My Plant-Based Family

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

Healthy

Got Greens?

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It’s Week 2 of the Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a the Vegan MoFo! I hope to have several new recipes to share this week!

I recently made a smoothie for my loves and thought I’d document the process. I’m not one for following recipes well, especially when it comes to smoothies.

This particular smoothie was made with spinach, oats, bananas, and blueberries. I added a little almond milk too.

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This was tasty! My husband and boys LOVED it! My husband was leaving for a meeting so I added the oats to give it more substance.

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Isn’t it pretty! What are your favorite things to add to a smoothie?

Black Bean Soup for Two

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Normally when I cook anything I make enough for a small village. About 14 months ago there were 7 hungry tummies living under our roof. When our three teenagers moved to their mom’s house I had to completely change my style of cooking. That was pretty close to the same time I found out my youngest couldn’t handle gluten.

Right now we are back up to 5 mouths that are always hungry. I’ve been craving Black Bean Soup but I know my husband and I are the only ones who will eat it. My little guys probably would but this is a mess soup for little hands and I get tired of cleaning up messes, especially Black Bean Soup on my white tile dining room floor.

If you have kids with a little more spoon control this soup is mild enough for them. I made this with my food processor but you could make it without one, it would just take more knife wielding. 🙂

Black Bean Soup for Two

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cooked black beans (or two cans drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1-2 Peppers, I used a pepper from a friends garden but jalapeno or bell peppers are okay too
  • 1 1/2 cups water (or veggie broth)
  • 1 cube veggie bullion of using water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke (add more for a smokier flavor)
  • 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

Do

  1. Process onions and garlic in food processor or finely mince. Add them to a medium-sized pot on medium heat, stirring regularly. If they begin to burn add a tiny bit of water or broth. Cook these until they are translucent and starting to brown.
  2. Peppers can be processed also or left in big chunks. If they are processed the soup will be spicier. I removed the seed and left peppers in big chunks for a mild soup.
  3. Add the beans (processed and whole), water (or broth) and spices to the pot and stir.
  4. Let soup simmer a few minutes then taste to adjust spices.
  5. Finally add liquid smoke and vinegar.

Serve

This soup makes about 4 cups but can be doubled for extra eaters. It would taste great with Mexican Rice or topped with fresh avocado or cilantro.

Are you enjoying the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo)? If you are participating let me know so I can see what you’ve been cooking.

All Purpose Mushroom Marinade

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Some nights you just need an easy, kid-friendly meal; and nothing is easier than pasta.

We used gluten-free pasta because my 20 month old is gluten-free. He loved this pasta and the mushrooms.

This was his first time successfully feeding himself. He normally eats with his hands but he always tries to use the spoon. He totally rocked spooning this pasta into his mouth. He had seconds of this by the way.

I’m not typically a mushroom lover but my marinade really takes them to a whole different level. So if you don’t like mushrooms you will want to try them this way; if you like mushrooms this may become your favorite way to prepare them.

Mushroom Marinade

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Braggs
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegan)
  • 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
  • 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
  • 1 Tbsp Cooking Sherry (optional, I use in Italian dishes but not Mexican)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of water
  • Mushrooms of your choice, we prefer Portobello

Do

  1. Mix all liquids for the marinade in a large bowl and stir to incorporate them all.
  2. Wash mushrooms and pat dry.
  3. Slice them then add to marinade.
  4. Let them soak 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cook the mushrooms however you prefer. I simmered these with onions for the pasta but will often grill them for fajita’s.

Serve

This marinade is extremely versatile. I use it, adjusting where necessary, for all of my mushroom recipes. I’ve had people who didn’t like mushrooms tell me they really enjoyed them this way. It’s a lot easier than the recipe I came up with for my Portobello Fajita’s. My Portobello Burgers are pretty good too if you are in a Portobello kind of mood.

I served this with a big ol’ garden salad! Yes that was just MY salad, in a serving bowl. My husband and 3 year old had their own. 😉

Just in case you are wondering, the Pumpkin Bread from yesterday’s post does make a delicious breakfast, especially with a cup of coffee.

Pumpkin Bread

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I know, it’s that time of year where pumpkin starts to take over. I stood my ground as long as I could but I am not immune to the pumpkin fever that is sweeping the land. Once I gave myself over to the unrelenting force of the pumpkin the only real questions is: What to make?

