Our plant-strong journey as a family continues and can I tell you a secret? David is now completely on board. It took a few weeks but now he’s game. He’s lost a few pounds and overall is feeling good. He had meat recently while we were out and he didn’t love the way it made him feel. He says I’ve officially ruined him now, but I’m pretty sure that’s just his way of saying thank you for all the delicious plant-based food you’re preparing for us, dear.
Here’s a peek at our menu this week, plus our overall thoughts on each meal. I am experimenting a lot more in the kitchen now, which is taking more time, but is also a lot of fun. I see playing with new flavors and ingredients as a challenge!
Saturday: Veggie Fajitas
I can never go wrong with Mexican-inspired dishes. I simply sauteed onions, peppers, zucchini, and mushroom with taco seasoning and added pinto beans with a squeeze of lime. Then I doctored mine up with sour cream (I’m trying to decrease dairy but I LOVE sour cream), guacamole, cilantro, and diced red onions.
Family feedback: Everyone loves this and eats it happily. Always a win!
Sunday: Pasta with a Chunky Vegetable Marinara
This was my “wiggle meal” for the week and I’m glad we planned one because we ended up going over to a friend’s house to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine. I cut up all the vegetables that were supposed to go in the marinara and brought it for snacking instead. I also brought my own veggie burgers. I tried Bubba Burgers because it’s all my store had, and they were good!, but of course anything is good with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, and mustard.
Monday: Baked Potatoes with Thug Kitchen Bean and Beer Chili
Family feedback: it was fine, but I won’t make it again. I felt the chili lacked flavor and it felt like eating a bunch of beans of a potato, which, again, was fine but nothing exciting or worth repeating in all of our opinions.
Tuesday: Vegetarian Lasagna Roll-Ups with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach
Family feedback: big hit. We all like them so much that I doubled the recipe and the girls and I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. They are like me in the fact that there is a never a bad time for marinara sauce!
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Lentil Tacos
Family feedback: again, it’s Mexican-inspired which means everyone is a fan. The girls love anything they can roll up in a tortilla and secure with a toothpick.
Thursday: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Family feedback: This was my second time making this recipe. The first time David and I LOVED it and the girls ate it well enough. The second time, though, I tried to double it because it wasn’t enough for our family the first time (despite it saying it feeds 8…) and I totally screwed up the mashed potatoes somehow (whipped them too much?) and made them gluey. The flavors were a little off too and I learned the hard way that you can’t just double every recipe right out. Still, I recommend making this dish- just stick to the original recipe and add some sides, like salad and bread.
Breakfast and Lunch
I am baking sourdough (using this recipe) weekly now and I probably need to step it up to twice a week because we go through it! So good. It’s been my go-to breakfast. Toasted sourdough, avocado, a squeeze of lemon, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Berries on the side.
I never made the curried chickpea salad I had planned (food prep fail!) so lunches were all whatever I felt like throwing together: salads, peanut butter and jelly, lentil soup leftovers from the freezer, etc. The weather was so nice we even had a picnic one day. It was glorious!
I can’t believe I made it through an entire week without a curry dish! Also, if the warmer weather sticks around I want to start making more bean burgers too. Maybe I’ll make a batch of bread machine buns too. I really am having fun eating this way and it’s becoming easier each week.
What was your favorite recipe you ate this past week?
I’m considering trying one of the more plant-based meal deliveries for inspiration. Do you have a favorite you’d recommend?
Tammy says
Love your organized meal plans and grocery lists! Have you tried Oh She Glows “Crowd Pleasing Tex Mex Casserole”? It’s delicious and always a hit here 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I haven’t but I’m going to pull it up right now; it sounds delicious!
sherry says
So appreciate you trying out the dishes and commenting–since we like the same things, I know I will like your favorites. I enjoyed “Raise-the-Barn Butternut Squash-Vegetable Lasagna from Rip Esselstyn’s Plant-Strong. It does take some time to prepare but I had plenty leftover to freeze.
Brittany Dixon says
The picture you sent me of the lasagna looked good! I just got that book from the library and want to try some of those options. Have you made the curried chickpea salad yet? SO YUMMY!
