My Plant-Based Family

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

Mexican Food

Meal Plan Monday: Lotsa Leftovers

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Lentil Tacos

This week will be a lot different than most weeks due to the incredible amount of leftovers. Normally my meal plan doesn’t cover the weekends so we can use up all of the leftovers and have a fresh start for Monday. That also means a lot of cooking at the beginning of the week. This week we have way too many leftovers and a few fresh ingredients that need to be used soon. My plan is to do a little cooking Monday to use the fresh ingredients then eat leftovers for a few days until the full on cooking resumes. It looks like I’ll have an easy week in the kitchen, if I’m smart I’ll use that extra time to accomplish other tasks, like cleaning and organizing but I doubt that will happen.

I am not dreading eating these leftovers because they are delicious! I have Unfried beans, Mexican Rice, a lentil and quinoa “taco” mix, portobello fajita’s, and much more.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, toast with nut or apple butter and fruit, smoothies, and the occasional bowl of leftover soup. We may have blueberry pancakes toward the end of the week too.

Lunches will be wraps, leftovers (potatoes, pasta, Mexican food), sandwiches, soups, and French bread Pizza. The pizza will likely make an appearance at the beginning of the week as I have spinach, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms that will make a lovely lunch.

Dinner

Monday: Portobello steaks, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed asparagus

Tuesday: Burritos made with leftovers

Wednesday: Any remaining leftovers (Mexican food, yeah baby!)

Thursday: Pasta with veggies and salad

Friday: Is usually a date night so I make something easy for the kids like baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes or pasta.

Refried Beans (Oil-Free)

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Refried beans, well not exactly, unfried beans, beans sans grease (lard or extra fat). Let’s just call them unfried beans.

Oil-Free Refried Beans

When my husband and I first got together he did all of the cooking. He taught me how to cook Mexican food. To make refried beans, he would put a little oil in the pan. Then add the cooked beans then smash them with a potato masher.

Once I started doing all of the cooking I omitted the oil. He didn’t notice unless I would say something. I then got lazier and would just put the cooked beans into my Magic Bullet to save all of the work of mashing them.

Oil-Free Refried Beans

Now that I have a food processor I have a super simple recipe for Refried, er Unfried Beans. I’d say they rival any canned refried beans that are seasoned and are quick and easy to make.

Do Mexican Restaurants use Lard in Refried Beans?

Some canned beans contain lard, and most restaurants use canned beans. Check the ingredients if using canned beans at home. I promise you won’t miss any of the fat in the flavor!

Unfried Refried Beans Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked pinto beans (black beans would work too)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • small amounts of water
  • hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add cooked beans and all of the spices to the food processor and process.
  2. Add small amounts of water until the desired consistency is reached.
  3. Taste and add more seasonings if desired.
Enjoy restaurant style refried beans without sacrificing your health. These oil-free, plant-based refried beans are made in the Instant Pot.

Serving Suggestions

This was the perfect amount of beans for my husband and my nachos. If you are making bean burritos or just beans to accompany something else, this recipe is easy to double or triple.

Storage

Did you know that beans and unfried beans freeze well? You can make a big batch then package the beans into smaller serving sizes to freeze for later. I like to use a quart size freezer bag because I can lay it flat.

I’ve also made large amounts of unfried beans to use when we had company stay with us. They could make nacho’s, burritos, or a host of other things quickly.

Enjoy restaurant style refried beans without sacrificing your health. These oil-free, plant-based refried beans are made in the Instant Pot.

Do you cook your beans? You will save a lot of money if you do. Read my post on “Plan for Success” if this is uncharted territory for you, in it, I detail how to cook beans.

Also, check out my Unfried Black Bean recipe!

