My Plant-Based Family

Eating Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet recipes, On a Budget.

gluten free

September 21, 2015 Meal Plan

by 2 Comments

Are you on the Meal Planning bandwagon yet? I always plan meals but I don’t always follow them to a T. You don’t have to either. Planning meals is a great start and will help you be more organized.

This week will be a busy one for us. My strategy will be to make a couple of things that can be reheated for leftover. I know, I normally do this but I plan to eat more leftovers than normal. I’ll keep the other meals simple.

Meal Plan Monday

September 21, 2015 Meal Plan

Breakfast

Last week I made steel-cut oats and I added several cups of chopped apples to it before I cooked it. I found out the hard way that my son does not like cooked apples mixed in his food. The apples were very soft since they were made in the pressure cooker.

Jim heated up the leftovers for you boys, it didn’t go over well. He told me they didn’t like it, then I heard my 6 year old say, “no I hate cooked apples in my oatmeal, they are slimy.”

Normally I cook the oatmeal plain then add fresh fruit.Sometimes trying something new works out, other times not so much. I love oatmeal with cooked apples.

The moral of the story is, don’t be afraid to try something new. The worse that can happen is you won’t like it.

Lunch

  • Soup and Salad
  • Veggie Wrap
  • Bake Potato or giant bowl of steamed veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, etc.)
  • Soup
  • Veggie Sandwich

I don’t want to eat as many leftovers for lunch as I normally do. I’m hoping to use them as leftover this week. To make that work I’ll make an easy soup in the Crock Pot in the morning. It will be ready by lunch time.

Last week I did this and it was so good. I peeled and chopped about 5 small potatoes, added a whole bag of frozen mixed veggies, dumped in some lentils (I didn’t measure but used about 1/2 cup, maybe), poured in a pouch of liquid concentrate stock from Massel, lastly added water. I cooked it for about 4 hours then had a great and easy lunch.

Dinner

I’m only planning 3 dinners. I’ll make extra of each so that I can avoid cooking more often. If we need extra dinners I use some of my lunch or breakfast ideas.

What is on your meal plan this week? I’m hearing from a lot of you and you are in “soup mode.” I highly recommend the Minestrone Soup in the meal plan above. If you are in the mood for something a little different check out my my favorite plant-based soups.

This page contains affiliate links.

Plentils Giveaway

by 16 Comments

I am always on the lookout for allergy-friendly foods to put in my kids lunch. As much as I’d like to be able to make their lunches from scratch everyday that isn’t a reality for us. Instead I search for allergy-safe snacks that my kids will love.

plentils giveaway

I can’t compromise on quality. My son has food allergies and Plentils are free from the top 8 most common food allergens. It is really important that my son avoid wheat/gluten.

NOTE: Enjoy Life Foods recently had a voluntary recall on their 10 oz semi-sweet mini chocolate chips for undeclared ingredients. Other products were not affected. See more details.

I love the crunch and texture. They aren’t drowning in oil like potato chips, instead they are light and crisp. Oh, and they taste great! There are several flavors but I prefer the light sea salt.

Plentils help him feel like he can eat the same kind of food that other kids in his class eat. I’ve had some people tell me that it isn’t important for kids to eat “regular” food. Eating plant-based and having food allergies is already restrictive enough in my opinion, especially for a 4 year old (in a class room full of kids eating unsafe foods).  These are safe for my little guy, he doesn’t feel like he is missing out.  

We usually reserve these for lunches. I put them into one of the smaller areas of our EasyLunchBoxes containers for smaller portions (it helps them last longer). Plentil Giveaway  

Plentils Giveaway

You can enter to win 4 bags of Plentils from Enjoy Life Foods! Giveaway open to US only. a Rafflecopter giveaway By the way,  Enjoy Life Foods has a coupon in the Whole Deal magazine at Whole Foods for $1.50 off any 2 Enjoy Life Products over $3.00 (includes the Baking Mixes).

2 Ingredient Fruit Dip

by 7 Comments

Our family LOVES fruit! We eat between 15-20 pounds of apples each week, if that tells you anything. We don’t just eat apples, we eat bananas, blueberries, strawberries — basically whatever is in season.

I have readers tell me their kids won’t eat fruit. Although that isn’t something I deal with I have an easy solution, ready for this. Add a dip.

Kids will eat almost anything with a dip.

You may be thinking, I want my kids to be healthy, how is adding a fruit dip going to help? You can use a healthy dip and I’ve got a super easy dip recipe for you. It’s only 2 ingredients so even your kids can “help” you make it.

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 6 oz Vanilla So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk  (non-dairy yogurt)

Do

No steps required, just stir the cocoa powder into the non-dairy yogurt. DONE.