Monica says
New-ish reader to your blog and it’s become one of my favorites! I was wondering if you might do a post on helping picky eaters learn to like more veggies – how to push past the “what is that?! absolutely not!” reaction. (That would be my 5yo AND my husband, lol) We’re firmly entrenched in the peas, corn, broccoli and green beans camp over here. (My SIL and I like to joke that our husbands – brothers – didn’t see a green veggie on their plates til they got married.)
Also, I love the saying on your planner 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Monica! Thanks so much for the kind words; I appreciate them!
I am super grateful because David is not a picky eater, which I know makes my life so much easier. He is fine with putting his health in my hands and eating whatever I serve. I will say I’ve gotten plenty of smirks and weird looks as I’ve experimented over the years, but he really doesn’t complain. As for my girls, I’ve been firm on the “this is what is for dinner; take it or leave it” camp since they were little so they really don’t know any different. I know that is too firm of a approach for some, but it works in our house (with the understanding that I will always make sure something they like is on their plate; I’m not trying to be cruel ;)).
If I was where you are, I’d start slowly, adding in a new vegetable or grain a couple times a week. Have you tried letting your five year old pick it out or help make it? My kids love getting to choose at the grocery store and we’ve ended up with some silly sides at times like raw coconut flesh and bean sprouts, haha!
John J. says
David sold out?! 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Lol! That just made David laugh, but yes, he is on the veggie-train now! 🙂 Mwahaha
Gitisha Goel says
Long time silent reader of your blog. I love love all your posts and look forward to reading it. We eat plant based food everyday (my husband and boys -7 and 4 are vegetarian) and I cook mostly Indian food. One of my favorite and easiest meal is spinach chickpea curry with brown rice. All in the Instant-Pot. Also, meal favorite in my household is tofu scramble tacos and soy-crumble sloppy joes.
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks for the comment Gitisha! Spinach chickpea curry sounds amazing (what curry isn’t?!). Do you have the recipe? I don’t have an instantpot but I know a lot of readers do and would love a tried and true curry recipe! I keep meaning to make more tofu scrambles, too. Thanks for the reminder!
Kathy says
Love this! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been a plant based eater for some time and I don’t feel you can go wrong. At every turn you will hear the health benefits of eating plants!! My husband still eats meat on occasion but he too has become very mindful. 🙂
Have a fun weekend!!
Kimberly says
Try the cashew sour cream recipe from Oh She Glows – it is better than real sour cream!
Brittany Dixon says
Ohh ok I will have to try that- thanks!
Lindsey says
Yum! What tortillas do you use?
Brittany Dixon says
This week was La TOrtilla Factory, which were the only ones at Publix without hydrogenated oils.
Michelle Reiter says
Long time reader here! Right around the same time your family started incorporating more plant-based meals myself and my husband started as well. We actually gave it a try to help myself overcome some hormone imbalances while we’re trying to get pregnant! The first month was definitely a little hard as we were learning what we liked and didn’t and what worked and didn’t and I have to say having you as a reference the last few months has been HUGE! I can basically count on if you and your family enjoys it, we will too.
Also, like David we went strong for a month or so, got a little flexible and incorporated meat 1-2 times a week, on weekends, and added back dairy and now that we’re fully back on board we feel so much better and are truly enjoying it. I don’t even miss meat and can’t imagine going back to eating that way….plant based offers so many more flavors and variety in my opinion.
The only hard part is when we’re out to dinner or have plans. Being in rural Iowa we get a lot of weird looks when we tell them we’ve gone vegan….but I just take that as a lot of people just haven’t heard about that way of eating and its benefits.
Didn’t mean to write a book here haha, I just had to share how much I’ve appreciated you sharing your journey lately. have a great weekend and I always say a prayer for you and your family lately. Hope everything is going well 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Michelle, I appreciate your comment!! I definitely agree with you that vegetarian cooking seems to be so packed with flavor. I’m flying through my spices like never before but it’s worth it because it is so tasty! I made a chana masala for tonight that is has such incredible depth of flavor! (minimalist baker recipe)
Sarah says
Wow! You really are rocking this plant-based initiative!!! Just curious, are you missing meat at all? I am not a HUGE meat lover but I think I would really miss it if I went weeks without it. Especially once the warmer weather comes and we start to grill almost every meal. I really don’t think I could go an entire season without an occasional grilled steak, cheeseburger or hot dog! But that’s just me 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
I’m actually shocked that I haven’t missed meat! I mostly see myself experimenting a lot with veggie burgers and grilling veggies once the weather warms up, but if I’m ever craving a good steak, I’ll not opposed to grilling one up! 🙂
Laura says
It all looks delicious! Also, was wondering if seafood had a place in your plant based meals? We average 2- 3 seafood meals a week (typically shrimp, grilled salmon, and some sort of white fish or whole trout), mostly because everyone in my house loves seafood (I wonder if because I ate so much of it during pregnancy?), it is quick and easy to cook up, I love the fatty acid benefits for developing brains, and it is a nice break from vegetarian (and much lighter than other “meats”). We eat other meats maybe once or twice a week, and I don’t think it’d be something we’d ever consciously eliminate from our meals, as everyone truly enjoys the meals I make with it. Homemade meatballs and Hungarian stuffed peppers are meals the whole family will devour (and are meals that, in my opinion, just have no substitute).
