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My Plant-Based Family

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

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Round Ups

Easy Summer Meals in 20 Minutes or Less

July 9, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

20 Easy Summer Plant-Based Meals that are ready in 20 minutes or less

20 Easy Summer Plant-Based Meals that are ready in 20 minutes or less

I don’t know about you but I lose interest in cooking when the temperatures are over 90 degrees. I want to cool off, not stand over the stove! In fact, I rarely use my oven between May and October because it heats up my house so much. Occasionally, I use the oven in the morning if I really need to bake. Who want’s to bake when you can buy So Delicious Ice Cream?

Today I’m sharing some of my favorite summer meals that are ready in 20 minutes or less. Many don’t require any cooking at all.

20 Easy Summer Meals

1. Toast with SunButter and Fruit (yes this is an acceptable meal in the summer)

2. Veggie Sandwiches

3. Microwave Baked Potatoes (don’t hate on the microwave, use the Crock Pot if you like but it’s too hot for the oven here)

4. Pancakes, try GF Jules recipe for gluten-free or Happy Herbivore’s for wheat

5. Taco Salad using canned beans

6. Nachos using my Unfried Beans or Unfried Black Beans, these are life changing!

7. Tostadas

8. Pasta Salad, make sure to chop the veggies while the pasta is cooking

9. Veggie and Hummus, yes this can be a meal

10. (Vegan) Yogurt Parfait, yes this can be a meal too. It’s hot people!

11. Smoothies

12. Vegan Pad Thai

13. Quesadillas, using canned beans

14. ChickPea Salad, there is a sweet and savory versions, on sandwiches

15. Quinoa Veggie Bowl

16. Faux Tuna Salad Sandwiches

17. Sun Butter and Jelly Sandwich with fruit on the side

18. Quinoa Tacos or Lentil Tacos (both cook in about 20 minutes)

19.Veggie Wrap or Veggie Stuffed Pitas

20. Black Bean Mango Salad

BONUS IDEAS

Not if you have a Crock Pot or Instant Pot you can get a lot of cooking done without actually spending time in the kitchen. Try these recipes!

21. Mexican Casserole Crock Pot version or Instant Pot version

22. Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole in the Crock Pot

23. Potato Kale Soup both versions listed

24. Oatmeal (we love it for dinner) using Jill’s 3 minute approach

25. Your favorite Soups or Chili

There you have it, 20 Easy Summer Meals that are ready in 20 minutes or less plus 5 bonus recipes for the Crock Pot or the Instant Pot!

Now I want to hear your favorite recipes for summer!

This page contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Round Ups Tagged With: Plant Based Diet, Unprocessed, Vegan

Healthy 4th of July Meal Ideas

July 2, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Healthy 4th of july meal ideas

Healthy 4th of july meal ideas

The 4th of July is getting so close. If you have plans for potlucks or get together’s people are probably already asking what you will be bringing. If you are eating with an omni group there will be some pressure to bring food they will like too.

Don’t worry I’ve got a ton of ideas that will make everyone happy!

Healthy 4th of July Meal Ideas

Portobello Burger and Potato Salad

Chances are there will be a grill nearby. Why not grill up some Portobello Burgers or Avocado Grillers?

Vegan BBQ Sandwich...You'll never guess the secret ingredient!

 

If you need to make your meal ahead of time Vegan BBQ Sandwiches made from spaghetti squash keeps warm in a Crock Pot for a low maintenance meal.

Healthy side dishes are an easy substitute and less likely to be noticed as “different” by your friends.

Sweet and Tangy Gluten-Free Pasta Salad is picnic perfect

Try this oil-free pasta salad, you can make it gluten-free as well. They most typical side dish might be Potato Salad so make sure you bring this healthy version. You can also substitute healthier ingredients to make baked beans and corn on the cob healthier.

gluten free vegan brownies

 

Don’t forget dessert! I usually make Brownies because I can make them a day ahead but sometimes I’ll make an Apple or Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on the fly with Wholly Wholesome Pie Crust (they have a gluten-free version) or Sunbutter Cookies because they are safe for peanut allergies.

Strawberry Lemonade

Don’t forget the drinks! There will probably be lots of soda but skip it for fresh Strawberry Lemonade instead.

Do you have plans for the weekend? What will you be eating? You can scroll through the Recipe Page for more healthy 4th of July Meal Ideas!

