My Plant-Based Family

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

Plant Based Diet

Bean and Grain Bowl

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I’ve mentioned that I LOVE to make (eat and share) Bean and Grain Bowls; I’ve said it often enough I assume you know what I mean but in case you don’t allow me to explain.

I try to have at least one type of grain and one type of bean cooked and in the fridge at all times. It doesn’t always happen but it is a goal none the less. I keep a few cans of beans in the pantry too.

I recently had a lunch meeting where lunch was being provided, I didn’t know what would be served but I was certain I wouldn’t be able to eat it. As I was rushing to get ready I stopped and put some cooked quinoa, some rinsed black beans (from a can) and a few tablespoons of salsa in a container. I didn’t even taste test it.

Once I got to the meeting pizza was being served. A friend of mine, who is working toward a Plant-Based diet, was there too; I gave her a taste of my quinoa and bean bowl and she LOOOVED it! She went out and bought the ingredients and made it for her family.

You don’t have to use quinoa and black beans AND it doesn’t have to be in a bowl.

This was made with cooked Barley (not gluten free), pinto beans, and homemade salsa served on a corn tortilla (pictured above). It was very tasty as well. If you are looking for maximum “comfort food” taste without the guilt you can make these nachos, pictured below, using a grain that has been seasoned with Mexican spices. I like to use my homemade taco seasoning, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder, sometimes I’ll add cumin and tomato sauce.

Brown rice, chickpea’s and steamed veggies make a great bowl as well, if you’re looking for more flavor add in your favorite Asian inspired sauce.

Yesterday I even mixed up some beans and grains that stuffed them into bell peppers then stuck them on the grill. One pepper contained my usual quinoa and black beans with corn, diced tomatoes, and jalapenos; but the other was quinoa and lentils.

So let your imagination run wild, as wild as beans and grains can get. Maybe try a different grain every week. I use quinoa a lot but millet  and amaranth are also good options. Some grains like Rye, Wheat, and Barley naturally contain gluten so if you are gluten free you may want to do a little research before trying them.

Meal Plan Monday: Fueled For Fun

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I finally made it to the store this weekend. The last few weeks we have been so busy we would just run in for banana’s, almond milk, and what ever else we needed for survival. This week my kitchen is stocked with anything a girl could ask for.

Last night I made a Mexican Quinoa Dish that was so amazing my husband and I ate a huge serving bowl full. Since it was full of healthy, yummy goodness neither of us had that overeating bloaty feeling. YAY for eating plants!

While grocery shopping I had one of those experiences that only really happen a few times a year. I’m pushing my cart through the store and smell a glorious medley of apricots, nectarines, and peaches. I stopped my cart and backed it up, then filled bags with yummy summer time fruit. If you shop at Sprout’s I was the crazy lady smelling the pineapples too! This happens to me in the fall when apples catch my attention too.

Meal Plan

Breakfast this week will be bagels (I found them on clearance), oatmeal, Breakfast Quinoa, my husband likes Baked Sweet Potatoes with a little cinnamon, toast, and fruit.

Lunches will be leftovers (more quinoa), nut butter sandwiches, GF pasta with veggies, leftover pancakes (from Father’s Day), and anything else inspiration stirs up.

Snacks will be fruit since I have apricots, nectarines, apples, bananas, pineapples, cantaloupe, honey dew, oranges, blueberries and a couple of peaches. I’m sure I’ll have peanut or almond butter on the apples and bananas. I found some organic soy yogurt on clearance that my husband and boys will have. Hummus and veggies are sure to make an appearance as well. A few months ago I would set hummus and carrots on the counter and munch every time I would walk by. I came to realize my hummus addiction was out of control so I have cut back substantially. 🙂

Dinner will come in the form of “Build You Own” nights. I’ll have grains, beans, veggies, and sauces at the ready and we can pick what we want. So for Monday we may choose Baked Potato topped with spicy lentils and a side or broccoli. Tuesday we may have a wrap with quinoa, beans, salsa, diced tomatoes and jalapenos. The “Build Your Own” foods will be:

  • Quinoa
  • Brown Rice
  • Millet
  • Black Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Lentils
  • Baked Potatoes
  • New Potatoes
  • Bell Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Jalapenos
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Portobello Mushrooms (these will probably be grilled)
  • Avocado

I’m experimenting with this style to see if I can save time and cut down on a little waste. My husband usually takes leftovers for lunch so this may help us be better prepared to that too.

