My Plant-Based Family

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

Gift Guide

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!

This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links I may earn a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting this website with your purchases. 

Meal Plan Monday plus Cyber Monday Deals

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I hope you all had a great weekend and an even better Thanksgiving holiday. I’m sure you noticed that I took a lot of time off so I could spend time with my family and cook lots of food. I’m back! In addition to today’s Meal Plan I want to share a few Cyber Monday Deals.

Many of you purchased my Plant-Based Thanksgiving Meal Plan last week, Thank You! I hope you enjoyed the recipes as much as we did!

Meal Plan Monday

Meal Plan

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

I’ll be adding side salads to many of the meals. I have a harder time eating cold salads in the winter but I enjoy mixing warm ingredients like beans and potatoes into salads.

Cyber Monday Deals

Plant-Based Thanksgiving Meal Plan

You can still get my Plant-Based Thanksgiving Day Meal Plan (don’t worry it’s suitable for Christmas too). Today use the code “CyberMonday” to get 50% off today only.

Vegan Cuts is having some great Cyber Monday deals too. Check out last month’s Beauty Box! It contains my favorite deodorant from North Coast Organics, Pacifica Coconut Kiss Lip Butter, Rainbow Honey’s holiday collection nail polish, Earth’s Enrichment’s Calming Seaweed Soap Bar and Medusa’s Makeup Body Shimmer and Brush!

November Beauty Box

I can hardly wait to see what they will have in this month’s box! Today they have an amazing sale too! Don’t miss it!

Cyber Monday Snack Box & Beauty Box Sale
3 Months Gift Subscription $59 (reg. $70)
6 Months Gift Subscription $99 (reg. $115)

Also check out Vegan Cuts Marketplace. Today the Relogy Clean Skin Starter Kit is only $29.95! You should be stocking up at that price!

Lastly, my pal Brandi from The Vegan 8 has a Cyber Monday giveaway going on at The Vegan 8 Facebook Page, check it out for your chance to win a $25 Bed Bath & Beyond Gift Card.

Tell me about your Thanksgiving? I’d love to hear what you ate! We didn’t brave Black Friday Shopping but I’m excited about these Cyber Monday Deals. Don’t forget to follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook and Twitter and I’ll continue to share great deals I run across.

FTC Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links, that means I may earn a small percentage (at not additional cost to you) if you use the link to make a purchase.

Holiday Snack Guide

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Welcome to day 5 of My Plant-Based Family’s Holiday Gift Guide. I’m wrapping it up today with a snack guide. I don’t want to mislead you with these store-bought goodies, yes we strive to eat a low processed, plant-based diet. However, during the holidays it’s nice to have some junk food on hand.

As much as I enjoy cooking I really like having delicious snacks I can grab when company comes by or if we are invited to a game night. Yes, homemade is best but I also like to have some shelf-stable goodies ready to go.

Chips and salsa are a “normal” snack that is pretty inexpensive. You can pick it up at just about any store, even a gas station. Extra points if you spring for the guacamole.

Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame is a fun and delicious party food. My kids love them as much as I do. They fit in perfectly at Christmas parties, just put them next to the snack mix.


Cosmos Creations are gluten-free and vegetarian (some varieties contain dairy). Although made from corn there are no hulls or kernels so my husband can enjoy them too. Just be careful, they may be addictive.

YumEarth Organic Lollipops are the only candy my kids get. I keep them in the car for those times they are about to fall asleep on the way home from church or when I’m waiting in line at the bank drive through. The great thing about them is they taste good and have only good ingredients on top of being allergy-friendly. As a bonus they are 6 for $1 at my local Sprout’s.

October Snack Box

Yesterday I mentioned the Vegan Cuts Beauty Box and today I have to share about the Vegan Cuts Subscription Snack Box. If you don’t know where to start, start with Vegan Cuts! When you find products you love, and you will, you can purchase them from their Marketplace. The photo above is October’s Snack box! Chips, crackers, a bar, a few gummies, Rescue Chocolate, coupons and more!

There are many other snacks you can take but these require no effort on your part, other than buying them, and the snacks will seem normal in any crowd.

Do you have a go-to store-bought snack you keep on hand for “emergency” situations?

**This gift guide contains affiliate links. If you purchase something I’ll receive a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Personal Gifts and Books

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Gift Guides

The week of Gift Guides continues, if you’ve missed any you will want to check them out. On Monday I showed you how your gift can change a life through World Vision, Tuesday we all dreamed big and looked at expensive gifts, then Wednesday we got a little more realistic and looked at inexpensive (but awesome) kitchen gear.

