My Plant-Based Family

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

Christmas

Christmas Gift Ideas

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Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I have not. In fact, I’ve barely begun.

Thankfully I do a lot of my shopping on Amazon. It’s much easier to shop when my kids are in bed and I love the 2 day free shipping (I’m a Prime Member you can also Give the Gift of Amazon Prime or just sign up for a Start Free Trial).

Christmas gift ideas

The Christmas Gift Ideas

This year’s gift guide will focus on my favorite things for the kitchen so you may want to email this to your spouse or post it on your Facebook to sufficiently drop the hint. Let’s face it, most of us need a few hints.

Instant Pot

Instant Pot

Of course the newest and most used thing in my kitchen is our Instant Pot. I’ve been hearing from readers who love theirs too. The best deal is usually on Amazon. It the Instant Pot is out of your budget a Crock Pot may be for you depending on your schedule and cooking preferences.

Blendtec

We love our Blendtec Total Blender. We got ours at Costco but you can find them on Amazon. The best deal is at the Blendtec site where you can find a refurbished blender with a great warranty.

If you cannot afford a high-powered blender but need something for chopping or making dips you could go with a Magic Bullet or a Food Processor. I used those for years before investing in a good blender and they did a great job but I’ve replaced them both with my Blendtec.

Budget-Friendly Ideas

There are many low-cost kitchen items that wear out and should be replaced every few years like Cutting Boards, Silicone Spatula’s (mine are always lost because my kids use them as ninja swords) and Pyrex Containers. My Measuring Cups and Spoons are always disappearing too. I don’t know a single friend who has a good set of pot holders, while they may not be romantic they are probably much needed.

Experiences

Cooking classes, tasting events and other experiences are also fun gifts. They can be made even more special if you buy two for a couples, girls night or mother-daughter experience.

You could also look into my 31 Day Plant-Based eCourse and Challenge. It starts January 1st and would be a great gift. We have great prizes lined up (hello Pampered Chef) and some great contributors!

Most importantly remember the reason for the season. Christmas is not about receiving gifts, it is about Jesus.

So instead of spending too much money on gifts that will soon be forgotten I hope you will find ways to love others. Remember those who have less than you or those who may be alone for the holidays.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

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Plant-Based Holiday Party Planning Guide

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Party Planning Guide

Plant-Based Party Planning Guide

Are you hosting (or attending) a Christmas or New Year’s Eve Party? We’ve already been to one Christmas Party this year and will likely attend others. For years we hosted a large Christmas party and would usually have around 70 people squeezed into our house for a few hours. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. After our babies were born we took a break from hosting such large events. I’m hoping we can return to them in a few years when our kids need a little less supervision.

If you are attending a party you have it pretty easy, you can just bring a dish to share and be done. If you are like me, you want your dish to be a show stopper and as allergy-friendly as possible. The list below will give you some ideas.

If you are hosting a party I’ve found an Open-House Style Dessert and Appetizer/Hors d’oeuvre Party to be the easiest and most fun to host. If you are hosting a Dinner I highly recommend you check out my Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Plan! It work’s great for Christmas as well and you can still add a few of the ideas below.

The great thing about a Dessert and Appetizer/Hors d’oeuvre Party is that you can ask everyone to bring a treat to share to cut down on work. We never specified what people should bring and ended up with a great assortment every year.

My guests were welcome, but not required, to bring a treat. As I made my preparations I would plan enough treats to feed everyone, even if no one brought a dish. I would only plan foods that could be left room temperature for a few hours, unless you are using a crock-pot. I also liked to have a good mix of sweet and savory foods to choose from.

Sweet Treats

  • Gluten-Free Brownies
  • Fresh Fruit Parfaits (make them in small “shot glass sized” cups and keep extras refrigerated until needed)
  • Cupcakes with crushed candy canes on top
  • Chocolate Mousse with fresh fruit (I recommend you nest the chocolate mousse bowl in a bigger bowl filled with ice)
  • Cookies, lots and lots of cookies! I would make dozens of sugar cookies, chocolate chips cookies, no-bakes, and peanut butter.
  • Chocolate Covered Pretzels. Glutino makes great GF pretzels, just pick a great dairy-free chocolate to melt.
  • Peppermint Black Bean Brownies
  • Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake or Cupcakes

Savory Snacks

  • A Nacho Bar featuring Chips, Salsa, Guacamole, Faux Cheeze Sauce (in crock-pot), and maybe Quinoa-Lentil Taco Meat
  • Hummus and Veggies
  • Savory CHICKpea Salad with Crackers or on mini-sandwiches, you can add spicy pepper and tomatoes for a spicier dish
  • Spring Rolls
  • Tortilla Rollups, use vegan cream cheese and finely chopped veggies
  • Baked Potato Wedges with assorted dipping sauce
  • Stuffed Mushrooms or Stuffed Shells
  • Popcorn
  • Trail Mix

Many people will be holding a plate with one hand and eating with the other. I try to stick to foods that can be eaten without utensils when possible.