What are you eating this week? Are there any grilled veggies in your future? Are you in love with summer fruit like I am?

My Husband’s Story

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In October of 2011 when I began this journey I wasn’t traveling alone. My (incredible, amazing, loving, smoking hot, crazy, considerate, passionate) husband joined me. After my first conversation with Eileen (my plant-based coach) he told me he would be supportive but he wasn’t going to change everything I was changing. One day I had a few minutes before going to an appointment so I turned on “Forks Over Knives” then paused it to go. When I returned home my husband was watching it, completely enthralled. He looked at me and said, “We are doing this!”

You can read more about my story and why I decided to begin a plant-based diet here. Today I really want you to hear his story, so without further ado meet JIM!

In the last few years my health had taken somewhat of a downward turn.  I was sick a lot, I was heavier than I’d ever been, I felt run down, etc.  At one point, I was at two hundred and tooooo many pounds and at the doctor’s office…  again.  I was tired of it.  I decided to try some things that I’d heard of…

In the following months, I started exercising and “eating healthy” or so I thought and although I lost a good amount of weight and was more fit and theoretically healthier, my stomach also hurt a great deal of the time.  It seemed like the normal doctors remedies weren’t working so I went to my Chiropractic Doctor friend Steve and asked him.  The problem was what I was eating to make me healthy…  was making me sicker.   AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!  I stopped eating that way, I slowed the exercise and the weight came back with a vengeance.

I would try a few more times at excercising and “eating healthy” only to end up in the same crummy place again.  THEN I finally saw “Forks Over Knives” which my Doctor friend Steve had recommended to me before but I just “hadn’t gotten around to it”.  I guess I’m kind of a typical guy from the perspective that you’ll need to show me before I believe something…  As many of you know, the movie is an extremely well done film that provides data that is way too good to be rationalized away.  An old Pastor of ours, Pastor Gary had a message on “rational lies”  (pronounced the same way), his premise was very clear on the potential for us as humans to lie to ourselves and call it something else.  The data presented in this movie is just too clear for that…

So my best friend and I started on this rocky and crazy journey together, six weeks after we started I had a checkup scheduled with my doctor…  Not only was I down about 25 pounds from my peak, I felt great and my bloodwork was through the roof!  My cholesterol went from high to 171 and my blood pressure was in the “AthleteChild” range…  Yeah baby, now we’re talkin’

Well here we are many months after that doctor visit and from my peak I’m now down over 40 pounds…  without excercise…  I’m even below my high school weight.  Praise the Lord that now I can kiss the yo-yo weight loss weight gain cycle goodbye for good.

Next step excercise!


Food Demo

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In less than a month I’ll be hosting my very first Food Demo! I’m so excited. I’ve been wanting to host one for a while but I’ve been crazy busy. I told a (new) friend yesterday that it’s like my calendar threw up. 

I want to host this demonstration so friends can see and taste new plant-based foods without worrying about how much they cost, if they will like them, or if they can cook them. Many items will be gluten-free too!

I haven’t completely decided on the menu; I plan to have some foods already prepared but make some dishes during the demo so that everyone can see how easy they are to prepare. I definitely want to make quinoa, I tried it at a food demo years ago, it sounds so intimidating but it’s easy. I’ll probably already have hummus prepared with lots of veggies. I also plan to have delicious desserts!