Today I want to talk about personal gifts and books. The gifts I mention today are perfect for a company or group party where you need to bring a gift. Most of them would be an awesome part of a gift basket. I love gift baskets myself and will give you suggestions of what you can use to make a gift basket even better. If you aren’t a gift basket giver these would also work in a stocking.

I have to start with the great gift sets from North Coast Organics. I know I talk about NCO a lot. No, I’m not paid by the company but I’ve never been let down by their products or customer service and when I find a company I love I can’t help but talk about them.

NCOgiftboxessmall

North Coast Organics has three different gift boxes available this year but hurry and order because supplies are limited.


No Bull Beauty: Cutting Through The Crap would make a great addition to the North Coast Organics products. This book holds nothing back as it teaches you what you should and should not be using on your skin. It discusses common skin conditions, natural beauty and skin care, toxins, bogus beauty claims and much more.

You can also find loads of cruelty-free skin and beauty products at the Vegan Cuts Marketplace. It should be called Stocking Stuffer Central. I love the Relogy and Fanciful Fox products. Pictured above is their New York Care Pack or check out their Beauty Box subscription, I love mine!


The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is a follow up to the best seller, not completely updated and it even has a chapter on gluten-free baking. It gives me hope that I can become a baker. Buy this for the aspiring baker in your life and include a pizza stone, pizza peel and a loaf pan or two.


Vegan Desserts in Jars: Adorably Delicious Pies, Cakes, Puddings, and Much More is a cute and fun book that makes vegan desserts irresistible. This book would be perfect with an assortment of canning jars.

What am I missing today? Can your recommend the perfect gift to add to the Gift Guides?

**This gift guide contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using my link I may make a small percentage at  no additional cost to you.

Handy Kitchen Gear

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Gift Guides

Welcome to Day 3 of My Plant-Based Family’s Holiday Gift Guide. Monday we looked at World Vision and how you can give a gift that will change a life. I encourage you to consider World Vision or other organizations and begin a family tradition of blessing others each year. Yesterday I shared a “wish list” of luxury (over $100) items. Today I’ m going to share my favorite kitchen gear that is a little more budget-friendly.

As always feel free to share your wish list, or tell me what I’m missing. Yesterday several readers reminded me of knives and cookware, great gifts indeed.

I love my food processor. I own this Hamilton Beach 10 Cup Food Processor pictured above and it takes care of all of our processing needs. There are processors that are bigger and smaller, some cheaper and others that are waaaay more expensive. If I could only pick one small kitchen appliance I’d pick this one.

For smaller jobs I love my Magic Bullet although I’m not sure if I have the exact set shown. I received it as a gift from my mom about 7 years ago and it has served us well. Unfortunately it’s on its last leg but I’m considering purchasing it again. I love how easy it is to clean and perfect for small jobs. The only down side is all of these parts takes up room so if you don’t have a lot of storage this may not work for you.


I don’t have a Cuisinart 2-Speed Immersion Hand Blender but it’s on my “would be nice but not necessary” list. I would love to blend up soups without having to use (and wash) another appliance. There are many different brands and models of immersion blenders, some even come with different attachments. Just read the reviews before you make purchases.


If you are cooking quinoa you NEED a Fine Mesh Strainer. I have a different model but this one is similar, has good reviews and is super inexpensive. You could give this as a gift with a package of quinoa, some recipe cards with quinoa dishes and a few kitchen utensils.


Whether you choose a microplane or a zester (they seem to be pretty much the same thing) this is a fun gift. I received the Edgeware Zester as a gift, it’s very handy because it has a little “zest catcher” in the back with measurements on it. It’s so easy to use too. This would easily fit in a stocking for a fun surprise.


We have a knife set that has several different knives including steak knives that stores them all in a block of wood. I usually only use the mini chef knife but occasionally use the bread knife or paring knife. If you eat plant-based you need a good set of Knives even if it is only for chopping veggies. We never use our steak knives anymore and that giant block of wood takes up too much counter space. I don’t have the set pictured above but it looks very similar to mine.

What is on your Christmas wish list? I’m sure I forgot something! I considered a Toaster Oven but I haven’t made the leap.

**Affiliate links were used throughout this gift guide.

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.