My Plant-Based Family

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

gluten free

Meal Plan Monday: Full House

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I’ve been absent lately but with good reason; two of our big kids are here with the third visiting next week and my first Food Demo is complete and was a success! I’ll talk more about the Food Demo later this week.

This weeks dilemma, what to feed omnivore kids for the next 5 1/2 weeks? Our daughter wants to be healthy so she is open to trying new foods. Our young teen son on the other had completely disregards food he thinks is healthy. For example, When I make “Unfried Beans” I make them the same way I always have, even when we were eating horribly. This weekend I asked him to taste test them for me. He put a bite in his mouth, he looked like we was going to vomit. I asked him what he thought, he said, “I liked how you used to make them, not this whole grainy healthy stuff, I like them like whole beans.” I told him I made them the same, I just used a food processor because I was making so many, he said, “they taste ok then.” I also stocked up on cereal to make life a little easier, the first day he didn’t want any of them because they were “weird and healthy.” While they were gluten-free they weren’t necessarily healthy, Kix, Chex, and some of the gluten-free Barbara’s Cereal.

I’ll make some of our normal favorites and try to adapt some of the kids favorites from pre-plant-based days.

Meal Plan

Breakfasts are our normal easy stuff like cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, and fruit with toast.

Lunches are equally easy; nut butter sandwiches, leftovers,  pasta, or other easy stuff.

Snacks are usually fruit, sometimes toast, muffins, banana bread, humus and veggies, or chips with salsa or avocado are fun too.

Dinner is where it gets a bit more tricky. I’m hoping to try some new stuff this week.

Monday: Pasta with veggies and a cashew cream sauce.

Tuesday: Baked Potato’s with a choice of steamed veggies or chili on top.

Wednesday: Tostada’s with Mexican Rice

Thursday: Brown Rice casserole with a whatever veggies are still available and some kind of “creamy sauce” to make it taste “normal.”

Friday: I’m not sure what Friday will hold but I don’t plan on cooking a big meal.

Depending on how our days go I may mix this up a bit. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have our kids here. We mostly ate out last week. Now I’m ready for a lot of home cooked meals. Plus my 30 day Fitness Challenge is almost “over” so I’ll share those details sometime in the next week. I will also be sharing a new recipe or two. Wow, I have more to do than I thought!

I hope you all have a great week full of family and good food!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

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Oh yes I did! The little bites are pure deliciousness. Trust me I wouldn’t make this stuff up. These did not taste gluten-free. I think they are Food Demo worthy for all of my GF friends out there.

I even put some of them in the freezer because in my experience gluten-free baked goods are only tasty for a couple of days. Hopefully the freezer will give those little muffins a second chance to make my mouth happy.

If you are insane not a chocolate lover these are good without the chocolate chips. In fact when I make them I usually mix up the batter without the chocolate chips then scoop out half the muffins then add chocolate chips to the remaining muffin batter. Let’s face it, chocolate chips on a hot day are messy.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup potato starch
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp xanthum gum
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
  • 2-3 ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 non-dairy milk (I used almond)
  • 1 tbsp egg replacer*
  • 4 tbsp water*
  • 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips (optional) I use Enjoy Life brand Chocolate chips
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of nuts (optional)

* I have made GF Apple Muffins without egg replacer and they worked just fine. You could use flax eggs if you wanted. In the GF Apple Muffins they looked and tasted good without adding either. This time I just wanted to try it. So don’t fret if you don’t have egg replacer.

Do

  1. In one medium mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients (Brown rice flour through cinnamon) and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl add applesauce and sugar and mix.
  3. Add mashed bananas and vanilla to the wet mixture and mix.
  4. In a small bowl ( I used a measuring cup) add 4 tbsp warm water and 1 tbsp egg replacer and mix until frothy.
  5. Add the frothy “eggs” and the plant milk then stir.
  6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well, add more milk if necessary.
  7. Add the optional chocolate chips (or nuts) and stir well.
  8. Fill paper lined muffin cups until 3/4 full.
  9. Bake in a 350° preheated oven for 20 minutes or mini muffins for 15 minutes.
  10. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick, it is done once the toothpick comes out clean.

