My Plant-Based Family

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

Frugal

Meal Plan Monday: Fueled For Fun

by Leave a Comment

I finally made it to the store this weekend. The last few weeks we have been so busy we would just run in for banana’s, almond milk, and what ever else we needed for survival. This week my kitchen is stocked with anything a girl could ask for.

Last night I made a Mexican Quinoa Dish that was so amazing my husband and I ate a huge serving bowl full. Since it was full of healthy, yummy goodness neither of us had that overeating bloaty feeling. YAY for eating plants!

While grocery shopping I had one of those experiences that only really happen a few times a year. I’m pushing my cart through the store and smell a glorious medley of apricots, nectarines, and peaches. I stopped my cart and backed it up, then filled bags with yummy summer time fruit. If you shop at Sprout’s I was the crazy lady smelling the pineapples too! This happens to me in the fall when apples catch my attention too.

Meal Plan

Breakfast this week will be bagels (I found them on clearance), oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, my husband likes Baked Sweet Potatoes with a little cinnamon, toast, and fruit.

Lunches will be leftovers (more quinoa), nut butter sandwiches, GF pasta with veggies, leftover pancakes (from Father’s Day), and anything else inspiration stirs up.

Snacks will be fruit since I have apricots, nectarines, apples, bananas, pineapples, cantaloupe, honey dew, oranges, blueberries and a couple of peaches. I’m sure I’ll have peanut or almond butter on the apples and bananas. I found some organic soy yogurt on clearance that my husband and boys will have. Hummus and veggies are sure to make an appearance as well. A few months ago I would set hummus and carrots on the counter and munch every time I would walk by. I came to realize my hummus addiction was out of control so I have cut back substantially. 🙂

Dinner will come in the form of “Build You Own” nights. I’ll have grains, beans, veggies, and sauces at the ready and we can pick what we want. So for Monday we may choose Baked Potato topped with spicy lentils and a side or broccoli. Tuesday we may have a wrap with quinoa, beans, salsa, diced tomatoes and jalapenos. The “Build Your Own” foods will be:

  • Quinoa
  • Brown Rice
  • Millet
  • Black Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Lentils
  • Baked Potatoes
  • New Potatoes
  • Bell Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Jalapenos
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Portobello Mushrooms (these will probably be grilled)
  • Avocado

I’m experimenting with this style to see if I can save time and cut down on a little waste. My husband usually takes leftovers for lunch so this may help us be better prepared to that too.

What are you eating this week? Are there any grilled veggies in your future? Are you in love with summer fruit like I am?

Meal Plan Monday:Quick Meals

by Leave a Comment

About a month ago several friends of mine were talking about how busy there summers were going to be. I just sat back with a smirk because I had almost nothing planned, that is until my calendar started filling up. This week is a very busy week in our household. We had a much busier weekend than normal and didn’t even do our normal grocery shopping. 

My goal is to make due with what we have, maybe make a fruit and almond milk run, and have all dinner take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Breakfast and lunches usually only take about 5 minutes to make. I like to cook beans and grains on the weekend so they can be heated for a quick meal, alas I did not do that this weekend. I’ll make sure I cook these when I find spare time in the afternoon. 

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, toast, cereal, and fruit.

Lunch will be sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers, inventive I know. 

Snacks will be fruit, mini muffins I made over the weekend, and chips and salsa.

Dinner 

Monday: Brown rice with taco seasoned lentils, corn, salsa and guacamole.

Tuesday: Baked Potato (busy evening)

Wednesday: Veggie Stir Fry (made with spinach, carrots, red bell pepper, onions, garlic, and some frozen veggies to round things out)

Thursday: Spinach Dal

Friday: Bean Burritos 

The only thing that will take over 30 minutes to make is the brown rice. I’ll make a big batch and use the leftovers through the week to save time later. 

Do you have any tips or tricks for saving time in the kitchen? What is your favorite quick meal? 