 

Filed Under: Holiday Cooking, Round Ups Tagged With: Holiday Cooking, Plant Based Diet, Recipes, Vegan

Healthy Dips

March 4, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo 4 Comments

Oil-Free, Gluten-Free Vegan Dips that are easy to make and delicious!

I’ve really been craving dips lately. I’m snacking on hummus right now! I thought it would be helpful to have links to all of my dip recipes in one place. A few of these aren’t exactly dips but I use them as dips so I’m including them here.

Some people might argue that dips are not healthy, I beg to differ. These are healthy dips.

In case you are wondering all of these are gluten-free and oil-free in addition to being vegan.

Healthy Dip Round Up

Get out your veggies, crackers and chips and get ready for this collection of healthy dips!

GF Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

GF Vegan red pepper dip

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

GF Vegan Green Chili White Bean Dip

Green Chili White Bean Dip

Dairy-free Faux Cheese sauce

Faux Cheese Sauce

Oil-free black beans

Unfried Beans and Unfried Black Beans

pico de gallo

Oven Roasted Salsa, regular Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Jalapeno Hummus

You have likely noticed that I use the same bowls in all of these pictures! Some of the additional recipes link to photos with other bowls. Have you tried any of these dips? I’d love to know which dips are your favorite!

If you are a blogger leave a link to your favorite dip creations in the comments.

Filed Under: Round Ups Tagged With: Dairy Free, dips, gluten free, Healthy, Plant Based Diet, Unprocessed, Vegan

40+Meatless Recipes for Lent

February 20, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Do you celebrate Lent? If so you may need some meatless recipes. Meatless meals come easy for me so I wanted to pass along these recipes that will fill you up and delight your taste buds.

These 40 + meatless recipes will give you more than enough inspiration to skip the meat.

Meatless Recipes for Lent

lent 1

Crock Pot Mexican Casserole

Bean and Potato Burritos

Veggie Pot Pie

Chickpea Quinoa Stir Fry

 Green Chili, Cilantro and Black Bean Soup

 lent 3

Fiesta Pasta

Breakfast Tacos

Simple Veggie Soup

Chickpea Salad

Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole

 lent 5

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Crock Pot Cheezy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Italian Bake

Not So Tuna Salad

Unfried Beans and Mexican Rice

 Lent 7

Hearty Lentil and Barley Stew

Avocado Grillers

Creamy Tomato Soup

Taco Salad

Black Bean Quesadillas

 lent 9

Lentil Tacos

Pizza Pasta

Portobello Burgers

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Potato and Kale Soup

 lent 11

Taco Soup

Veggie Fried Rice

Minestrone Soup

Portobello Fajitas

Meatless Chili

 lent 13

Veggie Pad Thai

Quinoa Lentil Tacos

Enchilada Soup

Taco Potatoes

Meatless White Enchiladas

 lent 15

Vegan BBQ Sandwich

Veggie Burgers

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Taco Muffins

Potato and Broccoli Soup

 Plus More

Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Quinoa Burritos

Quinoa Lentil Salad

Get inspired with more meatless meals by visiting my Recipe Page or my check out all of my Meatless Meal Plans from last year! Follow me on Pinterest for more great ideas.

Filed Under: Holiday Cooking, Round Ups, Uncategorized Tagged With: Lent, Meatless, Vegan

4 Ways to use your Blender this Fall

September 30, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 4 Comments

Love your blender? Love it all year long with 4 ways to use your blender that is not smoothies.

Do you have a huge blender sitting on your counter? We do. We love our Blendtec but now that the weather is cooling off we don’t make smoothies quite as often. Since our Blendtec takes up such important counter-top real estate I make sure to use it all year long. Same goes for those of you with a Vitamix!

Love your blender? Love it all year long with 4 ways to use your blender that is not smoothies.

 

Here are a 4 ways to use your blender all year long, even when smoothies are off the menu.

1. Savory Soups

I love soups in the fall. While chunky, hearty soups definitely have their place I love smooth creamy soups as well. You don’t have to follow a recipe although my Slow Cooker Potato Soup and Tomato Soup are both good choices. Any soup, especially those that are bean or veggie based will blend nicely. Try adapting your favorite soup recipes.

2. Dips

I’m a sucker for dips. We used to have a “snack nite” on the weekends. The whole family loved it. Salsa, Jalapeno Hummus, and most recently my Spinach Artichoke Dip are pretty much guilt-free.

