My Plant-Based Family

Eating Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet recipes, On a Budget.

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Meal Plan Monday

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Last weeks meal plan did not work out. We ended up changing plans on several days. I only made the Italian Bake and the Veggie Pot Pie, they were both delicious but I felt like I didn’t cook enough or have near enough leftovers to eat for lunch.

This week will be a different kind of week too so I plan to take it easy on the meal plan, plus I haven’t done my normal “mega veggie buy” at the store yet.

Dinner Meal Plan

Monday: Homemade Veggie Pizza

Tuesday: Special Valentine’s Day Fare that will include Gluten Free Apple Muffins and Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse.

Wednesday: Bean Burritos

Thursday:Enchilada Soup, a.k.a Soup of Awesomeness

Friday: Baked Sweet Potatoes for the kids, dinner out for the parents (hopefully)

This weekend my husband and I notice that The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue was available streaming on Netflix. I’d really wanted to see this movie for a while as I’m a big fan of Fork’s Over Knives. We watched it and realized how we have let a lot of processed food back into our diet. It’s amazing how sneakily it creeps back in. So next week we are going to challenge ourselves to go unprocessed. It wont work for us this week and we want to be fully prepared so this week we will finish off some of the processed food and be ready for next week.

Do you want to join us? I’ll talk more about it this week but I’d like to challenge you to  go unprocessed next Monday through Friday. If you are having trouble losing weight this could really help, have I piqued your interest yet? You can bet that the Minestrone Soup will make an appearance in unprocessed week.

Leave a comment if you plan to join us. If you’re a blogger and want to blog about it next week I’ll include your blog in all of next weeks post. 

Italian Bake

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When I did the grocery shopping over the weekend I bought an eggplant. One of the great thing about a plant-based diet is there are a lot of plants out there to try. I have only had eggplant one other time so when I saw it was on sale I decided to buy it.

Then I had to decide what to make that would be dairy free. I thought about all kinds of Italian dishes then decided to just wing it as usual. While grocery shopping I also saw and bought some Daiya faux cheese to try, more on that later.

I didn’t taste test this before dinner. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out so I didn’t take a picture. The picture below if of it re-heated this morning (for breakfast). I cooked/streamed all of the ingredients separately and put them in a casserole dish but next time I’ll make this a one pan meal. I’ll include directions for both below.

Ingredients

  • cooked noodles, I used spirals whole grain noodles but you can use gluten free noodles
  • eggplant, peeled, roasted and chopped
  • chopped, steamed kale
  • chopped, steamed broccoli
  • chopped, steamed red bell pepper
  • 1 jar pasta sauce
  • a few dashes of garlic powder and onion powder
  • Daiya faux cheese (optional)

Do

  1. Layer all ingredients in an oven safe dish.
  2. Heat for 20 minutes or until warm in an oven at 365 degrees.

To make this a One Pot Meal

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  2. Add noodles and peeled, cubed eggplant to water then boil for 10 minutes. If you want tender broccoli add it now too.
  3. If you prefer tender-crisp broccoli add it and the red bell pepper 5 minutes into the  noodles/eggplant cooking cycle.
  4. Two minutes later add the chopped Kale.
  5. Once everything is cooked well drain water. I find it easiest to dump it into a large colander.
  6. Pour back into your large pot and add pasta sauce.
  7. Once sauce is warm add faux cheese.

Serve

This can be served with a side salad and french bread or on it’s own. 

The Verdict

My husband and I loved this. My 3 year old liked it too but he didn’t like the chunkiness of all the veggies. Next time it might be worth it to puree them in his. The 1 year old loved this too but started having a reaction to something in it. We are not sure what so we will not be giving this to him again soon.

This was tasty this morning but not as good as it was when I first made it. I know it is not typical breakfast food but ever since I ate soup for breakfast last week I’ve been enjoying dinner for breakfast. Soon I’ll make breakfast for dinner and balance out the universe.

I bought the Daiya faux cheese to see what all of the fuss is about. The 3 year old, who really misses cheese like it, or at least liked seeing it on his food. It was OK but I’d rather not have any. It would probably be a good transition food if you really thought you needed cheese but I don’t miss it.

Have you tried any new foods lately?

Meal Plan Monday

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Soup Week went over pretty well at my house last week, the Minestrone Soup was definitely the best. My husband wants me to make it again this week but I think I’ll have to pass as I’ve had enough soup for a few days. I was eating leftover soup for breakfast, which was delicious by the way. I may start a new trend in breakfast; but now I’m ready to sink my teeth into some heartier fare.

Minestrone Soup

Last week I mentioned that I was excluding rice and all rice products from our Menu Plan to see if my 1 year old’s eczema would clear up. I’m happy to say this his eczema has been much clearer this week. A really weird thing happened on Sunday night. I noticed he was having a reaction after eating peas. He regularly eat’s peas so I’m not sure what the problem is. Typically I just feed him peas from a can but this time I fed him peas that came in a plastic “to go” type of package. The ingredients on the package just say “peas, water, salt” so I wonder if it could be the packaging.

I will continue to keeping rice out of our diet this week and also peas. After his skin clears up again I’ll attempt to feed him the peas.

This week’s Meal Plan

Breakfast will be pancakes, cereal or toast with a nut butter and fruit.

Snack will be fresh fruit, smoothies, or raw veggies with Jalapeno hummus. Our humongous Costco sized container of hummus is almost gone so this will be disappearing this week.

Lunch is typically leftovers or sometimes a sandwich or a wrap. This week I have baked potatoes that I like to top with chili.