More Plant Based Mexican Food Recipes

Yield: 2 cups

Unfried Refried Beans (Oil-Free)

Oil-Free Refried Beans

A healthier version of refried beans without oil but all the flavor.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked pinto beans (black beans would work too)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • small amounts of water
  • hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add cooked beans and all of the spices to the food processor and process.
  2. Add small amounts of water until the desired consistency is reached.
  3. Taste and add more seasonings if desired.

Notes

Freeze servings in a quart size freezer bag for later.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Holly Yzquierdo

Enchilada Soup

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Back in the days before I transitioned to a plant-based diet I made a really savory Chicken Enchilada Soup. It was soooo good. People would come from miles around, OK my friend Sarah would drive a few miles to eat this soup. I love this soup!!!

Plant-Based gluten-free Enchilada Soup.

The problem was it contained a ton of not so healthy ingredients. I was determined to make it healthy without compromising the flavor. 

Enchilada Soup

This is especially good with crushed tortilla chips and nutritional yeast added to the individual bowl. If you like to use a faux sour cream add a dollop to your bowl. Try not to eat right out of the pot when you’re putting leftovers away. That is just bad manners. This made enough soup for maybe 6 bowls, but you will want seconds. Double (or triple) the recipe for a large family.  

This soup is very forgiving. If you are missing an ingredient go ahead and made it. I make it all the time but when I’m out of corn or green chilies it still tastes great. 

My husband kept going on and on about how great this soup is, how it reminds him of soup his mom made when he was a kid, how amazing I am; OK I threw that last part in there but it is not uncommon for him to say that. 

Enchilada Soup

Don’t  you just want to dive in that bowl and swim around? Well you would if you tasted it. 

If you love this soup be sure to try it’s grain-free counterpart, Taco Soup!

How to Make Enchilada Soup

Ingredients

  • 6 cups veggie broth
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cups cooked beans (I use 1 can black beans and 1 can pinto beans)
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes (canned our fine)
  • 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, sliced
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup organic corn
  • 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • salt, pepper and nutrional yeast to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bring veggie broth to a simmer in a large pot.
  2. Add onions, cooked beans, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, corn and rice.
  3. Add tomato sauce and let simmer.
  4. Let this cook until onions are translucent and flavors have had a chance to meld. I like to let it simmer for an hour or so.
  5. Season with chili powder, cumin and any other seasonings.

Enchilada Soup

Enchilada Soup

Plant-Based gluten-free Enchilada Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 cups veggie broth
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cups cooked beans (I use 1 can black beans and 1 can pinto beans)
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes (canned our fine)
  • 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, sliced
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 1 cup organic corn
  • 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • salt, pepper and nutritional yeast to taste (optional)

Instructions

    1. Bring veggie broth to a simmer in a large pot.
    2. Add onions, cooked beans, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, corn and rice.
    3. Add tomato sauce and let simmer.
    4. Let this cook until onions are translucent and flavors have had a chance to meld. I like to let it simmer for an hour or so.
    5. Season with chili powder, cumin and any other seasonings.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Heather Mayes

Plan for Success

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Last night I didn’t really feel like making dinner. Have you been there? Fortunately I had prepared a number of basic ingredients so dinner was a breeze, a warm, delicious breeze. I reheated cooked quinoa and black beans, while steaming spinach, broccoli and red bell peppers. I added a few seasonings and I had a delightful dinner. 

You’ve heard it said, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

If I hadn’t been prepared we would have probably gotten take out. We still get our fair share of take out but it is typically bean burritos or hummus and pitas. I know we are wild!

If your new to this pick one or two things to try. When we began eating a plant based diet I would make a large batch of pinto beans and a large batch of brown rice. If you’ve never made beans it is really easy. 

