My Plant-Based Family

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

Plant Based Diet

Chickpea Noodle Soup

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Chickpea Noodle Soup brings back memories from my childhood of my grandma making me chicken noodle soup from a can. I loved it.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

Now that I’m grown up I want to create the same memories with my kids. Except, now we avoid chicken. What’s a mom to do?

Well replace the chicken with chickpeas of course. Not only are chickpeas a perfect stand in I think you’ll agree that this soup is better than it’s inspiration.

I used gluten-free noodle but you could use any kind of noodle you want. I’ve remade this using a variety of pasta shapes and sizes.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

Macaroni is perfect for little 2 year old fingers, while long noodles work for adults.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chickpea Noodle Soup
 
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Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ diced onion
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 2 celery, chopped
  • 4 cups water OR veggie Broth
  • 2-3 Tbsp Veggie Broth Mix OR you can use bullion
  • 1½ cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
  • 1 c gluten-free noodles
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized pot add chopped veggies and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. I like to let them soften a bit before adding water.
  2. Add 4 cups of water and dry broth mix or veggie broth along with the chickpeas. Allow to simmer until veggie are almost done.
  3. Pour in noodles adding more water if necessary. Cook noodles until done.
  4. Stir in dried parsley along with salt and pepper if needed.

I paired this soup with a big salad but it would be amazing with a loaf of crusty bread or some gluten-free crackers. My husband and I really liked this along with my youngest son. This isn’t the best choice for those who don’t like chickpeas but any white bean could be easily substituted in this recipe.

My dry broth mix uses nutritional yeast; if you use something else you may want to add a little nutritional yeast to your soup.

This is an easy dish for those families that only have one or two plant-based eaters. Meat could be cooked separately then added to appease the meat eaters. If you went that route I would cube cooked chicken to roughly the same size as the chickpeas; over time they may not even miss it.

This recipe can easily be doubled and tastes great the next day.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

Healthy Cravings Recap: Are You Ready for the Super Bowl

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I don’t watch football but I don’t mind attending a Super Bowl Party, especially if there is good food. Since my idea of good food varies greatly from that of the average person this months Healthy Cravings focused on Super Bowl and party food.

Most of the recipes I’ve been posting lately were recipes presented at Healthy Cravings. Almost all of the recipes were given rave reviews.

Nachos

We started with  Nacho Bar! A friend let me borrow here Crockpot Trio which contained Quinoa-Lentil Tacos, Unfried Beans, and Faux Cheese Sauce. I also had salsa, guacamole, black olives, jalapenos and of course tortilla chips.

I also had the typical veggie tray with Somer’s Vegan Ranch Dressing. Everyone liked it, I used rice milk instead of soy and it didn’t get as thick. Somer told me the soy milk is better so you should try it that way instead.

CHICKpea salad

We also had the CHICKpea salad in lettuce wraps. One of the ladies who attended had just told her husband that she did not like chickpeas; her mind was changed once she tasted these.

I made a gluten-free chocolate cake for dessert but I’m still tweaking the recipe. Hopefully I’ll be sharing it soon.

Another popular item was deviled potatoes that are posted at Happy Herbivore; they were really easy too. I wanted to make Buffalo Cauliflower but as time got short they were cut from the line up. Two friends helped out by bringing a few things. We had Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms using this walnut-pesto recipe from Veggies In My Freezer; another friend brought a pea dip and some delicious energy balls. I don’t have the links for those unfortunately but they were good.

We had great conversation and watched some clips from the Forks Over Knives Extended Interviews. One of the ladies who started coming to Healthy Cravings in September and switched to a plant-based diet in October shared how she has lost over 40 pounds. She is eating healthier and so is her daughter.

Not everyone who comes is eating plant-based but many are trying to eat healthier or just get more ideas and add variety to their diets.

What are you favorite party or Super Bowl Foods? I think the Nacho Bar was my favorite!

Quinoa-Lentil Tacos

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We eat a lot of Mexican food around here. A few of the first recipes I posted were Lentil Tacos and Quinoa Tacos. Most of the time I prefer a combination of the two. Enter Quinoa-Lentil Tacos.

