Meal Plans - A Couple Cooks

40 Daniel Fast Recipes & Guide

Sonja Overhiser — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 17:48:00 +0000

Need Daniel Fast recipes? Here’s a Daniel Fast food list, meal plan download, and all you need to know about this Bible-based 21 day fast.

Looking for Daniel Fast recipes, but not sure where to start? The Daniel Fast is a short-term partial fast with the goal of improving spiritual health. It’s followed by people all over the world, meant as a sort of cleanse, not a long-term diet practice. If you’re looking for recipes to start this fast, they can be hard to find! Here’s everything you need to know about the Daniel Fast: what it is, Daniel Fast foods, and all the recipes you need—including a meal plan spreadsheet!

What is the Daniel Fast?

The Daniel Fast is a Biblical-based partial fast that’s often performed for 21 days (though 10 day and 40 day fasts are also common). The goal of the fast is not to be healthier or to lose weight, but draw closer to God. It’s meant as a cleansing to enhance spiritual health through simplifying your diet.

Daniel Fast recipes are essentially a whole food plant based diet (WFPB) with no bread or sweeteners. There are two passages (Daniel 1:12 and Daniel 10:12-13) that define the diet as:

Eating only fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds
Avoiding “choice foods” such as meat, dairy and sugars
Drinking only water

Important: There don’t have to be strict parameters for the Daniel Fast, there are some gray areas (see below). Once you set on the rules for your own fast, stick to them.

Daniel Fast foods list

What can you eat on the Daniel Fast? Great question. The short definition above leaves a fair amount of questions. Here’s a few more specifics (here’s an exhaustive list):

What you can eat on the Daniel Fast

Vegetables (fresh, frozen, canned, or dried): All vegetables (including potatoes and squashes, as long as they are not fried)
Fruits (fresh, frozen, canned or dried): All fruits
Whole grains and legumes: All whole grains including brown rice, quinoa, corn, wild rice, bulgur wheat, farro, millet, oats, quinoa, popcorn, and all legumes including beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas. Also includes whole grain pasta and whole grain tortillas.
Healthy liquid oils: including olive, canola, corn, grapeseed, peanut, sunflower, safflower
Nuts & seeds: including nut butters with no added sugars

What to avoid on the Daniel Fast

Animal & dairy products including any meat, seafood, eggs, milk, and cheese
Processed foods of any kind, including crackers, chips, fries, fast food, anything with additives or preservatives, white flour, and white rice
Leavened bread meaning anything including yeast, like sandwich bread, artisan bread,
Sweeteners including sugar, stevia, maple syrup and honey
Drinks including coffee, tea, sweetened beverages, soda, and alcohol

Daniel Fast recipes

But here’s the big question: what does all this look like in practice? It certainly doesn’t need to be a big plate of carrots and celery. Daniel Fast recipes can be delicious and nourishing (though of course, the goal isn’t to be decadent!). Below are our favorite Daniel Fast recipes.

*Bonus: Meal plan download! To create a meal plan, click this Daniel Fast Recipes Spreadsheet.

Important: If you’re not used to cooking on the regular, this will involve a lot more cooking and planning than you’re used to! A key to making a meal plan work is leveraging leftovers and planning ahead. See the “10 Day Fast” tab in the spreadsheet above for examples!

Quinoa Chili

This healthy Daniel Fast chili recipe is hearty and full of flavor, featuring a trio of beans and hearty quinoa. It's robustly spiced with chili powder, and filled with hearty flavor. As a topping, add protein-rich roasted pepitas and a dollop of vegan sour cream. See also: Best Ever Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili.

Easy Sheet Pan Dinner

This easy sheet pan dinner is full of colorful vegetables and loaded with flavor! It's a plant-based dinner that roasts up everything on a sheet pan at once: lots of good-for-you veggies and chickpeas for plant based protein. Throw it all in the oven while you cook rice or quinoa. Top with a dollop of hummus, cashew cream, or another vegan sauce. Dinnertime win!

Easy Chickpea Curry

Next up in our Daniel Fast recipes: curry! This easy chickpea curry is bursting with flavor and it takes only 20 minutes to make. There's big flavor from hearty tomatoes, fresh ginger and curry powder. Serve with brown rice for a hearty meal.

Falafel Salad

Here’s a fantastic Daniel Fast recipe: Falafel Salad! Make a batch of this easy baked falafel, then layer them with crunchy veggies and top with a creamy, zingy tahini dressing. It's bursting with layered flavor and healthy vegetables.

Best Wild Rice Soup

This creamy wild rice soup has people all over the world singing it's praises: and it's fully plant based! It's full of hearty flavor from white beans, savory mushrooms, and lots of vegetables. Blended cashews make for the creamiest base: you'll swear it has cream in it.

Mexican Sweet Potatoes

These zesty roasted sweet potatoes are topped with black bean salsa and corn in a Mexican-style preparation. To make it Daniel Fast compliant, they're topped with a creamy cilantro sauce that's made of cashews.

Easy Power Bowls

Try these easy Veggie Power Bowls! This combination of whole grain, veggies, protein and a sauce makes dinnertime delicious. This one is irresistibly good, pairing the grain with tender roasted broccoli and cauliflower, crunchy raw veg, and finished off with a creamy pop of tahini sauce. (Note: Omit the sweetener from the tahini sauce.)

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Next up in our Daniel Fast recipes: spaghetti squash is a perfect way to eat your vegetables! Roast up some spaghetti squash, or make it in the Instant Pot for quick and easy prep. Top with your favorite marinara sauce: and we suggest adding some chickpeas and topping with vegan Parmesan to make it a filling (and tasty!) meal.

