Vegan

Chocolate Crunch Bites

December 7, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 3 Comments

I love chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter are even better!

If you know someone with food allergies peanuts can be deadly. There are several peanut butter alternatives that can be used instead. They have a taste and feel similar to peanut butter but no dangerous peanuts.

You can make this recipe with either peanut butter or a safe alternative!

This page contains affiliate links.

You are going to fall in love with these Chocolate Crunch Bites! My son said they taste like a Kit Kat but that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to combine my favorite snacks into an easy treat with mega flavor.

Before I switched to a whole food plant-based diet my favorite cookies were the chocolate oatmeal no bakes. I think I took some inspiration from those days but I wanted to give them some crunch and some natural sweetness. Besides, that old recipe had a ton of butter, sugar, and milk. The ingredients in my Chocolate Crunch Bites make me much happier.

Use peanut butter or a peanut butter substitute, dairy-free chocolate chips, gluten-free pretzels, granola and dried fruit, all normal pantry staples for me. (All the links in the previous sentence are Amazon affiliate links). That is all!

I wouldn’t say they are healthy, but they are a fun and easy treat to take to parties or cookie exchanges. I’m thinking of giving some as gifts to my food allergy pals. You don’t have to save them for only people with food allergies though, they are so good, everyone will love them.

When it’s time to cook you will want to have all of your ingredients out and ready. I broke my pretzels with my hands but you could chop them with a knife. Measure them after you break them into small pieces, not before. I didn’t want them to get too small and turn to dust.

It’s also important if you are making these for someone with food allergies to make sure all your ingredients are safe.

I choose Enjoy Life mini chips, Glutino pretzels, and Made In Nature dried fruit. You can choose brands you love.

The dried fruit I used was actually a Super Berry blend that also had pepita seeds. You can pick what you love but dried cranberries or dried tart cherries are both winners.

If you have kids who like to help in the kitchen this is one of those recipes they can help with. When I say that, you know it’s a simple recipe because I’m not one of those people who invite the kids to cook with me.

I’ll let them stand on a chair on the other side of the counter and watch, sometimes. Usually, I’m shooing them away, but this recipe they can totally help with.

Chocolate Crunch Bites

Go ahead and make these easy and delicious Chocolate Crunch Bites. This no bake, allergy-friendly recipe will win your family over!

Chocolate Crunch Bites

Save Print

Author: Holly Yzquierdo

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

½ cup creamy peanut butter or peanut butter alternative
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 cup gluten-free pretzels, broken into small pieces
1 cup your favorite granola
½ cup dried fruit

Instructions

Put ½ cup of peanut butter or alternative into a medium sauce pan on low heat. Use a silicone spatula to stir regularly.
Once it starts to melt, add the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Stir often and use the spatula to scrape the bottom. Don't walk away or it could burn. Keep stirring until all the lumps are gone.
Dump in the broken pretzels, granola, and dried fruit and stir well.
Remove pan from heat and scoop out in tablespoon size scoops and lay them on a cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper.
Place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator to cool and harden. Allow at least an hour before eating. These can be left on the counter for a few hours but store in the refrigerator.

My Plant-Based Meal Plan + Support Group

November 28, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be hard to navigate for plant-based eaters. There are more parties, potlucks and holiday dinners than any other time of year. The temptation will mount as you see all your old favorites, platters of treats and the “one won’t hurt” attitude.

I’m not immune to the barrage that is coming but I can counter it by being very intentional with my meal planning and food prep. Maybe most important is saying NO. Say no to the extra treats, gravy, parties, and quick run for fast food. If you’ve been around My Plant-Based Family for a while you know I’m not some crazy, hard-core, healthy eater. But, if you are really wanting to eat healthy through the next month (especially if you are new to the plant-based diet) then you have to be a little more stubborn about making healthy choices.

I want to help all of you who need the extra help. I’m determined not to overindulge during the holiday festivities this year. That doesn’t mean I’ll skip all of the Christmas fun, or even all of the desserts, but I won’t allow it to ruin my progress.

