My Plant-Based Family

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

Vegan

Cilantro Lime Quinoa

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Do you want to know two words that make me swoon? Well I can think of several words but the two I’m referring to are cilantro and lime! I love them both but paired together they can take any dish to a new level. I’ve used the lime juice in the plastic lime and frozen cilantro and it was good but nothing compares to using fresh limes and fresh cilantro.

cilantro lime quinoa

I think the biggest reason is the fresh lime zest. My favorite zester is the Better Zester, it has a zest “catcher” that also measures the amount of zest. I’ve scraped off with zest off with a knife but my zester makes it much easier. I have more recipes coming that use a zester as well, here is a hint: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Lemon, Cake. I don’t want to be too obvious. 🙂

Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Ingredients

  • 2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 3 1/2 cups of water (you may need a little more, have 4 cups available)
  • 2 limes (you’ll use about 1 Tbsp zest and 1/4 cup lime juice)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup cilantro

Do

  1. Rinse your quinoa well then cook it in a pot with 3 1/2 cups of water over medium heat. Cover with a lid.
  2. While the quinoa is cooking zest limes then squeeze the juice into a cup or bowl. You will want to remove any seeds the squeeze out. Also chop cilantro, I prefer to use only the leaves because I don’t like using the stems. Set all of this (zest, juice, cilantro) to the side.
  3. After about 15 minutes check on the quinoa. When it is mostly done and all of the water has been absorbed pour the lime juice, zest and cilantro into the pot (add salt if desired) and stir well. Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 5 more minutes. Use more water if needed.

Serve

I love Cilantro Lime Quinoa with Unfried Black Beans and fresh salsa but you can use your imagination. If you think the quinoa is drying out too fast feel free to use more water, I thought it soaked up the lime juice better by using less. This recipe is difficult to mess up.

This post is shared at Plant-Based Potluck Party Link Up

Birthday Week Meal Plan

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We’ve been celebrating, two of our kids had birthday’s this week. Unfortunately we’ve been a little under the weather too. I contemplated skipping the Meal Plan this week but a few of you spoke up saying you’d miss it. I waited until tonight to post it so I could show you a few pictures from our celebration.

I’ve been making a lot of new recipes lately but I don’t have much time to work on staging, photographing and editing so I’ve only been sharing them with people who come to my local events or those who buy a Custom Meal Plan. Don’t worry, many of them will get added eventually and others are being set aside for my next book.

birthdayAny time I ask my son to smile he does something like this. It pretty much captures his intense awesomeness. He asked for a cake with zebra stripes and angry bird candles and a #5 candle that we could set on fire. I am to please.

 

Birthday Week Meal Plan

The person with the birthday always gets to pick the menu on birthdays. My pantry got cleaned out this weekend and my fridge is fully stocked with fruit and veggies. It’s gonna be a good week.

Breakfast

Lunch

  • Bean and Grain Bowl
  • Veggie and Hummus Wrap
  • Bean Burritos made with Unfried Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Quinoa
  • Sunbutter Sandwiches with fruit
  • Baked Potatoes with Veggies

Dinner

In the last two months we have celebrated 5 birthdays in our immediate family (although one of our son’s doesn’t live with us anymore). We now have a break from birthdays but I’ve been working on several different gluten-free and vegan cake recipes. I think I’ll keep at it, besides I like cake, win-win.

Plant-Based Valentine’s Day Meal Ideas

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Valentine’s Day Meal Ideas are saturating every form of social media. I wasn’t planning on sharing any ideas but I realized some of you may need a little push in the right direction if you are avoiding meat, dairy, or allergens like wheat or nuts. I don’t plan to do anything special for my family, I’m hoping for a date night instead.

valentines day

Plant-Based Valentine’s Day Meal Ideas

1. Breakfast for Dinner!

Heart-Shaped pancakes with cherries and chocolate chips. Your kids will love this idea and never forget it. I use a Gluten-Free Mix by Maple Grove Farms that I find at Target or Walmart. For the life of me I can’t make good GF pancakes without a mix.

