My Plant-Based Family

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

Plant Based Diet

Enough is Enough

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Enough is enough! If you haven’t seen “Forks Over Knives” you need to order Netflix, Amazon Prime, go buy the DVD or find a friend who has already done one of those things. I don’t know if you can be completely convinced that a Plant-Based Diet is the healthiest way to eat until you watch that movie or read from some of the authors presented in it. I’m serious! Make plans to watch it today!

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I know a lot of really great people who think they are making good choices regarding their health but sadly they are not. Most of us have been taught that 3 servings of dairy and “lean” meat are the way to health; can I boldly disagree. We are looking at a health crisis; obesity, heart-disease, diabetes, and many cancers are completely preventable if you eat the right things. Alternatively, they are almost guaranteed if you eat what the Standard American Diet.

I am normally not so outspoken on this topic. I prefer to encourage and equip others to eat better. When I hear about strokes, heart attacks, cancer in my family and friends my heart breaks and I wonder if I should have spoken up, I should have grabbed them my the shoulders, looked them eyes and plead with them. So now I’m doing that to you. My hands are on your shoulders, I’m looking you square in the eyes, please…enough is enough, it’s time to save your life, it’s time to save your family’s life, let me help.

I hope I don’t offend any of you but sometimes a little offense can help spur change.

I love you my friends and I so appreciate all of you who read this blog. You encourage me daily. Thank you!

Meal Plan Monday: Feeding Teenagers is Hard

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A few weeks in and I’m still attempting to feed my teenagers. I say attempting because they are not super enthusiastic about our plant-based eating. I take my hat off to all of you who have successfully transitioned your teenagers (or unwilling husbands) to a healthy diet. Since we only have 6 weeks with our “big kids” and they are not really on board there is only so much I can do.

I think a lot of it is a mental game with them. I have cooked a few not so healthy meals that they think are healthy so they don’t like them. Does that make sense? The older kids are definitely more open to healthy eating than the youngest of the teenagers. I used to make spaghetti with ground beef in a red sauce (often I’d add veggies too); I made a delicious meal of organic pasta and red sauce with mushrooms, onions, and diced tomatoes. I don’t care what they say it was delish!

Some of the time I try to cater to their taste too much then I find myself not eating as well as I should. I have decided to fuel my body with nutritious food that I enjoy and if they don’t want it they can probably find something they can eat. I have been buying a lot more cereal than normal and even some granola bars.

There have been some successes too. Today our oldest said they broccoli I steamed was the best he had ever had. Our daughter enjoyed some broccoli in a millet based casserole and she doesn’t usually like broccoli. I expect more of these instances along the way.

When we eat out we try to find places where we can all get something we like. That is tougher than it sounds especially when we are in a hurry and need to feed my gluten-free toddler. The places I like to eat are a little more expensive than I’m used too, of course I’m not used to feeding 7 people for each meal. We got take out from one of my favorite places, Pita Jungle, one evening and the big kids didn’t like it. Lucky for me my daughter ordered the Spicy Black Bean Burger which I love! One son ordered nachos so we had to toss them because they had cheese and I don’t touch that stuff. We have also gone to Chipotle which worked out well because I got a meatless meal and they were able to order what they wanted.

I hope I don’t sound like a whiner because I am really HAPPY that they are here. I just want to be real with you all because I’ve had several people write to me about the difficulty they have feeding their kids healthy food. You are not alone my friends, you are not alone.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be cereal (I refuse to buy cow’s milk), oatmeal, cream of wheat, or toast.

Lunch is often leftovers (I cook extra for this), an easy pasta dish, or sandwiches.

Snack is fruit, hummus and veggies, or other quick items that will tide us over until dinner.

Dinner is where I try to focus on more veggies and whole grains. This week we will have Pasta, a Rice and Veggie casserole, Lentils either as part of a bean burger or perhaps Mexican food and Chickpeas that I cooked this morning. I know of three busy nights already this weeks so I don’t have an official plan. I also have tomatoes, Portobello’s, and cauliflower that I need to use soon.

Do you have trouble keeping everyone happy in the food department?

Cheating

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Do you cheat…on your diet? I don’t.

I don’t cheat because I don’t make anything off limits. I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but is it really?

