My Plant-Based Family

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

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Meal Plan Monday plus Cyber Monday Deals

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I hope you all had a great weekend and an even better Thanksgiving holiday. I’m sure you noticed that I took a lot of time off so I could spend time with my family and cook lots of food. I’m back! In addition to today’s Meal Plan I want to share a few Cyber Monday Deals.

Many of you purchased my Plant-Based Thanksgiving Meal Plan last week, Thank You! I hope you enjoyed the recipes as much as we did!

Meal Plan Monday

Meal Plan

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

I’ll be adding side salads to many of the meals. I have a harder time eating cold salads in the winter but I enjoy mixing warm ingredients like beans and potatoes into salads.

Cyber Monday Deals

Plant-Based Thanksgiving Meal Plan

You can still get my Plant-Based Thanksgiving Day Meal Plan (don’t worry it’s suitable for Christmas too). Today use the code “CyberMonday” to get 50% off today only.

Vegan Cuts is having some great Cyber Monday deals too. Check out last month’s Beauty Box! It contains my favorite deodorant from North Coast Organics, Pacifica Coconut Kiss Lip Butter, Rainbow Honey’s holiday collection nail polish, Earth’s Enrichment’s Calming Seaweed Soap Bar and Medusa’s Makeup Body Shimmer and Brush!

November Beauty Box

I can hardly wait to see what they will have in this month’s box! Today they have an amazing sale too! Don’t miss it!

Cyber Monday Snack Box & Beauty Box Sale
3 Months Gift Subscription $59 (reg. $70)
6 Months Gift Subscription $99 (reg. $115)

Also check out Vegan Cuts Marketplace. Today the Relogy Clean Skin Starter Kit is only $29.95! You should be stocking up at that price!

Lastly, my pal Brandi from The Vegan 8 has a Cyber Monday giveaway going on at The Vegan 8 Facebook Page, check it out for your chance to win a $25 Bed Bath & Beyond Gift Card.

Tell me about your Thanksgiving? I’d love to hear what you ate! We didn’t brave Black Friday Shopping but I’m excited about these Cyber Monday Deals. Don’t forget to follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook and Twitter and I’ll continue to share great deals I run across.

FTC Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links, that means I may earn a small percentage (at not additional cost to you) if you use the link to make a purchase.

Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes with Julieanna Hever

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Veria Living_What Would Julieanna Do

One of the first plant-based books I bought was The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by written by Julieanna Hever. It answered all of my questions and became my go to reference guide as a waded through the plant-based waters.

Now Julieanna has her own show called  “What Would Julieanna Do?” which airs on Veria Living TV. If you haven’t seen it yet be sure to check it out.

I’m honored to be able to feature 3 of Julieanna’s Plant-Based Thanksgiving recipes today. The first is Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing, this was inspired by Chef AJs House Dressing. You can watch a video of Julianna making this salad at Viera Living TV. I’m also sharing recipes for Julieanna’s Fall Harvest Chowder and Stuffed Acorn Squash

Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing

Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 [15-oz.] can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup stone-ground mustard
3 TB. Braggs Amino Acids (or wheat-free tamari or low-sodium soy sauce)
2 TB. 100% pure maple syrup
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup water
 
1. Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve over kale salad or any salad, vegetables, baked potatoes, steamed veggies, etc.
Serves 4
 

Fall Harvest Chowder 

6 cups vegetable broth or water
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 (16-oz.) package frozen corn
2 small garnet yams, peeled and diced
4 bay leaves
2 tsp. dried thyme
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
 
1. Over medium-high heat, sauté onion, carrot, and celery in [1/2] cup vegetable broth until slightly browned, approximately 5-10 minutes.
2. Add remaining vegetables, broth or water, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaves from soup and blend with immersion blender until mostly pureed. Add spinach leaves and turn off heat. Serve hot.
Serves 8
 

Stuffed Acorn Squash

4 medium-sized acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 medium celery stalks, diced
4 medium carrots, diced
1/4 cup plus 3 3/4 water or vegetable broth
3/4 cup wild rice, cooked
3/4 cup brown rice, cooked
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried sage
Ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 cup raw walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)
 
1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place squash halves, cut side down, on 1 or 2 deep baking sheets filled with an inch of water. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. When done, remove from oven, remove the water, and flip the squash so it is cut-side- up.
3. In a medium pot, sauté onions, carrots, and celery in 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth until slightly browned, approximately 5 minutes. Add wild rice, brown rice, mushrooms, poultry seasoning, sage, black pepper, and remaining water or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then simmer on medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Add parsley and walnuts and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Spoon rice mixture into each squash. Cover in foil and return to oven. Bake
for 20-25 additional minutes, or until squash is tender. Serve warm.
Serves 4
 

If you are planning a Thanksgiving Dinner I hope you consider Julieanna’s Plant-Based Thanksgiving recipes but leave some room, I’ll be sharing more Thanksgiving recipes and tips this week.