2. Go Italian

I’ve always associated Valentine’s Day with Italian food, it probably goes back to Lady and the Tramp’s iconic meatball scene. Thankfully, I have several recipes to choose from, some are more kid friendly than others. My Gluten-Free Lasagna is a crowd-pleaser; it is husband, kid, and teenager approved. My teen even thought there was cheese in it. (Insert evil laugh here.)

If you are feeding toddlers you may want to go with the Pizza Pasta using small noodles for small hands.

Since it’s for Valentine’s Day try to pick veggies your kids will like best. For my youngest that is broccoli!

3. Steak and Potatoes

Portobello Steaks and Potatoes can take you back to the feel of your omni days without the meat. If your Valentine likes mushrooms this is a great meal. I recommend making either a baked potato or Dirty Mashed Potatoes and steaming asparagus.

4. Picnic at the Park

If you have small kids but would still like to catch a moment with your Valentine try having a picnic at the park. Yes, your kids will be there but they will probably be busy stealing another kids toy or pulling someones hair. Make CHICKpea salad sandwiches and easy finger foods to enjoy. On a side note the weather is in the 70s this week where I live, don’t hate me.

5. Dinner and a Movie at Home

Find a fun movie to rent and order take out or make an easy Crock Pot meal. I love my Easy Crock Pot Mexican Casserole because it comes together in minutes and I only have to wash the Crock Pot. I really dislike doing dishes. Later you can watch your movie as you snack on popcorn.

If you have kids make a Pop Corn Bar with melted Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips, sprinkles, cinnamon, nutritional yeast, crushed candies or other favorite snacks.

6. Don’t Forget Dessert

You need dessert on Valentine’s Day. I think dessert is waaaay more important than the other food. If you are going for the classic V Day dessert you need to make Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Just melt Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips then dip your strawberries in the melted chocolate, refrigerate them until you are ready for dessert. You could also make Brownies or a Fresh Fruit Parfait.

What are your Valentine’s Day Meal Plans?

Meal Plan Monday: Change of (Meal) Plans

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Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a FREE ticket to the Phoenix Gluten and Allergen Free Expo on February 22-23, 2014. Only one day left to enter!

I was about to get the kids dressed this morning so we could take my husband to the airport for a business trip when we got a phone call explaining that the trip was cancelled due to a winter storm. I was thrilled, my husband would be home all week, but my lazy plans of sandwiches and noodles would have to change. We need a real Meal Plan.

I also have Healthy Cravings this week. Healthy Cravings is a monthly class/support group for people in the Phoenix area who want to make healthier food choices. This month’s class is about adapting recipes!

My Meal Plan is directly impacted by my schedule. What and How I cook depends on how much time and energy I’ll be able to put into meals.

Meal Plan Monday

 

Plant-Based Meal Plan

Breakfast

Cereal was on sale this week so my kids will be happy to have cereal most days. I don’t eat cereal very often and prefer a hot breakfast.

  • Baked Sweet Potatoes with cinnamon
  • Crock Pot Breakfast Hash (a new recipe I need to share but haven’t because it doesn’t photograph well)
  • Fruit
  • leftover pancakes
  • leftover breakfast scramble

Lunch

My kids usually have something easy like sandwiches, toast, baked potatoes or leftovers. I usually add raw veggies to my kids lunch; carrots and broccoli are very common.

Dinner

This week we have company over one night, Healthy Cravings another night, new recipes to try and appointments almost every afternoon. Can you relate?

I like to have a dessert at Healthy Cravings so I will probably do some baking as well. My son has been “mentioning” that he likes Banana Bread a lot lately. I may finally take the hint and make it for him.

What does your Meal Plan look like this week? 

Meal Plan Monday: Are You Snowed In?

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Meal Plan Monday

Just in case you are snowed in, this week’s Meal Plan will focus on comforting meals that use basic ingredients that I usually have on hand. Here is an old list of basic supplies but I warn you it is in desperate need up an update, which I’ll try to do soon. If you bought my ebook The Plant-Based Diet Starter Guide then you already have an updated copy in the book.