Serve

These are best eaten the same day they are baked. They are sweet enough to be dessert but also not too sweet to pass for brunch or a snack. I love making them in the mini muffin pan, the only problem is that I pop them in my mouth without thinking about it. So good!

Meal Plan Monday: La Fiesta

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Avocado, what else can I say. I am diggin me some avocado these days. Thankfully they have been pretty inexpensive lately, usually 2 for $1 where I shop. I also have some prepared guacamole ready to go. So we may not actually have a party but a little avocado can turn any meal into a party worthy occasion.  Most of my meals will be inspired by the lovely avocado along with other fresh veggies.

I haven’t been in much of a breakfast mood lately. Between getting my boys fed and getting the day started I don’t want to think about getting me fed too. I know that breakfast is super important so I do not skip it. Usually I’ll start with a banana, which I sometimes have to share with the offspring, so I get another banana that also gets shared. Sometimes this continues for quite a while. That is why we purchase 4 bunches of banana’s at the start of the week then usually at least 1 more by late in the week.

I think oatmeal is one of the best things you can eat for breakfast, but truthfully I’ve been a little burned out on oatmeal, I’m thinking of trying some new combinations this week. You can check out this post about breakfast for more ideas. I usually eat twice in the morning (then sometimes have an early lunch). First is typically a piece of fruit, next I’ll have something a little more substantial.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be toast with nut butter and fruit, oatmeal, Breakfast Rice, and an occasional bowl of cereal with fruit and almond milk.

Lunch will be leftovers, Bean and Grain Bowls, spinach and hummus wraps, and maybe even some PB&Js.

Snacks will be jalapeno hummus with fresh veggies, fruit, granola bars, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Dinner

Monday: Tonight we are having company over and plan to make Portobello Fajita’s with Mexican Rice, Unfried Beans, grilled veggies and all of the fixings.

Tuesday: will probably be leftovers 

Wednesday: Pasta night! Last week we had gluten-free (quinoa) pasta with mushrooms that was pretty out of this world.

Thursday: I want to make a huge veggie soup to use up any veggies that may have been neglected over the week. I know we have some celery that will make it into that pot, I only like cooked celery.

Friday: Date night! We will probably be grabbing hummus and pita’s  from our favorite restaurant.

My Food Demo is coming up in less than two weeks so when I get the chance I hope to do a little extra cooking to prepare for that. There are a few recipes I want to try like a whipped coconut cream, yum! Next week two of our “Big Kids” will come for a nice long summer visit. I hope to fully convert them to be plant lovers but we will see how it works. I forsee future topics of Plant-Based Teenagers and Feeding Plants to the Reluctant. 🙂

How is your summer going? Are you in love with avocados like I am or do you have a different summer time favorite? 

Black Bean Goodness

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I finally did it, I made Black Bean Soup. I had never eaten it but had it on my Meal Plan several times. About a month ago I finally got a taste of Black Bean Soup from Paradise Bakery. It was lovely and I decided I would make it soon. This was the week. I put it on the Meal Plan, bought beans, and finally made it. Since I have been working out (almost daily) I’ve been needing more food. I was craving a huge bowl of fuel so I made Potato Soup on Monday and Black Bean Soup on Tuesday! They were both delicious!

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

  • 6 cups soaked beans, 3 cups unsoaked
  • water to cook beans
  • 2 onions
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • 2 tomatoes (optional)
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder (of more to taste)
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
  •  a few tbsp of Better than Bullion Veggie broth (optional)

Do

  1. Measure out 3 cups of dried black beans, sort them (look for random rocks to remove), the rinse them.
  2. Put in a pot or large bowl and cover with water (overnight or for several hours).
  3. Discard soaking water and rinse beans. Place beans in a pot with clean water that covers beans.
  4. Cook the soaked beans on the stove (medium heat) for about an hour. Test beans for doneness by tasting or by placing a few beans on a spoon and lightly blow on them. If the skin cracks and starts to peel back they are done. If they are not done cook for an extra 30 minutes or more.
  5. Take approximately half the beans and place them a  food processor or blender along with some of the water and blend until smooth.
  6. Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic and tomato to the blender and wiz, chunky is ok.
  7. Pour this mixture back into the bean pot and simmer.
  8. Add chili powder and cumin. I added the Better than Bullion Veggie Stock here. Why didn’t I add it to the beans when they were cooking? So I could save some unseasoned black beans in case I make Black Bean Brownies.
  9. Simmer until flavors are incorporated.

