My Plant-Based Family

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

Vegan

Freezer Bag Soup

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I love soups! LOVE THEM! Many of my soups are quick to throw together but if I have to do a lot of chopping I’ll have to save it for the weekend when I have more time. Unless…

taco soup

Unless I use this tip! Make an extra Freezer Bag Soup!

Freezer Bag Soup

Next time you make soup get our a gallon-size freezer bag (or a freezer-safe pitcher if you don’t want to use a freezer bag) and make a soup for later. You can also prep several of these on the weekend.

I have not tried this with soups that contain pasta but I advise against it. 

freezer bag soup

Here are a few of the soups I recommend!

Taco Soup and/or Enchilada Soup

The first time I tried this method I was making Taco Soup. I had already batch cooked some beans and was ready to make soup. I decided to make one on the stove and add the exact same contents to a zip lock freezer bag for an easy meal on another day. I let it thaw in the fridge over night then poured it in the Crock Pot in the morning with some extra water. Viola!

Green Chili, Cilantro and Lime Soup

This one can be made two ways. You can add everything except water to the bag and store it in the freezer OR you can add just the dry ingredients together and store it in the pantry. If you choose the second option I recommend that you write on the bag the rest of the ingredients in case you forget.

You can place it in the refrigerator the night before to defrost or dump it frozen into the crock pot with the correct amount of liquid and cook it all day.

Chili

Normally I just cook a double batch of chili and freeze the leftovers but it’s easy to prep it and toss it in the freezer without cooking it. This is a great option when you have a lot of extra beans or veggies that need to be used.

When I was a kid my mom would make big batches of soup and chili and freeze them when we went on trips. Whether you cook the soups before hand or not having a “packaged” soup ready to go will free up time later. I definitely recommend it.

 What is your favorite soup? Have you considered trying this tip with it? 

Soup Week Meal Plan

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This week I’ve created a Soup Week Meal Plan. It is dedicated to all of you who are dealing with cold weather right now. Even though the weather is great here I still enjoy soups but I won’t be able to say that in a few months. In fact, I got my first sun burn of the year on Saturday.

I’ve been cooking Steel Cut Oats in my Instant Pot but we rely on cereal for breakfasts too. I have an “emergency” gluten-free waffle stash for my 4 year old. On those mornings when we are running really late he gets to eat a waffle on the way to preschool.

I’m about to make some baked potatoes for the week. I like to pour leftover soup over baked potatoes for a hearty lunch. Surely it will be the envy of the office.

Soup week meal plan

Soup Week Meal Plan

Potato and Kale Soup I make it in the Instant Pot but you can make it on the stove or in the Crock Pot.

Hearty Lentil and Barley Stew contains gluten but make it gluten-free by using rice, quinoa, millet or amaranth in place of the barley.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Green Chili, Cilantro and Lime Soup is perfect the perfect comfort soup but I confess we don’t give it to the kids.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup is the easiest Crock Pot soup you’ll ever make!

Later this week I’ll share a tip that will make preparing soups even easier!

Last week I shared an EPIC round-up of 40+ Meatless recipes for Lent. If you know anyone who needs meatless ideas please pass it along!

 

40+Meatless Recipes for Lent

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Do you celebrate Lent? If so you may need some meatless recipes. Meatless meals come easy for me so I wanted to pass along these recipes that will fill you up and delight your taste buds.

These 40 + meatless recipes will give you more than enough inspiration to skip the meat.

Meatless Recipes for Lent

lent 1

Crock Pot Mexican Casserole

Bean and Potato Burritos

Veggie Pot Pie

Chickpea Quinoa Stir Fry

 Green Chili, Cilantro and Black Bean Soup

 lent 3

Fiesta Pasta

Breakfast Tacos

Simple Veggie Soup

Chickpea Salad

Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole

 lent 5

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Crock Pot Cheezy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Italian Bake

Not So Tuna Salad

Unfried Beans and Mexican Rice

 Lent 7

Hearty Lentil and Barley Stew

Avocado Grillers

Creamy Tomato Soup

Taco Salad

Black Bean Quesadillas

 lent 9

Lentil Tacos

Pizza Pasta

Portobello Burgers

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Potato and Kale Soup

 lent 11

Taco Soup

Veggie Fried Rice

Minestrone Soup

Portobello Fajitas

Meatless Chili

 lent 13

Veggie Pad Thai

Quinoa Lentil Tacos

Enchilada Soup

Taco Potatoes

Meatless White Enchiladas

 lent 15

Vegan BBQ Sandwich

Veggie Burgers

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Taco Muffins

Potato and Broccoli Soup

 Plus More

Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Quinoa Burritos

Quinoa Lentil Salad

Get inspired with more meatless meals by visiting my Recipe Page or my check out all of my Meatless Meal Plans from last year! Follow me on Pinterest for more great ideas.