Drinks

  • Water and Fruit Infused Water
  • Sparkling Water with Lime Wedges, Cucumbers or other fruit
  • Coffee (chose decaf if you are making a lot at once and choose flavored creamers) Check out Sarah’s ebook The Natural Barista for some great ideas.
  • Punch or lemonade
  • Hot Chocolate or Hot Apple Cider with fun additions like candy canes, cinnamon sticks, etc.

I recommend setting up a Drink Station so most of the spills are confined to one area, hopefully near the sink. I buy small cups because many will be filled to the top then forgotten completely. Placing a few makers near the Drink Station will help. I also strategically place a few dish towels and a roll of paper towels to handle spills. Hot Chocolate or Apple Cider can be kept warm in a crock pot but you will need cups appropriate for hot beverages.

Comfort Tips

  • Turn your thermostat a few degrees cooler than normal, the extra body heat will warm things up.
  • Set up name tags near the front door and ask everyone to wear one. This will cut down on awkward moments when you forget your neighbors name.
  • Have your spouse, older child or close friend check the restroom periodically for spills, low supplies or anything else that needs attention.
  • Let your guest know if children are welcome at the party. If so, try to have a special seating/eating area for them. Many will need to sit down to eat. Put away any fragile items that may be intriguing to little fingers.
  • If your dining table is used as a serving table remove the chairs and move them to another area. We forgot one year and lots of people sat (and sat their kids) at the serving table and no one else could get to the food, and the kids helped themselves. You could also use the table for dining and chose another area for serving.
  • Move furniture around to create plenty of sitting and standing room.
  • Turn OFF the TV if it is in the main area. If you play music make sure it is low enough that no one has to compete with it to talk.
  • Have food refills available to grab easily. For example, I would have cookies on a plate wrapped up but ready to go and one veggie tray assembled with veggie refills in individual containers.
  • Have extra tongs or serving utensils handy.
  • If serving allergy-friendly treats label them and consider placing them away from foods that could cross-contaminate them.

Do you have a recipe or tip to share? Finish this sentence, It’s  not a party without ____________!

Give a Gift, Change a Life

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Gift Guides

Today kick’s off My Plant-Based Family’s week of  Holiday Gift Guides. I’m so excited because I’ve been planning this for months. I wanted to share my top gift picks well before the holidays to give you time to plan.

I’m extra excited about today’s pick because today I’m featuring World Vision! Later in the week I’ll suggest some great books, body products, snacks and of course stuff for your kitchen.

World Vision

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that helps children, families, and communities worldwide. They provide emergency assistance to children and families affected by natural disasters  and are working diligently in the Philippines right now to help with the aftermath of the storm. World Vision also strives to help victims of civil conflict, work with communities to develop long-term solutions to alleviate poverty, and advocate for justice on behalf of the poor. They are busy at work in nearly 100 countries, serving all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
 
Share of deep Well

Each year we pick an organization like World Vision and buy gifts for families we will never meet. World Vision has a Gift Catalog were you will find things like buying a share to dig a well, provide clothing for children and provide hope for exploited girls. Each year we would ask our kids (now teenagers) to look through the catalog and decide how to bless others. We would explain how we have so much it’s our responsibility to help others and sometimes that means we need to sacrifice what we want to make sure other people can get what they need.

World Vision Red Bracelet

You can also purchased handcrafted gifts from all over the world. If you really want to impact a family, fund a micro loan, World Vision allows you to choose an entrepreneur and follow their progress.

I just picked out several opportunities that caught my eye but their are many others to choose from.

There are many ways to help. Visit World Vision to find out more or Follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Do you have any traditions to give back during the holidays? We enjoy filling Christmas stockings for needy kids in our area, but love contributing to organizations like World Vision that can make a difference in place we will never get the opportunity to visit.

