My Plant-Based Family

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

Plant Based Diet

April 25, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

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I hope you have done your grocery shopping for the week and have your meal plan ready to go. If not, feel free to use this one for a little inspiration.

Don’t forget to check out Special Deals at Sprouts this month (sponsored by Small Planet Foods). We love Sprouts because they have great produce and great plant-based products!

We like to check the weekly grocery store ads before making our meal plan. I’ll figure out what is on sale and create my meal plan from the best deals. Right now bell peppers are a good deal so we will use those in a few dishes. When they are back up over a dollar each we will skip them.

Meal Plan

Plant-Based Meal Plan

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Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

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One of our family’s all time favorite recipes is Banana Bread. Our old family recipe is delicious but it is made with wheat. I have a gluten-free banana bread recipe but it wasn’t as close to the original as I wanted (maybe because it was refined sugar-free).

Gluten-Free, Vegan Banana Bread that is perfect for brunch, snack or to share with friends.

I found Jewel’s all purpose gluten-free mix and tried my regular recipe. It’s a cup for cup mix but I decreased the flour by 1/2 a cup compared to my original recipe, everything else stayed the same. I wanted to change it up a bit so I went for a cinnamon swirl.

The great thing about this recipe is it always impresses. Enjoy it at brunch, breakfast, dessert and potlucks.

How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • ¼ cup plant-based milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1½ cup Jewel’s gluten-free all purpose baking mix
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl mix apple sauce and sugar.
  3. Add bananas and smash with a fork.
  4. Pour in plant-based milk and vanilla and stir.
  5. Sprinkle baking soda and salt then dump in Jewel’s gluten-free all purpose flour mix.
  6. Stir everything together then scoop out about 1 cup into another bowl. Add one tablespoon of cinnamon to the bowl and stir.
  7. Pour the regular batter into the bundt pan. Then add spoonfuls of the cinnamon batter on top Swirl gently.
  8. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done.
  9. Allow to cool completely before serving.

We love making banana bread in bundt pans because they are so pretty and the whole in the middle helps them cook more evenly. You can make these into muffins, just cook for 15-20 minutes instead.

gluten-free vegan banana bread

If you try this recipe with a different cup for cup mix let me know which one’s work for you.

See more recipes like this on my Breads and Muffins Page.

Yield: 12 Servings

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

gluten-free vegan banana bread

Gluten-free banana bread with a cinnamon twist.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • ¼ cup plant-based milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1½ cup Jewel's gluten-free all purpose baking mix
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl mix apple sauce and sugar.
  3. Add bananas and smash with a fork.
  4. Pour in plant-based milk and vanilla and stir.
  5. Sprinkle baking soda and salt then dump in Jewel's gluten-free all purpose flour mix.
  6. Stir everything together then scoop out about 1 cup into another bowl. Add one tablespoon of cinnamon to the bowl and stir.
  7. Pour the regular batter into the bundt pan. Then add spoonfuls of the cinnamon batter on top Swirl gently.
  8. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done.
  9. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Notes

You can make these into muffins, just cook for 15-20 minutes instead.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Heather Mayes

April 18, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

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The recipes in this meal plan have 3 things in common. They are plant-based, gluten-free and very easy to make. This week I need easy!

Speaking of easy, this last weekend I sent out my newsletter with some great shopping tips. If you missed them sign up today so you don’t miss the next tips!

Meal Plan

Plant-Based Diet Meal Plan

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The Best Plant-Based Diet Books

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I get a lot of questions about switching to a plant-based diet. It’s understandable, for most of us, plant-based living is a completely foreign concept.

I do my best to help by answering emails and comments. Depending on the situation I’ll sometimes suggest a book. Blogs are a great place to look but you can get lost in the internet and spend hours reading.

This page contains affiliate links.

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One Pot Veggie Pasta + 3 Tips

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How long does your meal prep take each day? Do you spend hours frolicking around the kitchen making everything from scratch?

Neither do I. It sounds lovely, it really does but I don’t have enough time for that. Maybe one day, but until then I’ll take some short cuts. Shopping smart, easy meals and snacks along with having a plan, make eating better in a hurry possible.

One Pot gluten-free Veggie Pasta - Copy

Shop Smart

I regularly get questions about grocery shopping. We are fortunate to have a Sprouts nearby. We do almost all of our shopping at Sprouts. They have the best produce that is always reasonably priced, a great selection of organic and gluten-free products and I can get in out of the store quickly. Plus, they have great Deals of the Month that are always a great value!

tortilla chips and Larabars

Easy Meals and Snacks

I like to plan quick meals for busy nights and leftovers for busier nights. I reserve meals that take longer to prepare for weekends. I buy things like pasta, Muir Glen Pasta Sauce, ready to eat cereal, Larabars, fresh fruit, fresh veggies and Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips.

No matter how busy I get, I can have a quick meal or an easy snack in only a few minutes. This helps tremendously when I’m rushing out the door and need to pack food for the day for all of us.

Veggies

Having a Plan

Meal planning isn’t just, “what are we going to eat?” It’s also when am I going to shop and who is cleaning up. Have I ever said how much I hate doing dishes? A lot!

We often do our shopping on the weekends but when possible we shop on Wednesdays because that is double ad day at Sprouts. No, you don’t have to clip coupons or carry the ad, it means the sale prices for the previous set of ads and the new ads are both valid. You’ll get the best deals!

When you get home from Sprouts go ahead and chop some veggies. Then you can grab your veggies, hummus and Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips for a snack, even when you are in a hurry.

Doing a ton of dishes kills my back so I’ll try to make one pot meals whenever I can. Psst! The recipe below is a one pot meal!

