My Plant-Based Family

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

Meal Plans

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I’m excited to share this week’s Plant-Based Meal Plan! My newest recipe, the Plant-Based Goulash I’ve been I’ve been talking about is finally on the blog. I’m testing a couple variations and will have the Instant Pot version out soon. Many of you have emailed me requesting it, I’m working on it!

plant-based meal plan

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I’ve also been experimenting with other recipes but they aren’t working out for me. Sometimes recipes come together quickly and easily, and other times we have to test so many variations to try to get it to work.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

The only batch cooking I did this weekend was the new goulash recipe. I made it on Saturday so I could share a step by step instructions in my stories. You can find it in my Instagram highlights. We did our grocery shopping so we are pretty well stocked to make most of our favorites.

Plant-Based Breakfast

It’s always nice to have some Overnight Oats in the fridge. I think my Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats are over due! Is anyone interested in a pumpkin overnight oat recipe? Let me know and I’ll share one. I’m also bringing back an old favorite Instant Pot Breakfast Rice! It’s time for a new batch of my oil-free Pumpkin Granola too!

Plant-Based Lunch

I’ll be having leftover Plant-Based Goulash for lunch almost every day! I can even take it in my thermos when I’ll be sitting in appointments. I may eat other dinner leftovers for lunch too. On of my favorite lunches is a Simple Veggie Sandwich! Bread, hummus and veggies…it doesn’t get much simpler than that. When I have it, I’ll add avocado too.

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Plant-Based Goulash leftovers make an easy Monday night meal. It’s very filling and perfect for fall weather.

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner is always fun! I love this Southwest Tofu Scramble. It’s hearty and delicious! We usually serve it with fruit and toast but a side of Breakfast Rice is good too.

Wednesday: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup is a family favorite! Sometimes I’ll serve it with salad but since it’s full of veggies I don’t worry too much about it. My kids love having bread on the side.

Thursday: Instant Pot Refried Beans is exactly what we need on Thursday night. We can easily choose between Nachos, Tostadas or Burritos. It’s a win for everybody.

Friday: Veggie Burger and oven fries will be a fun Friday night dinner. 

What are your favorite kind of recipes? Instant Pot, stove top or something else? I’d love to know!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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The weather is finally cooling off and my fall recipes are hitting my plant-based meal plan this week! I’ve got a list of new recipes I want to develop and a bunch of favorites we will be enjoying!

In addition to meals, I’m so ready to make my Spiced Apple Cider! It’s not really cold enough for that yet but my kids are already asking for it. 

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

This week’s plant-based meal plan will include several dinners that will be used for leftovers. Two of the dinners are quick and easy family favorites. I don’t have a lot of food prepped for this week yet but these meals will be worth the time we invest in them!

Plant-Based Breakfast

We have been eating a lot of muffins lately. The kids usually have Instant Pot Oatmeal for breakfast but I’m a habitual breakfast skipper. My Apple Oatmeal Muffins are easy to pack on the go and provide enough energy to keep going until lunch. They are great as a snack too!

Plant-Based Lunch

We typically enjoy leftovers for lunch, especially when we have soups or casseroles. I’m a fan of hearty salads too like my Quinoa Lentil Salad or my Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl. I’ve got a thermos (and this lunch box) for the kids to take soups in their lunch. Our youngest son loves soups for lunch.

Plant-Based Dinner

It’s a good thing when you are excited about your meal plan for the week! 

Monday: Chipotle Black Bean Chili is the perfect meal for the stormy weather we are expecting. It’s too spicy for the kids so they will eat something easy that they make themselves. 

Tuesday: Veggie Pad Thai is so easy and so good! It’s not traditional Thai but I love it. 

Wednesday: Instant Pot Mexican Casserole is one my my most popular recipes! I think it will make a great midweek meal! The leftovers reheat really well.

Thursday: We may have too many leftovers by Thursday but if not, we make Busy Night Pasta and serve a side salad or raw veggies and hummus.

Friday: Chickpea Rice Soup is a family favorite! I’ve got instructions for making it in the Instant Pot or on the stove! We love this soup and the leftovers 

I have been brainstorming a lot of fall recipes! If you have recipes you want to see, leave a comment or send me an email. 

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I’ve been spending a lot of time working on new recipes and taking new photos of old recipes. It can take a while before those new recipes show up in my Plant-Based Meal Plan! It’s a lot of fun for me though, especially when I know you are going to love the outcome.

Last week I planned to share a new Apple Oatmeal Muffin recipe but I shared my Best Veggie Broth’s instead. I plan to share the muffin recipe this week. I also tested another kind of flour to give you more options.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

This week we will plan to cook a few times and enjoy leftovers throughout the week. I just made a couple of batches of my Veggie Broth Mix that I’m looking forward to including in this week’s recipes.