This makes an incredible fruit dip to dip for cookies or graham crackers. I haven’t tried it yet on a fruit pizza but I really want to. One day I’ll try it as a frosting or filling for cupcakes but I don’t know how well it will work. It makes a pretty fabulous parfait as well.

Chocolate Fruit Dip

I chose this type of yogurt because it’s made from coconut milk and safe for people with dairy, soy and tree nut allergies.

My boys loved it and they are picky about their yogurt.

On a side note, So Delicious just calls this cultured coconut milk, they don’t use the word yogurt because technically it isn’t. I use it because we always buy non-dairy versions of yogurt and it is just the word we are used to using.

You can make this with other flavors. Our store only carries plain, vanilla and blueberry but raspberry would be delightful.

If your kids get used to eating fruit with dip they will be more likely to eat it without dip too.

For us, this dip is like a special dessert treat. I don’t make it all the time but they love it. It also works great in a lunch box.

Snackable-Recipe-Contest-Badge

This recipe is an entry in the So Delicious and Go Dairy Free Snackable Recipe Contest.

You can connect with So Delicious on their Facebook page.

Yield: 2 Servings

2 Ingredient Chocolate Fruit Dip

Chocolate Fruit Dip

Chocolate Fruit Dip is Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and only 2 ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 6 oz Vanilla So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (non-dairy yogurt)

Instructions

    1. Stir the cocoa powder into the non-dairy yogurt. DONE.

Notes

This makes an incredible fruit dip to dip for cookies or graham crackers. 

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see it! Tag us and use #MyPlantBasedFamily!

© Heather Mayes

Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway

by 54 Comments

I haven’t talked much about Plant-Based breakfasts ideas since I started all of this Back to School excitement. Today I’m excited to share the latest giveaway! It’s perfect for all of you in a breakfast rut, but we will get to that in a minute!

On Monday’s Meal Plan I admitted that I have a bad habit of skipping breakfast. I know I need to eat but I get busy and half way through my morning I start feeling it. You know the feeling, the “I’m completely depleted and I can’t go on” feeling. Please tell me I’m not the only one!

I’ve found an easy solution. On the weekend I’ll cook a large pot of oatmeal, usually in the Instant Pot and we will eat it for several days. I cook it up plain, without any seasonings then each morning everyone can choose their own toppings to mix in.

Take a look at a few of our favorites.

Oatmeal Giveaway

All three of these are made with steel-cut oats. The first is apple and raisin oatmeal with cinnamon and hemp seeds. The second has blueberries and raw pepitas. The third is simply banana slices and chia seeds.

You know I’m partial to Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free oats. We use them every week. I cook steel-cut oats in my Instant Pot or if I’m in a bigger hurry I’ll use Quick Cooking Oats and cook them in the microwave.

Of course you don’t have to stick to breakfasts, oats are great in desserts too. I’ll let you in  on a little secret, we eat oatmeal for dinner too! It’s so easy and my family loves it.

Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway

Today you get a chance to try some of my favorite oats for FREE! One lucky winner will win this prize pack from Bob’s Red Mill plus a $25 gift card to be used on the Bob’s Red Mill website!

Bobs Red Mill giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hurry and enter this giveaway won’t last long!

This post contains affiliate links.

Easy Asian Noodles

by 12 Comments

There is something to be said for a home cooked meal that is ready in about 15 minutes. Especially if it is healthy! Even better when it is a one-pot meal.

My kids would be happy to have sandwiches every meal but I’m not. I like real food, warm food, but I don’t have a lot of time to cook.

asian noodles peanut and gluten-free

If you have been here for a while you know that my son has multiple food allergies. Peanuts and gluten are just a few of the things that are off-limits for us. He rarely gets to eat restaurant food because of his food allergies; we have a few safe restaurants to choose from.

All Asian restaurants use peanuts and soy sauce (contains gluten) and I’m not comfortable with the chances of cross contamination even if he ordered a “safe” dish. His only exposure to Asian food is food I make. My recipes are far from authentic but they are easy to make and use simple ingredients.

asian noodles

This recipe is peanut-free and gluten-free and can accommodate other allergies with substitutions. It cooks really quickly, the longest part is getting the water to boil.

Easy Asian Noodles

Ingredients

Do

  1. Bring water to a boil. As you wait slice the carrots and get the other ingredients ready.
  2. Dump the carrots into the boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes.
  3. After the carrots have cooked a few minutes add the frozen peas and the noodles.
  4. Cook everything together for 5 minutes. Once the timer beeps, taste test the noodles and carrots to see if either need a minute or two longer.
  5. Carefully drain the water out of your pot. I like to use one of these. Then dump in the Tamari/Bragg’s and the SoyNut Butter. Stir well until it has melted into the noodles and is evenly distributed.