Organic veggie pasta

One Pot Veggie Pasta

The pasta I used had a 15 minute cooking time. If your pasta has a shorter cooking time, like 10 minutes, you’ll want to add the veggies at the same time as the pasta. Make sure your pasta is covered in water, the veggies don’t have to be. The skillet allows the water to come to a boil faster.

I also made sure to cut all my veggies into small pieces while the water was coming to a boil. That allowed them to cook quickly. I just cut extra veggies for salad and a snack later.

For more great deals check out a Sprouts near you! I promise you’ll love it too!

How to Make One Pot Veggie Pasta

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 8 ounce package of gluten-free pasta
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 25.5 oz jar of Muir Glen Pasta Sauce (Tomato Basil)

Instructions

  1. Pour 4 cups of water in a skillet, cover with a lid and bring the water to a boil.
  2. Once boiling add the pasta, stir and cover with the lid for 5 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
  3. Add the veggies and stir again, then cover with the lid. Set timer for 10 minutes but stir regularly.
  4. Drain pasta and veggies in a colander then immediately rinse with cold water.
  5. Pour pasta and veggies back into skillet then add pasta sauce and stir well.
  6. Heat for a few minutes until sauce is warm.
Yield: 4 Servings

One Pot Veggie Pasta

One Pot gluten-free Veggie Pasta is vegan (plant-based diet) and a family favorite.

One Pot gluten-free Veggie Pasta is vegan (plant-based diet) and a family favorite.

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

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 8 ounce package of gluten-free pasta
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 25.5 oz jar of Muir Glen Pasta Sauce (Tomato Basil)

Instructions

  1. Pour 4 cups of water in a skillet, cover with a lid and bring the water to a boil.
  2. Once boiling add the pasta, stir and cover with the lid for 5 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
  3. Add the veggies and stir again, then cover with the lid. Set timer for 10 minutes but stir regularly.
  4. Drain pasta and veggies in a colander then immediately rinse with cold water.
  5. Pour pasta and veggies back into skillet then add pasta sauce and stir well.
  6. Heat for a few minutes until sauce is warm.

Notes

The pasta I used had a 15 minute cooking time. If your pasta has a shorter cooking time, like 10 minutes, you'll want to add the veggies at the same time as the pasta.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Heather Mayes

Breakfast Hash

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As much as I love oatmeal, sometimes I want a savory breakfast. My Breakfast Hash recipe is a hearty mix of potatoes and veggies that keep me satisfied for hours. It’s plant-based and gluten-free which makes it great for serving at family breakfasts.

Hearty Breakfast Hash that features potatoes and veggies. This plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free meal will keep you satisfied for hours.

I’ve been making this for years and developed it when I had a craving for a scramble but didn’t want the eggs and cheese I used before.

As with most of my recipes you can omit or add ingredients based on what you have on hand. If you plan to have your kids eat this Breakfast Hash you’ll want to leave out the jalapenos.

Breakfast Hash

I’ve made this Breakfast Hash recipe in the Crock Pot and Instant Pot but my favorite is the skillet method. When cooked in the skillet you have to keep an eye on it. Since we are cooking without oil the potatoes and veggies will have a tendency to stick. Once they begin to stick just pour a little water into the skillet and give it a good stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a silicone spatula.

Hearty Breakfast Hash that features potatoes and veggies. This plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free meal will keep you satisfied for hours.

I served this with fresh fruit and homemade bread covered in peanut butter. The leftovers were even more amazing because I smothered them (and toast made from that beautiful rustic loaf) in leftover Creamy Brown Gravy.

How to Make Breakfast Hash

Ingredients

  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds potatoes, I used 10 small red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 diced bell pepper
  • 1 sliced jalapeno, seeds removed
  • 1 diced roma or vine tomato
  • 1 cup water (approximate)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat a skillet on medium heat.
  2. Add diced onions and garlic. When they start to stick to the pan add a few tablespoons of water (up to ¼ cup) and stir with a silicon spatula. These can cook for a few minutes while you prepare the potatoes.
  3. Add bite sized potatoes to the skillet plus ¼ cup of water and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes, check for sticking half way through and add water and stir if needed. Prepare the rest of the veggies.
  4. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno, stir and add more water if needed then cover with a lid and cook for 10 more minutes but check it after 5. At this point the potatoes should be softened enough to bite or cut with a fork.
  5. Check for doneness. If potatoes and peppers are cooked through add the tomatoes, cover with the lid and remove from heat. Let them sit for 5 minutes.
Yield: 4 Servings

Breakfast Hash

Hearty Breakfast Hash that features potatoes and veggies. This plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free meal will keep you satisfied for hours.

Hearty Breakfast Hash that features potatoes and veggies. This plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free meal will keep you satisfied for hours.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds potatoes, I used 10 small red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 diced bell pepper
  • 1 sliced jalapeno, seeds removed
  • 1 diced roma or vine tomato
  • 1 cup water (approximate)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat a skillet on medium heat.
  2. Add diced onions and garlic. When they start to stick to the pan add a few tablespoons of water (up to ¼ cup) and stir with a silicon spatula. These can cook for a few minutes while you prepare the potatoes.
  3. Add bite sized potatoes to the skillet plus ¼ cup of water and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes, check for sticking half way through and add water and stir if needed. Prepare the rest of the veggies.
  4. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno, stir and add more water if needed then cover with a lid and cook for 10 more minutes but check it after 5. At this point the potatoes should be softened enough to bite or cut with a fork.
  5. Check for doneness. If potatoes and peppers are cooked through add the tomatoes, cover with the lid and remove from heat. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

Did you make this recipe?

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

© Holly Yzquierdo