Plant-Based Breakfast

This week, Instant Pot Breakfast Rice is making a comeback! We love this delicious, hearty breakfast. It’s a great break from oatmeal. I may make a batch of my Pumpkin Granola too.

Plant-Based Lunch

This week I’m planning to eat some of the leftovers in my fridge. I have One Pot Broccoli and Rice, Chickpea and Rice Soup and Taco Soup! I made the soups toward the end of last week and they need to be eaten. Once they are done I fully intend to dive into Veggie Sandwiches! I love having veggie focused lunches.

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Vegan Goulash is an easy-to-make recipe I’ve been developing. I haven’t published it yet but I love it! I just couldn’t bring myself to share it over the summer when it is super hot. Now that fall is on it’s way I’ll plan to share it soon.

Tuesday: Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice! This is one of my most viewed recipes! It makes a ton so I’ll sometimes half it if we don’t want to eat it all week. This recipe is a basic, mild recipe. You may want to spice it up but since my kids don’t like spicy foods, I make it this way, then spice up the the grown up servings.

Wednesday: Minestrone Soup is so good! I love all the different veggies! I’ve been thinking about it since I shared my posts about my favorite veggie broths. I’ll cook the noodles separate so they don’t continue to absorb all the broth.

Thursday: Leftover Black Beans and Brown Rice! We may eat this with tortillas.

Friday: Chickpea Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes and Brown Gravy is a family favorite! I don’t make this often because it’s a bit more labor intensive but we always love it when I do!

What are you eating this week? Any new recipes? If you make some of mine, I’d love to see them! Tag me on Instagram!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Wow! Moving is not for the weak. We moved one month ago and while we’ve made a lot of progress and are mostly unpacked, there are still quite a few things we need to do. Thankfully we are settled in enough to make good food and a plant-based meal plan.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Plant-Based Meal Plan

Over the weekend I did some batch cooking! We have Chickpea Rice Soup, One Pot Broccoli and Rice and Banana Bread ready for the week.

We also have a lot of salad options ready. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and more. Believe it or not, my kids love salads, as long as they get some choice in what goes in them. I think that’s perfectly reasonable. Take a look at our salad dressings!

Plant-Based Breakfast

My kids have started to ask for oatmeal again! I love it when they are on an oatmeal kick because I have so many great oatmeal options. My pickiest eater is even starting to like nuts. Yesterday he ate a handful of walnuts and asked for coconut! This is huge for this kid.

This week we will be including Instant Pot Oatmeal, Overnight Oats (I may even share a new recipe), Oil-Free Pumpkin Granola and Banana Bread! We will also include fruit with breakfast and other meals.

Plant-Based Lunch

Most of our lunches are leftovers. Thankfully, our Chickpea Rice Soup and One Pot Broccoli Rice Casserole is already put in our favorite lunch size Pyrex containers and ready for the week. Me and the kids have also planned to take salads in our lunch this week. I’m thinking of a Black Bean Mango Salad! The boys will just fill up their favorite ingredients along with other things that are easy to pack like fruit, pretzels, and sandwiches. I bought an insulated stainless steel thermos and an OmieBox so they could take hot soups and pastas too.

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Tostadas and Mexican Rice are a really easy week night meal! Especially if you already have refried beans cooked in your instant pot or buy canned beans. Plus, they are so simple but everyone  loves them. I buy the pre-made shells to make it even easier but if you are wanting the healthiest option possible, you will want to buy oil-free soft corn tortillas and bake them yourself.

Tuesday: Tofu Scramble and pancakes are a fun week night meal. If we get pressed for time I’ll ditch the pancakes and make potatoes in my Instant Pot while the scramble is cooking. Since my boys don’t enjoy all the peppers and onions in their scramble like I do, I may cook those in a separate skillet.

Wednesday: Pasta nights are a weekly occurrence for us! We may have my Instant Pot Pasta or Pizza Pasta depending on what everyone is in the mood for. We will pair it with salad or raw veggies. My kids prefer raw veggies to cooked veggies but you could choose your favorite.

Thursday: Veggie Pad Thai is one of my favorite recipes. It reheats really well so this is perfect for late in the week when the lunch leftovers are running low. My kids don’t like this one as much, I have no idea why except that they don’t like meals where everything is mixed together.

Friday: Dinner Out! I don’t know what we will have yet but I don’t expect to cook. If we decided to stay in we will probably enjoy some of the leftovers.

I bought the Mealthy Crisp Lid on Prime Day and we moved about a week later so I haven’t tried it yet. I hope to try it, now that it’s unpacked, in the next week! If you have one I’d love to hear what you think.

What are you eating this week?

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I’m back with a new plant-based meal plan. Since I lasted shared mid July, we have successfully sold our house and downsized into a new one. My kitchen is unpacked and I’m ready to start cooking.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I was just putting my grocery list together for pickup tomorrow morning. Do you use grocery pickup? It’s so easy.

