My Plant-Based Family

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

Recipes

2 Ingredient Fruit Dip

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Our family LOVES fruit! We eat between 15-20 pounds of apples each week, if that tells you anything. We don’t just eat apples, we eat bananas, blueberries, strawberries — basically whatever is in season.

I have readers tell me their kids won’t eat fruit. Although that isn’t something I deal with I have an easy solution, ready for this. Add a dip.

Kids will eat almost anything with a dip.

You may be thinking, I want my kids to be healthy, how is adding a fruit dip going to help? You can use a healthy dip and I’ve got a super easy dip recipe for you. It’s only 2 ingredients so even your kids can “help” you make it.

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 6 oz Vanilla So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk  (non-dairy yogurt)

Do

No steps required, just stir the cocoa powder into the non-dairy yogurt. DONE.

This makes an incredible fruit dip to dip for cookies or graham crackers. I haven’t tried it yet on a fruit pizza but I really want to. One day I’ll try it as a frosting or filling for cupcakes but I don’t know how well it will work. It makes a pretty fabulous parfait as well.

Chocolate Fruit Dip

I chose this type of yogurt because it’s made from coconut milk and safe for people with dairy, soy and tree nut allergies.

My boys loved it and they are picky about their yogurt.

On a side note, So Delicious just calls this cultured coconut milk, they don’t use the word yogurt because technically it isn’t. I use it because we always buy non-dairy versions of yogurt and it is just the word we are used to using.

You can make this with other flavors. Our store only carries plain, vanilla and blueberry but raspberry would be delightful.

If your kids get used to eating fruit with dip they will be more likely to eat it without dip too.

For us, this dip is like a special dessert treat. I don’t make it all the time but they love it. It also works great in a lunch box.

Snackable-Recipe-Contest-BadgeThis recipe is an entry in the So Delicious and Go Dairy Free Snackable Recipe Contest.

You can connect with So Delicious on their Facebook page.

Easy Asian Noodles

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There is something to be said for a home cooked meal that is ready in about 15 minutes. Especially if it is healthy! Even better when it is a one-pot meal.

My kids would be happy to have sandwiches every meal but I’m not. I like real food, warm food, but I don’t have a lot of time to cook.

asian noodles peanut and gluten-free

If you have been here for a while you know that my son has multiple food allergies. Peanuts and gluten are just a few of the things that are off-limits for us. He rarely gets to eat restaurant food because of his food allergies; we have a few safe restaurants to choose from.

All Asian restaurants use peanuts and soy sauce (contains gluten) and I’m not comfortable with the chances of cross contamination even if he ordered a “safe” dish. His only exposure to Asian food is food I make. My recipes are far from authentic but they are easy to make and use simple ingredients.

asian noodles

This recipe is peanut-free and gluten-free and can accommodate other allergies with substitutions. It cooks really quickly, the longest part is getting the water to boil.

Easy Asian Noodles

Ingredients

Do

  1. Bring water to a boil. As you wait slice the carrots and get the other ingredients ready.
  2. Dump the carrots into the boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes.
  3. After the carrots have cooked a few minutes add the frozen peas and the noodles.
  4. Cook everything together for 5 minutes. Once the timer beeps, taste test the noodles and carrots to see if either need a minute or two longer.
  5. Carefully drain the water out of your pot. I like to use one of these. Then dump in the Tamari/Bragg’s and the SoyNut Butter. Stir well until it has melted into the noodles and is evenly distributed.

This recipe can be easily adapted based on what you have on hand and what food restrictions you work with. It is similar to my Veggie Pad Thai recipe but this one is simplified even more and only uses carrots and peas to cut down on dishes and extra chopping. You can buy frozen, chopped carrots for a quicker recipe.

What are your favorite quick meals?

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Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

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stir fry broccoli and mushroom After a long day I really don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. That is one of the reasons I’m such a fan of Batch Cooking. Sometimes I need a quick and easy meal. Stir fry’s are such an easy option. Since I don’t cook with oil some may argue that this isn’t a true stir fry. The extra fat found in oil isn’t really needed if you use a little water in its place. (You can view this post to see how I use water for fried rice.)