Join me in the My Plant-Based Family Facebook Group. I’ll post a daily thread where you can chime in with what you are eating, cooking, or planning. This group has been a little quiet but it is the perfect place to share. It’s a closed group so only group members can see what you post. Will you join me?

As mentioned, I’m going to be very intentional about my meal planning. It’s so important to have healthy food available. My husband has already done our grocery shopping for the week and we’ve decided what we will eat for the week.

This page contains affiliate links.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Monday

Steel Cut Oats made in my Instant Pot topped with Bananas

Leftover Soup

Mini Lentil Loaves, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Tuesday

Smoothie and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Leftover Lentil Loaf and veggies

Pizza made with Enjoy Life Food Pizza dough mix and a side salad

Wednesday

Toast topped with peanut butter (or peanut-free alternative) Bananas or Apple Slices

Big Salad

Recipe testing a new pasta recipe

Thursday

Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot with apples

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Lentil Tacos (in my Instant Pot), Mexican rice and Unfried Black Beans

Friday

Yogurt and Granola

Leftovers

“Beefy” Lentil and Veggie Soup

I’ve stepped up my cooking lately so we are sure to have healthy leftovers for lunch. If something changes we have to eat out we will grab Chipotle. It’s our go-to choice when we eat out. I always go for the Veggie Bowl.

Plant-Based Thanksgiving Menu

November 21, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

In years past, I would start planning for Thanksgiving weeks ahead of the holiday. I would plan my menu, my shop days and when each recipe would be started and finished. I even planned what dishes I would need so that I would make sure to have everything ready. I wrote a rather long post about it years ago.

Thanksgiving Planning

I’d like to say I’m much more laid back now but that isn’t really the case. You see, I make the same recipes every year. A few years ago I wrote the Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cookbook and shared all my recipes and tips. Now I just follow the plan, adapting it each year based on our plans and what we will bring to dinner.

We usually start cooking a few days ahead of time. Some years we start cooking on Monday but this year it will be Tuesday or Wednesday. We are getting together with a few other families and everyone is bringing a few dishes. I’m bringing my Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, a few desserts and drinks.

Dividing up the cooking makes it so much easier. I still remember when I used to cook EVERYTHING for Thanksgiving and wear my self out. This year I’ll make a few dishes, enjoy spending time with family and friends, then relax (and prep for Gilmore Girls).

Whether you are making a dish or two or taking on the whole meal by yourself I have a meal plan that will help. My Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cookbook makes planning for Thanksgiving much easier.

The Healthy Holiday Meal Plan & Cookbook

The Healthy Holiday Meal Plan & Cookbook contains 20 plant-based recipes that are meat, dairy, and gluten-free! The top 6* recipes also come with a detailed shopping list and your choice of 3 different planning guides that show you how to prepare the top 6 recipes ahead of time (or all on the same day) and have your food on the table as efficiently as possible.

Recipes include:

Thanksgiving Sage Dressing*
Gluten-Free Cornbread for Dressing
Perfectly Whipped Mashed Potatoes*
Sweet Potato Casserole with optional Pecan Glaze*
Thanksgiving Mushroom Gravy*
Green Bean Casserole*
Creamy Crustless Pumpkin Pie*
Dry Veggie Broth Mix
Cranberry Sauce
Holiday Lentil Loaf
Cheezy Potatoes (Vegan Scalloped Potatoes)
Faux Cheese Sauce
Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Oil-Free Cranberry Dressing
Oil-Free Cranberry Salad Dressing
Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Veggie Pot Pie (this recipe contains gluten but can be made GF using the GF Pie Crust Recipe)
Recipe for Easy All Purpose Sauce for Veggie Pot Pie
Roasted Asparagus
Maple Glazed Carrots
Gluten-Free Pie Crust
Apple Pie
Creamy Apple Pie Bars

Order your PDF download of A Healthy Holiday Meal Plan & Cookbook for only $4.99. This is also available on at Amazon on Kindle. Please note that the PDF and Amazon versions have different covers but the content inside is the same. If you’ve used the Healthy Holiday Meal Plan and Cookbook please consider leaving a review on Amazon. You’re honest review will help other people make an informed purchase.

