My Plant-Based Family

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

Next Step Challenge

Got Snacks? Try Dry Roasted Edamame

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Got Snacks?

My family of 4 eats a plant-based diet, 2 of us are also gluten-free and 1 nut and oat free. Do you realize how hard it is to find good snacks that fit the bill. I’m always looking for snacks that are easy for my 2 year old to eat and not too messy. Sometimes we end up with a variety of granola bars, cereal bars, fruit pouches, etc. but have to be careful about cross-contamination.  It’s tough.

One Snack the Whole Family Can Enjoy

When I first heard about Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame I was intrigued. We tried the Lightly Salted, Sea Salt, Spicy Wasabi and Goji Blend. They were so good! I didn’t let my 2 or 4 year old try the Spicy Wasabi but they loved the other flavors. I love them all! These are coming with us on our next road trip. We eat a lot of snacks on the road! 🙂

I even shared them with some of the attenders at Healthy Cravings and they loved them as well. The Sea Salt seemed to be the favorite among many of them. I think the Lightly Salted are my favorite. My boys had already eaten all of the Goji Blend so no one else got to taste those. I’d never had dry roasted edamame, I thought they had a nutty flavor.

I Love that these dry roasted edamame are:

  • Gluten-Free
  • Vegan
  • Non-GMO

These are delicious and perfect for those times you want a crunchy (and salty) snack.

FTC Disclaimer: I receive free product samples from Seapoint Farms. All opinions are my own and not influenced by the Seapoint Farms.

My Taste of Pritikin Experience

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Have you ever been to a health resort or spa? Last month I had the opportunity to visit Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa.

Everyone keeps asking about my trip but I’ve held off on talking about it partly because I needed time to reflect on it, partly because I was busy but also because I wanted to see how the trip would impact me in the long run.

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The Cook-Off

If you remember I won the trip after entering a recipe contest and creating a recipe for Cilantro-Lime Infused Quinoa with Black Beans. You can watch a short video about the contest HERE, mostly I’m just nodding in the video. 🙂 The cook-off was really a lot of fun. I was completely comfortable since I regularly cook for a crowd and regularly speak in public. Also, my dish, like most of my recipes was simple and easy to prepare. Although I didn’t win the grand prize I was happy to get the audience’s vote. Chef Anthony and the Nutritionist Kimberly Gomer voted for Toni’s Chicken Fajita dish but both said they loved mine and that it was the healthiest choice. The recipes were very similar and both used quinoa and black beans.

Chef Anthony gave me a schmancy Chef Knife too! It is shown in the video, it is much bigger than the mini-chef knife I’m used to so I was being very careful not to cut off my fingers. 🙂

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The Grounds

The Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa is part of the Trump Hotel Collection. It is currently under renovation and will be even more fabulous soon. It is right on the Blue Monster at the Doral for all of you golf enthusiasts. Our rooms were nice and very comfortable. They have a spacious gym full of workout equipment and weights. My favorite part of the property was the SPA! Oh yes, they have an incredible sauna, jacuzzi, a steam room that smelled of eucalyptus and a sensory shower. There were many more features but we were short on time. We didn’t even get to spend time in the pools or check out the hot and cold massaging hydrofalls. Pritikin also threw in a free massage which was heavenly.

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The Classes

There are classes scheduled all day. I had hurt my back a few days before the trip so I didn’t participate in many of the exercise classes. They also had plenty of nutrition and cooking classes. I wish I would have had more time to attend all of these. We attended a Conscience Eating Luncheon with the nutritionist and realized a lot of mistakes I make while eating like multitasking, watching television and eating too quickly.

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The Food

One of my favorite things about this trip is that I didn’t have to prepare all the food. HA! I only cooked once for the Cook-Off and I loved it but since I normally cook all of our meals I was delighted to take a few days off. While Pritikin promotes a mostly plant-based diet they also incorporate small amounts of animal protein and dairy. These were easy to avoid but I ran into a little more trouble avoiding gluten. Even when they serve meat, although only at dinner, they always have a veggie burger or veggie loaf option but they contain gluten. They would offer me something else or sometimes just ask what I would like. The service was wonderful. Breakfasts where a choice of cooked whole grains, breads, cereals and lots of beautiful fruit. The offered mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Lunch always has assorted soups, a salad bar and delicious fruit.  My favorite meal of the day was always Happy Hour. Fresh juices and some incredible food including the best asparagus I’ve ever had. If you get a chance to visit Pritikin, prioritize the Happy Hour and go or the alcohol-free mojito.

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The People

We met some wonderful people. The other people staying at the resort were open and friendly, the staff was eager to help, Toni (the other blogger in the cook-off from Food. Just Saying’) and her husband were a lot of fun. I brought my friend Mandy who was the perfect traveling partner. We stayed up late for girl-talk and enjoyed taking in the whole experience.