We almost always have cooked  brown rice in the fridge. We use it in so many recipes it is a staple in our diet. When I don’t have rice cooked, I can make it quickly in my Instant Pot. This stir fry can be made with whatever veggies you have on hand but half my household loves mushrooms so this dish was for them.

stir fry broccoli and mushroom

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1 crown broccoli, chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or Tamari)

As with many of my recipes, you can add more ingredients or remove items you don’t like without a huge problem with the recipe. For example, if you aren’t a big fan of mushrooms use less or use bell peppers in their place.

Do

  1. In a hot skillet or wok add diced onions and sliced carrots, cover with a lid. Check on them regularly and stir. When they begin to stick pour a few tablespoons of water in the skillet and stir again.
  2. Once the carrots are starting to soften, dump in the mushrooms. These will need to cook for several minutes. Once they have exuded their juices and look shiny, pour the broccoli in and cover once again.
  3. Check veggies every few minutes and stir. If they begin to stick to the pan add more water again.
  4. Once all of the veggies are cooked to a tender/crisp consistency dump in your cooked rice and stir. You can use less than 4 cups if desired.  You can also heat the rice separately if desired.
  5. Pour Bragg Liquid Aminos over the rice and veggies. I’d start with a little and add more to taste. We probably use a couple of tablespoons but it is a high sodium food so limit it if necessary.

This meal comes together in less than 20 minutes. If you have to cook the rice allow yourself sufficient time. This is a really easy meal to make and packs perfectly in a lunch box (I only recommend it for adult or older kids lunches).

If you like this, check out my other great Asian inspired meals, Veggie Pad Thai and my easy Oil-Free (un)Fried Rice.

Don’t forget to enter the EasyLunchBoxes Giveaway!

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Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

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Oil-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing is my family’s favorite salad dressing. Sweet and tangy, this salad dressing is everything you need to take your salad up a notch.

Oil-free Raspberry Vinaigrette

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My boys love salad but used to be suspicious of salad dressings. They love this Raspberry Salad Dressing. When I make this, they eat big salads and are more adventurous with the salad ingredients.

This Oil-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette is the only salad dressing my husband requests. It’s definitely husband and kid approved!

Oil-free Raspberry Vinaigrette!

If you are new to eating a whole food plant-based diet, you’ve probably discovered how hard it is to find a good, oil-free salad dressing. Without oil, many salad dressings are thin and watery. Not this dressing!

Even though raspberries are low in pectin, they have enough to help thicken this Raspberry Dressing without the need to add extra thickening ingredients. It’s a vegan salad dressing with no added fat that tastes really good!

Oil-free Raspberry Vinaigrette!

Oil-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 heaping cup of fresh raspberries, if you need to use frozen allow them to thaw first
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • up to a 1/2 tsp of red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup (more or less to taste)
  • a dash of salt and pepper

Do

  1. Pour your raspberries, half of the water, half of the vinegar and maple syrup into a blender. I used my Blendtec. Add your salt and pepper.
  2. Press the pulse button and allow to process until everything liquefies. Pour in slightly more water if needed.
  3. Give your dressing a taste test. Add more vinegar and maple syrup if needed. Some berries are sweeter while others are sour so this isn’t an exact science. I made it as written above and it was perfect for us.
  4. If you adjusted your ingredients pulse again until your salad dressing reaches the right consistency and flavor.

Your salad dressing will be a beautiful raspberry color and taste slightly sweet with just enough kick.

This will make about 1 1/2 cups depending on how much water you use. Store this dressing in the refrigerator and use within 5 days.