Since my boys have started school, breakfasts will be quick and easy. My husband and I will be having leftovers for lunch, especially with the delicious meals we have planned.

Plant-Based Breakfast

As much as I’d love to make Tofu Scramble for breakfast, we usually stick to quicker foods on school days. Although, Tofu Scrambles reheat really well. Most days we will have cereal with rice milk, toast with fruit or bagels. I may make my Peanut Butter Overnight Oats to have available for breakfast or a mid day snack! My husband usually sticks to fruit and veggies. There’s always a chance I’ll make us smoothies to accompany our breakfast or oatmeal if we need something heartier.

Plant-Based Lunch

I love eating leftovers for lunch. Some things are better than others. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s dinners are going to make fantastic leftovers! On day’s we don’t have leftovers I may make a big salad or a sandwich. I can make a quick and easy Chickpea Noodle Soup or Plant-Based Mediterranean Bowl in a pinch.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday: Pasta with veggies and side salad. I’ve got a great Sweet and Tangy Salad Dressing to go with it. This meal is a winner because we can all pick and choose our own veggies to some extent. One kid loves raw carrots, the other raw broccoli and they both like salad with balsamic vinegar.

Tuesday: Tofu Stir Fry with rice or noodles. I’ll admit that this one is for me. I’ve been craving Asian flavors for weeks. I’m not sure what sauce I’ll use yet so send me your recommendations!

Wednesday: Mexican Casserole. So easy and so good! I have several recipes but I’m sure I’ll use my Instant Pot version for this one. This will make great leftovers for lunch too.

Thursday: Instant Pot Baked Potatoes with steamed broccoli and maybe Creamy Brown Gravy. I love potatoes! This is one of the easiest things to make in the Instant Pot. I usually have my 10 year old make these for me. I’ll take over when it comes to steaming veggies and making gravy.

Friday: Plant-Based Nachos with Refried Beans, dairy-free queso and plenty of salsa. Since Mango is plentiful now I may make my Mango Salsa too! Don’t forget jalapenos!

What are you eating this week? On Prime Day I bought the Mealthy Crisp Lid but we packed it as soon as it came in. I may give it a try this week. If you’ve been wanting to try air frying but don’t want to deal with the space an air fryer requires, take a look at the Mealthy Crisp Lid.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I used to look forward to summer because it meant the kids were home and we weren’t as busy. This summer, that is not the case. We have appointment after appointment. I definitely spend less time cooking and encourage the kids to make their own meals when possible. They make a lot of toast!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

I’m going to continue this new style of posting the meal plan. Instead of planning every breakfast, lunch and dinner, I share a few breakfast ideas, a few lunch ideas then week night dinners. This has been working well and is easier since we usually repeat breakfasts and lunch anyway.

Plant-Based Breakfast

This week is less hectic than last week so I expect oatmeal to make another appearance. I’ll have time to make Instant Pot Oatmeal but I will also prepare a few Peanut Butter Overnight Oats jars. These little jars are perfect for quick and easy breakfast or a delicious snack. Plus, they are a great little package of fiber.

Plant-Based Lunch

Over the weekend I prepped ingredients for my Mediterranean Bowls. They are so good and so easy! My husband still has Broccoli and Rice Casserole to take to lunch from when I made it last week. Check out my Instagram Story Highlights to see me make it, start to finish. We’ll also have Veggie Sandwiches or pita sandwiches and other leftovers.

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Broccoli Potato Soup is so easy and so good. Everyone in the house will eat it. Another thing I love about this soup is that it reheats so well. I used to make a version of this in the Crock Pot but now I usually stick to this Instant Pot version.

Tuesday: Tofu Kabobs with Oil-Free Fried Rice is a favorite that I don’t make often enough.  I love the sweetness of the pineapple with the savory flavor or the tamari (or soy sauce if you can have gluten). You can use your favorite sauce.

Wednesday: Tostadas are one of the easiest  meals you can make and totally underrated. You can make your own beans, here’s my favorite recipe, or use canned. These are completely kid friendly because it’s basically a big chip with beans on top and a little lettuce and tomato.

Thursday: Fiesta Pasta is an old recipe where I use my faux cheese sauce as a pasta sauce. It’s kinda like a mac and cheese with beans, tomatoes and corn. If your family doesn’t go for things being mixed together like this you may want to skip it. The good new is you can spice it up with green chilies, taco seasoning or salsa. The recipe is pretty mild as written but there is always room to adapt it to your family.

Friday: Beefy Lentil and Veggie Soup is so hearty! It’s pure comfort food. You can make it on the stove or in your Instant Pot.

What are you eating a lot of right now? Any My Plant-Based Family recipes?