Quinoa-Lentil Tacos

I made these for some ladies last week and they all wanted the recipe so I guess everyone else loves them as much as we do. We don’t always keep tortillas on hand anymore so we normally eat this on nachos or in a lettuce wrap. I assure you these are great in stuffed burritos too.

It’s easy to throw these together with ingredients that are already cooked. When I make a big batch of quinoa and lentils, I’ll make these when I don’t have a lot of time to cook.

Quinoa-Lentil Tacos

Try using this taco filling on baked potatoes too.

This recipe can be kept warm in the oven or a crockpot until ready to eat. Try Quinoa-Lentil Tacos with Faux Cheese Sauce, Unfried Beans, and Mexican Rice. This recipe is pretty mild since I serve it to company and kids often but I love to spice it up!

If your family is not following a plant-based diet this recipe could be added to your traditional tacos to make them healthier, more filling, and more frugal.

This recipe will make about 4 cups of taco “meat” and you can use about 1/4 cup per taco for a total of 16 tacos give or take a few and about half as many burritos.

Quinoa-Lentil Tacos

This healthy, plant-based taco recipe is both filling and delicious. Choose your favorite ingredients or make it a Taco Bar so everyone can make it their way.

Quinoa-Lentil Tacos
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 c cooked quinoa
  • 2 c cooked brown lentils
  • 1½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1½ tsp onion powder
  • 1½ tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 4 oz tomato sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • crushed red pepper (optional more spice)
  • add your favorite taco fixings like lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and tortillas
Instructions
  1. If quinoa and lentils are cold heat in microwave or on stove until warm.
  2. Mix the lentils, quinoa, seasonings and tomato sauce together in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Assemble your tacos with your favorite ingredients.

 

Meal Plan Monday: Under the Weather

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We have been a little under the weather here which you may know if you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook. We had a nice little discussion going on this weekend, many people left their favorite tips for beating the flu. While we are mostly better we will stay quarantined as much as possible, especially the kids. My husband and boys were hardest hit by illness, I’m hopeful that I wont get as sick as them, but I do have some cold symptoms.

Since I’m not really sure how we will be feeling I’m not making a formal Meal Plan but I’ll share a little of what we will be eating.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will likely be oatmeal, toast, and fruit or some combination of those. I’ve been feeding my boys a pint of blueberries a day, they love them.

Lunch will likely be leftovers as we have quite a bit. Two new delicious soups, nachos, hummus and veggie sandwiches, beans, and Chickpea Salad (I’ll post this recipe this week).

Snacks will be fruit and veggies. I’m trying to keep things easy.

Dinner will be a lot of soups. They are so easy you really should be making them too. We have a ton of broccoli we need to eat so I foresee Potato and Broccoli Soup, Taco Soup, and probably a Chickpea (GF)Noodle Soup. I may work in some more interesting meals if we are all feeling better later this week. We have so many leftovers though I’m not worried about cooking much.

There are a lot of great things about this Meal Plan; its frugal, it’s easy, it’s gluten-free, and it will be very nourishing as we recover. I’m so happy I made a new batch of my Dry Broth Mix last week. It will come in very handy. I have a lot of basic ingredients ready in the refrigerator including: pinto beans, lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, and plenty of fresh fruit and veggies.

What is your favorite thing to eat when recovering from illness?

 

Faux Cheese Sauce

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faux cheese and pico

When we first switched to a plant-based diet, faux cheese sauce became a very important part of our arsenal. We ate a lot of Mexican food (we still do) but it wasn’t the same without all of the cheese we used to add. After a few months we no longer craved the cheese, or faux cheese and rarely made it. It was just an extra step that we usually forgot.

I love making faux cheese sauce for plant-based newbies. They are usually really missing their dairy and this really hits the spot. We don’t love it by itself but it’s great as part of the dish, I also don’t like tomatoes much by them selves but love salsa and tomato based sauces.

Faux Cheese Sauce

Faux Cheese Sauce (Gluten-Free and Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 c Nutritional Yeast
  • 2 Tbsp rice flour* (wheat flour can be used instead)
  • 1/4 tsp tumeric
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)
  • 1/4 tsp cumin**
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder**
  • 1 c plant milk (I use rice or unsweetened almond milk)

*For a thicker sauce add extra flour.**These are optional but best used for a Mexican inspired flavor.

