopt a consistent workout regimen.

The Badge

Best Meatless Dish Badge

If you ever have a chance to stay at the Pritikin Longevity Center you should definitely do it. I have no doubt you will experience renewed healthy.

Meal Plan Monday: Loads of Beans

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mealplan10-14-13

Do you ever get over run with leftovers? We do! We have a lot of leftover beans from last weeks Healthy Cravings. By the way, if you are in the Mesa/Gilbert/Phoenix you should be coming to Healthy Cravings!

The first few days of the Meal Plan will focus on using up the leftover beans and leftover veggies. We didn’t even do a real grocery shop this weekend. I want to work towards an empty refrigerator this week.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

We have been relying on cereal quite a bit lately but I will not succumb to guilt. Cereal may not be the best choice but it can work for a decent breakfast. 

Lunch

I love eating leftovers for lunch because I don’t like to spend a lot of time cooking lunch. I don’t mind passive cooking like tossing things into a pan or the oven though.

Snacks

We stick to fruit and veggies for most snacks. It helps us make good choices and lower our grocery budget since we eat seasonal produce. Occasionally I’ll make something special, especially when I’m trying new recipes.

Dinner

As mentioned before we have a lot of beans that are already cooked; pinto beans, Unfried Black Beans, lentil and chickpeas. Since these are all cooked it will save me a lot of cooking time this week. I may put some of them in the freezer if it looks like we wont use them in time.

We have a lot going on this week so I fully expect us to be eating out as well. I’m hoping to avoid running to the store so I’ll swap out ingredients and work with what I have.

Do you use these Meal Plans for inspiration? I’d love to hear what you think!

Book Review and Giveaway: Oatmeal On the Go by Sarah Kirkconnell

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I love reading cookbooks! Lately I’ve been relying on ebooks to get my fix because they are usually less expensive and I always have access to my favorite recipes, especially when I’m at the store or a friend’s house.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Today you will have the chance to win a FREE copy of Oatmeal On The Go by Sarah Kirkconnell. You may already be familiar with Sarah, she is constantly creating impressive allergy-friendly and mostly plant-based recipes at her personal blog, Gazing In. You can also find her at Trail Cooking. She is also the author of Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Sarah’s newest book, Oatmeal On The Go is available in electronic format for only $3.99!

Plant-Based, Vegan and Gluten-Free

I LOVED reading a cookbook that is safe for our whole family. Sure there are some delicious recipes in this book that use nuts but we can easily substitute those.  Many “healthy” cookbooks still contain gluten which is a no-no in our house. We already buy gluten-free oats and using Sarah’s easy method’s I can prep a weeks worth of breakfast in minutes. She also includes a Freezer Bag Method, Mug Method or “Bring to Boil” Pot Method.

If you need help streamlining  you breakfast routine or even some inspiration this book is a great investment. Oatmeal On The Go includes 11 recipes and helpful tips. So whether you are a Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal fan or more of a Coconut & Blueberry Oatmeal kind of person Sarah has got you covered. I’m sure this book has a few combinations you can’t live without.

Enter the Giveaway

There are several easy ways to get extra entries, just click “a Rafflecopter giveaway” to enter. The winner will receive a FREE ebook from Sarah. This contest is NOT restricted to the US, anyone can enter. The winner will be emailed once the giveaway ends. If they don’t respond another winner will be chosen. The giveaway ends October 12th at 12 am, AZ time.

If you don’t win you can still own your own copy by visiting Sarah’s site and purchasing your own copy.

What is your favorite oatmeal combination?