If you have any Thanksgiving meal prep plans feel free to send them my way. I’ll be watching for emails with Thanksgiving in the subject line. I try to make myself available for those last minute questions on Thanksgiving Day too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This page contains affiliate links.

“Beefy” Lentil and Veggie Soup

October 26, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 7 Comments

I was craving a savory, hearty soup. I knew what I wanted. I wanted Beef Stew without the beef. Armed with my favorite veggies and determination, I got a delicious, vegan soup with a nod to the traditional beef stew.

How can you make a beefless stew? I used my favorite beef substitution, lentils.

For me, lentils are down right magical. They make great tacos, taste wonderful plain or seasoned, cook quickly and are easy to prepare. I’m a huge lentil fan!

The first time I made this Lentil and Veggie Soup I did it quickly in my Instant Pot with Massel beef flavored broth (but it’s actually called concentrated liquid stock). I was blown away by how good it was. My husband took all the leftovers to work (which was slightly devastating) because it was so good.

I knew I had to recreate it for my friends who didn’t have an Instant Pot and wanted to cook it on the stove. I also wanted to season it with only spices instead of a ready made broth. This soup is delicious with my Dry Broth Mix but that doesn’t lend a “beefy” flavor that I was wanting. I came up with something a little different, and I didn’t even use nutritional yeast.

“Beefy” Lentil and Veggie Soup

I’ve made this a few times now and I’ve used different potatoes each time. I always find it difficult to estimate potato sizes for recipes. I’ve made it with 2 huge potatoes and with 6 small potatoes. The important thing is to think about serving size. If you were going to serve potatoes as a side dish, how many of your potatoes (whatever size you have) would you need. This soup needs 3-4 side dish serving sizes (or 2 main dish serving sizes) of potatoes.

You could add more veggies to this soup. I make it this way because these are the veggies I usually have available. If you want to try something else I recommend celery and green beans.

If you are making this in your Instant Pot, you’ll add all the ingredients as directed, then cook on manual with high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow it to release pressure naturally. Stove top directions follow below.

Yield: 6+ servings

"Beefy" Lentil and Veggie Soup

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup diced onions
6 small potatoes, diced (see note above)
3 large carrots, sliced
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup dry lentils
2 quarts of water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Add all of the chopped veggies to a large pot on medium heat. I like to do this as I'm cutting them but if you pre-cut them you can do it all at once.
Add the dry lentils, careful to sort them for debris. I found a stick in mine.
Add the water and all of the seasonings and cover with a lid.
Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Check soup, make sure the carrots and potatoes are soft.
Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Notes

If you are making this in your Instant Pot, you'll add all the ingredients as directed, then cook on manual with high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow it to release pressure naturally. Stove top directions follow below.

This page contains affiliate links.

NEW Fall Plant-Based Meal Plan + Shopping List

October 22, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 1 Comment

It’s here! The new Fall Plant-Based Meal Plan!

Most weeks I share a free weekly meal plan with you. Every so often, I like to give you a meal plan and shopping list that is ready to print off and take to the store. Don’t worry, it’s still free!

I know how difficult it can be to transition and keep up with healthy eating. I struggle myself, especially when my schedule get’s out of hand.

I always hear such great feedback when I release new meal plans. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you what to do and this meal plan takes the guess work out of eating plant-based.

New Fall Plant-Based Meal Plan

Not only does this meal plan offer the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas, it comes with a shopping list. I know that shopping lists don’t always work for everyone depending on how many people you shop for. That is why I came up with multiple shopping lists to choose from. Everyone gets the same easy to print menu but you can pick which shopping list is best for you. Choose from:

Breakfast Lunch and Dinner for Family of 4
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner for Family of 2
Breakfast Only Family of 4
Dinner Only Family of 4

You’ll also get all the recipes together in one booklet!

Wondering what’s on the new fall meal plan? I’ll give you a sneak peak!