Tips for Planning Holiday Meals/Parties: A Manifesto

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A note: This is really long but not really a manifesto. I have a tendency to want to share EVERYTHING. Since Thanksgiving is coming up so quickly I just couldn’t bring myself to leave anything out.

With Thanksgiving less than a week away I thought it was only fitting to offer some tips for planning a big meal or hosting a party. This is not an all-inclusive list so please leave a comment with your favorite tips. I’ve hosted Thanksgiving 5 out of the last 6 years, this year I’m not hosting but will do a good deal of cooking. Since moving to Arizona we have also hosted an annual Christmas party for friends and neighbors. Although I have a lot of experience hosting events I don’t do it perfectly and that is ok with me. I try to do better each year, not bigger, not more expensive, not fancier, sometimes I just have a better attitude through the planning and preparing process.

holidays

Make Lists

Being organized will make everything much easier. Make a list for everything! I make all kinds of lists and they vary depending on the party. Almost every party has a food list and a house list.

Food List

I make these lists in layout format and start with the finished product. For example, on my food list I may write mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, etc. Next to the mashed potatoes I’ll write peel potatoes, cook potatoes, mash potatoes; then on the far right hand side of the paper I write all of the ingredients I need like potatoes, rice milk, nutritional yeast. This makes an easy grocery list.

After I have the whole list organized this way I’ll go back and assign a day for each task. Mashed Potatoes keep and reheat well so these can be made a few days ahead of time. Some food like dressing/stuffing are best done on multiple days, one day I’ll make the corn bread, another day I can chop the onion and celery, and bake a different day. You can also assign someone a task by telling them to do everything circled in yellow. I’m sure you know that each food item will need to be put in a serving dish but we don’t alway plan for that, especially when making a lot of food. Under each dish write how it will be served so it is clean and ready to go, for example Mashed Potatoes- Long Oval Bowl or Sweet Potatoes- Rectangle Pan. The last time I hosted Thanksgiving I also wrote a loose schedule of when each dish would need to be in the oven. I can only cook 1-2 items at a time or I can keep 2-4 warm. If someone else is bringing food make sure to ask if it needs to be heated when they arrive.

House List

I arrange the house list similarly. Each room is listed on the left side of the paper, then chores separately. For example next to Living Room I’d write vacuum, dust, clean furniture, etc. if I need to purchase anything to accomplish those tasks I write that on the far right side of the of the paper a.k.a. the grocery list side. Many of these tasks can also be completed days before the party day. If you’re like me and have small children in the house this may be really difficult, but do the best you can. Having everything written out makes it easier to realize how much work you have to do, you can prioritize and delegate as needed.

To-Do List

Sometimes I’ll have a Special Project List. For my Healthy Cravings groups it might have item’s listed like, name tags, check RSVPs, borrow chairs, drinks, disposable plates, forks, cue up video clip, etc. Items that need to be bought are also written on the right side. If you are hosting for a holiday dinner you may need to plan out decorations, seating, safe places for kids to play, do you have enough toilet paper, coffee creamer, clean out fridge, etc.

A few more tips…

Don’t wait until the last-minute to do your shopping. Shop as early as possible for supplies so you can make one last trip for the perishable items.

Know your limits and ask for help. If you can’t do it all ask someone to help with cleaning, food, shopping, or even watch the kids while you check things off your list.

Get a head count and ask about allergies. You want your guest to be comfortable, that will be difficult if their isn’t enough space, seating, or food. For parties this isn’t always possible. When we host our Christmas party it is always open house style with a few seating areas but chairs removed from food areas so guest can walk up “buffet style” and stand to visit or go to the seating area in the other room. One year we didn’t get the chairs moved out in time and all the parents put their kids at the table, which is perfectly reasonable, and the kids continued to stick their hands in the food on the table. Ewww! If you’re hosting a dinner where everyone will sit having enough table and chair space is crucial.

Plan time to get yourself ready. After a long day or cooking and cleaning I sometimes forget what I look like. I try to run up to shower at least an hour before anyone else is going to arrive. That is enough time for me but I’m kind of plain and don’t take a lot of time to primp.

Focus on the reason for the get together more than getting everything done. On too many occasions (ok usually every time) I’m still working on getting things done when people arrive. There is always something else to be done. 🙂 I try to keep an eye on refilling the veggie tray or hummus but mostly I want to enjoy my guests. I want to have conversations that matter with people who matter. I even leave a few extra towels out by the drinks because spill are going to happen and people feel bad for making messes.

Let’s hear it. What is your best tip or tips for hosting a shindig?