Easy Baked Tofu

Try this crispy Baked Tofu! You won’t be able to resist sneaking bites off the pan with this one. It’s irresistibly savory and seasoned to perfection, with a satisfying crunch to each bite. Serve with rice and Simple Sauteed Broccoli for a complete meal.

Mediterranean Chickpea Bowls

These Mediterranean chickpea bowls are quick to put together and bursting with flavor. Use the quinoa suggestion and top with our Best Tahini Sauce (omit the maple: it will taste just as good!).

Easy Kale Soup

Looking for a Daniel Fast soup recipe? Try this Kale Soup with White Beans! Hearty Tuscan kale, white beans and tomatoes float in a tangy broth flavored with oregano and fennel. It’s comforting and full of bold Mediterranean-style flavors. (Note: Omit the optional Parmesan cheese garnish.)

Split Pea Soup

This split pea soup receives rave reviews: it's cozy and full of flavor, bursting with plant based protein. Instead of using ham, it's flavored with a hint of liquid smoke. You can also make it in an Instant Pot.

Quick Hummus Bowls

This Daniel Fast recipe works as a quick lunch or healthy easy dinner: the Hummus Bowl! Layer a dollop of hummus with crunchy veggies and serve with pita wedges. It’s easily customizable and you can make it super basic or fancier with easy additions of ingredients. It takes just 5 minutes to make this Mediterranean-style meal that’s bursting with creamy, tangy, crunchy, fresh, and savory flavors.

Chickpea Soup with Rice

Here’s a cozy soup that’s made of healthy veggies that taste bright and restorative: this Chickpea Soup with Rice! It’s similar to a chicken rice soup, except it’s made with plant-powered chickpeas instead. Tender grains of rice make for a satisfying thick body to the turmeric and ginger-infused broth, with a punch of lemon zest to brighten each spoonful.

Vegan Corn Chowder

This vegan corn chowder is a fan favorite! You’ll never believe this creamy soup is vegan: it has the perfect velvety texture and is full of flavor. The secret? Blended cashews help to make the creamy body.

Favorite Vegan Lasagna

This will become your new favorite vegan lasagna: guaranteed. In fact, it’s our favorite lasagna, period! The secrets? A really good marinara sauce, hummus as the creamy layer (instead of ricotta), and a topping of cashew "Parmesan" cheese. It's a stunner: and leftovers save well in the fridge or freezer! Make sure to use whole wheat pasta for Daniel Fast.

Tofu Chopped Salad

Looking for a tasty main dish salad? Try Baked Tofu Salad! It stars this crispy, perfectly seasoned baked tofu: so irresistible you’ll find yourself sneaking crunchy bites right off the baking sheet! Toss them over fresh veggies and drizzle with carrot ginger dressing or sesame dressing, and it makes a deliciously healthy dinner you won’t want to end.

Sweet Potato Curry

Try this Sweet Potato Curry! Tender sweet potatoes and bell peppers swim in a luscious broth of coconut milk and Thai curry paste, topped with fresh cilantro and crunchy peanuts. There’s so much flavor going on, you’ll want to take another bite before you’re finished savoring the first.

Easy Refried Bean Dip

Looking for a snack or lunch on the Daniel Fast? Try this creamy refried bean dip: it's so flavorful you'll swear there's cheese in it! To use for dipping instead of chips, try zucchini or bell pepper strips.

Classic Bean Soup

Here’s a cozy bowl that’s so hearty and satisfying, you’ll never want to put your spoon down. Try this Smoky Bean Soup! Make room in your heart for this recipe, because this one dazzles. Kidney beans and navy beans float in a savory, smoky broth of fire roasted tomatoes that has just the right glossy texture. It uses canned beans, but it tastes like it’s been simmering all day. Each silky, smoky spoonful is a bit of heaven.

Superfood Pecan Energy Bars

These energy bars are a Daniel Fast splurge: they're sweet but only made of fruit! Dried Medjool dates bring sweetness: they're a variety of date that's caramely sweet and available at most grocery stores. You'll also need pecans and a food processor for this one.

Best Lentil Soup

Yes, this really is the best lentil soup! Fennel brings a smoky undertone to the tomato-y broth, and the lentils come out perfectly tender. This one is a fan favorite and everyone agrees it really does live up to its name.

Simple Chickpea Salad

Here's an easy, healthy lunch idea that you can make in 5 minutes! It's plant based and starts with a can of chickpeas. Throw these chickpeas together with cucumber and red pepper, stir with olive oil and red wine vinegar, and you've got an incredible Mediterranean-style plant based salad that tastes like it took all day. Serve with pita bread or crackers.

Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter Sauce

These sweet potatoes receive rave reviews because they've got so much flavor! Make our quick baked sweet potato or Instant Pot sweet potatoes, then top with a quick cabbage bell pepper slaw and creamy peanut butter sauce. The textures and flavors are outstanding!

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

This tortilla soup tastes like it's been simmering all day, but it takes just over 30 minutes to make! It's full of robust flavor from canned adobo sauce, tomatoes and black beans. Omit the crunchy tortilla strips if you'd like (it's just as good without) or use whole wheat tortillas.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

This Moroccan stew is full of spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, and cinnamon, which make it incredibly satisfying even though it's a pile of Daniel Fast vegetables. It's made with chickpeas and sweet potatoes, and serve with whole grain quinoa for a filling meal.

Simple Citrus Salad

Here’s a refreshingly simple side dish recipe that’s just begging to jump on your table: citrus salad! It stars all the beautiful, vibrant citrus: tangy grapefruit, navel oranges, and sweet blood oranges. They’re drizzled with a zingy dressing (omit the maple), then topped crushed pistachios and fresh mint. It’s so gorgeous that you can’t help but eat it!

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Daniel Fast snacking can be hard, but that's what these crispy chickpeas are for! They're roasted in a hot oven with lots of cumin, garlic powder and black pepper, and they come out perfectly crunchy. It's hard to stop munching on them!

Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

Here’s a savory Daniel Fast recipe to make vegetables sing: this Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry! This tasty veggie is a type of Chinese cabbage, with a satisfying crunch and a peppery kick. Cook it in a hot pan with mushrooms, garlic and a punchy sauce, and you’ll be amazed at the amount of flavor from this humble veggie. Serve this quick stir fry as a side dish or pair with rice and tofu for a full meal.

Tuscan Soup with White Beans

This Tuscan soup we sometimes call "pizza soup" because it tastes like liquid pizza! There's lots of Italian flavor from the hearty tomatoes and garlic, and it's filled with white beans for protein and spinach for added nutrients. But really: it tastes like pizza!

Easy Tofu Scramble

Looking for Daniel Fast breakfast ideas? This tofu scramble is a great savory vegan breakfast option: you'll be surprised at how much the flavor and texture of this tofu is similar to scrambled eggs. Look for organic tofu if you can!

Curry Lentil Soup

This curry lentil soup is bright and bursting with flavor! It's got lots of veggies and red lentils for lots of protein. The best part: red curry paste for big flavor: think lemongrass and ginger.

Best Oatmeal Recipe

Here's another Daniel Fast breakfast idea: our best oatmeal recipe! This one features oats that are toasted in coconut oil: they come out with a chunky texture that's unlike the traditional runny oatmeal. Serve with peanut butter for a protein-packed breakfast, and substitute sliced strawberries for the strawberry jam.

Tropical Mango Quinoa Bowl

This mango quinoa bowl is bursting with tropical flavor, from the sweet mango to the citrusy orange ginger dressing. It's beautiful and colorful, featuring quinoa and cashews for satisfying protein.

Easy Vegan Tacos

There are lots of ways to make a vegan taco, but this one is our favorite. It’s filled with hearty, spiced walnut taco meat that tastes remarkably similar to the real thing. Add refried beans, your favorite classic toppings, and dollop with a creamy, spicy sauce.

Homemade Acai Bowl

Another great Daniel Fast breakfast is this acai bowl! It's made from purple acai berries, available as a frozen pulp in most grocery stores. Combine it with pineapple, banana, and mango, then top with sliced fruits and almond butter.

Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups

These hummus and veggie rollups are perfect for Daniel Fast approved lunches, if you use whole grain tortillas or wraps! Look for wraps that are as unprocessed as possible. Then spread them with hummus and fresh veggies, roll them up, and slice into pinwheels.

Loaded Quinoa Tacos

These loaded quinoa tacos are a fan favorite, starring taco-spiced quinoa as the filling! Then they're loaded with all the toppings: sliced peppers, salsa, and greens. The best part? Tangy pickled onions add a zing and bright color. Dollop with cashew cream if you'd like, and make sure to use whole grain tortillas to be Daniel Fast approved.

Black Bean Salad

This tangy black bean salad is full of flavor and a confetti of vegetables! Multi-colored peppers add great color to the brown rice and black beans. The tangy flavor of the apple cider vinaigrette gets even better when stored in the fridge, making it perfect for lunches.

Coconut Cauliflower Curry

Last but not least in our Daniel Fast recipes, this cauliflower curry! It's always a hit, full of cauliflower, chickpeas, and sweet potatoes. A tomato-based sauce with a hint of curry powder adds savory flavor to the vegetables. Serve with brown rice for a hearty meal.

Side dish recipes

Want to accessorize some of the Daniel Fast recipes above? Here are some side dish ideas:

The BEST Kale Salad
Spinach Apple Salad (use toasted walnuts and omit maple in dressing or use Homemade Salad Dressing)
Simple Citrus Salad (omit maple in dressing)
Favorite Chopped Salad (omit Parmesan and omit maple in dressing)
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomegranate (omit maple in dressing)
Best Steamed Broccoli (omit feta: it’s just as good!)
Lemon Herb Steamed Cauliflower
Lemony Steamed Green Beans
Best Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Baked Potato Wedges
Mexican Coleslaw Recipe
Vegan Nacho Cheese
Best Roasted Vegetables
How to Cook Whole Grains

More Daniel Fast breakfast recipes

Need a few more ideas for breakfast? Here are some more Daniel Fast approved breakfast recipes:

Best Oatmeal Recipe with peanut butter & sliced strawberries
DIY Instant Oatmeal with almond butter
Easy Tofu Scramble
Tofu Scramble with Black Beans
Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Coconut Strawberry Smoothie
Green Apple Smoothie
Homemade Acai Bowl
Superfood Pecan Energy Bars
Cashew No Bake Energy Bars
Cherry Vegan Energy Bars

Whole food plant based eating

The Daniel Fast is very similar to a whole foods plant based diet. This way of eating can be a sustainable and healthy way of eating (including getting plenty of protein). Here are a few of our resources if you’re interested in eating this way in the long-term:

40 Daniel Fast Recipes (Chili & More!)

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 8

Print Recipe

Description

This healthy chili recipe is full of Daniel Fast approved ingredients and big flavor, featuring a trio of beans, quinoa, and lots of hearty spices.

