My Plant-Based Family

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

Healthy

Simple Veggie Sandwich

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One of the things I miss from my pre-plant-based days is a really good deli sandwich.

There is no reason I can’t have a great sandwich. Meat and cheese don’t make the meal. Good bread, fresh veggies and condiments make the meal.

Veggie SandwichSimple Veggie Sandwich

There isn’t a set recipe, use the ingredients you love and have on hand. This is more of a template than a recipe anyway.

Ingredients

  • Good bread, you can also use wraps, naan, or lettuce wraps.
  • Condiments, I use spicy mustard and hummus. Guacamole is another good choice.
  • Greens, I used lettuce and chopped romaine. Use what you like.
  • Veggies, I used cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers. Artichokes, pickles and onions are good too.

Do

Build your sandwich in any way you desire. You may want to wrap it in parchment paper if you are on the go.

Veggie sandwiches tend to be pretty messy. I usually only eat these at home so I don’t make a huge mess.

Other great lunch meal include Veggie Wraps, Black Bean Mango Salad, Chick Pea Salad and Not So Tuna Salad.

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

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I’ve got the answer to your pizza craving right here! You’ve heard of stuffed mushrooms but Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms are a whole new level of awesomeness!

If you like mushrooms you will love these. I recently posted a video on Instagram of my 4 year old enjoying these. If you don’t like mushrooms stay tuned and I’ll share my pizza hack with you!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms are vegan and gluten-free!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 2 8 oz packages of whole mushrooms (button or cremini)
  • 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, I used half red and half green
  • 1/2 cup diced tomato
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup marinara

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash mushrooms gently and remove stems. Dice the stems and set aside a 1/2 cup for the mix.
  3. Remove the gills. This step is optional but it will allow more “stuffing” in the mushrooms.
  4. Place the mushrooms in a muffin pan, I used a mini muffin pan. If you don’t have a muffin pan use a pan with sides.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together a 1/2 cup of the diced mushroom stems, bell peppers, tomato and onion. Next pour in the marinara sauce and mix it all together.
  6. Fill the mushroom caps with the veggie marinara filling.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes.
  8. Carefully remove from oven, there will be liquid in the pan. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

You can add other ingredients like artichoke hearts, olives, faux sausage/pepperoni or cheese if you are in to that sort of thing. I wanted a basic veggie pizza flavor. This is completely guilt free as written so go for it!

This recipe made about 20 stuffed Mushrooms. You can also make it with portobellos but expect to cook it a little longer. The portobellos at our store looked pretty beat up so I skipped them this time.

You will probably have extra filling that is great on pasta, potatoes or my Pizza Hack!

Pizza Hack

I’ve been trying out some new gluten-free, vegan, Sprouted for Life bread. Like many healthier breads, it is pretty sturdy. I used it for my pizza crust and OH MY GOODNESS it was so good! I’m still trying the bread out and haven’t used it with a sandwich yet but it tastes amazing with this! Just spoon some of the veggie marinara filling over the toast and bake for 10 minutes.

For more great recipes visit my Recipe Page!

Meal Plan Monday: Spring Break part 1

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A new week calls for a new meal plan and I’ve been trying out some new recipes. I plan to keep some of my favorites in the rotation though. It also happens to be the first week of Spring Break, I say first week because my kids go to different schools and have two different Spring Breaks.

A gluten-free, vegan (plant-based) meal plan the whole family will love.

Meal Plan Monday

Last month I bought a new product to try at Costco. It’s a quinoa, amaranth and millet blend. I’ve been using it for breakfast and plan to make it for some Spring Break lunch concoctions too. I’ll share the recipe this week!

Breakfast and Lunch

Triple Berry Porridge, Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot and Toast with Fruit will make up our breakfasts this week. Lunches will be leftovers, sandwiches and baked potatoes. I’m planning to make this Banana Bread too!

Dinner

Veggie Pad Thai, I can’t remember the last time I actually make this. Even when it’s been on our Meal Plan I’ve skipped it.

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms with raw veggies or salad (recipe coming soon!)

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, if you haven’t made this yet you are missing out.

Gluten-Free Pasta with Veggies and Marinara

Potato Kale Soup, it’s my favorite way to eat kale! I’ll probably cook this in my Crock Pot this time.

I don’t know about you but this sounds like a wonderful week of meals. Hopefully I actually make it all. You see, I plan my meals but I leave room for change. Sometimes we have less time for prep, or we neglect to buy a much needed ingredient. The Lentil Shepherd’s Pie takes the most time so it is most likely to get cut. I’ve still got some leftovers though.

Do you make a meal plan each week? How often do you stick to it?

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Healthy Dips

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I’ve really been craving dips lately. I’m snacking on hummus right now! I thought it would be helpful to have links to all of my dip recipes in one place. A few of these aren’t exactly dips but I use them as dips so I’m including them here.

Some people might argue that dips are not healthy, I beg to differ. These are healthy dips.

In case you are wondering all of these are gluten-free and oil-free in addition to being vegan.