Do

  1. In a medium sauce pan add all dry ingredients and place on medium heat.
  2. Stir with a wisk as dry ingredients are heated and begin to toast. Don’t let them burn!
  3. Once they are warmed and begin to be very fragrant (again, not burnt) add the plant milk and wisk often.
  4. Once sauce becomes thick remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Serve

I like this drizzled over potatoes, broccoli, mixed into a casserole, or best yet on nachos. Unlike other recipes I’ve tried this one stays pretty fluid and is versatile enough to use in a number of different recipes. I’ll have more recipes coming using this sauce next month. 🙂

FAQ’s: Do You Buy All Organic

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All week I’ve been talking about eating a plant-based diet on a budget. One of the questions I get asked regularly is if I buy all organic food. The answer is no. Organic is usually quite a bit more expensive than conventional and often it does not fit into our budget.

What I Learned From Dr. Popper

I’ve heard Dr. Pam Popper says it is better to eat lots of conventional produce than to avoid produce. The information she presented suggested that the positive effects from eating large quantities of whole foods far outweigh the negative effects from the chemicals. She recommended  purchasing organic when possible and cleaning produce well.

Here is a video where she discusses some of the research on Conventional vs. Organic. The beginning of the video she discusses salt intake. Skip to the middle for the information on Conventional vs. Organic.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/AwwwOb7XjKM]

If you don’t have time to watch the video here are some of the highlights.

“Exposure to a chemical or chemical carcinogen appears to be a little bit less important than exposure to a cancer promoter.” She referenced Dr. Campbell’s study in which experiments were conducted with mice exposed to carcinogens; cancer didn’t develop until large amounts of animal protein were given to the mice. This study was illustrated in Forks Over Knives. She also mentioned that in some of the very polluted areas of the world they still have significantly low rates of cancer compared to the United States.

She ends by saying, “If you can afford to buy organic produce that’s great, if its available that’s great. If its not….the benefits of consuming produce outweigh any detrimental effects of exposure to chemicals.”

According to Dr. Fuhrman

In his book Eat to Live, Dr. Fuhrman addresses the issue of eating conventional food. He says, “By basing your diet on unrefined plant foods, you automatically reduce your exposure to the most dangerous chemicals.” He explains how cows and steers are often fed tainted feed and that the contaminants are found in higher concentrations in dairy and beef than in plant food.

How We Apply This

I buy organic when it isn’t too expensive. We usually buy organic spinach and broccoli from Costco for close to $3 each. We also buy organic quinoa there; it is 4 lbs for $9.99.

We purchase organic fruit when it’s affordable. For example, when organic apples are close to $1 a pound I’ll buy those instead of conventional. With that being said I try to stick to $1 a pound for apples all the time. Sometimes they cost more but we do the best we can.

Many of my baking supplies are organic as well as nut butters. We don’t buy a lot of processed food but when we do I prefer it to be organic. Two examples of this relate to soy and corn.
We don’t eat a lot of soy although it is in a lot of processed food. When we do, I buy organic and try to verify that it is not GMO. The same goes for corn. My husband can’t eat corn so when I buy it I only buy a bag of frozen corn and sprinkle out just enough for me and the kids. I add it to a dish after it is prepared. The corn product we buy most often is organic corn tortilla chips. We don’t eat these every week but we have been enjoying a lot of nachos lately. 🙂 Chips are processed so I don’t want them taking up a big portion of my diet.
The Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15
You can also check out The Environment Working Groups list of the 12 most contaminated fruit and vegetables and their list of the least contaminated. The list are refered to as the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. They are reevaluated each year; for the most recent list click here. Apples top the list as the most contaminated. We eat a lot of apples, especially my kids but we can’t always buy organic. I always wash the apples and occasionally peel them. I feel the nutrients they receive from eating the apples will outweigh the negative effects of the low amount of chemicals present.
So what is your take on Conventional vs. Organic? Is it something you can afford or do you pick and choose like we do?