My Plant-Based Family

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

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Gratituesday: Someone is Listening

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Have you ever had a problem you couldn’t resolve yourself and had to call customer service? It seems like they are always closed when I need help. Sometimes when I call I end up listening to a really long menu, none of the options seem to fit, I pick one and wait, and wait, and wait, only to find out that they are closed. Errr!

I’m so grateful that prayer doesn’t work that way.

I can call out to God anytime, anywhere and He hears me.

I don’t need to be good enough.

I don’t need the “right” words.

I don’t need an appointment.

I don’t need to call during business hours.

I just need to speak my heart.

And you know what, God hears when I call our to Him. He also cares about me.

The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. Psalm 145:18

Prayer is something we shouldn’t take for granted. I believe we can effect life with our prayers. Sins can be forgiven, friends encouraged, wisdom given, victims empowered, and lives changed.

Do you pray? I do. I believe prayer makes a difference. I also find great comfort in praying. I’ve seen God answer my prayers in exciting and sometimes unexpected ways.

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Meal Plan Monday: Weekend Cooking for Weekday Meals

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Maybe a post like this isn’t helpful; talking about weekend cooking on a Monday…oh well it’s what I do. On the weekends (and sometimes on Fridays) I like to cook things that take extra time like beans and grains so I don’t have to take the time during the week. My husband has been doing an amazing job of cutting veggies on the weekends to save time other days.

This week I have black beans and black-eyed peas to work with. My husband will probably eat most of the black-eyed peas for lunch because he and the 1 year old are the only ones who really like them. I had chickpeas too but I used most of the to make “Not So Tuna Salad” but it got a little thin so now it’s more of a dip. I have about 4 cups of it so I may freeze some of it if I don’t come up with another clever use but I’m thinking of eating it on a baked potato.

This little bit of preparation on the weekends greatly reduces the chance of a dinner time emergency run to the nearest drive thru. When I have beans or grains already prepared it also gives me a direction to go with my meal planning.

On the produce front we have the usual suspects along with a few special items: baby spinach, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, celery, a red bell pepper, potatoes, peaches, nectarines, green apples, yellow apples, mangos, grapes, cherries, a pineapple, a watermelon, half a golden melon, some kale, a few tomatoes, a few jalapenos and bunches and bunches of bananas.

I’m thinking of making a fruit salsa since I have a good variety of fruit.

Meal Plan

Breakfast isn’t really planned out everyday but will be made up of toast, oatmeal, cereal, farina, fruit, and maybe pancakes. Today I had whole grain toast with peanut butter topped with thin slices of green apples. It was so good! One of my favorite things!

Lunches will be equally easy and mostly made up of sandwiches, wraps, baked potatoes, beans and  grain bowls, and other leftovers.

Snacks are usually fruit, veggies with hummus, smoothies, or other quick and easy things. Lately my boys have been stealing apples off the counter to share. The little one will rope the big one into his exploits. When we leave carrots sticks out the 3 year old steals them too.

Dinner is planned out a little better, the trick is sticking to it. 🙂

Monday: BBQ Chickpea Salad with Fruit Salsa and Black Beans

Tuesday: The Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole I posted last week, my family’s favorite.

Wednesday: Busy Day/Busy Night Baked Potatoes with steamed veggies and fruit

Thursday: Help me decide! What would you make?

Friday: Crock Pot Veggie Soup

So what do you think? Do you have any suggestions for me; I have a pretty well stocked pantry maybe I’ll make my normal Mexican fare. If you Meal Plan share it here! The more the merrier!

Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole

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I’ve mentioned a Brown Rice and Broccoli dish that my husband and teenage daughter LOVE. I’ve even given an unofficial recipe. Today I’ll give the official version.

I’ve made this with millet and it wasn’t a huge hit with the family but I like it. It would be great with couscous, noodles, or even quinoa. I don’t bake this one because it is still to hot for me to use the oven most days so I guess this isn’t really a casserole. Once it cools down I’ll try an oven version but for now I cook the rice, steam the veggies, and make the sauce in separate pans so it is a little dishwashing intensive.

In our meat-eating days I would make a chicken and rice casserole that used cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups AND a stick of butter. Bleck! We loved it then but now I can’t imagine! So unhealthy! This is our stand-in casserole.

Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

  • 4 Cups Cooked Brown Rice (More or less for depending on the number you are serving)
  • 3 Cups steamed, chopped Broccoli (other veggies could be added)
  • 1 recipe HH Brown Gravy (I use brown rice flour to make this gluten-free)

Do

  1. Pour cooked rice into a large casserole dish.
  2. Add broccoli or other veggies and gently mix.
  3. Prepare HH Brown Gravy recipe and pour it over rice and broccoli. Stir until everything is incorporated.
  4. Enjoy!

Serve

This is so easy to make. It re-heats well so I’ll often make it early in the day and reheat it for dinner. It is a great potluck dish. Many of my readers are the only one’s in their family who are plant-based, this recipe will work for you. Simply set aside half for you and allow your family to add chicken to their portion. This would also be good with a faux cheese sauce instead of the Brown Gravy sauce.

 UPDATE!

Try my latest version of this that is easier and tastes even better! The Crock Pot Broccoli and Brown Rice Casserole will knock your socks off! It’s one of our favorite recipes!

cheesy rice casserole image700

Gratituesday: My Readers

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I am so grateful for you. Yes you! On Tuesday’s I like to participate in Gratituesday over at Heavenly Homemakers and write about something I am grateful for.

Today I want to write about and give thanks to you, my readers. I’m so thankful for the time you take to read this blog. Some of you have subscribed to this blog and other just happen upon it while searching for plant-based pointers, and still more follow it on Facebook. To all of you, no matter how you found me I want to say thank you!