Serve

Eat this delicious soup with corn bread or corn fritters for a “southern” inspired flavor. This is also great poured over brown rice with a bit of avocado (lunch today). Although this is called spicy, my 1 and 3-year-old kids LOVED it. It was not too spicy for them.

My husband can’t eat seeds but loves spicy food. Instead of adding the jalapeno to the blender I just stabbed it with a knife a few times so the seed stayed in, I then added it to the pot to simmer for a while. The soup had a nice spicy, but not too spicy flavor.

My husband resisted black beans when we first began eating a plant-based diet. Even if you are not in love with the flavor you should eat them because of how good they are for you. I happen to love them!

A cup of cooked black beans provides 227 calories, 15 g of protein, 1 g of total fat, no saturated fat or cholesterol, 41 g of carbohydrate and 15 g of fiber. Black beans contain no saturated fat or cholesterol. One cup of black beans also provides 20 percent of the daily value, or general recommended amount for adults, for iron and 5 percent of the daily value for calcium. Black beans also provide significant amounts of the minerals magnesium, phosphorus and manganese, and the B vitamins thiamin and folate, or folic acid. LiveStrong

Meal Plan Monday: Focus on Fitness

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I am not an athlete. I used to blame my knee’s. Oh yes, the “bad knee’s story”. Nothing has ever happened to my knee’s, I’ve just been so out of shape that I would be in pain if I tried to run. Great logic huh, too out of shape to exercise. There was a time in my early 20s that I worked out daily. I looked fit and was comfortable with the way my body looked for maybe the first time. I used the machine for lifting and the bike for cardio. I would only get on the treadmill if there was no bike available and I would not run, back to the bad knee story.

After that I got married and my husband already had 3 kids. Between working full-time, taking care of my new husband and kids, and a little work on my MBA (that I never finished, thankfully) I didn’t have much time to work out. I joined a Curves and worked out there. It was fun but not a tough workout. I maybe lost a few pounds but nothing substantial. Then we moved to AZ and I’d start working out again ever so often. When I shared my story I talked about working out for months and not losing weight.

A few month’s ago something started to stir in me, I started working out again, not running, but I didn’t stick with it, again. My husband wanted us to work out together and I started dreaming about running. What if I really could run? I watched past episodes of The Biggest Loser and would see a person who weighed 400 pounds running, working out, getting fit. I knew that if they could do then I could too. I was done with the excuses but would I stick with it. I also have two incredible friends who are runner and are faced with some obstacles that make it difficult/impossible to run right now.

I went running a few times, not far and not long but it was progress. I talked to my husband and one of my dear friends, who is a runner, about it. I knew what I had to do. I had to blog about it. Once I put it out there for everyone to see I knew I would be committed. No one likes to fail in public and the internet is public enough for me. 

So one week ago we committed to a one month fitness challenge. My husband and I are working out together and I’m going on short runs, hoping to run faster and longer as I get in better shape. I’ll share more about what we are doing some other day. For now I need to share how we are fueling these workouts.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be Breakfast Quinoa, oatmeal with fruit, toast with nut butter, fruit, soup (I love leftover soup for breakfast) and the occasional bowl of cereal. My favorite way to eat cereal lately is with blueberries, banana’s and almond milk.

Lunch will be leftovers on most days. I like to grab a quick almond butter sandwich on busy days. Lately I can’t get enough bean burritos. I bought a vat of spinach so I’ll need to eat plenty of wraps so it doesn’t go slimy like last week.