Holiday Snack Guide

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Welcome to day 5 of My Plant-Based Family’s Holiday Gift Guide. I’m wrapping it up today with a snack guide. I don’t want to mislead you with these store-bought goodies, yes we strive to eat a low processed, plant-based diet. However, during the holidays it’s nice to have some junk food on hand.

As much as I enjoy cooking I really like having delicious snacks I can grab when company comes by or if we are invited to a game night. Yes, homemade is best but I also like to have some shelf-stable goodies ready to go.

Chips and salsa are a “normal” snack that is pretty inexpensive. You can pick it up at just about any store, even a gas station. Extra points if you spring for the guacamole.

Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame is a fun and delicious party food. My kids love them as much as I do. They fit in perfectly at Christmas parties, just put them next to the snack mix.


Cosmos Creations are gluten-free and vegetarian (some varieties contain dairy). Although made from corn there are no hulls or kernels so my husband can enjoy them too. Just be careful, they may be addictive.

YumEarth Organic Lollipops are the only candy my kids get. I keep them in the car for those times they are about to fall asleep on the way home from church or when I’m waiting in line at the bank drive through. The great thing about them is they taste good and have only good ingredients on top of being allergy-friendly. As a bonus they are 6 for $1 at my local Sprout’s.

October Snack Box

Yesterday I mentioned the Vegan Cuts Beauty Box and today I have to share about the Vegan Cuts Subscription Snack Box. If you don’t know where to start, start with Vegan Cuts! When you find products you love, and you will, you can purchase them from their Marketplace. The photo above is October’s Snack box! Chips, crackers, a bar, a few gummies, Rescue Chocolate, coupons and more!

There are many other snacks you can take but these require no effort on your part, other than buying them, and the snacks will seem normal in any crowd.

Do you have a go-to store-bought snack you keep on hand for “emergency” situations?

**This gift guide contains affiliate links. If you purchase something I’ll receive a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Personal Gifts and Books

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Gift Guides

The week of Gift Guides continues, if you’ve missed any you will want to check them out. On Monday I showed you how your gift can change a life through World Vision, Tuesday we all dreamed big and looked at expensive gifts, then Wednesday we got a little more realistic and looked at inexpensive (but awesome) kitchen gear.

Today I want to talk about personal gifts and books. The gifts I mention today are perfect for a company or group party where you need to bring a gift. Most of them would be an awesome part of a gift basket. I love gift baskets myself and will give you suggestions of what you can use to make a gift basket even better. If you aren’t a gift basket giver these would also work in a stocking.

I have to start with the great gift sets from North Coast Organics. I know I talk about NCO a lot. No, I’m not paid by the company but I’ve never been let down by their products or customer service and when I find a company I love I can’t help but talk about them.

NCOgiftboxessmall

North Coast Organics has three different gift boxes available this year but hurry and order because supplies are limited.


No Bull Beauty: Cutting Through The Crap would make a great addition to the North Coast Organics products. This book holds nothing back as it teaches you what you should and should not be using on your skin. It discusses common skin conditions, natural beauty and skin care, toxins, bogus beauty claims and much more.

You can also find loads of cruelty-free skin and beauty products at the Vegan Cuts Marketplace. It should be called Stocking Stuffer Central. I love the Relogy and Fanciful Fox products. Pictured above is their New York Care Pack or check out their Beauty Box subscription, I love mine!


The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is a follow up to the best seller, not completely updated and it even has a chapter on gluten-free baking. It gives me hope that I can become a baker. Buy this for the aspiring baker in your life and include a pizza stone, pizza peel and a loaf pan or two.


Vegan Desserts in Jars: Adorably Delicious Pies, Cakes, Puddings, and Much More is a cute and fun book that makes vegan desserts irresistible. This book would be perfect with an assortment of canning jars.

What am I missing today? Can your recommend the perfect gift to add to the Gift Guides?

**This gift guide contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using my link I may make a small percentage at  no additional cost to you.

