My Plant-Based Family

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

Meal Plan Monday

Meal Plan Monday: Spending Less to Eat More

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People always ask me what we eat; my answer is usually, “Real Food” or something similar depending on who is asking. I don’t have to read a long ingredient list because most of what we eat is pretty simple, but that doesn’t mean plain.  I buy whole ingredients that fit into my budget, some weeks we spend more than others and I stock up when our favorites are discounted.

This weeks meal plan will focus on low-cost, high quality meals. Depending on where you live you may not have access to the same food at the same prices. Tomorrow I’ll talk  more about eating plant-based on a budget. All of the items I talk about today are regular ingredients that we keep on hand. If you are new to plant-based eating it may cost a little more while you stock your pantry. You don’t have to do this overnight; we slowly bought new things as our budget allowed.

Nutty Apple Cinnamon oatmeal

Meal Plan

Breakfast can be the least expensive meal of the day. Oatmeal is easy to prepare, but sometimes takes a little practice. Cook your oats and add your favorite toppings. I like ground flax, chia seeds, and dried cranberries or raisins. Homemade granola is another easy option especially when paired with fruit. Baked Sweet Potatoes with a little bit of cinnamon is a sweet yet filling breakfast. Check out this post for more Breakfast Ideas.

Veggie Stuffed Pita

Lunch is a great time for a really big salad. I like spinach, tomatoes, peppers, beans, onions, carrots, and whatever other veggies I have. I prefer to eat it in a wrap with hummus. Most days we eat leftovers for lunch; including my husband who always takes his lunch. Soups are one of my favorite’s for lunch; Slow Cooker Potato Soup, Taco Soup, or Minestone help me warm up and fill me with fuel. Soups can also be taken to work in a thermos and kept warm. Baked Potatoes are also inexpensive yet filling, especially when combined with steamed or raw broccoli, raw veggies or any of the other lunch items mentioned. We do have our fair share of sandwiches (me and the kids) but they aren’t as inexpensive or nutritious.

apple slices with almond butter

Snacks are a great way to add an extra serving of fruit or veggies to your day. Sliced apples dipped in nut butter or veggies dipped in hummus are a favorite with my boys. Sometimes I make green smoothies too. If you have an early lunch and late dinner you may need a more substantial snack. Homemade granola or granola bars are much less expensive than sore brought and can be customized to your preferences.

Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole

Dinner is typically the biggest meal of the day at our house. The other meals are reactions while dinner is (usually) planned. We’ve been adding more salads to our dinner. I also try to have beans or a bean dominate dish. Beans are cheap and versatile. This Mexican Casserole has received rave reviews from adults and kids and is made with pantry staples. This Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole is also a crowd pleaser and made with fresh or frozen broccoli. Our teenage daughter requested this once a week for months. Bean Burgers, Lentil Tacos, or Quinoa Tacos are easily mixed and matched for extra meals and make a great topping on top of a Taco Salad.

You’ll notice that these recipes are gluten-free, unprocessed, inexpensive and easy. Tomorrow I’ll talk more about how to eat a plant-based diet while eating inexpensively.

What are you eating this week? Any My Plant-Based Family recipes?

Meal Plan Monday: It’s Almost Christmas

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Salad and GF Pasta

Right now I’m sitting on my couch eating chocolate chip cookies. Shh! Don’t tell anyone.

We’ve had more than our fair share of Christmas parties over the last few weeks. Our overly busy schedule has resulted in quite a bit of takeout too. Last week I failed to make a Meal Plan and we definitely paid for it.

nachos (1)

Meal Plan

Breakfast is usually oatmeal with ground flax, chia seeds, walnuts, and maple syrup. I love it! It’s my favorite breakfast right now and my boys love it too. Some mornings we have a quick bowl of cereal or toast with almond butter instead.

Lunch is usually leftovers. I typically have beans and grains already cooked and waiting in the fridge. I pair them with some veggies for an easy lunch. My husband usually has a huge salad for lunch or leftovers with a generous helping of steamed broccoli.

Snacks are usually fruit, green smoothies, and lately chips and salsa. Some friends made us a big batch of delicious homemade salsa. 🙂

Dinner will be eaten out a couple of times this week. I also plan to make Nachos one night, put that salsa to good use! I still have some leftover Chili and baked potatoes from the weekend. I’ve been craving marinara sauce so we may have gluten-free pasta, we don’t eat pasta very often so it will be a treat for the kids. I usually serve it with a giant salad. I’m considering making Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole if we start to run low on leftovers; I doubt that will happen because it’s pretty full of Mexican food leftovers from a party I co-hosted on Sunday evening. 🙂

I also hope to do a little baking this week. I bought some fresh cranberries for a loaf of cranberry bread. I may even attempt a gluten-free version. I’ve also been playing around with a new chocolate mousse recipe that I’m very excited about.