Plant-Based “Snowed In” Meal Plan

Breakfast

Lunch

  • Sandwiches (peanut butter, sunbutter, veggie, etc)
  • Taco Soup with Baked Potato
  • Bean Burritos make with Unfried Black Beans and grains or veggies
  • Leftover Chili with Bake Potatoes
  • Veggie Soup

Dinner

These recipes do not use a lot of fresh fruit or veggies but if you have them I recommend you add them. I wanted this Meal Plan to be pretty basic and rely on beans and grains. Add any extra veggie you have. If you are snowed in, I hope you have plenty of food stored.

I’m in the process of cleaning out my freezer and it is amazing some of the stuff I find in there. If your freezer is full try planning a meal or two based on food you have in your freezer. I have several soups stored in 2 serving containers including Green Chili, Cilantro and Rice Soup, Chili, and Enchilada Soup.

Are you snowed in? What foods do you rely on during emergencies?

 

White Enchiladas

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Green Chili “White” Enchiladas
white enchiladas

There’s a little Mexican restaurant in Oklahoma that makes incredible enchiladas. Unfortunately they are chicken enchiladas covered in cheese sauce. Even after we moved to Arizona we would travel to Oklahoma once a year and eat at that restaurant everyday of our visit.

After we changed to a plant-based diet we still ate at that restaurant, in lieu of my usual, I would order veggie fajitas but those creamy enchiladas called to me.

I’m not one to let dietary restrictions get in my way so I created these creamy Green Chili White Enchiladas. The Green Chili is optional but I enjoy the flavor and so do my kids. I used one 4 oz can of dice green chilies. You could easily double the green chilies for more flavor.

white enchiladas

White Enchiladas

Ingredients (for enchiladas)

  • 3 or 4 cups cooked white beans
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)
  • 2 oz. of diced green chilies (optional)
  • soft corn tortillas

Do

  1. Puree white beans in a food processor with spices and optional green chilies. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed to get a “chicken salad” like consistency.
  2. Spread tortillas out in a layer then spread the puréed white beans over them.
  3. Next spread a layer of sauce (recipe below) and repeat all of the layers until you run out of ingredients ending with a layer of sauce on top.
  4. Bake in an oven preheated to 350° for 20 to 30 minutes.

 

White Sauce

Ingredients

  •  3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 4 Tbsp brown rice flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups rice milk
  • 2 oz diced green chilies

Do

  1. Pour the dry ingredients into a skillet and allow them to cook until they begin to toast. You can stir, I prefer to shake the pan, so nothing sticks or starts to burn.
  2. Pour the milk and whisk well.
  3. Alternate whisking and scrapping with a silicon spatula regularly as it thickens.
  4. Carefully taste the sauce, consider adding extra nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavor or more garlic or salt as desired.

A few notes about this dish…

I made this in a 9×9 casserole dish, if using a 9×15 you will want to double the recipe. I used 4 cups of beans in the 9×9 dish and had about a cup leftover but it really depends on how thick each later is.

You can omit the green chilies all together if you are not a fan, or you can double them or substitute your favorite salsa.

These enchiladas can be rolled like the enchiladas you typically order in a restaurant however corn tortillas are pretty fragile and since I no longer dip them in oil (yuck, I used to do that when making enchiladas) they tear easily. I find it quicker to just layer my ingredients instead of rolling them.

You can add additional veggies. I recommend diced onions, chopped cilantro, tomatoes and peppers.

I use brown rice flour because it is gluten-free. You could use wheat flour or a different flour of your choice. The flour acts as a thickener and makes this sauce nice a creamy.

If you live in an omni household and have to cook meat for your family, this recipe can easily be adapted. I recommend you make them as written but divide them into two separate pans, add small amounts of chicken to the pan for the omni members. These enchiladas are so full of protein and fiber on their own they wont really miss it but you will be able to call them “chicken enchiladas” and make your family happy.

This sauce is pretty amazing on its own and would be delicious on rice or noodles, you may want to omit the green chilies though.

Are you an enchilada fan? Do you prefer red, green or white?