What About the Kids

by Leave a Comment

When people find out how weird I am that I eat a Plant-Based diet they always ask one (or three) of three questions. 1)What do you eat? 2) Where do you get your_________ (protein, iron, calcium, etc.)? 3) What about your kids?

My kids love the way we eat! Back when I was eating junk my 3 year old loved that too (My one year old hasn’t had a chance to eat junk). When given the chance my 3 year old will ask for “chicken and fries” but after a bite or two he says he doesn’t want them. We usually keep Laura Bars or other gluten-free vegan bars in our vehicle so he don’t have to be in that situation.  

It did take my older son a little while to fully transition just like it did for my husband and I. Before switching his favorite thing to eat way Plain, Organic Yogurt. He ate it everyday! Almost every time we went to the pediatrician (even for well baby visits) they said he had an ear infection. Thankfully my pediatrician would just write us a prescription and tell us to hold onto it just in case. We would usually just take him to the chiropractor and then he would be fine. My 1 year old has never had dairy or an ear infection! 

My boys are fully transitioned now! They usually eat what we eat, when they don’t it is because I don’t want to clean up the mess if we are having something difficult for little hands to hold. When we ate Portobello Burgers a few days ago I diced up the portobello to make it easier. I didn’t give them the grilled onions or peppers because I new they wouldn’t eat them. 

I’ve written before about foods my boys eat when I wrote about raising plant-based kids. Just this morning my 1 year ate a container of blueberries and some toast for breakfast. I buy seasonal produce so I wont be feeding him blueberries when they are expensive. I typically wont let him eat a whole container himself but since they were a little past their prime and needed to be eaten he was a willing participant. 

I love that it is summer time here and fruit and veggies are so inexpensive right now. I’ll be cutting into a honey dew melon and a cantaloupe this afternoon. There is a big bowl of washed grapes and cherries in my refrigerator (I cut them in half because they are a choking hazard, and a few stray strawberries that will find their way into smoothies soon. My kids love fruit! 

If your kids aren’t crazy about fruit like mine try cutting it up and making a fruit salad. You can add So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt to the fruit. The kids will feel like they are having dessert. If they are old enough put it in a fancy glass. 

If you know what your kids like you should be able to adapt those things and make them plant-based, or at least take a step in the right direction.

I love my kids so much, I want to protect them from harmful things and that includes food that is harmful. 

Do you have any tips to share for parents trying to switch their kids to a plant-based diet? 

Portobello Burgers and Potato Salad

by 5 Comments

I do believe I am out of my cooking slump! How did this happen? I fired up my grill. (Not to be confused with gorilla, my 3 year old was disappointed when he learned I was going to the grill when he thought he heard gorilla.)  

My husband and I used to grill A LOT! In fact, he is known for his grilling abilities in some circles. When we went plant-based last year we pretty much gave up grilling, until now. These Portobello Burgers and veggies were my first attempt at plant-based grilling. I can tell you it is quite a different experience, but I’ll keep those details to myself because I get somewhat disgusted when I think about actually cooking animal flesh.

Portobello Burgers 

Ingredients 

  • 2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
  • 1 Tbsp Agave
  • 1/2 c. water
  • Portobello’s (I pick bun size portobellos, one per person)

Do

  1. Mix all ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl or shallow making dish. Other spices can be added and ingredients can be doubled.
  2. Remove stems from portobello’s then rinse and carefully dry with a paper towel or cloth. 
  3. Place portobello’s in marinade to 20 to 30 minutes, flipping half through. 
  4. Place on a hot grill, check them after 10 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. (I needed to cook mine a little longer but my grill wasn’t hot enough.

Serve

I served these Portobello Burger’s with grilled red bell peppers and grilled onions on gluten-free buns (that were also put on the grill) and a side of Potato Salad. My husband had his burger with barbecue sauce but you could add your favorite toppings. 

