Meal Mentor

Looking for Oil-Free & Plant-Based Brands?

I'm always getting questions from meal plan users about brands... what brand should you buy?

Unfortunately, brands vary by state and even two chain stores in the same city can have different items. For example, the Kroger by my friend's house (who lives less than 5 miles away) doesn't carry the same brand of tortillas I buy at my Kroger that's down the street. He also has access to Dave's Killer Bread (which I LOVE!) but it's not sold at my Kroger, or any of the other Krogers in our area.

It takes a little bit of time to scan labels at first, but once you figure out what brands your store has that work for your dietary guidelines, shopping gets easier. I also find I'm frequently rediscovering the stores in my town -- hidden gems on those bottom shelves!

As for me, since I'm on a budget, I almost always buy generic. I find generic items are usually vegan (even if the more pricey commercial cousin is not) and oil-free too! For example, the generic semi-sweet chocolate chips at my store are vegan but the fancy brand contains milk.

I also recently discovered this generic organic brand. Can you believe their soup has no oil and is vegan?

The only thing I'm super picky about is my nutritional yeast. I’ll only use Braggs or Red Star, even if it means having to order it online (like at bulkfoods.com). I find other brands, especially the bulk stuff at Whole Foods, is gnarly.

Anyway, I have a HUGE jumbo list of plant-based, vegan and HH-approved brands in my new Guide.

You can also see this mini list of brands for starters, and this post has tips too.

Get the current meal plan now.

Have Food Allergies? Here's How to Eat Around Them!

A client emailed:

"I have been gluten-free and eating clean 75% of the time for 16 months. I have recently been diagnosed with even more serious food allergies. No coconut, no apples, no bananas, no cane sugar, no rice, no pepper, and the list goes on. I feel like I can't eat anything! Please help!"

Have you tried the meal plans?

They're always gluten-free, and with lower fat options, there's no coconut. Apples and bananas can usually be omitted.

Instead of rice you can use quinoa, oats or cauliflower, among other options like kamut :)

If you ever have an allergy substitution question, you can email support[at]getmealplans[dot]com for help :)

We have a lot of users with long lists of allergies and they do really well.

There's also some research now suggesting allergy tests aren't the most reliable either. Sometimes it's better to do an elimination diet (The GLOW meal plan is part elimination diet). That really helped me and my sister identify our true allergies. Basically, eat potatoes for a few days, until you are sick of them, and then slowly add one or two new foods and see what happens with eating them.

Above all, you still have a lot to eat, you just feel overwhelmed, as we all do when foods are taken away -- I have a big chapter on dealing and working around allergies and other food issues in my book The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living.

One big piece of advice from that chapter is to stop focusing on all the foods you can't have and start writing a list of all the options you can have. You'll tire of the exercise before you ever exhaust your list.

Feel better soon!

Get the current meal plan now.

4 New Ways to Get Kids to Eat Their Veggies

Kids not excited about steamed vegetables?

Don't worry! Here are some fun and creative new ways to get them to eat their veggies!

Cook the entire thing. Rather than chopping your cauliflower into florets, put the entire head into the oven. Once it's roasted, cut into wedges and serve.

Edible bowls. Serve your veggie or hummus dip in a lettuce or cabbage bowl. Not only will you save time doing the dishes, but you can also chop it up and make a salad!

Swap out your grains. Put a new spin on grains by grating some cauliflower (just like the Cauliflower Risotto on the meal plans!) and throwing it into a salad. Or spiralize some zucchini or carrots and make noodles.

Vegify your buns. Instead of using a whole-wheat bun, slap your bean burger on a makeshift bun made out of veggies. (Works great for sliders!)

Try the meal plans! Every week we're coming up with fun and exciting new recipes that the whole family will love!

Get the current meal plan now.

Introducing the New Dinner Only Family Meal Plan

I'm so excited to unveil the new dinner only family meal plan!

I think everyone will be very happy with the new features and format!

The new dinner only family meal plan starts June 4th. If you subscribe to the monthly family meal plan, you'll receive it instantly via email the moment it's released. The individual meal plan is the same, with a slight improvement on the prep sheet.

What does the dinner only meal plan include?

1) The new meal plan features 7 dinner recipes, most brand new!

2) This new plan is also perfect for couples! You'll both have leftovers for lunch the next day!

3) Amazingly new awesome shopping list!

All of the ingredients (minus the pantry staples) note which meals they belong to. That means if you don't want to cook meal #2, just cross out where the "2" is on the shopping list and you're good to go! SO easy!

This feature has been long requested and was not possible with the old meal plan, but is now here for the new dinner only plan :)

Check it out:

For more details, see this blog post!

If you are a monthly subscriber and want to change to the new dinner only family meal plan, you can do so from your profile. If you are an annual subscriber, please email support[at]getmealplans[dot]com to change.

Get the current meal plan now.

Is Fruit Juice Good For You?

Temps are on the rise, but before you quench your thirst with some cold juice from the fridge, you may want to think twice.

Fruit juice (or vegetable juice) may seem like a healthy alternative, but they can also be sneaky calorie bombs. And some juices can actually have more calories than soda!

According to Jeff Novick, "the problem with fruit juice is not so much the fructose...it is the calories which are liquid calories that lack fiber, are very low in satiety and also the overall calorie and sugar concentration that are the issues."

He recommends limiting juice to one serving (or 4-6oz) a day on occasion. Remember, most juices are 12-24oz!

Dr. Esselstyn suggests staying away from juice altogether, especially if you have or are at risk for heart disease.

He says, "Do not juice. Fructose separated from fiber is too rapidly absorbed and injurious. Drinking fruit juice is like pouring the sugar bowl down your throat. You lose the benefits of fiber best obtained eating the fruit. Chew your food."

"Sports drinks" and "vitamin water" aren't much better. Instead, try herbal iced tea or add some fresh squeezed fruit to your water. For more ideas on how to spice up your water, check out this post.

Get the current meal plan now.

Why Eggs Aren't a Health Food

A meal plan user emailed:

"I've read a lot about the negative effects of meat and dairy, however, I'm having a hard time letting go of eggs for breakfast. I have been using your meal plans and they have made it easy to enjoy giving up meat and cheese. So my question for you is: are eggs healthy when eaten with a plant-based diet?"

I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the meal plans!

Eggs are high in cholesterol, damage the endothelial lining of the arteries (damages the heart) and contain animal protein, which can feed cancer growth, etc. Eggs aren't a health food, and that's why I abstain (I don't identify as vegan, but I do follow a 100% plant-based diet for my health, among other factors).

Dr. McDougall has a very detailed article on the subject you can read here.

Dr. Esselstyn also comments on eggs in this Q&A.

For more information and research, check out my new book The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living. I cover studies and nutrition in detail.

Get the current meal plan now.