Ingredients

¾ cup dry quinoa
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
2 large carrots
2 celery stalks
1 green bell pepper
2 15-ounce cans beans (black beans or kidney beans, or 1 of each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
2 28-ounce cans tomatoes (we used crushed Muir Glen-brand tomatoes)
1 ½ cup frozen corn
4 ounces chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons each garlic powder and paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper
To garnish: Vegan Sour Cream, roasted salted pepitas, hot sauce

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Place ¾ cup quinoa in a saucepan with 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low. Cover the pot, and simmer where the water is just bubbling for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the water has been completely absorbed. (Check by pulling back the quinoa with a fork to see if water remains.) Turn off the heat and let sit covered to steam for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the onion. Mince the garlic. Peel and chop the carrots. Chop the celery. Dice the green pepper. Drain and rinse the beans.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil, then saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add in garlic, carrot, celery, and green pepper, and saute about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the soy sauce and adobo sauce and cook 30 seconds more.
Add the black beans, kidney beans, Muir Glen tomatoes, 2 cups of the cooked quinoa (reserve remainder for future use), corn, and green chiles. Add enough water to obtain a liquid consistency, about 3 cups. Season with the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, and ground cumin and bay leaf. Simmer chili on low for 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, stir in the white wine vinegar and several pinches of kosher salt. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hot sauce and other chili fixings of your choice (lime, cilantro, and so forth).

Category: Main Dish
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Recipes

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Here’s a monthly Mediterranean diet meal plan! It’s got lots of recipes and inspiration, planning ideas, and a meal planning calendar download.

Need healthy food to cook this month? We’ve got answers. Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I have spent years honing our method for how to eat healthy meals every day, not just here and there. We made it our MO, wrote a cookbook called Pretty Simple Cooking, and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to healthy recipes. But how to do you do it…every day?

Here’s our new 28 day Mediterranean diet meal plan, designed to do exactly that! The goal of this plan is to help you make a sustainable practice of cooking and eating healthy food at home. In the process, we hope you’ll become inspired and find a handful of recipes you’ll make again and again. (If you like: Subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.)

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this Mediterranean diet meal plan right for you?

This Mediterranean diet meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods but want to focus on veggies. This meal plan includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and plant based / vegan recipes. If you eat exclusively vegetarian or vegan, choose from one of the following meal plan options:

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

What makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different?

One problem with standard meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offer no flexibility. Many meal plans call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep! Many also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different:

It focuses on dinner ideas. Dinner is the main meal where Alex and I cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is this: Go big on dinner. Go super simple on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas.
The approach: Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes, and to eat up leftovers.
Repeat your favorites! Offering only 3 dinner ideas encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this meal plan might not work for you – and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility for you. There might not be enough options. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. This meal plan is not for everyone, but it’s an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Run out of dinner recipes? We’ve got hundreds! Here are some places to browse:

Download: Mediterranean diet meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below. Here’s the download!

Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week, sometimes re-purposing them in new ways. For this meal plan, pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, “clean out the fridge” meals, or allowing for meals out. If you need more healthy dinner ideas for that week: pick another one of our other Dinner Recipes, or our 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan and 28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan.
Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We like to keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, things that don’t use recipes are great: like carrots and hummus, English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit. Doing this, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Dinner Ideas Week 1

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 1! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Salmon with Capers (30 minutes) + Pesto Quinoa
Mediterranean Couscous Bowls (30 minutes)
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo (25 minutes) + Easy Arugula Salad
Quick Garlicky Shrimp Couscous (15 minutes)
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. It’s an easy recipe so not much can be made in advance. (The caper butter could be, but you’ll have to re-melt it anyway.) You can make the quinoa in advance and refrigerate: wait to mix it with the pesto until the day of serving.
Couscous Bowls: You can make the tahini sauce and chickpeas in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could make the couscous in advance, but it cooks so fast it works the day of. For gluten-free, substitute quinoa or rice. You could make a big pot of quinoa and use it in the Salmon, Couscous Bowls, and Shrimp Couscous. Of you’re serving with couscous, you could make extra if you’re planning to make the shrimp.
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo: Make the sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving. Reheat and serve with fresh cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal. Make the salad while the pasta boils.
Shrimp & Couscous: This one is lightening fast. If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before. If you have leftover couscous or quinoa from the above meals, it will be even faster.

Salmon with Capers is a simple preparation with big flavor.

Dinner Ideas Week 2

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Easy Sheet Pan Dinner (45 minutes)
Lentil Sloppy Joes (30 minutes)
Nicoise Salad (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Sheet Pan Dinner: Chop the veggies in advance, then just pop them in the oven the day of serving. Or, you can roast them in advance and just reheat in a 350 degree oven until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes. You also can make the rice or quinoa in advance and reheat prior to serving.
Lentil Sloppy Joes: Cook the lentils in advance, then make the sauce the day of. Even better, make the entire filling in advance (it tastes better as it sits). If you’re serving with Pickled onions, make those in advance too.
Nicoise Salad: This classic French salad has lots of components, but they can all be made ahead! Make the hard boiled eggs, beans, potatoes, and lemon vinaigrette in advance and refrigerate until serving. Make sure to let the dressing come to room temp before serving.

The classic French Nicoise Salad is 100% Mediterranean diet.

Dinner Ideas Week 3

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Shrimp Marinara (30 minutes) + Arugula Beet Salad
Best Damn Lentil Soup or Curry Lentil Soup (45 minutes)
Best Chickpea Burgers (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Shrimp Marinara: If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before. You can use purchased marinara sauce or make the Easy Marinara in advance. For the arugula salad, use store-bought boiled beets for easiest prep.
Lentil Soup: You could make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: it saves well. (Leftovers also freeze well.) Or you could chop the veggies in advance to speed up prep.
Chickpea Burgers: These save well! Make the entire burger in advance and refrigerate or freeze until serving. Consider making a double batch. You can also make the shiitake bacon in advance. For gluten-free, serve without the bun or on a salad with tahini sauce drizzle.

These Best Chickpea Burgers are super satisfying.

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Lemon Dill Salmon (20 minutes) + BEST Steamed Broccoli
Easy Chickpea Curry (20 minutes) + Basmati Rice
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + crusty bread
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. You can make the lemon dill sauce in advance and refrigerate. The broccoli comes together quickly and you can make it while the salmon bakes.
Curry: This one is quick to put together, but you could chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate. Make the Basmati Rice in advance. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
Tuscan Soup: This soup is pretty quick to whip up, but you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate to save a few minutes on prep.