Brittany Dixon says
I haven’t cooked much seafood lately, but last night we were out and I had a seafood pasta with clams, mussels, and scallops that was INCREDIBLE! I am using the term plant-based just so I don’t have to fully commit to a label (I don’t like feel confined like that). Though I am mostly eating vegetarian and vegan, I’m still open to eating anything that sounds incredible if the mood strikes 🙂
Rachel says
What kind of taco seasoning do you use? Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
Right now I keep Frontier on hand. I like it! https://www.frontiercoop.com/frontier-taco-seasoning-blend-2-33-oz/
Kristin says
Our favorite meal this week was bulgur with cubed chicken, garlic, green onions, kale and tomato pesto. We do a lot of meatless, and I would just sub chickpeas for chicken, and maybe add some walnuts. Delish with either a sprinkle of parmesan or feta. My main problem with many veg dishes is too many tomatoes. The acid gives me canker sores.
Brittany Dixon says
You’re right- so many tomatoes! I bought 4 28 oz cans of tomato puree today at the store! They don’t bother me but I do agree, a lot of tomatoes. That combo you shared sounds so good! I love the addition of walnuts and need to remember to use them more myself. Such great texture!
Jodie Flicek says
Now that you are trying to cut out/down on dairy, do you also plan to go vegan eventually? I gave up dairy and thought I would miss the yogurt I was eating daily and I dont miss it at all! I have zero craving for it. Crazy!
Brittany Dixon says
I don’t see myself identifying as fully vegan at this point, mostly because I don’t want to feel tied to a label. Though I’ve been eating mostly vegan lately, last night we were out and I had mussels, clams, and scallops! It was delicious. That’s why I am using (overusing? haha) the term plant-based. It keeps my focus on eating mostly whole foods that are plants 🙂
It’s funny you mention that you don’t miss it though because I really haven’t missed chicken or beef at all!
Jill says
We just started having vegetarian Hello Fresh deliveries 3 weeks ago and can I just say WE ARE HOOKED. They are so good, so fresh, so easy. Every single meal so far has been a hit, and I love that there’s no waste. It’s definitely helped lower my grocery bill. I was initially a skeptic but now I look forward to the deliveries with glee! – Jill
Brittany Dixon says
I saw you just sent me link to try them- thank you! I am planning on trying a few different boxes soon for fun and inspiration so I’ll use your link!
Emily says
As a vegetarian myself I’m so glad to see all of the plant-based meals. 🙂 (and that your family is enjoying them!) Please keep sharing!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks Emily! I will definitely keep sharing them and if you have any favorites, send them my way! 🙂
Rebecca says
I just made your slow cooker lentil taco (but just put it on rice for my toddler), and he exclaimed “This is nummy!” Probably the highest praise I’ll get from an almost-2 year old! I love reading your weekly meal plans. Please keep posting them. I always need some plant based inspiration!
Brittany Dixon says
Ah, praise doesn’t get better than that because kids are brutally honest- haha! Thanks so much for sharing that feedback! I’m so glad he liked it <3
Meagan W. says
Hi Brittany!
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes! My family and I are plant based and I love seeing others spread the veggie love! If you want another chili recipe to try, we love this one. It is always a crowd pleaser and my two girls (3.5 and 2) eat at least two bowls each time we have it. Hope you have a wonderful day! 😊
https://triedandtasty.com/slow-cooker-vegetarian-chili/
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Meagan! Thank you so much for sending me the recipe. I am having so much fun trying new ones every week and any recipe that has two kids on board goes right to my must-try list 😉