My Plant-Based Family

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

Vegan

Quinoa “Taco Meat”

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So we all know I’m not really talking about meat here but after all of the press about pink slime I don’t want to us the works “taco filling” because that sounds too much like filler, BLECK! 

I’m talking about seasoning up nutrient dense quinoa. If you’ve read my blog for long you know I’m a fan of quinoa. I buy a big bag at Costco for under $10. I like to use it anywhere someone would typically use ground beef so, burgers, tacos, nacho’s, and my husband LOVES it with cinnamon for breakfast (think oatmeal style). I’ve also used it in place of rice or other grains. It is also a gluten free food for those so inclined.

Quinoa “Taco Meat”

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp granulated onion
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin 
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce

Do

  1. Stir all seasonings into quinoa. We like a lot of spice so feel free to pair this down if you’re not crazy about a lot of seasoning. 
  2. Stir in tomato sauce, I happened to be out so I used about 2 tsp of tomato paste and a little water. 
  3. If seasonings are not mixing well add a little water or veggie broth. 

Serve

Last night we had this on Nachos and my three teenagers, or as I usually say teenyboppers, loved it. Other places to eat this would obviously be tacos, burritos, and taco salads. I think for lunch I’ll have some on a baked potato as inspired by Laura’s Taco Potatoes over at Heavenly Homemakers. Of course her recipe has meat but I was still inspired, especially since I still have some fresh salsa and pinto beans to add to my hot potato.

Another favorite way to make this is to mix it 1:1 with cooked lentils. I love lentils in place of tradition ground beef recipes. I was planning on cooking it that way last night but alas I forgot to cook the lentils. I know they cook very quickly but since my big kids are here I’d rather visit than cook (or have an extra pan to wash).

Do you eat quinoa? What is your favorite way to eat it? Since we love Mexican food almost any new thing I try has Mexican flare, I know I should branch out but it’s hard to resist those familiar spices.

Meal Plan Monday: Unscheduled

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This will be a different kind of week for us. Our big kids are visiting this week, at least three of us have a stomach bug that is going around, and we plan to eat out a few times. With all of that in mind the Meal Plan will be a little less planned out this week.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be cereal, oatmeal, and toast with fruit. It kind of a free for all at breakfast time. We also have leftover pancakes and breakfast stir fry from yesterday’s brunch.

Lunch will be leftovers, PB&J, easy pasta with marinara, wraps or bean burritos. 

Snacks will be hummus and veggies, crackers, apples and banana’s with peanut butter, chips and salsa, and smoothies.

Dinner is a bit up in the air. Since a few of us are a little sick it is hard to plan out our week. We are hoping to go to the zoo one day, my husband and the big kids are planning a trip to the driving range and the big kids will be spending time with friends as well. With that in mind we plan to eat:

Nachos made with quinoa/lentil “meat”, Unfried Beans, guacamole, Homemade Salsa, and faux cheese sauce.

Burritos made with beans, Mexican Rice, and other fixings.  

Fajita’s using my Portobello Fajita recipe along with all of the things I mentioned above. 

I also plan to make some carrot cake cupcakes this week.

Do you notice a trend, yes we love Mexican food. Our big kids who are not plant-based eaters will be very receptive to this menu. We want our new lifestyle to be inviting to them. Hopefully they don’t get sick or else we may all be living on a steady diet of crackers this week.  

Whole Wheat Cherry Muffins

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One year ago if someone would have mentioned whole wheat muffins I would have thought of dry, unappetizing bricks. I couldn’t be more wrong. These plant-based are delicious. 

Whole Wheat Cherry Muffins that are plant-based and delicious.

Now that I’ve been enlightened I think of delicious treats, add in a little fruit and I think of tiny bites of heaven. I love a good whole wheat product. 

Before we transitioned to a plant-based diet, my idea of muffins were closer to cupcakes. Super sweet and full of oil.

These muffins have no added fat or dairy making them a healthy choice.

Cherry Muffins that are whole wheat and vegan.

Whole Wheat Cherry Muffins

 

Whole Wheat Cherry Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Muffin
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup turbinado sugar
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 1 cup plant milk
  • 1 cup diced cherries (I use frozen cherries that I buy from Costco)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a big bowl mix all dry ingredients.
  3. Add applesauce and milk and mix.
  4. Add cherries and mix until just combined.
  5. Pour batter into paper muffins lines until ⅔ full.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes.
  7. Test for doneness with a toothpick then let cool.

These are a nice dessert, snack or as an addition to bunch.  You can substitute blueberries for the cherries for variety. These are not super sweet which I know a lot of you appreciate.

Cherry Muffins are whole wheat, plant-based and vegan.

Follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!

Making Salsa

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Yesterday I spent a rather large chunk of time making homemade salsa. Salsa doesn’t really take long to make unless you have two cute little tarzan’s vying for your attention (read driving you insane).