Easy Chickpea Curry is quick and full of flavor.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Here are lots of simple ideas for healthy Mediterranean diet breakfasts! Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

Peanut butter or Nut butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
Best Oatmeal or DIY Instant Oatmeal
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Cinnamon Pecan Muesli with almond milk (made in advance)
Avocado Toast with Egg
Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins or Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (made in advance)
Pesto Arugula Breakfast Sandwich
Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie
Acai Bowl

Best Oatmeal with peanut butter is a breakfast that sticks!

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Green Pea Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
Easy Stuffed Dates
Dark Chocolate Hummus or Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip & fruit
Hummus, Green Hummus or Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip & veggies
Healthy Banana Bread Muffins with peanut butter
Healthy Chocolate Snack
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
Kale Chips
Classic Tuna Salad with crackers
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Roasted almonds and dried cherries
Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)

Easy Stuffed Dates are a filling snack

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Lunches can be hard, especially if you’re eating at your desk! Again, our philosophy for lunches is: keep them very simple, without a recipe if possible. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
Simple Chickpea Salad
Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Peanut Butter Dip with green apples
Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich
Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Hummus, Green Hummus, or White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese slices
Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
Classic Tuna Salad, Tuna Salad with Egg, or Avocado Tuna Salad
Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
Seasoned Brown Lentils (with Greek yogurt or cashew cream and pita wedges)
Chickpea Salad with pita or crackers
Avocado Toast or Ricotta & White Bean Fancy Toast
Classic Egg Salad or Hard Boiled Eggs
Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Lentil Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Simple Chickpea Salad takes just 5 minutes and is perfect for desk lunches.

Did you like this Mediterranean diet meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this Mediterranean diet meal plan: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!

For more recipes like these: try our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Meal Planning Ideas

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 19:09:00 +0000

Here are all the best meal planning ideas you need! These 28 day and weekly meal plans feature loads of healthy recipes to fit many diets.

What’s for dinner? What’s for lunch? We’ve got you covered. Hi, we’re Sonja and Alex. Here at A Couple Cooks, we’ve spent years honing our method for how to eat healthy meals every day, not just here and there. We wrote cookbook called Pretty Simple Cooking, and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to healthy recipes.

Need meal planning ideas? Here are our best meal plans to help you decide what to eat, every meal of the day! There are 28 day meal plans, which use our flexible method for integrating meal planning and meal prep into your life. Each 28 day meal plan has a downloadable meal planning calendar spreadsheet to help keep you organized. We also have a few 7 day meal plans to get your feet wet.

Meal planning ideas: best meal plans for your everyday

28 Day Healthy Meal Plan

This monthly healthy meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods, but want to eat healthier and eat more vegetables! It includes fresh and healthy fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and vegan recipes.

Recipe preview:
Quick Shrimp Couscous
Loaded Quinoa Tacos
Baked Salmon with Chimichurri

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan

Here's a meal plan with all vegetarian recipes! They're filling and full of flavor, featuring plant-based protein, dairy, and eggs. They feature all the best fresh produce to provide a variety of nutrients.

Recipe preview:
Black Bean Tortilla Soup
Mediterranean Couscous Bowls
Tuscan Soup with White Beans

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

28 Day Vegan Meal Plan

This monthly vegan meal plan features recipes that are 100% vegan, using no animal products. These recipes rely fully on plant-based protein to make satisfying, filling meals!

Recipe preview:
Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle
Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls
Cauliflower and Tomato Coconut Curry

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan

This monthly meal plan is for those who eat a pescatarian diet, including vegetarian, vegan, and seafood recipes! You'll find lots of lean proteins and a good portion of plant-based recipes.

Recipe preview:
Poke Bowl
Best Chickpea Burgers
Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

Here's a monthly plant based diet meal plan that focuses on recipes only made of plants! This includes no meat or animal products. With lots of colorful veggies and plant-based proteins, it's a delicious and satisfying way to eat!

Recipe preview:
Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce
Easy Chickpea Curry
Teriyaki Vegetable Stir Fry

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

This monthly meal plan focuses on the Mediterranean diet: lots of fresh vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, and occasional dairy and seafood. It's a flexible and tasty way to eat healthy.

Recipe preview:
Salmon with Capers
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo + Easy Arugula Salad
Nicoise Salad

*Includes meal planning calendar download!

ALDI Meal Plan

Many readers have told us you love shopping at ALDI, so our latest offering is a meal plan just for that grocery story! Our 1-week ALDI meal plan provides a list of meal ideas for dinner, lunch and breakfast: all focused around ingredients you can find at your favorite grocery.

Recipe preview:
Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers
Salmon Poke Bowl
3-Bean Healthy Chili

7 Recipes for the Week Ahead

Are you stuck with no meal planning ideas? We’re here to help! There are lots of meal plans to choose from here. But if that seems overwhelming (we get that!), here's what a sample week of recipes looks like! We picked 7 recipes for a week, and shared how to meal prep them.