What are you eating this week? Do you find it’s more difficult to stay on track during the holidays and how so you combat the craziness?

 

 

Meal Plan Monday: Eating Well When Short on Time

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Yesterday was such a busy day I didn’t get to post my meal plan. I attended a Christmas Party with my husband at a nice Italian restaurant. They brought special food for my husband and I so we were able to enjoy salad, dinner and dessert without animal products. 🙂

We have been so busy lately that I don’t have a lot of time to cook. Honestly, I do have time (usually). I just prioritize poorly. I know you know what I’m talking about because YOU do the same thing. Go ahead and admit it.

This week I’m going to (attempt) to pay closer attention to how long it actually takes to prepare meals. I’ll report back on My Plant-Based Family’s Facebook page. A little note, if you already like my page but don’t see regular posts you may need to add it to your interest list. 🙂

Meal Plan

Breakfast is always easy; oatmeal, granola, cereal, toast with nut butter (or seed butter), and fruit. My husband usually eats fruit but he eat several pieces, he loves smoothies too. Oatmeal is my favorite right now, packed with flax and chia seeds, dried fruit and cinnamon.

Lunch is often leftovers that can be quickly assembled. This Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole is great reheated. Veggie Stuffed Pita with hummus is my favorite lunch. Sometimes my boys get a parfait for lunch. I start with 3/4 cup of non-dairy yogurt, about 1 Tbsp of chia seeds, 2ish Tbsp ground flax seeds, 1/4 cup walnuts, some granola if we have it and dried or diced fruit. Almond butter sandwiches on gluten-free bread make a regular appearance too.

Snacks are often fruit sometimes with almond butter, smoothies, or veggies with hummus. Sometimes something like chips and salsa (and guacamole) are just what I need.

Dinner Time! We eat dinner together as a family, have I mentioned that before? It’s important to us to have that time together. It doesn’t always work but it is the norm. Last night we had salad and pasta at a Christmas party. Later in the week I’ll be making dinner for another family so I plan to make the Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole and take some tortillas and guacamole. Today or tomorrow I plan to make BBQ Chickpea Salad and Three Bean Chili. We still have some cooked black-eyed peas and quinoa that are ready to eat.

To save time I plan to use my slow cooker some this week and eat more big salads; also cooking double batches of things like rice and beans to save time on other days. I’ll also use my microwave to quickly steam veggies and “bake” potatoes. I try to keep cooked beans frozen in 2 cup portions for easy meals.

What are your tips to save time in the kitchen?

Meal Plan Monday: Eat to Live

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I had a nice week off to spend with my family and friends and I hope you did too. During Thanksgiving weekend I read Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman. My husband had read/listened to it multiple times and had been trying to incorporate Dr. Fuhrman’s plan for a while. I’m sure it was difficult for him since I had not yet read the book.

Now that I have read the book I’ll be trying to incorporate it into our diet. I’m sure I wont do it perfectly, especially since we have little kids who need to eat a little differently but I can strive toward it. 🙂

If you haven’t read Eat to Live I will say that it is a must read, but you may want to spread it out and not read it all in one weekend because it is a lot to take in. I’ll share more about what I learned another day.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be a combination of oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, fruit, and smoothies. Today’s oatmeal contained oats, chia seeds, ground flax, and cranberries.

Lunches should be a big salad but I usually prefer them stuffed in a pita or leftover soup. My soups and salads will be made up of a variety of beans, celery, carrots, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. My kids will eat plenty of PB and almond butter sandwiches.

Snacks will be veggies and hummus, muffins and yogurt parfaits for the boys, smoothies, and fruit with almond butter.

Dinner will be big salads and hearty soups. I also hope to remake and post the recipe for an incredible Mexican Casserole I made a few weeks ago. It was easy and delicious. I’m not a big cauliflower fan but I’m thinking of trying cauliflower rice I’ve seen on numerous blogs. I’m also craving the flavors in my Enchilada and Taco Soups and I have a big fat avocado that is slowly ripening. I may pair it with Spicy Black Bean Soup.

Most of the meals this week will be quick since they use fresh veggies but I need to make another batch of my Veggie Broth Mix. I got dried mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes to add to the mix like Somer at Vedged Out recommended in the comments. She had made a version and added them with great results. Then Sarah at Gazing In made her version and I just had to expand my base mix and add the mushrooms and tomatoes.

