My Plant-Based Family

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

Meal Plans 2014

Meal Plan Monday: Halloween Week

by 3 Comments

Don’t let the title fool you. I don’t really get into Halloween. I won’t be dressing up or decorating my yard. I will spend a few hours passing out candy and visiting with our neighbors. You see, in our neighborhood Halloween is the one night a year all of our neighbors get together and catch up. We all sit outside in our driveways and pass out candy. It’s a lot of fun.

Since it’s Halloween week I may bake a few treats but I have even more treats in store for my readers including a giveaway and a surprise new program. I’m extremely excited about both.

Plant-Based Meal Plan Hallloween

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

I just can’t get enough apples. We eat them all year but they taste best in the fall.

Lunch

My youngest son and I usually eat leftovers or something quick. I pack a lunch for my 5 year old to eat at school.

  • Baked Potatoes
  • Pasta and a simple sauce
  • Chickpea Salad and raw veggies
  • Veggie Soup and salad
  • Leftover Chili

Dinner

My husband has requested 3 things this week (the first 3 on the dinner menu). He doesn’t ask for much so I usually try to accommodate his request.

If you have food allergies you may have heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project. It was started by the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee (FACET) a few years ago. Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) spread the word this year. Read more about it here.

What are you plans for Halloween? Do you throw a party, hand out candy or turn off your lights and hide inside your house?

If I lived somewhere colder I’m sure we’d have a different tradition. I’d love to hear about yours.

This page contains affiliate links.

Meal Plan Monday: Family Favorites and Leftovers

by 2 Comments

Are you struggling to consistently eat a healthy, plant-based diet? If so a meal plan is exactly what you need. Even if you aren’t struggling a meal plan can help save you time and money.

I share a Meal Plan almost every week. Hopefully it will provide you with a little inspiration. Once you find a few family favorites it becomes much easier.

This week in the My Plant-Based Family Facebook Group several of us were discussing this White Bean Green Chili Dip. I’ve decided I must make it (and you probably should too). Here is a tip, you can make this dip instead of the sauce for the White Enchiladas. So Good!

We also have a lot of soup leftover. I hosted Healthy Cravings last week and several people were sick and had to cancel at the last-minute so I bought and cooked way too much food. We have leftover Taco Soup and Broccoli Potato Soup so this week I won’t have to cook too many meals.

Plant-Based Allergy-Friendly Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

I’m planning to use my Crock Pot for a few breakfast meals this week.

  • Crock Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes
  • Crock Pot Breakfast Hash
  • Crock Pot Multi-Grain Breakfast with diced apples
  • Cereal

Lunch

I will rely heavily on leftovers for lunch while my kids and husband primarily pack their lunches.

Dinner

This plan may change as our week goes on but each of these recipes are favorites so I don’t think I’ll have too much push back.

Are you ready for the week? If not grab another cup of coffee and do your best!

Fall-Stoneware-Giveaway

Don’t forget to enter the Le Creuset Giveaway! We’ve had a lot of entries but you could be the winner!

Meal Plan Monday: Back to Routine

by Leave a Comment

Fall Break is over and we are getting back to our normal routine. We didn’t do anything really impressive but my kids got to build a lot of forts, eat So Delicious Frozen Treats, and play with friends.

You can see some of the pictures here!
I had a fun opportunity to provide some treats at Keystone Natural Family Medicine‘s Open House. They enjoyed my Taco Muffins, Spinach Artichoke Dip and Roasted Red Pepper Dip with Luke’s Organic Crackers along with my Gluten-Free Brownies.

This week is Healthy Cravings. Healthy Cravings is a plant-based support group that is allergy-friendly. If you live in the Phoenix area and want more information send me an email. Many of the people who come are not plant-based but they enjoy learning about healthier choices and socializing over delicious eats.

Meal Plan Monday Plant-based, Vegan, gluten-free

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

Since Fall Break is over and we have a pretty full week we will be eating a lot of cereal for breakfast. Unfortunately, my kids are getting a little burned out on cereal so I may need to come up with something a little more creative.

Lunch

I’m back to packing lunch for on of my sons so it’s usually just lunch for my youngest and I. We like to eat soups, sandwiches, potatoes and sometimes GF pasta for lunch. I made a new soup this last week and he told me he only wants soup with broccoli.

Dinner

I’m planning to use my Crock Pot when I can this week. That means soups and casseroles for me balanced with a few quick cooking stove top meals.

  • Veggie Pad Thai (my husband has formally requested that I made this once a week)
  • Chickpea Noodle Soup in the Crock Pot
  • White Enchiladas If you haven’t tried these yet you should. They aren’t a quick as most of my meals but they are worth it.
  • Food for Healthy Cravings hopefully in the Crock Pot (I’m still waiting on RSVPs so I’ll know what to make)
  • Veggie Pasta with a side salad

What are you eating this week? Were you part one of the folks that made The World’s Best Banana Bread?

