My Plant-Based Family

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

Next Step Challenge

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

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I’m back! I apologize to those of you who experienced some problem assessing this site over the last few days. I transferred to a self-hosted site and there have been a few issues. I’m very excited about all of the things I have planned, including more Back to School recipes. (just a few more kinks to work out)

I admit, Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal throws me for a loop. Breakfast isn’t supposed to be full of chocolate-y goodness, right? I prefer this for dessert buy you can eat it for breakfast and I wont say a word!

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal (single serving)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup frozen pitted cherries
  • 1 Tbsp. vegan chocolate chips
  • 1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional)
  • 1 tsp chia or hemp seeds (optional)

Do

  1. Mix oats and water together and cook according to package directions.
  2. Roughly chop frozen cherries and mix into cooked oatmeal along with chocolate chips.
  3. If preferred, add maple syrup and chia or hemp seeds.

Serve

This decadent oatmeal is pretty intense. Chocolate lovers will swoon but if you aren’t ready for that much chocolate in the morning feel free to cut back or leave it out.

 

graphics by Melodee Fiske
graphics by Melodee Fiske

 

Stay tuned for more Back to School recipes!

 

 

Meal Plan Monday: Balancing Back to School

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graphics by Melodee Fiske
graphics by Melodee Fiske

Could you use some help feeding your family healthy meals? This week’s meal plan will focus on healthy, quick, and easy meals; most of which are great for lunchboxes.

breakfast tacos

Breakfast

I can make a hot breakfast pretty quickly in the microwave but having something ready to go is even easier, especially for those of you with older kids. These options can be made the night before and reheated for a savory breakfast.

 

lunchbox copy
graphics by Melodee Fiske

Lunch

Some days I think life would be if I packed a lunch even though I’m home during the day. These lunch ideas are mostly Lunchbox friendly but it way depend on your situation, variations can be made to accommodate food restrictions, access to microwave, or length of lunch time. My older kids when through a period where they only had 15 minutes to eat (and socialize) and a phase where lunch boxes (or bags) weren’t cool so they would only take a sandwich.

Snack

I like to stick to fresh fruit for snacks but I also use snack time to experiment with different recipe ideas to see how well received they will be.

  • Fresh Strawberries dipped in a Chocolate-Sunflower Seed Dip
  • Apples
  • Mixed Fresh Berries
  • Raw Veggies with hummus

Portobello Fajita's

Dinner

I cook dinner with leftovers in mind; my husband often takes leftovers to work for lunch. Dinner is definitely the most time consuming meal of the day but only because I’ll use that time to prep other meals.

How to Make this Meal Plan Quick and Easy

These meals may seem labor intensive but they use many of the same ingredients so you can save time by cooking large amounts instead of just enough for one day. Here are a few tips to make it easier:

  • “Bake” potatoes in the crockpot overnight for the Breakfast Tacos, Savory Breakfast Muffins, and lunch and dinner baked potatoes.
  • Cook beans in the crockpot while you are at work. Make a double or triple batch of unfried beans in your food processor.
  • Cook a large batch of quinoa but don’t use any seasoning, then it can be eaten for breakfast, added to Breakfast Tacos, seasoned like Mexican Rice or use in the stir fry.
  • Add a side salad or raw veggies to any meal.

What is your best tip for quick and healthy meals?

Faux Cheezy Black Bean Quesadillas (Gluten-Free)

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backtoschool1 copyGraphics by Melodee Fiske

Looking for something for your kiddos lunch box? Look no further!

quesadillas Forget the boring sandwich and give these babies a try!

Faux Cheezy Black Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients

Do

  1. Spread beans on half of tortilla then add cheese sauce on top of beans.
  2. Fold in half then heat on griddle or in a skillet until brown.
  3. Cut into easy to hold triangles

Serve

We Loved these quesadillas! I served them with Mexican spiced quinoa, salsa, guacamole, and coconut milk plain yogurt. They are the perfect size for a lunch box and can be eaten quickly.

lunchbox copyGraphics by Melodee Fiske

What’s in your kid’s lunch box?

Unfried Black Beans

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I am soooo over refried beans! Who needs to add extra fat to beans anyway? Certainly not me! I have won over many people with my Unfried Beans made with pinto beans but they are a little to garlic-y for my husband so I decided to lighten up on the spices a bit. Also my 2 year old son (the one with multiple food allergies) has reactions to pinto beans but so far has been doing well with black beans.