Now it is your turn! What do you think I should make? I’m hoping to win over some friends, or at the least help them incorporate healthier meals into their family’s diet. I’d love any suggestions! 

Meal Plan Monday:Quick Meals

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About a month ago several friends of mine were talking about how busy there summers were going to be. I just sat back with a smirk because I had almost nothing planned, that is until my calendar started filling up. This week is a very busy week in our household. We had a much busier weekend than normal and didn’t even do our normal grocery shopping. 

My goal is to make due with what we have, maybe make a fruit and almond milk run, and have all dinner take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Breakfast and lunches usually only take about 5 minutes to make. I like to cook beans and grains on the weekend so they can be heated for a quick meal, alas I did not do that this weekend. I’ll make sure I cook these when I find spare time in the afternoon. 

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, toast, cereal, and fruit.

Lunch will be sandwiches, wraps, or leftovers, inventive I know. 

Snacks will be fruit, mini muffins I made over the weekend, and chips and salsa.

Dinner 

Monday: Brown rice with taco seasoned lentils, corn, salsa and guacamole.

Tuesday: Baked Potato (busy evening)

Wednesday: Veggie Stir Fry (made with spinach, carrots, red bell pepper, onions, garlic, and some frozen veggies to round things out)

Thursday: Spinach Dal

Friday: Bean Burritos 

The only thing that will take over 30 minutes to make is the brown rice. I’ll make a big batch and use the leftovers through the week to save time later. 

Do you have any tips or tricks for saving time in the kitchen? What is your favorite quick meal? 

What About the Kids

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When people find out how weird I am that I eat a Plant-Based diet they always ask one (or three) of three questions. 1)What do you eat? 2) Where do you get your_________ (protein, iron, calcium, etc.)? 3) What about your kids?

My kids love the way we eat! Back when I was eating junk my 3 year old loved that too (My one year old hasn’t had a chance to eat junk). When given the chance my 3 year old will ask for “chicken and fries” but after a bite or two he says he doesn’t want them. We usually keep Laura Bars or other gluten-free vegan bars in our vehicle so he don’t have to be in that situation.  

It did take my older son a little while to fully transition just like it did for my husband and I. Before switching his favorite thing to eat way Plain, Organic Yogurt. He ate it everyday! Almost every time we went to the pediatrician (even for well baby visits) they said he had an ear infection. Thankfully my pediatrician would just write us a prescription and tell us to hold onto it just in case. We would usually just take him to the chiropractor and then he would be fine. My 1 year old has never had dairy or an ear infection! 

My boys are fully transitioned now! They usually eat what we eat, when they don’t it is because I don’t want to clean up the mess if we are having something difficult for little hands to hold. When we ate Portobello Burgers a few days ago I diced up the portobello to make it easier. I didn’t give them the grilled onions or peppers because I new they wouldn’t eat them. 

I’ve written before about foods my boys eat when I wrote about raising plant-based kids. Just this morning my 1 year ate a container of blueberries and some toast for breakfast. I buy seasonal produce so I wont be feeding him blueberries when they are expensive. I typically wont let him eat a whole container himself but since they were a little past their prime and needed to be eaten he was a willing participant. 

I love that it is summer time here and fruit and veggies are so inexpensive right now. I’ll be cutting into a honey dew melon and a cantaloupe this afternoon. There is a big bowl of washed grapes and cherries in my refrigerator (I cut them in half because they are a choking hazard, and a few stray strawberries that will find their way into smoothies soon. My kids love fruit! 

If your kids aren’t crazy about fruit like mine try cutting it up and making a fruit salad. You can add So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt to the fruit. The kids will feel like they are having dessert. If they are old enough put it in a fancy glass. 

If you know what your kids like you should be able to adapt those things and make them plant-based, or at least take a step in the right direction.

I love my kids so much, I want to protect them from harmful things and that includes food that is harmful. 

Do you have any tips to share for parents trying to switch their kids to a plant-based diet?