Recipe preview:
Easy Sheet Pan Dinner
Epic 5 Minute Tacos
Mexican Pinwheels

How to meal plan

Before you start your meal planning, here are a few key pointers to keep in mind:

Think ahead. The biggest tip we can give you: think ahead! Take a look at the week and plan it out before you start. Sunday seems to be a good day for many people, but of course customize it to your schedule.
Review make ahead instructions. Most of the best meal plans above have make-ahead info. Think about ingredients you can prep on a weekend or the night before to speed up prep.
Eating & re-purposing leftovers or pantry ingredients is key! Our top tip for how to meal plan: you don’t have to cook a new recipe every night. Alex and I make about 3 to 4 dinner recipes per week. Save leftovers from the recipes and turn them into your own creations. Or just make egg tacos or a quesadilla without a recipe.
Focus on dinner; go for simple breakfasts & lunches. Our approach is to keep it super simple for breakfast and lunch ideas. Here at A Couple Cooks, we eat oatmeal almost every day. For lunches we do boring things like veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers, or nuts and dried fruit. Or, leftovers!
Life is flexible, so meal planning ideas have to be creative. The recipes in these meal plans are just ideas. We don’t know if you’re cooking for 1 or 4, what diet you eat, what foods you like, how many nights you have time to cook, and how many leftovers you’ll have. So there’s no way for us to say exactly what to eat. Take these ideas and make them your own!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:53:00 +0000

Here’s a monthly pescatarian meal plan! It’s got lots of recipes and inspiration, planning ideas, and a meal planning calendar download.

Need healthy pescatarian recipes to cook this month? We’ve got answers. Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I have spent years devising how to eat healthy meals every day. We made it our MO, wrote a cookbook called Pretty Simple Cooking, and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to healthy recipes. But how to do you do it…every day?

Here’s our new 28 day pescatarian meal plan, designed to do exactly that! The goal of this plan is to help you make a sustainable practice of cooking and eating healthy food at home. We hope you’ll become inspired and find a handful of pescatarian recipes you’ll make again and again. (If you like: Subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.)

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this pescatarian meal plan right for you?

This pescatarian meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods but want to focus on eating lots of vegetables. This meal plan includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and plant based / vegan recipes. If you eat exclusively vegetarian or vegan, choose from one of the following:

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

What makes our pescatarian meal plan different?

A problem with many meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offer little flexibility. Many meal plans call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep! They also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our pescatarian meal plan different:

It focuses on dinner ideas. Dinner is the main meal where Alex and I cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is this: Go big on dinner. Go super simple on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas.
The approach: Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy pescatarian dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This lets you customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes, and make sure to eat up leftovers.
Repeat your favorites! Offering only 3 dinner ideas encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this pescatarian meal plan might not work for you – and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility. There might not be enough options. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. This meal plan is not for everyone, but it’s an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Run out of pescatarian dinner recipes? We’ve got hundreds! Here are some places to browse:

Download: Meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Pescatarian Meal Plan tangible, here’s a downloadable meal planning calendar! The Meal Plan spreadsheet lets you copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes you want to make for each week below. Here’s the download!

Pescatarian Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Pescatarian Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. You don’t have to cook every night! Think about making enough for leftovers and re-purposing them into new meals. For this meal plan, just pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, “clean out the fridge” meals, or allowing for meals out. If you need more pescatarian dinner ideas for that week: pick another one of our other Dinner Recipes, or go our 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan and 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan for ideas.
Fill in easy breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, things that don’t use recipes are great: like carrots and hummus, English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit. Do this and you can save your cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible! Once you’ve taken stock of what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. Try doing this on a weekend: Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Dinner Ideas Week 1

Quick Shrimp Tacos (30 minutes)
Mediterranean Couscous Bowls (30 minutes)
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo (25 minutes) + Easy Arugula Salad
5-Minute Seared Ahi Tuna (5 minutes) + leftover couscous & veggies
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

Shrimp Tacos: If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before to thaw it. Make the shrimp taco sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving.
Couscous Bowls: You can make the tahini sauce and chickpeas in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could make the couscous in advance, but it cooks so fast that it’s easy enough the day of. For gluten-free, substitute quinoa or rice. You could make a big pot of quinoa or couscous and use extras to go with the Ahi Tuna.
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo: Make the sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving. Reheat and serve with fresh cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal. Make the salad while the pasta boils.
Ahi Tuna: It literally cooks in 5 minutes! Add leftover couscous or quinoa, and then saute up any leftover vegetables, like this amazing Sauteed Spinach.

Quick Shrimp Tacos are a fan favorite!

Dinner Ideas Week 2

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Teriyaki Salmon (30 minutes) + BEST Steamed Broccoli
Lentil Sloppy Joes (30 minutes)
Nicoise Salad (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Teriyaki Salmon is easy for a quick weeknight meal!

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. Make the teriyaki sauce and reheat to room temperature before painting on the salmon. The broccoli comes together quickly and you can make it while the salmon bakes. Instead of red onion and feta, top with sesame seeds and a sprinkle of soy sauce.
Lentil Sloppy Joes: Cook the lentils in advance, then make the sauce the day of. Even better, make the entire filling in advance (it tastes better as it sits). If you’re serving with Pickled onions, make those in advance too.
Nicoise Salad: This classic French salad has lots of components, but they can all be made ahead! Make the hard boiled eggs, beans, potatoes, and lemon vinaigrette in advance and refrigerate until serving. Make sure to let the dressing come to room temp before serving.

Dinner Ideas Week 3

Poke Bowl (30 minutes)
Best Damn Lentil Soup or Curry Lentil Soup (45 minutes)
Best Chickpea Burgers (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Poke Bowl: You can whip up the entire ahi tuna 1 day prior and let it marinade overnight; just stir and add salt to taste before serving. Or, whip it up and eat it with no marinading time: it also tastes great! You can make the rice or quinoa in advance and reheat prior to serving. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
Lentil Soup: You could make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: it saves well. (Leftovers also freeze well.) Or you could chop the veggies in advance to speed up prep.
Chickpea Burgers: These save well! Make the entire burger in advance and refrigerate or freeze until serving. Consider making a double batch. You can also make the shiitake bacon in advance. For gluten-free, serve without the bun or on a salad with tahini sauce drizzle.

A Poke Bowl is always a crowd-pleaser!