This recipe is perfect for lunch boxes too! Use these beans in a burrito or as a delicious dip! My son loves taking beans and chips for lunch. I pair it with some red grapes and carrot sticks for a healthy lunch. See more of my Back to School posts here.

unfried black beans

Unfried Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked black beans
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup water (only as needed, the Blendtec may require more water)

Do

  1. Put beans and spices in food processor or Blendtec. Process 15 to 20 seconds.
  2. Scrape down the sides as needed and process until beans are smooth, add water as needed.

Serve

These beans are incredible by themselves but I love them with Mexican Rice or wrapped up in a tortilla.

Tip: If you only have canned beans drain and rinse them, then make as instructed. Most cans only contain about 1 1/2 cups of beans so you may want to ease up on the spices and omit the salt entirely.

Coming tomorrow…Faux Cheezy Black Bean Quesadillas!

What is your favorite way to eat beans?

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Meal Plan Monday: Back 2 School

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backtoschool1 copyGraphics by Melodee Fiske

Whether you like it or not it is “back to school” season. With that comes long nights of homework, busy schedules as extracurricular activities begin, and less time to relax as a family.

Never fear, all month I’ll be featuring Meal Plans along with new, easy and kid-friendly recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ll even throw in a few new snacks as well.

Meal Plan

blueberry oatmeal 2

Breakfast

The first meal of the day is never set in stone at our house. My kids love quinoa for breakfast!

 

Lunch

I chose these lunches because they are easily adapted to something “new and different” (magic words at our house) from last nights dinner leftovers. These lunches are “Lunch Box Friendly” too!

  • Black Bean and Faux Cheeze Sauce Gluten-Free Quesadillas
  • Baked Potatoes
  • Sunflower seed butter and Jelly Sandwiches
  • Pasta and Veggie Salad
  • Taco Salad
  • Nachos

Snack

We usually eat fruit for snacks but I’ll throw in an occasionally muffin in the mix.

Taco Potatoes

Dinner

Don’t let dinner intimidate you! Choose one day to cook your beans and grains for the whole week. Quinoa, lentils, black beans, rice, and pinto beans can be mixed and matched to create new dishes for lunch and dinner. Don’t forget to bake extra potatoes for lunch leftovers.

 

 

Are you ready for school to start? What are your biggest concerns?

On the Road Again part 3

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This is the third part of a series on eating well while traveling. Today’s segment will is about eating well while staying in a hotel. We have also discussed Eating Well in the Car (packing food) and Eating Well from Fast Food Joints.

Do you struggle to eat well while traveling? It can be difficult but it isn’t impossible even while navigating multiple food allergies and eating a plant-based diet.

Eating Well while Staying in a Hotel

I’m not talking about creating gourmet masterpieces while staying in hotels, I’m talking about eating well enough that you don’t get sick. We usually stay in mid-range hotels when we travel. We usually look for hotels with a microwave, mini fridge and a breakfast buffet. We can’t always get everything we want but it helps to keep us from eating out at every meal.

Breakfast Buffet

The last hotel we stayed at had the worse breakfast options I’ve seen at a hotel (that actually serves breakfast). There was no fruit! They had lots of pastries, packets of oatmeal (the kind with flavors and sugar already mixed in), sugary cereal milk, yogurt, a waffle maker, and juice. Had we not been plant-based it would have been ok. If my son wouldn’t have had a wheat/gluten allergy we could have made due with toast or bagels.

Many hotels have great breakfast areas. I’ll list some of the options that I’ve made work in the past. If you or someone you are traveling with has food allergies I would recommend skipping the hotel breakfast area completely due to cross contamination.

  • Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts
  • Bagels with peanut butter and sliced apples or bananas
  • Fruit
  • Whole grain cereal that is low on sugar
  • If they have an omelet area ask for just the veggies
  • Toast with peanut better and fruit

Some hotels have more options, others have less. Since we were concerned for our son’s allergies I packed most the food he ate for breakfast including cereal, rice milk, hot rice cereal (just add hot water), lots of fresh and dried fruit.

Mini Fridge & Microwave Options

  • Pre-cooked Rice Bowls
  • Instant Soups
  • Sandwiches
  • Steam in bag veggies
  • Frozen Food (store-bought or homemade)
  • Salad from a deli
  • Non-dairy yogurt
  • Hummus and raw veggies

This is a pretty simple list but we really wants to spend a lot of time cooking when you are traveling. We also had a bag with small sunflower seed butter packets that could be used in a food emergency.

Do you ever find yourself needing to cook in a hotel?

We’ve stayed in places with full kitchen’s and I hated all the time I spend cooking and cleaning. Now I opt for easier and quicker (microwave) cooking methods while on the go.

Do you have a suggestions I may have missed for eating at the hotel?