I also plan to make some quinoa this week for a little whole grain variety.

Have you read Eat to Live? If so, do you follow it?

Meal Plan Monday: No Nonsense in November

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I really enjoyed October’s Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a Vegan MoFo but I admit I got a bit burned out. I wasn’t eating as well as I should to feel great. There were many days that time with my family took a back seat so I could continue blogging and fulfill my commitment of 20 posts last month. I finally came to my senses and realized time with my family was way more important than pounding out another recipe.

The Virtual Vegan Potluck was another fun event. I brought Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. They were a virtual hit; I also took them to several events where they were adored! To check out other recipes visit Vegan Bloggers Unite and make your way through appetizers, beverages, breads, salads, sides, soups, main dishes and finally desserts.

During the month’s of November and December I hope to stay family focused. I also want to focus on nourishing our bodies, not just filling them up. This takes planning; it will not happen without effort. I will still be blogging and sharing recipes so I don’t think you’ll have time to miss me. I also have my last Healthy Cravings of the year this week.

No Nonsense Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, breakfast quinoa, toast with nut butter and fruit and cereal on busy days. We also have leftover whole wheat and gluten-free pancakes.

Lunch is usually leftovers or a nice soup. Sometimes I’ll make a quick pasta for my kids or an easy almond butter sandwich.

Snacks are usually fruit or sometimes a parfait with chia “sprinkles” and walnuts. My little guys love these parfait’s. They also love green smoothies and will remain completely silent until they have consumed the whole thing… marvelous!

Dinner requires a bit more effort. I’m also prepping for Healthy Cravings so I’ll be cooking all week for that. I’m hoping to incorporate the same ingredients to make it a bit easier on me and my budget. This week I’m planning to make a Vegan Shepard’s Pie, attempt a new Mexican inspired casserole (hopefully a 1 dish meal), maybe a veggie soup and of course a full Thanksgiving Spread for Thursday’s Healthy Cravings. You can follow me on Pinterest to see what other idea’s I’m kicking around.

If you are like me and continually on a quest for more recipes (or at lease recipe inspiration) make sure you check out the Virtual Vegan Potluck you can even vote for your favorite recipe for each course by sending a message to Annie. You don’t even have to vote for me (unless you really want too) but please vote. Check out those details here.

Meal Plan Monday: A Basic Meal Plan

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Some weeks I don’t want to think too much. This is one of those weeks. I spent the weekend out of town (I had a great time) and I’m not ready for a new week. The problem is if I don’t make a meal plan we eat junk and fast food for waaaaaaaay too many meals. Also when I don’t have a plan I don’t always have all of the ingredients I need and I end up running to the store then buy everything that looks good and spend a lot of money. So this week I’m going to make a pretty basic plan based on what I have in my fridge and freezer.

Meal Plan

Breakfast is easy. The usual suspects include oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, Breakfast Rice, Toast with nut butter and fruit, baked sweet potatoes, and sometimes pancakes or a Breakfast Stir Fry. For my breakfast ideas check out this post.

Lunch is also pretty easy. We eat leftovers a lot, my husband almost always takes leftovers to work. We also eat sandwiches, baked potatoes, veggie wraps with hummus and bean and grain bowls.

Snacks are usually fruit although sometimes smoothies make an appearance too. I also like raw veggies with hummus. My sons love hummus so this is a popular snack. If I had an early lunch sometimes I’ll even have a sandwich for snack, I know I’m an animal.

Dinner is where I put most of the meal prep effort. My husband has requested rice, lentils, black-eyed peas, and quinoa so I’ll be working those in, except the black-eyed peas which I don’t care for. Those he can take to work. 🙂 I’ thinking of trying my hand at making Bean Burgers again, maybe lentil and quinoa burgers. The Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole is always a big hit. I may add some new veggies to it this week. Also Quinoa Tacos or Quinoa Taco Salads with avocados and salsa. I’ll probably end the week with a Stir Fry so I can use up any veggies that need to be used. I think this plan will adequately use the rice, lentils and quinoa my husband requested.  Getting “buy-in” from your husband is a good thing. 🙂

The good news about this meal plan is that the rice, lentils, black-eyed peas and quinoa can all be made ahead of time so you can throw everything together quickly after work. Since I was out of town this weekend I’ll do most of these one afternoon for fast and easy meals the rest of the week. I’m also hoping to do a little baking sometime this week. If I do I’ll be sure to post pictures on Facebook.

What about you? What are you eating this week?