Snack is mostly fresh fruit, like strawberries, blueberries, banana’s and nut butter.

Last week I just sat out cooked grains, beans, and veggies and we made out own meals. We didn’t enjoy this much. It works better as a once in a while type of thing not an every night thing. This week I’ll be making a distinct meal most evenings but not necessarily assigning a special night to it. Also, I work with kids at church on Wednesday night’s so we need a quick meal or take out and my husband is hosting a “Guy’s Night” this week so I’ll be making food for that.

 This week Dinner include’s:

  • Potato Soup with Carrots, Onions, and Garlic (made on Sunday night)
  • Gluten-Free Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Red Sauce, also a Big Garden Salad
  • Spicy Black Bean Soup, I may make this in the Crock Pot, and I have avocados at the ready
  • Chopped Salad or some other Big Salad

I’m also planning the food for the Plant-Based Food Demo I’m hosting soon. I will need to begin cooking some of the dishes I plan to serve to make sure everything turns out the way I want.

Since we have been working out for a week I am definitely craving more calories (and more junk food)! Any suggestions for a newbie runner and aspiring athlete?

What’s For Breakfast

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In honor of my friend Joye I’m gonna talk about breakfasts. She is transitioning toward plant-based but feels stuck in a rut when it comes to breakfast. The truth is I’m in a little rut myself.

Oatmeal

My go to breakfast is oatmeal. My boys LOVE it! I like it too but I’ve been eating several times a week for months and with the warm weather here it isn’t hitting the spot.

I buy rolled oats or steel-cut oats. Strangely they are more expensive than their over-processed instant counterparts. I highly encourage you to step away from the instant oats, they aren’t doing you any favors. And for the love of kale please don’t buy those little packets of sugary oatmeal evil. They take a perfectly good food, oatmeal and add stuff to it. Instead make your own oatmeal add fruits, nuts, seeds, and a bit of real maple syrup. Sometimes I’ll add banana, strawberries and raw pumpkin seeds and other times I’ll use dried cranberries or raisins. Try this recipe for  Nutty Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, YUM!

Overnight Oats

A lot of people enjoy the Overnight Oats method of oatmeal. I have not tried this yet but I will. From what I hear Angela at Oh She Glows is the QUEEN of Overnight Oats you can check out her recipe here.

Other Grains

Most other grains can be used just like oatmeal. We have eat Breakfast Quinoa many times. Breakfast Rice is another delicious option. You can use leftover cooked rice or just cook up a fresh batch. I like to cook it a long time so it gets a little mushier than I would prefer for dinner. As it is cooking I’ll stir in cinnamon and almond milk, coconut milk would be good too. My husband likes Breakfast Rice with raisins.

If you are a crock pot user you could mix some grains, water, and fruit together in the evening, cook on low all night, for a delicious breakfast when you wake up.

Bring on the Veggies

Veggie lovers can start their day off with a Breakfast Stir Fry. No special ingredients required just use what ever seasonal veggies are available. For my taste the potato is essential. Leftover veggies work great in this. I like to eat my Breakfast Stir Fry wrapped in a tortilla with a little salsa.

Bread and Pancakes

I love bread for breakfast. Toast is my friend, especially if it is covered in almond butter (peanut butter is my favorite but variety is a good thing). I top it with sliced apples or sliced banana’s most of the time. Since we are switching to gluten-free bread we don’t have it as often. Gluten-free bread is too expensive to eat for every meal. Before going gluten-free Ezekiel bread was my favorite.

I also love pancakes. As a kid I remember going to IHOP and eat so many pancakes I felt sick, only to be hungry again a couple of hours later. After going plant-based we switched to Whole Wheat Pancakes; of course I topped them with nut butter and fruit, just like my toast. As a family our favorite was Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes. I use Lindsay’s recipe at the Happy Herbivore you can find it here.

Sadly I have not had the best outcome with making Gluten-free pancakes and I broke down and bought a GF Pancake Mix so we could have them for Father’s Day. Don’t worry I’ll keep trying.

Here’s your chance? What did I forget?