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil (45 minutes)
Easy Chickpea Curry (20 minutes) + Basmati Rice
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + crusty bread
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

Shrimp Boil: If using frozen shrimp, make sure to refrigerate the night before to thaw it. You can cut the potatoes and store them in water (refrigerated) and prepare the corn in advance.
Curry: This one is quick to put together, but you could chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate. Make the Basmati Rice in advance. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
Tuscan Soup: This soup is pretty quick to whip up, but you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate to save a few minutes on prep.

Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil is always a winner.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Here are lots of simple ideas for healthy breakfasts! Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

Peanut butter or Nut butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
Best Oatmeal or DIY Instant Oatmeal (or Instant Pot Oatmeal)
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Cinnamon Pecan Muesli with almond milk (made in advance)
Avocado Toast with Egg
Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins or Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (made in advance)
Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Pesto Arugula Breakfast Sandwich
Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie
Acai Bowl

Best Oatmeal with peanut butter is a breakfast that sticks!

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Green Pea Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
Easy Stuffed Dates
Dark Chocolate Hummus or Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip & fruit
Hummus, Green Hummus or Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip & veggies
Healthy Banana Bread Muffins with peanut butter
Healthy Chocolate Snack
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
Kale Chips
Classic Tuna Salad with crackers
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Roasted almonds and dried cherries
Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)

Easy Stuffed Dates are a filling snack

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
Simple Chickpea Salad
Peanut Butter Dip with green apples
Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich
Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Hummus, Green Hummus, or White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese slices
Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
Classic Tuna Salad, Tuna Salad with Egg, or Avocado Tuna Salad
Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
Seasoned Brown Lentils (with Greek yogurt or cashew cream and pita wedges)
Avocado Toast or Ricotta & White Bean Fancy Toast
Classic Egg Salad or Hard Boiled Eggs
Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Lentil Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Chickpea Salad Sandwich is like a vegetarian version of chicken salad.

Did you like this pescatarian meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this pescatarian meal plan: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!

For more recipes like these: try our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

7 Recipes for the Week Ahead

Sonja Overhiser — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 02:31:00 +0000

Looking for recipes for the week ahead? Here’s a week’s worth of healthy recipes planned for you for every meal of the day, plus meal prep tips!

Are you stuck trying to meal plan recipes for the week? We’re here to help! There are lots of meal plans to choose from here on A Couple Cooks. But if that seems overwhelming (we get that!), Alex and I thought it could be helpful to show you a sample week of recipes. What if we picked 7 recipes for a week, and talk about how to meal prep them?

Well, we did! Below are 7 recipes for the week ahead including breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was pretty limiting, because 7 recipes is only one recipe per day! But it does illustrate a point. Here are a few caveats to understand:

Read this first!

Eating leftovers is key: especially re-purposing them! Alex and I make about 3 to 4 dinner recipes per week. The rest of the time we eat leftovers from previous meals, or turn them into something new! Save leftovers from the recipes below and turn them into your own creations: eat them straight up, or turn them into a frittata or quesadilla filling!
Go for uber simple breakfasts & lunches. Here at A Couple Cooks, we find that the easiest life rhythm for us is to go simple on breakfast and lunch. We eat oatmeal almost every day. For lunches we do boring things like veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers, or nuts and dried fruit. Or, leftovers! We’ve included a few lunch ideas below, but again, try to keep it as simple as possible.
Life is flexible, so meal planning has to be flexible and creative. The 7 recipes below are just some ideas to give you ideas. We don’t know if you’re cooking for 1 or 4, what your diet is, what foods you like, how many nights you have time to cook, and how many leftovers you’ll have left over. So there’s no way for us to say exactly what to eat. Take the ideas you like, and make it your own!

And now, 7 recipes for the week ahead!

For more recipes, go to our Healthy Meal Plans.

Easy Sheet Pan Dinner

Why we love it: This easy sheet pan dinner is full of colorful vegetables and loaded with flavor! It's a plant-based dinner that roasts up everything on a sheet pan at once: lots of good-for-you veggies and chickpeas for plant based protein. Throw it all in the oven while you cook rice or quinoa. Dinnertime win!

Meal prep tips:

-Start the week with this one! Chop all the veggies in advance and refrigerate until roasting, OR roast all of them in advance and reheat in a 350 degree oven.

-If you're serving with cashew cream (the plant based option), blend it up in advance. The cashews require an hour or so to soak, or you can soak them overnight. Or, use sour cream instead.

-Make quinoa to serve alongside: but make sure to make a double batch so that you can use it in the quinoa fried rice below! (You'll need 5 cups cooked for the fried rice.) You also can use our Instant Pot quinoa method.

-Leftovers are great for lunches!

Quinoa Fried Rice

Why we love it: This fried rice is made with quinoa instead of rice (yes, quinoa fried rice) and packed with baby greens, carrots, onion, and ginger. It's a great way to use up extra quinoa that you made to go along with the sheet pan dinner! Dollop with hot sauce and get your healthy on!

Meal prep tips:

-As noted above, make a big batch of quinoa to serve with your sheet pan dinner, and use extras for this quinoa fried rice. It short cuts the time and it's even better made with leftover quinoa!

-Chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate until making the recipe. The veggies will stay good chopped up to 3 days.

-Serve with Easy Edamame as a side dish.

Best Healthy Pizza

Why we love it: Is it Pizza Friday yet? This one starts with our thin crust pizza dough. Then it's slathered with our tangy, garlicky easy pizza sauce. Top that with caramelized peppers and onions, fresh arugula, and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese. It's SO flavorful and turns out with only ⅓ the calories of a typical delivery pizza!

Meal prep:

-Speed up the process and use storebought naan as a pizza crust instead! We bake our naan pizzas at 450 and pre-bake the crust for about 2 to 3 minutes per side before topping.

-Make the easy pizza sauce in advance. It only takes 5 minutes, but it's one less prep step!