These burgers could be cooked in the oven instead of the grill but it is too hot for that here. I told my husband if I turn on the over there had better be cookies involved!

Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • Potatoes ( I used 4 large New Potatoes but you could use a different variety)
  • 1 large pickle, diced
  • 1/2 to 1 medium onion, diced (optional)
  • 1/4 cup vegan mayo
  • 1 Tbsp yellow mustard (this can be omitted or decreased if you don’t like a really mustard-y tasting salad)
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (to get a creamer texture)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Do

  1. Bake potatoes until soft then let cool enough to be handled. I left the skins on. You could boil these instead of baking them.
  2. Mash the potatoes until they are close to the texture you like. I grew up eating smooth and creamy potato salad but I prefer it with more texture. 
  3. Add diced pickle and onion and gently fold into potatoes. 
  4. Add mayo and mustard. You could add more mayo but I’m not a big fan of the flavor or the added fat.
  5. I added 1/4 cup of almost milk to get a slightly creamer consistency. Some varieties of potatoes may be creamy enough without adding the milk.
  6. Lastly, add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve

This potato salad is great when it is a little warm and just made but equally good cold. You could add garlic, paprika, or any number of different spices. It makes a great potluck dish and is much better for you than it’s non-vegan counterpart. 

I ate this meal with a spinach-strawberry-pineapple  salad, YUM! Most of my salad was confiscated by my 3 year old who loves to eat “leaves”.

Are you a Plant-Based Griller? What are your favorite things to grill?

Meal Plan Monday: It’s Hot in AZ

by 2 Comments

I did not do much cooking last week. I believe that is two weeks in a row. I’m in a bit of a slump but I have good intentions for getting back on track. Last night I grilled some portobello’s and some other veggies. They had been on last weeks Meal Plan but got bumped although I don’t remember why.

I feel like eating a Plant-Based diet takes a bit more planning because you can’t just fall back on picking something up at a drive through. We still get a few too many bean burritos from fast food joints but since my youngest can’t have wheat we can’t depend on that to feed all of us.

I typically do less cooking in the summer so I’m always seeking quick and easy dishes that can be thrown together. If you live in a climate that is cold now take a look as some of my past Meal Plans, January through March will have better cold weather food.

Also, my boys start swimming lessons this week with lessons at 11:25 am. So lunch will be easy for the next two weeks. 

Meal Plan

Breakfast this week will be gluten-free waffles (a splurge for my boys), toast, fruit, oatmeal, and cereal. 

Lunch will be Bean and Grain bowls, sandwich wraps (I have a ton of spinach), nut butter sandwiches, all with fresh fruit, and of course leftovers. 

Snack will be smoothies (what could be better than that when the temps are over 100°F, fruit, I’m also in pretty desperate need of some new hummus which will be good with veggies.

Dinner

Monday: Gluten-Free Pasta with a Tomato-Spinach Sauce

Tuesday: Grilled Lavash Veggie Pizza 

Wednesday: Something awesome with Chickpea’s. I don’t know what yet but chickpea’s never let me down. I also need to make hummus.

Thursday:  Black Beans, Brown Rice, with grilled veggies (peppers, onions, corn)

Friday: I’ll probably make Baked Potatoes and Baked Sweet Potatoes for my boys while my husband and I enjoy take out. I make a bunch for quick meals on the weekends.

On our date nights we sometimes eat out, other times we just get a movie and takeout. Last week we went out to our favorite place, Pita Jungle. We usually start with a large hummus then get a something else to share. Last week we got a pesto pizza on a pita without cheese, we added some of our hummus to it, YUM! We’ve developed a good relationship with our server and we were there pretty late so most of the crowd was gone. We got a chance to visit more with our server, he recommend new things we might like and he brought us out new things to try. 

Do you do a date night? I think they are very important for every couple. No matter how long you’ve been together date nights are a great way to reconnect as a couple. It doesn’t have to cost a lot and you can be creative, the important part is to be intentional. What is your date night strategy?