We love salsa in our house and could eat it everyday. My husband can not eat seeds and store bought salsa’s always contain seeds. The only way we have found to get around the seed problem is to make it ourselves. Salsa can be made so many different ways. I’m just providing a template based on general ingredients but you can change it up to suit your taste buds. Additionally, I made a lot of salsa, about 50 ozs (two pasta sauce jars) so my measurements may not work for you but this salsa does freeze well.

Homemade Salsa

Ingredients

  • tomatoes (I used about a dozen roma)
  • onions (I used 1 /2 white onions)
  • peppers (I used 5 jalapeno’s and 3 serrano’s with seeds removed)
  • garlic (I used 5 cloves)
  • lime (I used juice and pulp from 1 lime)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • cilantro (optional, I love cilantro but was out)

Do

Since I made a big batch I processed each ingredient by it’s self. If you are making a small batch you can just throw it all in your food processor or blender and blend one time. 

  1. Wash veggies well.
  2. Cut tops off of tomatoes and remove seeds if desired. Process until tomatoes reach desired consistency.
  3. Cut and peel onions and put in food processor until desired consistency is met.
  4. Cut stems off of peppers. Remove seeds if applicable be careful because hot pepper can burn your skin. (I recommend wearing latex or rubber gloves for this step. I sometimes even us a plastic sandwich bag on one hand. I know I’m awesome!) Process peppers until very small. Removing the seed will make your salsa very mild.
  5. Peel garlic, add cilantro and lime juice then process.
  6. Combine all ingredients together and add salt. 
  7. Time for a taste test, add any other ingredients or spices. I added 1 tbsp of chili powder for a little extra kick.

Serve

For me, salsa opens up so many meal possibilities. We ate this salsa on pinto and barley tacos. I really wanted to make a rice and black bean bowl too, maybe later. This will be really good on top of leftover baked potatoes for a quick lunch. 

What is your favorite way to make salsa? What is your must have ingredient?

Portobello Fajitas

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I do not like mushrooms! I’ll eat them if the flavor isn’t too powerful but I prefer not to. Enter portobello mushrooms, I have been won over. Today I made another batch of portobello fajitas, a pasta bake containing portobello’s, and I’m baking some portobello slices now as well.

I have heard a lot of people commenting about mushrooms being a good stand-in for meat but as a former mushroom hater I wasn’t having it. Now I can see it! I’m reformed and embrace the mushroom, especially served like this.

Portobello Fajitas

Ingredients

  • 1 Portobello Mushroom
  • 1/2 an onion cut into slices
  • 1 bell pepper cut into slices
  • 1 cup veggie broth
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • a generous shake of salt
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Do

  1. Remove the stem and slice mushrooms. (If you are making Portobello steaks you can leave just remove the stem).
  2. Mix the remaining ingredients together and allow the the mushroom and veggie slices to soak in the marinade for 30 minutes or so.
  3. Broil the mushroom and veggie slices for 4-5 minutes then flip and broil for 4-5 more minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Serve

These are great served in a warm tortilla. I love them even more with fresh guacamole and salsa but they are good plain too. You could also top a salad with these and even add roasted corn! YUM!

Does this look like a steak fajita or what? Have you embraced the shroom and if so how do you like it?

Meal Plan Monday: Lotsa Leftovers

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Lentil Tacos

This week will be a lot different than most weeks due to the incredible amount of leftovers. Normally my meal plan doesn’t cover the weekends so we can use up all of the leftovers and have a fresh start for Monday. That also means a lot of cooking at the beginning of the week. This week we have way too many leftovers and a few fresh ingredients that need to be used soon. My plan is to do a little cooking Monday to use the fresh ingredients then eat leftovers for a few days until the full on cooking resumes. It looks like I’ll have an easy week in the kitchen, if I’m smart I’ll use that extra time to accomplish other tasks, like cleaning and organizing but I doubt that will happen.

I am not dreading eating these leftovers because they are delicious! I have Unfried beans, Mexican Rice, a lentil and quinoa “taco” mix, portobello fajita’s, and much more.

Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, toast with nut or apple butter and fruit, smoothies, and the occasional bowl of leftover soup. We may have blueberry pancakes toward the end of the week too.

Lunches will be wraps, leftovers (potatoes, pasta, Mexican food), sandwiches, soups, and French bread Pizza. The pizza will likely make an appearance at the beginning of the week as I have spinach, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms that will make a lovely lunch.

Dinner

Monday: Portobello steaks, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed asparagus

Tuesday: Burritos made with leftovers

Wednesday: Any remaining leftovers (Mexican food, yeah baby!)

Thursday: Pasta with veggies and salad

Friday: Is usually a date night so I make something easy for the kids like baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes or pasta.