Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget
Today I’m a guest blogger at Day of Knight. Click on over to check out my Meal Plan including my menu for Thursday night’s Healthy Cravings group.
While you are there check out Jenna’s blog. The first time I found it I spent an hour reading old posts while laughing and crying. Day of Knight is all about Jenna and her family, their faith, their life, homeschooling, adoption, missions, and a little about food.
Have a great week!
I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about the Super Bowl lately but honestly I have no idea who is playing. I do know that it is today and many of you have planned your food already. If you are a bit of a procrastinator you can still show up with great food.
Here are a few of my top picks…
The Chili is completely customizable to suit your spice tolerance. I’ve even had some of the most committed meat eaters sing it’s praise to the tune of the Hallelujah Chorus. Make it quickly by using canned beans, canned diced tomatoes, and peppers.
If you’d rather have a burger try a Bean Burger or a Portobello Burger. Most grocery stores have something suitable in the freezer section; read the ingredients in because their could be something scary lurking. Potato salad or sweet potato wedges would make a great side dish.
Nachos are by far one of the best party foods. Try it with precooked quinoa (it comes in little pouches near the rice) seasoned with taco seasoning, canned refried Beans, then whip up some Faux Cheese Sauce.
Even if you don’t go that far you can still pick up some chips, salsa, and guacamole; yes it is easy but it’s also good.
Of course you will also need dessert. Try Making a large parfait, it’s easier than making individual cups. A large container of yogurt (I like coconut milk yogurt), fresh berries, and store-bought granola comes together in a few minutes. It makes an impressive presentation in a large clear bowl and you can even add dark chocolate chips for an unexpected indulgence.
Don’t underestimate the power of a large bowl of fresh fruit. It is beautiful and tasty, more impressive than the customary veggie tray. Mix peanut butter and melted chocolate together (maybe a little maple syrup if needed) to make a delicious fruit dip; label the dip for anyone with peanut allergies.
What are your suggestions for last-minute Super Bowl Food?
Believe it or not I haven’t been doing near enough cooking. To remedy that I plan to do more cooking this week. I’ve already made a BIG pot of beans today. There are so versatile when I need a quick meal. I know they will keep us from hitting the drive-thru.
Breakfast will be oatmeal most days. I’m really trying to avoid the expense (and nutritional void) of store-bought cereal but I want to mix up a big batch of granola and maybe even some granola bars for those on-the-go mornings. I have busy mornings planned for almost everyday this week so having something I can grab as we run out the door will be a big help.
Lunch will probably be sandwiches as we rush in from those busy mornings. I can get creative with those but my boys don’t really require much creativity. I use gluten-free bread for my youngest and whole grain wheat for me and my almost 4 year old. Peanut butter, almond butter are regulars but I like to use different kind of fruit instead of jelly. We also use apple butter. When I’m in the mood for something different I’ll have a veggie sandwich with hummus. My husband takes leftovers to work most days.
Snack will probably be fruit. I bought blueberries, strawberries, oranges, apples, and bananas for a good price. I may make smoothies with spinach and some combination of fruit.
Dinner will be a little more labor intensive but my evenings are mostly free this week. Potato Soup will be my soup of choice after I go to the dentist. We plan to make a bunch of bean burritos one evening. Most of the burritos will be frozen for future meals. I have some tomatoes waiting to be made into pico de gallo and avocados waiting to accompany the burritos. Speaking of burritos, this Breakfast Stir Fry makes a filling meal, especially when served in a tortilla. I may also make some Mexican Rice to go along with any leftover beans. Lasagna (GF and vegan) will make an appearance late in the week along with a really colorful salad. If I need any other dinners I’ll make soup, possibly Enchilada Soup.
I’m meeting with a few people this week to help them with their meal plans. I prefer an unstructured meal plan that I can change based on the days events or groceries on hand. I know many people like a more structured meal plan with each meal scheduled. Which style do you prefer and why?
Some days I want to throw in the towel and just give up; it may be due to exhaustion, sickness, frustration, a feeling that I am not enough for the task before me or ________ (fill in the blank). Honestly it could be a combination of all of those.
When I feel overwhelmed with life or just certain tasks I have a few places I look for help. One is my husband; he is incredibly supportive and encouraging. I know that many people don’t have someone like that in their life and I’m very thankful for him. Second, I have friends and a babysitter who can take up some of the slack so I can take a break. Third, I look to blogs and websites for inspiration and help figuring out tasks. Most importantly I pray. Some of those prayers are long and excruciating while others are a quick “Lord help me” as I dive back into the fray.
Did you know that we pray for you too?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Every day we lift up prayers of encouragement, blessing, creativity, conviction, etc. for my readers.