This recipe can be easily adapted based on what you have on hand and what food restrictions you work with. It is similar to my Veggie Pad Thai recipe but this one is simplified even more and only uses carrots and peas to cut down on dishes and extra chopping. You can buy frozen, chopped carrots for a quicker recipe.

What are your favorite quick meals?

Asian Noodles

asian noodles peanut and gluten-free

Allergy friendly asian noodles. They are peanut and gluten free!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 box Brown Rice Noodles (I use Annie Chun’s)
  • 3 carrots, sliced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup SoyNut Butter (or other peanut butter type spread)
  • 2 Tbsp Tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos (soy sauce can be used but contains gluten)

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a boil. As you wait slice the carrots and get the other ingredients ready.
  2. Dump the carrots into the boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes.
  3. After the carrots have cooked a few minutes add the frozen peas and the noodles.
  4. Cook everything together for 5 minutes. Once the timer beeps, taste test the noodles and carrots to see if either need a minute or two longer.
  5. Carefully drain the water out of your pot. I like to use one of these. Then dump in the Tamari/Bragg’s and the SoyNut Butter. Stir well until it has melted into the noodles and is evenly distributed.

Notes

Frozen, chopped carrots can be used to make this recipe even quicker.

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see it! Tag us and use #MyPlantBasedFamily!

© Heather Mayes

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

by 9 Comments

stir fry broccoli and mushroom

After a long day I really don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. That is one of the reasons I’m such a fan of Batch Cooking. Sometimes I need a quick and easy meal. Stir fry’s are such an easy option. Since I don’t cook with oil some may argue that this isn’t a true stir fry. The extra fat found in oil isn’t really needed if you use a little water in its place. (You can view this post to see how I use water for fried rice.)

We almost always have cooked  brown rice in the fridge. We use it in so many recipes it is a staple in our diet. When I don’t have rice cooked, I can make it quickly in my Instant Pot. This stir fry can be made with whatever veggies you have on hand but half my household loves mushrooms so this dish was for them.

stir fry broccoli and mushroom

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1 crown broccoli, chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or Tamari)

As with many of my recipes, you can add more ingredients or remove items you don’t like without a huge problem with the recipe. For example, if you aren’t a big fan of mushrooms use less or use bell peppers in their place.

Do

  1. In a hot skillet or wok add diced onions and sliced carrots, cover with a lid. Check on them regularly and stir. When they begin to stick pour a few tablespoons of water in the skillet and stir again.
  2. Once the carrots are starting to soften, dump in the mushrooms. These will need to cook for several minutes. Once they have exuded their juices and look shiny, pour the broccoli in and cover once again.
  3. Check veggies every few minutes and stir. If they begin to stick to the pan add more water again.
  4. Once all of the veggies are cooked to a tender/crisp consistency dump in your cooked rice and stir. You can use less than 4 cups if desired.  You can also heat the rice separately if desired.
  5. Pour Bragg Liquid Aminos over the rice and veggies. I’d start with a little and add more to taste. We probably use a couple of tablespoons but it is a high sodium food so limit it if necessary.

This meal comes together in less than 20 minutes. If you have to cook the rice allow yourself sufficient time. This is a really easy meal to make and packs perfectly in a lunch box (I only recommend it for adult or older kids lunches).

If you like this, check out my other great Asian inspired meals, Veggie Pad Thai and my easy Oil-Free (un)Fried Rice.

Yield: 4 Servings

Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

stir fry broccoli and mushroom

Quick weeknight meal using leftover rice and veggies. Broccoli and mushroom stir fry is great for leftovers and meal planning too!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 crown broccoli, chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or Tamari)

Instructions

  1. In a hot skillet or wok add diced onions and sliced carrots, cover with a lid. Check on them regularly and stir. When they begin to stick pour a few tablespoons of water in the skillet and stir again.
  2. Once the carrots are starting to soften, dump in the mushrooms. These will need to cook for several minutes. Once they have exuded their juices and look shiny, pour the broccoli in and cover once again.
  3. Check veggies every few minutes and stir. If they begin to stick to the pan add more water again.
  4. Once all of the veggies are cooked to a tender/crisp consistency dump in your cooked rice and stir. You can use less than 4 cups if desired.  You can also heat the rice separately if desired.
  5. Pour Bragg Liquid Aminos over the rice and veggies. I’d start with a little and add more to taste. We probably use a couple of tablespoons but it is a high sodium food so limit it if necessary.

Notes

As with many of my recipes, you can add more ingredients or remove items you don’t like without a huge problem with the recipe. For example, if you aren’t a big fan of mushrooms use less or use bell peppers in their place.

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see it! Tag us and use #MyPlantBasedFamily!

© Holly Yzquierdo