The Difference

The biggest difference for my was salt. Pritikin preaches a salt-free diet. I had already been cutting back on salt but this trip acted as a salt cleanse for me. While I use small amounts of salt at home I don’t cook with it or add it to every meal. I also realized that I need to adopt a consistent workout regimen.

The Badge

Best Meatless Dish Badge

If you ever have a chance to stay at the Pritikin Longevity Center you should definitely do it. I have no doubt you will experience renewed healthy.

Meal Plan Monday: Loads of Beans

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Do you ever get over run with leftovers? We do! We have a lot of leftover beans from last weeks Healthy Cravings. By the way, if you are in the Mesa/Gilbert/Phoenix you should be coming to Healthy Cravings!

The first few days of the Meal Plan will focus on using up the leftover beans and leftover veggies. We didn’t even do a real grocery shop this weekend. I want to work towards an empty refrigerator this week.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

We have been relying on cereal quite a bit lately but I will not succumb to guilt. Cereal may not be the best choice but it can work for a decent breakfast. 

Lunch

I love eating leftovers for lunch because I don’t like to spend a lot of time cooking lunch. I don’t mind passive cooking like tossing things into a pan or the oven though.

Snacks

We stick to fruit and veggies for most snacks. It helps us make good choices and lower our grocery budget since we eat seasonal produce. Occasionally I’ll make something special, especially when I’m trying new recipes.

Dinner

As mentioned before we have a lot of beans that are already cooked; pinto beans, Unfried Black Beans, lentil and chickpeas. Since these are all cooked it will save me a lot of cooking time this week. I may put some of them in the freezer if it looks like we wont use them in time.

We have a lot going on this week so I fully expect us to be eating out as well. I’m hoping to avoid running to the store so I’ll swap out ingredients and work with what I have.

Do you use these Meal Plans for inspiration? I’d love to hear what you think!

Book Review and Giveaway: Oatmeal On the Go by Sarah Kirkconnell

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I love reading cookbooks! Lately I’ve been relying on ebooks to get my fix because they are usually less expensive and I always have access to my favorite recipes, especially when I’m at the store or a friend’s house.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Today you will have the chance to win a FREE copy of Oatmeal On The Go by Sarah Kirkconnell. You may already be familiar with Sarah, she is constantly creating impressive allergy-friendly and mostly plant-based recipes at her personal blog, Gazing In. You can also find her at Trail Cooking. She is also the author of Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Sarah’s newest book, Oatmeal On The Go is available in electronic format for only $3.99!

Plant-Based, Vegan and Gluten-Free

I LOVED reading a cookbook that is safe for our whole family. Sure there are some delicious recipes in this book that use nuts but we can easily substitute those.  Many “healthy” cookbooks still contain gluten which is a no-no in our house. We already buy gluten-free oats and using Sarah’s easy method’s I can prep a weeks worth of breakfast in minutes. She also includes a Freezer Bag Method, Mug Method or “Bring to Boil” Pot Method.

If you need help streamlining  you breakfast routine or even some inspiration this book is a great investment. Oatmeal On The Go includes 11 recipes and helpful tips. So whether you are a Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal fan or more of a Coconut & Blueberry Oatmeal kind of person Sarah has got you covered. I’m sure this book has a few combinations you can’t live without.

Enter the Giveaway

There are several easy ways to get extra entries, just click “a Rafflecopter giveaway” to enter. The winner will receive a FREE ebook from Sarah. This contest is NOT restricted to the US, anyone can enter. The winner will be emailed once the giveaway ends. If they don’t respond another winner will be chosen. The giveaway ends October 12th at 12 am, AZ time.

If you don’t win you can still own your own copy by visiting Sarah’s site and purchasing your own copy.

What is your favorite oatmeal combination?

Meal Plan Monday Plus a Few Local Events

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Meal Plan Monday

How do I confront a busy week? With a Plant-Based Meal Plan of course!

Events

A few upcoming events include a side walk fair at Keystone Natural Family Medicine! I’ll be a vendor so if you are in the area please stop by between 9 and noon on Wednesday, October 9th. They are having some great specials too including a Food Sensitivity Panel and Instant Cholesterol Checks. We LOVE our doctor.

Thursday is Healthy Cravings. If you are new here Healthy Cravings is a once a month meeting I host to show people how easy, inexpensive and delicious a Plant-Based Diet can be. This month is all about BEANS! If you are in the area and want more information email me.

Saturday my husband and I have the privilege to team up with Danny Collier of Simplicity Fitness and teach a cooking class for individuals going through a 21 Day Clean Eating Cleanse. The recipe will also be featured on the menu at Red Mountain Ranch Country Club.