I’m the kind of person that as soon as I make something “off limits” can think of nothing else. If I decided to go off of sugar/chocolate/coffee I would crave it. Heck, if I decided to forgo eating broccoli I would probably dream about it until I caved.

After I transitioned to a Plant-Based diet I’d occasionally “decide” to have something that most people would consider a cheater food. One example of this is dairy. After the first few weeks off dairy I didn’t crave it any longer. One date night (after months off dairy) my husband and I decided to share a small piece of cheesecake, go ahead and shake your head in horror.  I woke up 2 days later with intense pain, mostly in my arm, shoulder, and neck. I could barely use my arm or care for my children. The pain was severe that day and slowly let up, it took about 4 days for complete relief. I always have a bad reaction to dairy and can tell if I eat in inadvertently.

For me dairy is not in the “off limits” category but it is in the “totally not worth it” category. I will never go back to eating dairy. Really I don’t miss eating meat either. I miss the convenience of running through a drive thru for a quick meal. Thank God for bean burritos!

Last weekend I took my son to a birthday party, I didn’t know what the food situation would be so I grabbed a Lara Bar just in case. I wasn’t going to be snobby or rude about any of the food but I also wasn’t going to eat something I wasn’t comfortable with just to make someone else comfortable. I was very happy to see fruit, veggies, “veggie straws” and a six-foot party sub with all of the trimmings. I could have eaten my Lara Bar but I was happy to eat what the hostess provided. I did take the meat and cheese off of 2 slices of sandwich much to the dismay of one of the party goers, until I offered it to him. He then determined that I was a good person to eat near because he could have what I didn’t want. Do you know what else happened? I loved my sandwich, I had been craving a sub but I didn’t want to eat the processed meat, blech.  Thankfully the mustard was the secret ingredient that made the lettuce, tomato, and onion sandwich a masterpiece. I loved it!

So as you can see, I never “cheat” I might decide to eat something in the “I don’t want to admit to eating this category” but not usually. In case you’re wondering there is also a “I don’t normally eat this but I will this time” category. That includes things like fries, restaurant salad dressings that are likely to have oil, and restaurant hummus. It could also include random things from the clearance section that contain a way too many ingredients but I’ve had a tough day and need chocolate now! Hey I never claimed to do this perfectly.

So are you a cheater? It’s okay, you can admit it, you are in good company. Or you can take my approach, it takes the pressure off of being perfect and just strives for being better. Try to make choices you can live with, not choices that are gonna kill you.

Meal Plan Monday: Feeding Teenagers

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Our big kids have been here for almost two weeks and I know my plant-based cooking is taking a toll on them,especially the fiber. When my husband and I went for our weekly grocery shop this weekend our 13 year old asked if we could pick him up some Doritos. We told him the place we shop doesn’t have Doritos, he was taken aback. No we didn’t make another stop.

Our oldest is flying in this evening so there will be one more mouth to feed. I don’t think he will be as hard to please.

I took out my Happy Herbivore cookbooks and asked the big kids to look through them and pick some meals they would like to eat this week. I was hoping to get buy in. They picked a few recipes but I’m not sure how well they will go over. I decided that pasta is usually well received and it’s easy so we will have pasta a few times.

When we go out to eat the teens can order anything they want but I’m only going to cook healthy, plant food. I did buy them some junk food for movie night, that moved earned me a couple of big hugs.

Meal Plan

Breakfast has been oatmeal, cream of wheat, and cereal lately and that seems to be working out easily enough. My husband has also requested Breakfast Quinoa and Breakfast Rice.

Lunches will be leftovers. Our fridge is full of leftovers right now; pizza, Lentil Fetoosh Salad, hummus and pita, and a black bean burger. I’m sure the teenagers will continue to eat PB&Js as well.

Snacks will be fruit, smoothies, crackers, chips and salsa, and other random things

Dinner is a little tougher to plan because I never know exactly what we have going on. Here are a few items I plan on making:

Macaroni and Cheeze*

Happy Herbivore Arroz Amarillo* with Black Bean Soup and soft corn tortillas

Spaghetti with Mushrooms and red sauce

Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli, with Happy Herbivore Brown Gravy or some other creamy sauce

Nachos*

Baked Potatoes

*item’s the kids picked out

How do you please your omnivore teenagers? Do you have any tips for me?