Healthy Dip Round Up

Get out your veggies, crackers and chips and get ready for this collection of healthy dips!

GF Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

GF Vegan red pepper dip

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

GF Vegan Green Chili White Bean Dip

Green Chili White Bean Dip

Dairy-free Faux Cheese sauce

Faux Cheese Sauce

Oil-free black beans

Unfried Beans and Unfried Black Beans

pico de gallo

Oven Roasted Salsa, regular Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Jalapeno Hummus

You have likely noticed that I use the same bowls in all of these pictures! Some of the additional recipes link to photos with other bowls. Have you tried any of these dips? I’d love to know which dips are your favorite!

If you are a blogger leave a link to your favorite dip creations in the comments.

My Dinner Meal Plan for the week

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I didn’t get much batch cooking done this weekend so this week I’ll mostly stick to easy meals, especially the first few days of the week. Veggie Pad Thai is always a favorite at our house. It is different every time because I use whatever I have on hand. This weeks version will be especially good because I have more veggies than usual to work with.

I also have a new recipe for you. I’ve been making oil-free fried rice since before I was plant-based. I’ve made it so long didn’t even think about sharing it so this week I finally will. It’s not fancy or exotic, it’s simple and delicious.

This week our breakfasts will mostly be cereal but I just bought Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats and I have a membership to Amazon Prime
so I’ll have those in two days. I plan to try them in my Instant Pot for the first time. Yes, I get excited about this kind of stuff.

We will enjoy leftovers for lunches. My husband always takes his lunch to work and one of his co-workers was admiring it every day, so he started to share. Occasionally he takes two lunches now, one for him and one for his buddy.

With that in mind, check out my plant-based dinner meal plan for the week!

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Veggie Pad Thai

Oil-Free Fried Rice Recipe Coming Soon (I’ll try to post some teasers on Instagram tonight.)

Potato Kale Soup

White Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Homemade Pizza using a recipe from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

What are you eating this week?

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Potato Kale Soup

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If you typically turn your nose up at kale, then this plant based potato kale soup is for you. Using frozen, chopped kale is part of the secret that makes it so good (and easy).

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting up the potatoes. I’m including instructions for making this soup on the stove, in the Crock Pot AND in the Instant Pot!

Potato Kale Soup Recipe

Simple is often the best way to go with vegan food. With only five ingredients, you can taste every flavor in this potato kale soup.

Leave the peels on the potatoes to cut down on time. Using frozen kale eliminates the need to wash and process it. And you should have veggie broth mix or bullion on hand. It truly is a simple soup to put together, yet very satisfying.

How to Make Potato Kale Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces (peeling is optional)
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 10 oz bag of frozen kale
  • 1/3 cup dry veggie broth mix (or bullion) (you can add more if needed)
  • Enough water to “just” cover everything

Note: This soup can be made on the stove, in the Crock Pot or in the Instant Pot.

Instructions

1. Place all of the veggies into the pot. Sprinkle in Dry Veggie Broth Mix or use your favorite broth or bullion.

2. Cover with water and give it a good stir.

3. Cook covered.

Stove Top version: Cook over medium heat for about 30 minute. The time will vary depending on how large the veggies are.

Crock Pot version: Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.

Instant Pot version: Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button, for 10 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the soup to natural release for another 5 minutes and the release the remainder of the pressure.

Serve

This would be great as a starter leading up to a meal but we usually just eat it on it’s own. If you are a baker I recommend making a nice crusty bread to go with it.

This may be the easiest soup you’ll ever make. There is only one measurement involved and a little cutting. Everyone in my family loved it. This is my favorite way to eat kale.

0 Reasons I bought an Instant Pot

If you aren’t sure what an Instant Pot is be sure to check out 10 Reasons I Bought an Instant Pot!

More Delicious Soups

Check out these other plant based soups packed with veggies:

Potato Kale Soup

Vegan potato kale soup

Potato Kale Soup that even people who don't like kale will love.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces (peeling is optional)
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 3 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 10 oz bag of frozen kale
  • 1/3 cup dry veggie broth mix (or bullion) (you can add more if needed)
  • Enough water to “just” cover everything

Instructions

    1. Place all of the veggies into the pot. Sprinkle in Dry Veggie Broth Mix or use your favorite broth or bullion.
    2. Cover with water and give it a good stir.
    3. Cook covered. (See Notes for variations)

Notes

  • Stove Top - Cook over medium heat for about 30 minute. The time will vary depending on how large the veggies are.
  • Crock Pot - Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.
  • Instant Pot - Press the manual or pressure cook button, for 10 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the soup to natural release for another 5 minutes and the release the remainder of the pressure.

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© Holly Yzquierdo

Using Frozen Kale in Soup

This soup recipe uses frozen kale because it’s so easy to work with and it’s convenient to keep it in the freezer until you are ready to use it. I never have to worry about using it all before it goes bad. You can use fresh kale instead, simply wash and chop the fresh kale and add it to the recipe. I prefer to remove the stems before using kale. They are fibrous and harder to eat until you love them.