To make things a little easier each week I choose a one to two things that will be the cornerstone of the Meal Plan. This week it is definitely Quinoa with some reoccurring chickpeas, noodles and broccoli as well. The quinoa, chickpeas and noodles are ready for anything I can dream up.

Meal Plan

Breakfast

I just received my bulk order of Gluten-Free Oats so there will be a lot of oatmeal this week.

Lunch

With such a busy week I’ll eat a lot of sandwiches and wraps this week plus a few easy meals. My kids always love Breakfast Quinoa for lunch too!

Snack

My snacks have been a little on the naughty side lately. 🙂

  • Gluten-Free Apple Coffee Cake (Recipe coming soon)
  • Gluten-Free Brownies (another new recipe)
  • Grapes
  • Veggies and hummus
  • Apples, GF Pretzels and Sun Butter

 Dinner

Most of my dinners for the week are already cooked and waiting for me. 🙂

I’ll be making some desserts for the side walk fair also!

Since Thursday’s Healthy Cravings is all about beans I’m sure a few of these meals will be side lined for more bean-centric meals. I didn’t plan for them because I didn’t want to cook beans early in the week then have to cook them again. There may be a Chipotle run or too also. What can I say, it is convenient and delicious.

Once A Week Cooking

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I love batch cooking or Once a Week Cooking! Instead of starting from scratch every night I prefer to cook large batches of food to mix and match for various meals throughout the week. It saves me time, money but most importantly my sanity. Most of the time I’ll just cook my beans and grains and chop veggies for the week but sometimes I get it all done.

Once a Week Cooking

 

Check out my before and after. There are a few things missing from the “before” picture like frozen organic corn, eggplant and spices.

Batch cooking, or in this case, Once A Week Cooking is tough; especially when you are also doing laundry, changing diapers and trying to keep your little ones out of the way. I didn’t prepare every meal for the week but I prepared a lot. The items that didn’t get eaten are tucked into my freezer.

My Once A Week Cooking Plant-Based Menu

  1. A 2 quart pitcher of cooked black beans
  2. Black Bean and Quinoa Salad, Chopped Romaine and extra Salsa
  3. Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers (about a dozen), sliced tomatoes and lettuce
  4. Oven Roasted Potatoes
  5. Corn Chowder
  6. Veggie Pasta with onions, eggplant, broccoli, red bell peppers, garlic and tomatoes
  7. Cooked Quinoa
  8. Salad with kale, spinach, romaine, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes and broccoli *salad dressing not pictured

Creating a Schedule for Once A Week Cooking

It is helpful to cook foods that have a long cooking time first or even the day before. I cooked the black beans the day before so I wouldn’t have to wait to make the Black Bean Quinoa Salad or Black Bean-Quinoa Burgers.

Since my beans were already cooked I began with washing, cutting and roasting the potatoes followed by cooking the quinoa. As the quinoa cooked I began chopping veggies for the soup and salads. This particular menu was very labor intensive. After chopping the veggies I began cooking the Corn Chowder and assembling salads. Once the quinoa was finished cooking I mixed the Black Bean and Quinoa Salad together then started the pasta. As the pasta cooked I made the Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers.

Helpful Tips

Have a Plan. You must have a plan if you hope to cook all of your meals for the week in a few hours. Decide what you want to cook and make a list of all of the ingredients needed. Alternately if you have already done your shopping make a list of ingredients and try to match them to recipes. If you need to use recipes have them available.

Don’t forget to set a timer or timers. With lots of stuff cooking it is easy to forget how long something has cooked. I find it helpful to jot down notes every time something begins or ends with the time next to it. It also helps me keep track of how long it is taking me for the whole menu so I can do better in the future.

Start with a Clean Kitchen. It doesn’t have to be sparkling clean but having the dishes washed and counters clear with be a huge help.

Keep up with the dishes. I use almost every pan I own when I batch cook like this. Often I wash and reuse the same one but sometimes I have all 4 burners going and pans in the oven.

Clean out your fridge first. You will need a lot of room in your fridge for all of the food you have prepared (you will also need a lot of containers).

I still have to make breakfast, although I like to use the cooked quinoa for that and make Breakfast Quinoa or Summer Berry Quinoa but cereal works too. There is plenty of food here for lunches but we love sunbutter sandwiches and veggie sandwiches for quick and easy meals.

If you are new to cooking beans check out one of my first posts where I discuss planning and how to cook beans. Another great resource is my pal Jacqueline at Barefoot Essence and her un-fussy Meal Maps. I’m constantly shaking my head YES as I read her blog.

Do you batch cook? What tip would you add to the list?

If you need help getting started check out my NEW Plant-Based Meal Plans. They include a 5 Day Dinner Meal Plan, Prep Sheet with easy to follow instructions to get your batch cooking accomplished, Shopping List and Recipes!