Dinner Meal Plan, the one with Hot Dogs

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This week we have a very special interruption to our Dinner Meal Plan. We have a birthday and my soon to be 6 year old has requested hot dogs. It’s a tradition for the birthday boy to choose dinner so hot dogs it will be. Last year he requested a cake with black and white stripes and Angry Birds on it. Here is a picture of the excitement!

 

birthday

The Meals

I’ve gotten away from planning every meal of the day but I’ll give you a few ideas of what we are eating. Breakfast has been Breakfast Rice, cereal and Baked Sweet Potatoes (these come out perfect in the Instant Pot) and Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats also in the Instant Pot.

Lunches are usually leftovers. I’ll admit to skipping lunch a few days a week when I’m in the office. I love what I’m doing and don’t even think about lunch until it’s almost time to leave. I pack my kids lunches and snacks every day. I just did a recap last week.

Meal Plan Monday

Dinner Meal Plan

Faux Cheezy Black Bean Quesadillas with Mexican Rice

Potato Kale Soup

Hot Dogs and Birthday Cake

Burritos with Unfried Black Beans, Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Pico de Gallo

Fiesta Pasta

I’ll save time this week by using Black Beans for 3 different dishes! I’ll cook up a large batch in my Instant Pot. If you don’t have an Instant Pot you can read my Beans Guide for soaking and cooking directions.

This meal plan is really easy because most of the recipes use similar ingredients which I usually keep on hand. The biggest deal will be making the birthday cake and reading the ingredient list on a dozen packages of hot dogs before I find the right ones. I’ll come up with some side dishes for the birthday dinner as well.

We’ve had a complete lack of Mexican Food lately so I’m making up for it this week.

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Oil-Free Fried Rice and Gardein

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.
Oil-Free Fried Rice

I’ve been making oil-free fried rice since before we removed meat and dairy from our diet. I’ve never been a big fan of oil and would omit it every chance I got. This is one of those recipes that I didn’t even think of sharing but after having people ask about it, I decided it was time.

Like most of my recipes, it’s also really easy.

Oil-free Vegan Fried Rice

Oil-Free Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2-3 Tbsp’s Soy Sauce, Tamari or Braggs Liquid Aminos
  • 4 cups cooked Brown Rice
  • a little water as needed

Do

  1. Heat skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water in the skillet to make sure it is hot.
  2. Once hot add the onions and garlic. Stir regularly. As the onions begin to brown (see the photo), pour a little water into the pan then give it a good stir. Continue to cook the onions repeating the step of adding water as often as necessary until the onions are translucent and soft.
  3. Add the veggies and stir them into the onions. Cover with a lid and cook until carrots are soft.
  4. Add the cooked rice and soy sauce and stir once more. Reduce the heat to low and heat until everything is warm.Oil-Free Fried Rice

Inspired by Chef. Created by You.

You can add a little more umph by adding Gardein™ to the dish! Gardein is deliciously meat-free and really convenient. I cooked the Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n in a skillet in just a few minutes. It’s so easy, you don’t even need a recipe! Cook the chick’n until it is nice and crispy. While it is cooking, defrost the sauce packet in a bowl of warm water. Once it is defrosted simply snip the corner off the sauce packet and pour it over the Crispy Chick’n. Stir it quickly so that all of the chick’n gets covered.

This was a huge treat for my 5 year old. He kept asking for more, then finally said, “Can I just have the whole bowl.”

If you want to try the Crispy Chick’n or the Sliders I made last month you can get a $1 off coupon on the Meet Chef page.

Gardein Mandarin Crispy Chick'n and Fried Rice

You can follow Gardein on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram or the Gardein website.

Gardein Mandarin Crispy Chick'n and Fried Rice

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.

Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.

My Dinner Meal Plan for the week

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I didn’t get much batch cooking done this weekend so this week I’ll mostly stick to easy meals, especially the first few days of the week. Veggie Pad Thai is always a favorite at our house. It is different every time because I use whatever I have on hand. This weeks version will be especially good because I have more veggies than usual to work with.

I also have a new recipe for you. I’ve been making oil-free fried rice since before I was plant-based. I’ve made it so long didn’t even think about sharing it so this week I finally will. It’s not fancy or exotic, it’s simple and delicious.

This week our breakfasts will mostly be cereal but I just bought Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats and I have a membership to Amazon Prime
so I’ll have those in two days. I plan to try them in my Instant Pot for the first time. Yes, I get excited about this kind of stuff.

We will enjoy leftovers for lunches. My husband always takes his lunch to work and one of his co-workers was admiring it every day, so he started to share. Occasionally he takes two lunches now, one for him and one for his buddy.

With that in mind, check out my plant-based dinner meal plan for the week!

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Plant-Based Dinner Meal Plan

Veggie Pad Thai

Oil-Free Fried Rice Recipe Coming Soon (I’ll try to post some teasers on Instagram tonight.)

Potato Kale Soup

White Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Homemade Pizza using a recipe from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

What are you eating this week?

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