Did you know you can buy The Plant-Based Diet Starter Guide: How to Cook, Shop and Eat Well for Kindle?

The page contains affiliate links.

Meal Plan Monday: Fall Break Menu

by 2 Comments

It’s Fall Break so my kids are home from school this week. That means I’ll be doing a lot more cooking with at least 3 times as many interruptions. The weather has finally started to cool off meaning it’s not supposed to be in the 100s. That also means I’m back to using my oven. I’ve been testing a lot of new recipes that will go into an UPDATED version of my Thanksgiving Meal Plan! Stay tuned for more details. I’ve been sharing them on Facebook.

I’m also preparing some food for a Naturopathic Medicine Week Open House at Keystone Natural Family Medicine. If you live in the Phoenix area mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 8th and stop by between 3:00 and 6:00. There will be classes starting every 30 minutes and raffle prizes at the end. I’d love to meet you!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

This is my Fall Break Menu because when it’s Fall Break I need lots of food available.

Plant-Strong Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon and Raisin Breakfast Rice

Breakfast

I’m taking advantage of the seasonal flavors for most of our breakfasts. Organic Gala Apples were a great price at my local Sprout’s Farmers Market.

Bean and Grain Bowl that is gluten free and vegan

Lunch

I will keep it pretty simple for lunch. My kids will beg for sandwiches everyday and I might give in. I met the Soy Nut Butter folks at the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference so we are trying it out.

Vegan Shepherds Pie

Dinner

If you haven’t made a Meal Plan for the week yet take a few minutes and jot down some ideas. Feel free to use these to check out my Meal Planning Pages for Free Meal Planning Ideas. If you’d like all of the work done for you can purchase a ready-made meal plan complete with a shopping list and recipes.

So, what are you eating this week. Your Meal Plan my inspire others. If it’s Fall Break for you what are you plans?

 This page contains affiliate links.
Custom Meal Plan

Meal Plan Monday: Simple Plant-Based Meals

by 3 Comments

This week my focus is on keeping meals simple. We’ve got our normal stuff this week like school, sports and homework but I also have a kid home sick, my new meal plans will debut and I’m going out of town to the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference!

Simple Plant-Based Meals

In order to keep things flowing as smoothly as possible I’ll focus on SIMPLE plant-based meals. I know, most of my recipes are already simple but these are going to be even easier, requiring no prep work and minimal effort.

Breakfast

This week we are eating cereal and oatmeal, well oatmeal may be a little optimistic.

Lunch

My kids will eat sandwiches this week with fruit and Gluten-Free Pretzels. I’ll have leftovers and if I need to make something it will probably be veggie soup. I don’t know about you buy soup is my favorite way to eat veggies.

Dinner

These are my goal meals. There is a good chance my kids will live on sandwiches and cereal. Is that wrong to admit? I have no idea what they will eat when I’m out of town, my hubby’s got it under control, I’m sure it will include lots of broccoli.

Gluten-Free Pasta with Marinara Sauce and a side salad.

Crock Pot Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole (because it’s my hubby’s favorite).

Baked Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

Taco Soup I’ll use canned beans and veggies in this. I haven’t decided if I’ll use the Crock Pot or stove yet.

Each of these should make enough for dinners and leftover lunches.

I also held my Gluten-Free Lunch Box Class this weekend. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to offering an online version in the future.

What does your week look like? Any big plans? What are you doing this week to keep it simple?

This page contains affiliate links?

Meal Plan Monday: Quick Meals and Comforting Soups

by 2 Comments

September signals fall sports, dropping temperatures and back to school activities (read homework). Thankfully, I’ve found my back to school routine for the most part. Our evening sports practices make for hurried dinners at least twice a week. I love making quick meals and comforting soups, especially when they are easy.

This weekend is my Gluten-Free Lunch Box Class. If you live in the Phoenix area you don’t want to miss it! The deadline to sign up is Tuesday! Next week I’ll be releasing the New Meal Plans so be on the lookout for more clues this week on Facebook and Twitter!

Meal Plan Monday

Breakfast

I know I’ve mentioned it before but I’ve fallen in love with Oatmeal again. The slightly cooler mornings make it my go to breakfast. I always use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats (it’s a 4 packs).

  • Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal
  • Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
  • Cereal (on busy mornings)

Lunch

I pack a lunch for my kindergartener but my preschooler and I eat at home.

Dinner

I just restocked my pantry so I get to have some of my favorites this week.

I’m thinking of doing a little baking too! Maybe these Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins or Gluten-Free Apple Muffins with hit the spot. They would taste amazing with Sarah’s Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Spice Creamer (warning: contains nuts).

What do you have planned for the week? Have the temperatures cooled down enough for warm soups and comfort foods?