Making Beans: A Quick How To

  1. Buy dried beans (any variety)
  2. Look through the beans for debris like sticks and rocks. I like to do this by spreading beans out on the counter. I also discard and gnarly looking beans.
  3. Rinse the beans. I pour them in a large colander to rinse them.
  4. Put your beans in a large pot and fill with water. Your beans will likely double in size so make sure you have plenty of room. Let the beans soak overnight.
  5. The next day rinse your beans again, sometimes I skip this rinse, and add clean water to the beans.
  6. Cook. It will likely take a few hours, depending on the type of beans.  Once the beans start to boil turn the heat down so they simmer. I like to place a wooden spoon on the top of my pan to keep the beans from boiling over. 
  7. You can add spices or veggies now. If your not sure how you will be using they beans you may not want to season them. I always add onion and garlic to my pinto beans, for example, but I do not season my black beans. 
  8. The beans are done when they are soft. You can remove a few beans with a spoon and lightly blow on them, if the skin peels away they are done.

Why I love beans?

  • Inexpensive
  • High Protein
  • High Fiber
  • Easy to make
Beans are also versatile. One large pot of beans can be eaten plain, made into chili, burritos, eaten “unfried” as opposed to “refried,” made into veggie burgers, nachos, or into a layered casserole. They also freeze well.
Vegan Chili

This is the chili I made last week. There were two problems with it. First, the recipe only made enough for two adults with a little bit of leftovers. Second, since I used canned beans and didn’t soak and cook them myself they made us, ahem, gassy. But don’t tell anyone because that would be embarrassing. 😉

I’ve revamped that recipe, you need to try this delicious vegan chili!

You can make beans even faster in the Instant Pot!

Lentil Tacos

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I don’t know about you but I love tacos! In my mind, Taco Tuesday is a real thing.

Most kids love tacos, and I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t consider tacos to be a family favorite.

Lentil Tacos are a family favorite! Win over friends and family with these vegan tacos.

This page contains affiliate links. 

I first started using lentil in tacos before we went plant-based. We had three growing (read hungry) kids at home who were in elementary school and we were on a tight budget. I started adding cooked lentils to our ground beef to make it go further. My kids barely noticed the lentils.

That moved started my love of lentils. They are a low fat and high fiber food with 9 grams of protein for a half cup serving. That’s basically 2 tacos for me.

Additionally, lentils are inexpensive and very easy to cook, perfect for beginners.

You can buy dry lentils in the bean section of any grocery store. They will cost less than $2 per pound for conventional lentils. I almost always buy brown lentils. I like buying them from Amazon because I can get a better variety. This kind cost more but they are non-gmo and you can trace which field they were grown in. Pretty cool!

Lentil Tacos are a family favorite! Win over friends and family with these vegan tacos.

UPDATE: If you have an Instant Pot check out my Instant Pot Lentil Tacos!

Lentil Tacos

This vegan recipe is so good even the carnivores will be asking for more.

The tacos can be made to each family members preference. My husband and I enjoy ours with lettuce, lentils, guacamole, and fresh salsa. If I had been making burritos or nachos I would have made a dairy-free cheeze sauce and possibly added more beans.

How to Make Lentil Tacos

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry lentils (rinsed)
  • taco seasoning (chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin) to taste
  • 2 oz tomato sauce
  • lettuce
  • salsa
  • guacamole
  • tortillas

Instructions

  1. Cook lentils in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water.
  2. Cook them for 15 minutes or until they are soft.
  3. If there is still water in the pan drain them.
  4. Add taco seasoning to taste and the tomato sauce.
  5. Stir and enjoy.

Lentil Tacos

Lentil Tacos are a family favorite! Win over friends and family with these vegan tacos.

Lentil Tacos are a family favorite! Win over friends and family with these vegan tacos.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry lentils (rinsed)
  • taco seasoning (chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin) to taste
  • 2 oz tomato sauce
  • lettuce
  • salsa
  • guacamole
  • tortillas

Instructions

  1. Cook lentils in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water.
  2. Cook them for 15 minutes or until they are soft.
  3. If there is still water in the pan drain them.
  4. Add taco seasoning to taste and the tomato sauce.
  5. Stir and enjoy.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Holly Yzquierdo