Handy Kitchen Gear

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Gift Guides

Welcome to Day 3 of My Plant-Based Family’s Holiday Gift Guide. Monday we looked at World Vision and how you can give a gift that will change a life. I encourage you to consider World Vision or other organizations and begin a family tradition of blessing others each year. Yesterday I shared a “wish list” of luxury (over $100) items. Today I’ m going to share my favorite kitchen gear that is a little more budget-friendly.

As always feel free to share your wish list, or tell me what I’m missing. Yesterday several readers reminded me of knives and cookware, great gifts indeed.

I love my food processor. I own this Hamilton Beach 10 Cup Food Processor pictured above and it takes care of all of our processing needs. There are processors that are bigger and smaller, some cheaper and others that are waaaay more expensive. If I could only pick one small kitchen appliance I’d pick this one.

For smaller jobs I love my Magic Bullet although I’m not sure if I have the exact set shown. I received it as a gift from my mom about 7 years ago and it has served us well. Unfortunately it’s on its last leg but I’m considering purchasing it again. I love how easy it is to clean and perfect for small jobs. The only down side is all of these parts takes up room so if you don’t have a lot of storage this may not work for you.


I don’t have a Cuisinart 2-Speed Immersion Hand Blender but it’s on my “would be nice but not necessary” list. I would love to blend up soups without having to use (and wash) another appliance. There are many different brands and models of immersion blenders, some even come with different attachments. Just read the reviews before you make purchases.


If you are cooking quinoa you NEED a Fine Mesh Strainer. I have a different model but this one is similar, has good reviews and is super inexpensive. You could give this as a gift with a package of quinoa, some recipe cards with quinoa dishes and a few kitchen utensils.


Whether you choose a microplane or a zester (they seem to be pretty much the same thing) this is a fun gift. I received the Edgeware Zester as a gift, it’s very handy because it has a little “zest catcher” in the back with measurements on it. It’s so easy to use too. This would easily fit in a stocking for a fun surprise.


We have a knife set that has several different knives including steak knives that stores them all in a block of wood. I usually only use the mini chef knife but occasionally use the bread knife or paring knife. If you eat plant-based you need a good set of Knives even if it is only for chopping veggies. We never use our steak knives anymore and that giant block of wood takes up too much counter space. I don’t have the set pictured above but it looks very similar to mine.

What is on your Christmas wish list? I’m sure I forgot something! I considered a Toaster Oven but I haven’t made the leap.

**Affiliate links were used throughout this gift guide.

Luxury Kitchen Items

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Gift Guides

Welcome to Day 2 of My Plant-Based Family’s week of gift guides. Next week I’ll back track and help you get ready for Thanksgiving but this week is all about gift giving.

Today I’ll share my recommendation for gift ideas that are over $100, hence the “luxury” title. I only own one of these items so many of them are on our wish list as well. If you are on a tight budget these may be out of reach but worth planning for. Feel free to leave your recommendation and product reviews in the comments. (Additionally, I use affiliate links throughout this post which means if you buy something using this link I make a small percentage at no additional cost to you. This doesn’t influence my opinion of the products and you are not obligated to use my links.)

I LOVE my Keurig K-Cup Home Brewer! My dad got it for us last year for Christmas and it was the best gift ever. There are several different models but this is the one I have.  Yes you can make coffee in a cheaper coffee maker but I love my Keurig. I usually only drink 1 cup (or less) of coffee a day. We wish we would have bought a Keurig years ago.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Vitamix  you’ve been in plant-based circles for any length of time. I don’t own a Vitamix but I have friends who do and love theirs. We plan to purchase one in the future but it wont be in our budget for a while. There are many different models and you can even purchase refurbished models. I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about a Vitamix but feel free to share your recommendations in the comments.

I also have quite a few friends that love their Blendtec.  There are also several models to choose from and at least one of them will meet your needs.

If you are a baker you probably either have a KitchenAid 5-Quart Mixer or you already have one on your wish list. There are dozens of colors to choose from. My friends love theirs. I was wishing I had one last week when I was baking for the Expo but I don’t think I do enough baking to justify the expense the counter space it would take up.

Red Dehydrator

 

For years I’ve been hearing about Excalibur 5 Tray Dehydrator  but still haven’t taken the plunge. If you are really into eating Raw you’d probably love a dehydrator too. I think it would be fun to make homemade fruit snacks and dehydrate lots of fruit and veggies when they are at the peak of freshness. Check out Excalibur’s website to find dehydrators in fun colors including the red pictured above.

Do you have a luxury item suggestion I should add to the list? 

Stay tuned, there are more gift guides coming all week!

**Affiliate links were used throughout this gift guide.