I get extremely excited (just ask my husband) when new people follow my blog especially when some of you leave comments or email me. I love having a dialogue, Facebook is so great for that. I may not respond to every comment but I do try. (I have one comment that I need to do more research on, I haven’t responded to that one but I will!)

I’ve also made some great friends through this blog. Breht we totally need to get together again! Valerie you are a blessing to me! Kelli, I look forward to getting together sometime soon my friend! There are more but I can’t mention them all, I would leave someone out so I won’t even try.

There have been some really neat situations where someone (HI Steffi) was reading my blog for months then came to my Food Demo with a friend, she lived in the same neighborhood. How cool is that?

I secretly want to do a cartwheels when someone I know tells me they read my blog, or even that their friend/mom/sister reads it. I’m guessing that is how rock stars feel. I’ve had friends call or text that they are going plant-based (not because of my blog but it still makes me just as happy) and I wanted to do a full on floor routine. I love it when people choose health!

You all (my dear readers) make me feel very blessed and for that I am thankful.

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Meal Plan Monday: Too Hot for Comfort Food?

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Minestrone Soup

It may be over 100° F but that isn’t too hot for me. Comfort foods go over well with my family. For lunch today I finished off some leftovers by mixing brown rice and lentil-pinto chili together; right now I am so full I can barely sit up straight. 🙂 Just so you know I didn’t eat bowls and bowls of it. I probably had about 1 1/2 cups (not quite a full bowl), but between the lentils, beans, brown rice, and veggies that is a lot of fiber. To modify a famous quote, “fiber is a girls best friend.” Everything we eat wont fall under the comfort food category but I hope a few will.

Meal Plan

Breakfast is usually quick and easy foods. We have been on the go almost every morning for the last few weeks and my boys want to eat all morning. I’ve been letting them have cereal for their first breakfast, this usually just keeps them busy while I make their real breakfast or work on something else. We normally eat oatmeal with fruit, I like to add almond butter to mine. Breakfast Quinoa is another versatile favorite but it is hard for my little guys to eat without a big mess.

Lunches are usually pretty simple too. Most of the time it’s leftovers, but sometimes we have nut butter and fruit sandwiches, salad wraps, or and easy soup.

Snack time is a great way to make sure you are getting all the veggies you need. We like raw veggies with hummus, my husband and son have even been eating cups of raw baby spinach with the smallest bit of balsamic vinaigrette. Fruit and greens smoothies are always popular here, of course I don’t tell the teenagers I put greens in it.

Dinner is where I actually put forth effort. 🙂 I try to cook enough for lunches and sometimes dinners on other nights. My husband almost always takes lunch (plus breakfast and snacks) to work each day.

Monday: Pasta and red sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. We will also have a large salad made with Spring Mix, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, any other veggies I can find.

Tuesday: Broccoli and Rice casserole. This has been my teenagers favorite dish since they came here to visit. My daughter asks for it all the time and today my husband told me it is in his top three favorite meals. I’ve made it with millet but they didn’t like it as much. It is perfect with brown rice or couscous. I’ve mentioned how I make this but I’ll post an official recipe later this week.

Wednesday: We have a long day of appointments and plans all day so this will probably be an eating out kind of day.

Thursday: Black Bean Taco Salad

Friday: Minestrone or Potato Soup

I don’t post our meals for the weekends unless we have something special planned. I cook some meals but we like to finish off all of the leftovers, buy groceries and start the week fresh.

Have you planned your meals for the week? Today I cooked a pot of chickpeas but I haven’t planned a specific meal for them. They may become hummus or perhaps BBQ Chickpea salad.

Meal Plan Monday: In The Beginning

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When my husband, little boys and I first started eating a Plant-Based Diet we ate a lot of comfort foods; Chili, Lentil or Quinoa Tacos, Nachos, Baked Potatoes were normal fare for us. I also made baked goods to help ease us off the junk food we were accustomed too. Since our teenage daughter had decided to live with us I thought it would only be considerate to eat more of these types of foods. One of the problems is we started eating plant-based in the winter, it is summer now so some of the foods we are then just don’t seem as appealing now.

My husband and I are happy with simpler meals, we can eat rice, lentils, and leafy greens and be satisfied. That is a tall order and would have been impossible for us in the beginning. It took a while for our taste buds to accept the kinds of food we like now.

A few days ago I made baked potatoes for dinner. I had some chili in the freezer that I thought would make a perfect accompaniment. I was right! Both of our teenagers liked it and my daughter even requested that I make it again this week. Yesterday my daughter flipped through my new Forks Over Knives Cookbook and picked out recipes she was interested in; I’m hoping to try a few this week.

Meal Plan

Breakfast is toast, fruit, muffins, and cereal more often than I would care to admit. We have oatmeal once or twice a week, usually with raisins, cinnamon, and a touch of agave.

Lunch is usually leftovers, nut butter sandwiches, bean and grain bowls, Big Salads, or bean burritos.

Snack ideas include: hummus with veggies, chips and salsa, smoothies, or fruit.

Dinner this week will include 3 Bean Chili, Beans and Rice, Black Bean Burgers with Twice Baked Potatoes, Quinoa or Lentil (or both) Taco Salad.

There are three nights this week with activities so we will be eating early, late, or out on those days. If you are wondering how I have time to cook so much food let me assure you I’m not slaving in the kitchen every day. Yesterday I cooked a big pot of lentils and a big pot of brown rice. I soaked pinto beans last night and cooked them today. Even if I don’t get the black beans cooked I have enough pintos and lentil to get several good meals made. By cooking beans and other foods that take a long time during my “down time” I can get dinner together in about half an hour.

While rice cooks, or beans heat up I can chop, steam, or otherwise prepare veggies.   

What are you eating this week?