Fitness Challenge: 1 Month Update

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About a month ago my husband and I made a commitment to get more fit. We were not able to get exercise in everyday and I was not able to run as much as I had intended but I do believe we are more fit than before. additionally, I don’t think we would have worked out as much had we not made the commitment together. 

I took measurements at the beginning of the challenge, some stayed the same and others decreased. I don’t claim that the measurements are 100% accurate but they are the best I could do. Three things factor into the accuracy, Milk Production, Clothing Choice, and Bloatiness. I’m a nursing momma so my “size” is always in flux. Also the bra I was wearing a month is too big and let’s face it all bras are not the same. Lastly, bloatiness (yes I’m pretty sure I made that word up) also changes day to day.

I don’t think anyone is actually interested in my actual measurements but I will list the change. By putting it out there I am more likely to keep it up. There was no measurable change in my hips, butt or biceps. However there was noticeable change in my:

  • Chest -1.5 inches
  • Tummy -1 inch
  • Thigh -.5 inch
  • Calf -.25 inch

These are not earth shattering. What is nice is that my size 6 jeans are getting loose! One year ago I would have told you that I would never be able to fit into a size 6, EVER! That makes me happy!

Another thing that makes me happy is that my body looks more fit, less fat and more muscle. Even though my measurements for my bicep haven’t gone down there is definitely less fat and my arm is leaner. I’m hoping the same is true for every area. My weight decreased by about a pound or one and a half pounds. It is at the lowest it has been in almost 10 years.

I was not eating for weight loss during this time. I was actually eating much more than normal, especially in the beginning when I was getting the hang of working out. I was focusing on fueling my body. I ate lot’s of complex carbs, whole grains, and even some fries (gasp). I’m sure I would have lost more weight if I had been more diligent but I’m still pleased with my progress.

We plan to continue this challenge. We still wont be able to work out daily but hopefully at least 4 days a week. I also want to run more, I haven’t been running much. Sickness, injuries, and super hot weather play a role in that.

Meal Plan Monday: Full House

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I’ve been absent lately but with good reason; two of our big kids are here with the third visiting next week and my first Food Demo is complete and was a success! I’ll talk more about the Food Demo later this week.

This weeks dilemma, what to feed omnivore kids for the next 5 1/2 weeks? Our daughter wants to be healthy so she is open to trying new foods. Our young teen son on the other had completely disregards food he thinks is healthy. For example, When I make “Unfried Beans” I make them the same way I always have, even when we were eating horribly. This weekend I asked him to taste test them for me. He put a bite in his mouth, he looked like we was going to vomit. I asked him what he thought, he said, “I liked how you used to make them, not this whole grainy healthy stuff, I like them like whole beans.” I told him I made them the same, I just used a food processor because I was making so many, he said, “they taste ok then.” I also stocked up on cereal to make life a little easier, the first day he didn’t want any of them because they were “weird and healthy.” While they were gluten-free they weren’t necessarily healthy, Kix, Chex, and some of the gluten-free Barbara’s Cereal.

I’ll make some of our normal favorites and try to adapt some of the kids favorites from pre-plant-based days.

Meal Plan

Breakfasts are our normal easy stuff like cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, and fruit with toast.

Lunches are equally easy; nut butter sandwiches, leftovers,  pasta, or other easy stuff.

Snacks are usually fruit, sometimes toast, muffins, banana bread, humus and veggies, or chips with salsa or avocado are fun too.

Dinner is where it gets a bit more tricky. I’m hoping to try some new stuff this week.

Monday: Pasta with veggies and a cashew cream sauce.

Tuesday: Baked Potato’s with a choice of steamed veggies or chili on top.

Wednesday: Tostada’s with Mexican Rice

Thursday: Brown Rice casserole with a whatever veggies are still available and some kind of “creamy sauce” to make it taste “normal.”

Friday: I’m not sure what Friday will hold but I don’t plan on cooking a big meal.

Depending on how our days go I may mix this up a bit. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have our kids here. We mostly ate out last week. Now I’m ready for a lot of home cooked meals. Plus my 30 day Fitness Challenge is almost “over” so I’ll share those details sometime in the next week. I will also be sharing a new recipe or two. Wow, I have more to do than I thought!

I hope you all have a great week full of family and good food!