Black Bean Burgers

Dinner

Monday: Eggplant Italian Bake (notice the ambiguity, I have no idea what I’m making yet, just that is will have eggplant. Yeah, that is how I roll.)

Tuesday: Pasta with Vegan Alfredo Sauce and veggies, likely asparagus and broccoli

Wednesday: Veggie Pot Pie, I’m hoping for a flaky biscuit like crust.

Thursday:Black Bean Burgers with Mashed Potatoes (these have gotten bumped the last two times I’ve planned them so we will see)

Friday: I have no idea, but probably leftovers, maybe I’ll make the Minestrone Soup after all. 

Have you planned your menu for the week?

My Weight Loss Story: A Health Revival

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I’ve never been overweight, I’m closer to average. I know I weighed more than I needed to but I felt pretty comfortable with the way I looked. I wasn’t planning on strutting my stuff in a bikini anytime soon but whatever. My normal was about 150 lbs and I was (mostly) OK with that. 

Pre-Plant-Based Diet with my amazing Husband

I had a baby in 2009 and lost all of the baby weight within 6 months. In 2010 I decided to work out, get in shape and lose a little weight. I worked out hard for a few months and only gained weight. I started trying to eat “healthy” along with working out and finally lost a few pounds just in time for vacation. Two months later I found out I was 10 weeks pregnant. I should have known. I lost weight when I got pregnant with my first son too. I gained about 25 to 30 pounds with this pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby boy in January.

I was plagued with bladder problems throughout the year; repeated UTI’s and bladder spasms were making leaving the house next to impossible. After a ton of doctors appointments, invasive testing, and mucho frustration I’d had enough. In an act of desperation I sent an email out to about a dozen of my friends telling them about my symptoms, a possible interstitial cystitis diagnosis, and all of the fear and isolation I was feeling. I pleaded for any help anyone could give me and for all of the prayer they could muster.

One friend put me in touch with a family member who had similar symptoms. My long conversations with her gave me hope and pointed me in the direction of Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy.

Another friend introduced me to her mother, Eileen, who is a Whole Food Educator. We communicated primarily through email with a few phone calls. I had to fill out a ton of paperwork and a food diary so she could get a full picture of my health and life style. Eileen started me on a path of Dietary Excellence™ in October of 2011. She also recommended some products to help resolve the chronic infections and improve my digestion. She had faith that I would be symptom free by Christmas. I prayed, I hoped, I made the change.

I watched Forks Over Knives and was encouraged that this would not only help my bladder problems but prevent diseases for the rest of my life. My husband got on board almost immediately and experienced great health benefits as well. He has also lost quite a bit of weight, but I’ll share about that another time.

As I followed this new path I noticed changes right away. Aches and pains that had become an everyday occurrence were gone. I felt more clarity, kind of like the Claritn commercials. Also, weight was almost falling off. I lost 16 pounds in the first 6 weeks. Most of that was in the first two weeks. Even after I stopped losing pounds my shape was definitely improving. 

I had some bladder flare up’s during the first few months and some infections that just didn’t want to clear up. I got discouraged on more than a few occasions but Eileen was there to encourage me. I was a believer in the plant-based diet. By Christmas I was symptom free. Praise the Lord!!!

We had family visiting during Christmas 2011 so we got a little off track, but not much. We decided to participate in the Physicians  Committee for Responsible Medicine‘s 21 Day Vegan Kickstart. This was the first time we were eating completely vegan as a household. I loved it and I felt great. I was creating delicious recipes every week, with a few duds now and then. I lost another 3.5 pounds bringing the total to 19.5 pounds, I started in a size 14 and now I’m in a size 6!!!

Christmas 2011 with my oldest son 

Suddenly all I could talk about was our plant-based diet. A lot of people were interested. I decided to blog about this journey, what works for us and what doesn’t. I found myself helping friends and encouraging them. 

Eileen has given me permission to share her email address. If you are interested in contacting Eileen she can be reached at ek@havelifelongwellbeing.com. You can also check out her website for more information.

Do you have an encouraging story you’d like to share? Leave a comment with your story or a link to your blog, let us encourage one another.

Stir-Fry-Bleh!

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Stir-Fry never sounds good to me, but in the last 4 months of eating this way it has been awesome every time I’m made it. Truth be told, I am NOT a lover of vegetables. Shocking I know, what with this Plant-Based Diet and all. Even still, every time I made stir-fry it tasted amazing, as if God worked a miracle right there on my plate.

Until last night. The stir-fry was awful. I’m not sure what I did different but bleh, yuck, and more bleh!!! By popular vote stir-fry will not return to the Meal Plan for at least a few weeks.

Sometimes things just don’t turn out. Sometimes it happens several times in one week.

Take these muffins for example. The first time I made them they were good, but not quite sweet enough more my taste. They were perfect for my husband who, unlike me, isn’t cursed with a big honking sweet tooth.

The First Attempt

The second time I made them….what the???

Pitiful Second Attempt

They sank, were wet, and just plain pitiful. On the plus side they tasted great. I had hoped to use these for my 1 year old’s birthday, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Third Attempt

The next day I made these. Big difference. I finally realized what I did wrong. I left out 1 cup of flour. Genius I know. But I learned a lesson: when reading chicken scratch directions pay careful attention to detail. And, follow the recipe, I always want to tweak them.

See the Difference

The third attempt was good enough for a Birthday Celebration! And this is how we do it.

Birthday Cupcake
Adult version with Cherry Glaze
First Time Having Sugar
Sugar Rush