My Plant-Based Family

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

Plant Based Diet

April 25, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

by 2 Comments

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

[Read more…] about April 25, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

by 11 Comments

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.

Banana Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 12 servings
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.

April 18, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

by 2 Comments

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

[Read more…] about April 18, 2016 Plant-Based Meal Plan

The Best Plant-Based Diet Books

by 4 Comments

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.

Best Plant-Based Diet Book [Read more…] about The Best Plant-Based Diet Books

One Pot Veggie Pasta + 3 Tips

by 3 Comments

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. By the way, those items and more are 35% off right now, no coupon needed.

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

Veggie Pasta
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4 servings
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.

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!

Sprouts will also be hosting a Get and Give Back sweepstakes. Five lucky winners will be selected to receive a $2,000 Sprouts gift card and nominate a local food bank in their community to receive a $2,000 monetary donation.

Breakfast Hash

by 11 Comments

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. [Read more…] about Breakfast Hash