Vegan

Meal Plan Monday: Simple Meals for a Busy Week

June 24, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

There is still time to submit a Meal Plan to be featured next month on My Plant-Based Family.

Who: Anyone can submit a Meal Plan, preference will be given to those with a blog, website, pinterest, etc. but everyone has a shot!

What: A Plant-Based Meal Plan featuring Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner ideas for at least 4 days.

When: Send in your Meal Plan by Sunday, June 30th but the sooner the better. 🙂

Where: Email me at my plantbased family @ gmail.com (leave out the spaces).

Why: Encourage others who are looking for meal ideas and show the diversity of plant-based food out there. Get free publicity for your blog/site!

How: Check out this post for all of the other details!

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Meal Plan

Breakfast

I’ve been experimenting with a few new Breakfast Options that have been very successful in our house.

Blueberry Oatmeal (I shared this on Facebook but I’ll post the recipe here soon)
Rice and Shine Cereal I don’t love it but my boys do, especially topped with fresh berries.
Peachy Keen Oatmeal or Quinoa
GF Pancakes

Lunch

We usually have leftovers or something easy for lunch. Occasionally I’ll make something specifically for lunch. My kids often eat a side of greens or a side of fruit with lunch.

Veggie Stuffed Pita
Toasted Veggie Sandwich
Sunbutter and Apple Butter Sandwich
Baked Potatoes
Gluten-Free Mac & Faux Cheese

Snack

Snack is almost always fruit sometimes they get smoothies or “junk” type food like veggie straws.

Blueberries and raspberries
Sunflower seeds
Apples
Tortilla chips and guacamole
Plain popcorn

Dinner

We have appointments everyday this week so I’m hoping to keep things simple.

Taco Salad
Baked Potatoes with Steamed Broccoli and Steamed Greens
Veggie Pizza with a Polenta Crust
Pasta with Mushrooms, Basil, and Tomatoes with a Garden Salad and this Sweet and Tangy Oil-Free Dressing.

What are you eating this week? Don’t forget to send in your Meal Plan for a chance to be featured next month! You wont regret it!

Meal Plan Monday: Calling All Bloggers

June 17, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Attention, Attention, Calling All Bloggers!

I want to feature your Meal Plan on Meal Plan Monday during the month of July.

Who Can Participate

Anyone can submit a Meal Plan but preference will be given to people with blogs, websites, etc. You do not have to be 100% plant-based/vegan to submit a Meal Plan but the Meal plan must be. Additionally if your blog/website doesn’t portray an plant-based/vegan lifestyle you will not be selected. For example, you can have a photography, faith, knitting, finance, etc. blog that is acceptable but if you typically have pictures of meat or lifestyle choices that are harmful to animal you will not be considered.

What to Send

Email me your Meal Plan with links to recipes (from your blog or elsewhere) along with a few pictures, including a picture of yourself. Please include a brief biography and links to your blog, website, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. Mention how many people you cook for, if cooking for children include their ages, and list any food restrictions.

It isn’t necessary that each day is completely planned out but your Meal Plan must include at least 4 separate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners; planning leftovers is acceptable. Here are a couple of examples of Meal Plans, here and here; but your Meal Plan can be different.

When

Meal Plan will be featured during the month of July. All submissions should be made by Sunday, June 30th, however the sooner the better.

How

You can submit your Meal Plan in the form below or send me an email with all of your information.

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

If I receive a lot of questions I’ll update this post answering them!

Update: I’m no longer accepting submissions! If a spot opens up and someone is not able to participate I’ll mention it on My Plant-Based Family’s Facebook page!

Father’s Day Meal Ideas (and unsolicited and possibly offensive advice)

June 14, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo 6 Comments

Grilled Portobello Steaks, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, green beans, and mushroom gravy.

Do you have a great man in your life that you are celebrating this weekend? I hope you do! My dad and step-dad live several states away so I wont get to spend time with them but I’m hoping for an afternoon phone call. The card is in the mail Dad! 🙂

I will get to spend time with my husband, he is a wonderful man and father and I’m honored to have him in my life. I have no idea what we will be eating that day, I haven’t asked him yet but if you are wrestling with what to cook I’ll offer a few ideas I’m kicking around (that I know my husband loves).

Grilled Portobello Steaks (using this Mushroom Marinade) are a “manly” meal and loved by Omni’s as well as Herbivores. I like to pair it with Mashed Potatoes, green veggies and mushroom gravy.