I thought about all kinds of pumpkin infested recipes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin granola, but I finally decided on good ol’ fashioned Pumpkin Bread.

I ran into a little hiccup when I grabbed all of my baking supplies. I was out of whole wheat pastry flour so I subbed organic stone ground whole wheat flour and unbleached all purpose flour. I think you could use whole wheat pastry flour with good results.

Ingredients

  • 1 c whole wheat flour
  • 1 c all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/8 ground cloves
  • 2 c pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 c applesauce
  • 1/2 c maple syrup (agave or date syrup would work too)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 walnuts (optional)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together except nuts.
  3. In a medium bowl mix together all wet ingredients.
  4. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until mixed.
  5. Stir in nuts if using.
  6. Scoop batter into loaf pan.
  7. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until done.
  8. Let cool 20 minutes then remove from pan and place on cooling rack until completely cook.
  9. Slice after it is completely cool.

Serve

This is perfect for dessert or as an accompaniment to warm cup of coffee or chai. It is not really sweet, if you’re looking for a sweeter bread add more maple syrup or raw sugar. This would also be good with a glaze on top if you are serving it for dessert. I’ll probably be eating this for breakfast tomorrow too. If you’re a chocolate fanatic like me you could add vegan chocolate chips, you can never go wrong with chocolate!

Party Worthy Parfait

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Welcome back to day 2 of the Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a The Vegan MoFo. Today I’m setting my sights on the parfait.

Making parfait’s are super easy if you have kids they can help or make their own. If you own a large glass bowl or trifle dish they can make a perfect center piece for a party or make these in individual glasses like I did. These are healthy enough for an on the go breakfast but tasty enough for dessert too.

Parfait

Ingredients

  • Vegan yogurt (I use coconut, almond or soy milk yogurt)
  • Diced fruit of your choice (apples, berries, or bananas)
  • Granola
  • Nuts and/or seeds
  • Vegan chocolate chips (hey I’m not judging)

Do

  1. Layer granola, yogurt, nuts/sees, then fruit.
  2. Repeat step 1 two to three times to fill your container.
  3. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Serve

This was a big hit at my Healthy Cravings group served as a dessert. We ate the leftovers for breakfast and lunch for a few days after. A few of my favorite variations include Cinnamon granola with diced apples, Almond granola with mixed berries, granola with vegan chocolate chips and bananas. I like to top this with chia seeds right before serving. My son thinks they are sprinkles! 🙂

This recipe is kid friendly, omni friendly, and gluten-free if you use gluten-free granola.

What is your favorite parfait combination?

The V Word

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Virgin

Vasectomy

Vulcher (this one is from my 3 year old)

No I’m talking about the word Vegan!

I was afraid to use this word for a long time. Growing up in rural Texas and Oklahoma definitely played a role in my ideas of this V word. It was always used negatively. This last weekend I visited my dad in Texas. We went to a quaint little bistro, there were less than 10 things on the menu and they all contained meat or dairy. I asked for a veggie sandwich with avocado, no meat, no dairy. The lady looked at me like my boobs were on backwards. The sandwich was delicious by the way.

I usually use the term “Plant-Based” to describe my diet. Primarily because that is how it was introduced to me. I first eliminated meat and dairy for my health. After that I became much more compassionate toward animals but that never would have happened if it wouldn’t have been for my Plant-Based mentor Eileen trying to help me regain my health. Additionally, when I tell someone I’m Plant-Based they look at me crazy and say what’s that. When I tell someone I’m vegan they just look at me crazy before running away. 🙂

This month I’m going to change all of that. I signed up to participate in the Vegan Month of Food a.k.a. the Vegan MoFo. I know how it sounds but don’t worry it is harmless. My husband has had an unending string of jokes since I told him I signed up. You may be wondering what to expect. Well I still plan to write about plant-based/vegan eating, recipes, and tips that make life easier for me. I’ll just be posting those things more often. I’d been in a bit of a slump with posting, you can thank our busy schedule for that. 🙂 Many of my recipes are gluten-free and kid friendly but sometimes I have to bring on the whole wheat and live it up!

So welcome to any new readers who found me through the Vegan MoFo. I hope you’ll stick around. 🙂 We are a pretty easy going bunch around here. If you are a regular reader get ready for a busy month. I hope you enjoy it!