Get creative and mix your favorite flavors together. I love to start with white beans as a base like in my Green Chili White Bean Dip.  You can adapt it by adding roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes or fresh herbs and spices. Slowly add liquid until it reaches your preferred consistency.

3. Salad Dressings

Similar to dips, salad dressing are easy to make in a blender. They need a lot more liquid but don’t add too much too fast. I make Creamy Italian Salad Dressing and Sweet and Tangy Salad Dressing most often but I love making salad dressings with fruit too. Blueberry Vinaigrette and Cranberry Salad Dressing are both oil-free.

4. Make Your Own Oat Flour or Instant Oats

I buy Gluten Free Whole Grain Rolled Oats in bulk from Amazon and use them for more than oatmeal. Toss some oats in your blender and pulse for a few seconds at a time to make Instant Oatmeal. It will cook quicker since it’s broken down into smaller pieces. You can continue to blend it into a fine flour to use in gluten-free baked goods.

Do you used your blender for more than smoothies? How do you use your blender? 

If you don’t have a good blender I highly recommend Blendtec. It’s a great investment in your health!

This page contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Round Ups, Tips for Plant-Based Living Tagged With: blender, blendtec, dips, soups

5 Time Savers in the Kitchen (not a list of gadgets!)

September 19, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 4 Comments

5 Kitchen Time Savers

Most of us are on a never-ending quest to save time. We make choices that aren’t good for us out of convenience. It seems so much easier to go through a drive thru than to cook our own meals.

Kitchen counter with veggies and knife

Today I want to share some of my favorite time savers in the kitchen.

1. Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Did you know you can cook potatoes in the Crock Pot. It’s so easy. You don’t need foil or oil or anything else. Just scrub the potatoes, prick a few holes in them and put them in the Crock Pot. Cook them on low all day and you have hot baked potatoes when you get home. This is the perfect way to cook those HUGE potatoes that take forever to cook in the oven.

You may say, “these cook all day, that doesn’t save time.” It only takes a few minutes to scrub them, boom, you are done until it’s time to eat.

2. Use your Crock Pot

I know I already mentioned Crock Pot Potatoes, maybe it’s because I could eat potatoes everyday. Most of the soup and casseroles I make can easily be made in the Crock Pot. I don’t cook pasta in the Crock Pot but everything else is fair game. I’ll spend 5-10 minutes dumping everything in then forget about it until dinner. You may need to add more water if you are adapting recipes.

3. Buy Frozen Veggies

I love fresh veggies but when time is short I reach for a bag of frozen veggies, especially frozen Stir Fry Veggies. I can have my Veggie Pad Thai on the table in about 15 minutes. (The noodles cook super quick).

4. Use Veggie Broth (or bullion)

Most of the time when I cook and use the “taste and see” method. I taste the food, see what spices I have that could improve it, then taste again. This process goes on until I feel it’s “just right’ or my kids distract me (or sometimes I just give up).

I’ve found using a veggie broth helps give my dishes a richer flavor from the get go. Of course my Dry Veggie Broth Mix is my favorite. If you aren’t a “make it yourself” kind of person Massel makes some great products that I really love. They have bullion cubes, granulated bullion and liquid stock. The are vegan (yes even the beef-style and chicken-style), gluten-free, and all natural.

Veggie Broth can be used to make quick sauces or to add extra flavor to grains, pasta or soups. I spend a lot less time tweaking dinner when I use a broth mix.

5. Cook Once, Eat Twice

I’m not talking about a full on batch cooking session. Make twice as much food as you need and save it for another time. Four cups of rice cooks in the same amount of time as two cups of rice, the same with beans, potatoes, etc. When it’s time to put the leftovers away put them in the freezer if you don’t want to eat it right away.

Now put all these tips to good use by putting leftover Crock Pot Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot with Frozen Veggies, Veggie Broth and any beans, grains, or other leftovers.

Or, you could take baby steps and just try them one at a time.

On a side not I’ve had LOTS of people tell me I need an Instant Pot. I’ve heard amazing things but I don’t have one so I don’t know much about them but it’s on my future wish list.

How do you save time in the kitchen?

Filed Under: Planning, Round Ups Tagged With: Healthy, Planning, Plant Based Diet, Quick, Time Savers, Vegan

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