Yield: 4

Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

oil-free raspberry salad dressing

This sweet and tangy oil-free, whole food salad dressing is vegan and gluten-free. Get your family eating more salad than ever before with this Oil-free Raspberry Vinaigrette!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 heaping cup of fresh raspberries, if you need to use frozen allow them to thaw first
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • up to a 1/2 tsp of red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup (more or less to taste)
  • a dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Pour your raspberries, half of the water, half of the vinegar and maple syrup into a blender. Add your salt and pepper.
  2. Press the pulse button and allow to process until everything liquefies. Pour in slightly more water if needed.
  3. Give your dressing a taste test. Add more vinegar and maple syrup if needed. Some berries are sweeter while others are sour so this isn’t an exact science. I made it as written above and it was perfect for us.
  4. If you adjusted your ingredients pulse again until your salad dressing reaches the right consistency and flavor.

Notes

This will make about 1 1/2 cups depending on how much water you use. Store this dressing in the refrigerator and use within 5 days.

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© Holly Yzquierdo
Category: Sauces, Dips, and Salad Dressings

More Oil-Free Salad Dressings

I’ve got a lot of incredible oil-free salad dressings. You can see all of them on my Sauces, Dips and Salad Dressing Page but other than this Raspberry Salad Dressing, these are my favorites!

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Simple Veggie Sandwich

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One of the things I miss from my pre-plant-based days is a really good deli sandwich.

There is no reason I can’t have a great sandwich. Meat and cheese don’t make the meal. Good bread, fresh veggies and condiments make the meal.

Veggie SandwichSimple Veggie Sandwich

There isn’t a set recipe, use the ingredients you love and have on hand. This is more of a template than a recipe anyway.

Ingredients

  • Good bread, you can also use wraps, naan, or lettuce wraps.
  • Condiments, I use spicy mustard and hummus. Guacamole is another good choice.
  • Greens, I used lettuce and chopped romaine. Use what you like.
  • Veggies, I used cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers. Artichokes, pickles and onions are good too.

Do

Build your sandwich in any way you desire. You may want to wrap it in parchment paper if you are on the go.

Veggie sandwiches tend to be pretty messy. I usually only eat these at home so I don’t make a huge mess.

Other great lunch meal include Veggie Wraps, Black Bean Mango Salad, Chick Pea Salad and Not So Tuna Salad.

Black Bean Mango Salad

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It’s summer time and that means salads.

When you adopt a plant-based diet the BIG salad is kind of a rite of passage. We aren’t talking the dinky side salads you typically found in your Standard American Diet (SAD) days. We aren’t even talking about the giant meat, cheese and oil salads you may have ordered when you were “eating healthy.”

No, I’m talking about fiber filled, colorful, BIG, flavorful and healthy salads.

Black Bean Mango Salad Vegan Gluten-Free Plant-Based

Unlike most of the recipes you’ll find here this recipe is for a single serving. Sure my kids would love most of the things in this salad but if your kids are like my kids they don’t want it all mixed together. Today, I’m telling the kids to get back. This one is all mine.

Even though this is for a single serving I prefer to build two (or three or four) at a time to eat later in the week. The only real difference is you’ll want to store the diced mango separately because it can get a little slimy.

Let me take just a moment to mention that the measurements below can be adapted to your taste. I actually added a little more of everything for the salad I ate at home. This size was perfect for work. I don’t know about you but it takes me a long time to eat BIG salads. My lunch salads need to be a little average size.

Black Bean Mango Salad Vegan Gluten-Free

Black Bean Mango Salad

Ingredients

  • 2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup organic corn
  • 1/4 cup diced tomato (remove seeds)
  • 1/4 cup diced onion (I prefer sweet onion or red onions)
  • 1/4 of a large mango (or half a small mango) diced.
  • diced jalapenos to taste
  • juice from half a lime
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
  • 1/2 avocado (optional)

Do

  1. Place lettuce in a large bowl then top with beans, corn, tomatoes, onion and mango*.
  2. If using jalapenos and cilantro add now. Give the salad a good stir.
  3. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad and stir one more time.

*Notes: If you are packing an extra salad for another day leave the mango, lime juice and avocado separate I didn’t use avocado above but I stored my mango and lime in a container. See the photo below.