I get emails from some of you that are full of hope for healing but also frustrated because you don’t know how or where to start. We pray for you.
Some emails are full of questions and struggles you face while try to transition your childrens diet. We pray for you.
Other emails detail extremely difficult personal situations. We pray for you.
Most of you never write in (and that is ok) but we still pray for you.
I hope this is encouraging to hear. I know I feel better when people are praying for me.
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This is your invitation! Do you need prayer? Send an email to myplantbasedfamily@gmail.com with your name, state, and need and we will pray for you. You don’t have to give me all the details and I wont share your information with outside sources. Whether you are wanting prayer to help transition to a plant-based diet, have a health issue, or just an unrelated need. We would be honored to pray for you.
Most of you are spread out so far away that we will never meet. I can’t come into your kitchen and teach you how to water sauté or go to your grocery store and teach you to read labels but I can pray for you and your family.
I also want to thank those of you who have prayed for us, our children, and our friends. Thank you for praying and thank you for the words of encouragement. It means a lot to us.
We have been a little under the weather here which you may know if you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook. We had a nice little discussion going on this weekend, many people left their favorite tips for beating the flu. While we are mostly better we will stay quarantined as much as possible, especially the kids. My husband and boys were hardest hit by illness, I’m hopeful that I wont get as sick as them, but I do have some cold symptoms.
Since I’m not really sure how we will be feeling I’m not making a formal Meal Plan but I’ll share a little of what we will be eating.
Breakfast will likely be oatmeal, toast, and fruit or some combination of those. I’ve been feeding my boys a pint of blueberries a day, they love them.
Lunch will likely be leftovers as we have quite a bit. Two new delicious soups, nachos, hummus and veggie sandwiches, beans, and Chickpea Salad (I’ll post this recipe this week).
Snacks will be fruit and veggies. I’m trying to keep things easy.
Dinner will be a lot of soups. They are so easy you really should be making them too. We have a ton of broccoli we need to eat so I foresee Potato and Broccoli Soup, Taco Soup, and probably a Chickpea (GF)Noodle Soup. I may work in some more interesting meals if we are all feeling better later this week. We have so many leftovers though I’m not worried about cooking much.
There are a lot of great things about this Meal Plan; its frugal, it’s easy, it’s gluten-free, and it will be very nourishing as we recover. I’m so happy I made a new batch of my Dry Broth Mix last week. It will come in very handy. I have a lot of basic ingredients ready in the refrigerator including: pinto beans, lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, and plenty of fresh fruit and veggies.
What is your favorite thing to eat when recovering from illness?
All week I’ve been talking about eating a plant-based diet on a budget. One of the questions I get asked regularly is if I buy all organic food. The answer is no. Organic is usually quite a bit more expensive than conventional and often it does not fit into our budget.
What I Learned From Dr. Popper
I’ve heard Dr. Pam Popper says it is better to eat lots of conventional produce than to avoid produce. The information she presented suggested that the positive effects from eating large quantities of whole foods far outweigh the negative effects from the chemicals. She recommended purchasing organic when possible and cleaning produce well.
Here is a video where she discusses some of the research on Conventional vs. Organic. The beginning of the video she discusses salt intake. Skip to the middle for the information on Conventional vs. Organic.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/AwwwOb7XjKM]
If you don’t have time to watch the video here are some of the highlights.
“Exposure to a chemical or chemical carcinogen appears to be a little bit less important than exposure to a cancer promoter.” She referenced Dr. Campbell’s study in which experiments were conducted with mice exposed to carcinogens; cancer didn’t develop until large amounts of animal protein were given to the mice. This study was illustrated in Forks Over Knives. She also mentioned that in some of the very polluted areas of the world they still have significantly low rates of cancer compared to the United States.
She ends by saying, “If you can afford to buy organic produce that’s great, if its available that’s great. If its not….the benefits of consuming produce outweigh any detrimental effects of exposure to chemicals.”
According to Dr. Fuhrman
In his book Eat to Live, Dr. Fuhrman addresses the issue of eating conventional food. He says, “By basing your diet on unrefined plant foods, you automatically reduce your exposure to the most dangerous chemicals.” He explains how cows and steers are often fed tainted feed and that the contaminants are found in higher concentrations in dairy and beef than in plant food.
How We Apply This
I buy organic when it isn’t too expensive. We usually buy organic spinach and broccoli from Costco for close to $3 each. We also buy organic quinoa there; it is 4 lbs for $9.99.
We purchase organic fruit when it’s affordable. For example, when organic apples are close to $1 a pound I’ll buy those instead of conventional. With that being said I try to stick to $1 a pound for apples all the time. Sometimes they cost more but we do the best we can.