Packing a Lunch

by 5 Comments

I’ve had a few request recently for meal idea’s that can be packed up and taken to work. My husband takes his breakfast and lunch to work almost every day so I have a little experience with this. He has a pretty sweet set up, a break room with refrigerators, microwaves, and a coffee maker. I know not everyone has the same situation so I’ll offer my suggestions and I’ll encourage my readers to chime in with their ideas as well.

The Sweet Set Up

If you have a kitchen available like my husband there is not a whole lot you can’t do. He usually takes cooked oatmeal (spiced up with cinnamon, raisins, and a touch of agave), Breakfast Quinoa, or a baked sweet potato for breakfast. He also takes 2 to 3 pieces of fruit everyday to eat throughout the day.

For lunch he usually has leftovers from the night before. He is also very fond of Baked Potatoes for lunch. These are not your plain ol’ potatoes, he prefers them with steamed veggies or vegan chili. He is also as happy as a clam to pour whatever else he can find in the fridge. If he were taking a Baked Potato tomorrow he would likely top it with Quinoa Taco Meat, Salsa, or guacamole because that is what we have available. Leftover soups are great for lunches on their own or poured over a potato.

Lunches don’t always center around potatoes. Mexican food makes really kickin lunches the next day. Just mix up whatever you have left, heat it up, and stuff it into a tortilla, or if you have more time eat it with organic tortilla chips.

During winter months or if you work in a cold building soups, chili’s, and casserole’s would be a nice way to warm up during the day.

Brown Baggin’ It

More than likely you’re not actually taking your lunch in a brown bag, not that I’m judging. You can buy an ice pack to use in a reusable, insulated lunch bag or even a small cooler (depending on your situation) fairly inexpensively. This set up can keep your food cold for at least half the day. The key here would be packing food that is good at room temperature or cold.

A few options that come to mind is a Not So Tuna Salad (or Not So Chicken Salad) Sandwich or wrap. This is made with chickpea’s so it is a good source of protein and fiber helping you feel full longer.

I’m also a fan of Veggie Wraps with Jalapeno Hummus (or other flavors), spinach, carrots, and bell peppers. You could add cucumbers, mushrooms, corn, tomatoes, or your favorite veggies. I have these for lunch often because they are easy to throw together. You could even make up a bunch at the beginning of the week, I’d pack the hummus separately to keep things from getting soggy if you were gonna wait a few days.

Big Salads are another option, just fill a big container with your favorite veggies, and store salad dressing and wet veggies in a separate container until lunch time. Some people like cold pasta salads or quinoa salads. These can also be quite filling and full of nutritional goodness. I’m sitting here dreaming of a Black Bean Quinoa Salad with roasted corn, avocado and salsa. A side of hummus and veggies is always a good idea too!

Another option is to make smoothies and freeze them ahead of time so they can slowly thaw throughout the day.

I’ve seen many a Brown Bagger go into convenience stores to heat up lunch. If this is an option for you then you have graduated to the Sweet Set Up category.

Emergency Stash

Sometimes life gets busy and we don’t have time to pack a lunch. For times like these I send McDougall’s Soup Cups, Tasty Bites (read label because they are not all vegan), or a can of Amy’s Soup (again not all vegan).

If you need to eat out you can grab a bean burrito, a meatless Subway meal, or even better a meal for Chipotle. Just don’t eat vegan junk food, you won’t be doing yourself any favors.

On our recent trip to the zoo we packed a lunch of 2 almond butter, gluten free sandwiches and 2 peanut butter wheat bread sandwiches, a few GoGo Squeez applesauce pouches, 2 apples, 2 rice milk boxes (a huge treat), granola bars, raisins, and water. Lunch was a success and super easy, never underestimate the power of a nut butter sandwich.

So do you pack a lunch? If so what do you pack?

20120530-222757.jpg