If you’ve read this blog for any time at all you know we LOVE Mexican food. Seriously, LOVE is an understatement. Nothing (food related) makes my husband happier than homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. They pair well with Portobello Fajita’s, Easy Mexican Brown Rice and Bean Casserole, or Quinoa-Lentil Tacos. Avocado Grillers is another favorite!

What If?

Maybe your husband isn’t interested in Vegan/Plant-based options, do you want to know what I’d do? Choose to honor him! Maybe you fight about food everyday, maybe it has been a big problem between you two? On Father’s Day put that aside, you don’t have to cook ribs or a big slab of meat to honor him. Maybe you take him to a restaurant of his choice or pick up take out to eat at home.

This next part is very important. Don’t say anything negative about the food, don’t make a big deal about it, if something needs to be said just say, “I love you more that your food choices and I want to honor you today and thank you for all you do for our family and all that you are as a man.” That is it. When tomorrow comes don’t rub it in his face either.

Sorry

I know many ethical vegans read this blog so I do want to apologize if this offended you. I try to stay away from offending anyone, no matter their beliefs but I feel very strongly that relationships are more important. Many families are caught in a huge struggle and eating choices are at the center of it. It is sad; for Father’s Day let’s remove that from the equation and just love each other.

If you just cannot bring yourself to serve or buy meat and the man in your life wants it maybe he would be happy with a faux meat option. If push came to shove I’d make my husband a Father’s Day meal of his choice but he knows I don’t want to cook or buy meat so he won’t ask me to. I know, he’s a keeper!

What are your Father’s Day plans?

Taco Salad Saves the Day

June 12, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo 10 Comments

I don’t know about you but growing up Taco Salad was a deep-fried tortilla, greasy ground beef, a little iceberg lettuce, and your typical tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. Bleck!

It is time to toss that artery-clogging “salad” out with a Plant-Based transformation!

This Taco Salad is healthy, plentiful in fiber, protein, and phytochemicals and just plain delicious! It is also easily customizable to accommodate various allergies or taste preferences.

Taco Salad

Ingredients

Lettuce ( prefer a mix of greens and romaine)
Cooked Beans (I use pinto, black beans or Taco Lentils)
Cooked Grains (I use leftover Mexican Rice, quinoa or Quinoa Tacos)
Cooked Corn (I just buy organic frozen corn)
Pico de Gallo or salsa
Avocado, sliced
Lime Juice
Crispy Corn Tortillas* or Tortilla chips (Optional)

Layer all ingredients into a large bowl (I use a serving bowl for me) except the tortillas/chips.
Toss the salad so everything is well mixed and add a few chips for crunch.

*To make Crispy Corn Tortillas use soft corn tortillas, sprinkle with life and seasonings of your choice. Cut tortillas into thin strips and bake for about 10 minutes at 350° or until crisp.

Serve

This is an easy “buffet night” dish. It can be made quickly with leftovers or canned/packaged ingredients. If you are traveling with this for a potluck add the salsa, avocado and lime juice just before serving.

What is your favorite way to eat Taco Salad?

Meal Plan Monday: Less Packaged Food

June 10, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Do you ever fall in the packaged food rut? We are there.

Ever since we discovered my son’s allergies I’ve been relying on packed food for often. BA (before allergies) we ate a lot of beans, grains, fruit, and veggies with a constant supply of nuts and nut butters. We cut out all beans since he showed some intolerance to those tested but are hoping to reintroduce soon. We also had to remove several grains, some veggies and fruit and all nuts. That leaves me a bit perplexed but my son is feeling so much better and his skin is looking and feeling great. He has had a few cross-contamination episodes that have caused flare ups but I really want to establish and healthy baseline so I can accurately gauge the effect of foods we reintroduce.

I’ve been attempting sun butter sandwiches with gluten-free bread but he will only take a few bites. Sometimes he will tolerate the bread but never the sun butter. I’ve tried a few different brands to no avail. He will occasionally eat sun flower seed kernels.

He loves GF noodles and will happily eat them anytime they are served. I’ve never liked serving my family a lot of pasta but it is an easy food for a 2 year old.

I’ve also been giving my kids unsweetened applesauce, mostly to get them to take their probiotic (it’s a powder that needs to be mixed in something). I also load it with chia seeds and hemp seeds.

I don’t consider any of those too bad, my only concern is they take up a large portion of their calories instead of whole food. My biggest concern is the large number of products like fruit strips, GF cereal and cereal bars I’m now buying.

I’m hoping to move away from those easy convenience foods and back to whole foods, while also avoiding those foods my son has an intolerance too. If you have tips or suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments. You can see the full list of the foods my son is avoiding here.