Epic 5 Minute Tacos

Why we love it: Here's the fastest dinner recipe you'll make! This one's for the end of the week when you're feeling worn out. The star is “chorizo-style eggs”: eggs whisked with spices that magically turn meaty. Top with salsa fresca, red onion, cilantro and well: WOW. You’ve got to try these.

Meal prep tips:

-Hardly any, really! This meal is designed to be made on the spot.

-If you'd like, make Easy Quick Pickled Onions instead of using fresh red onion. They keep in the fridge for weeks and add a bright tang to tacos.

Mexican Pinwheels

Why we love it: These Mexican pinwheels work for lunch or dinner. And they're all about making a healthy meal as fast as possible. You'll chop healthy veggies, season them with cumin and chili powder, then roll them into a tortilla with a bit of hummus and a sprinkle of cheese. MAN, they are so tasty!

Meal prep:

-This is designed for lunches, but could work for dinner in a pinch, too. Make the entire recipe in advance and refrigerate until serving. It's great for lunches or healthy snacks throughout the week.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Why we love it: Essentially a meatless chicken salad sandwich using chickpeas, the chickpea salad features mashed chickpeas, celery, green onion, a little mayo, and a pop of lemon. It’s one of our top easy lunch or dinner recipes and takes only 10 minutes!

Meal prep tips:

-This is designed for lunches, but could work for dinner in a pinch, too. Make the chickpea salad in advance and refrigerate until serving. You can serve as a sandwich as you see here, in a wrap, with pita triangles, or on crackers.

Best Oatmeal

Why we love it: It's our go-to breakfast (or lunch!). This best oatmeal recipe tastes incredible, with a chewy texture instead of the standard runny oatmeal. It’s vegan so it’s a plant based way to start the day. AND topping it with peanut butter makes it full of plant based protein: you’re literally full for hours after you eat it.

Meal prep tips:

-It only takes 10 minutes to make, so make up a big batch and eat off of it all week! Leftovers are good refrigerated for 5 days.

Healthy Sheet Pan Dinner

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Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4

Print Recipe

Description

This healthy sheet pan dinner is filled with healthy vegetables and fresh flavor! Throw it all in the oven while you cook rice or quinoa. Dinnertime win!

Ingredients

1 crown broccoli (1/2 pound)
1 medium red onion
2 medium sweet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
2 medium red potatoes
1 red pepper
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning*
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lemon
Rice or quinoa (or another whole grain or seasoned lentils), to serve (optional)
Dollop of sour cream, Vegan Sour Cream, Cashew Cream, or hummus, to serve

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Adjust the oven racks for roasting 2 trays. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Optional: If serving with rice or quinoa, follow How to Cook Brown Rice, Instant Pot Brown Rice, How to Cook Quinoa or Instant Pot Quinoa.
Chop the broccoli. Cut the onion into thick slices. Dice the potatoes. Dice the red pepper.
Place all the vegetables in a large bowl. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then add them to the bowl. Mix in the olive oil, garlic powder, Old Bay, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt until everything is evenly coated.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (we prefer this to silicone baking mats because it results in crispier veggies). Spread the vegetables evenly onto each sheet.
Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes (do not stir!). Remove the pans from the oven, rotate them, and roast another 10 minutes (for 30 minutes total) until tender and lightly browned on one side.
Cut the lemon into wedges, and spritz the veggies with fresh lemon juice to taste. (Required: this step adds just the right zing! Or you can serve with lemon wedges.)
Transfer to a serving bowl or dish and serve immediately with rice or quinoa. Dollop with sour cream, cashew cream or hummus.

Notes

*If you can’t find Old Bay, you could try 1 teaspoon paprika and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt or celery salt.

Category: Main Dish
Method: Sheet Pan
Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keywords: Recipes for the week

Looking for 4-week meal plans?

If you’d like something a little more defined than the 7 recipes for the week above, we’ve got free meal plans! They also emphasize the flexible nature of cooking and planning, but they’ve got a spreadsheet where you can sketch out your ideas. If this sounds interesting to you, here are all our options:

28 Day Healthy Meal Plan: includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and vegan recipes.
28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan: includes vegetarian recipes (no meat but dairy and eggs)
28 Day Vegan Meal Plan: includes vegan recipes (no animal products, dairy or eggs)
28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan: includes vegan recipes (no animal products, dairy or eggs)

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

ALDI Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:25:00 +0000

Here’s a weekly ALDI meal plan with ideas for what to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner using ingredients from your favorite grocery!

Here at A Couple Cooks, we love providing meal plans to help you get healthy meals on the table. We’ve amassed quite a collection, from vegetarian to pescatarian to vegan to Mediterranean. Many of you have told us you love shopping at ALDI, so our latest offering is a meal plan just for that grocery story! Our 1-week ALDI meal plan provides a list of meal ideas for dinner, lunch and breakfast: all focused around ingredients you can find at your favorite grocery.

Here are a few tips for navigating this ALDI Meal Plan:

Pick as many as you like from the 6 dinner options. You don’t need to make all six! Alex and I don’t cook a new meal every night of the week (see the next bullet). Pick your favorites and base it around your schedule of time for cooking for the week.
Eat leftovers and repurpose them into new meals. All of the meals below feed 4, but you’ll likely have leftovers. When you do, eat them straight or repurpose them in new ways (see our example in Quinoa Fried Rice below).
Keep lunches and breakfasts and simple: alternate between 2 ideas. We provided 2 breakfast and lunch ideas because Alex and I like to keep things uber simple: better to save your cooking energy for dinners! If you’d like more inspiration, head to our Easy Breakfast Ideas or Healthy Lunch Ideas.

ALDI Meal Plan (1 week)

6 dinner ideas, 2 lunch ideas, and 2 breakfast ideas for the week ahead!

10-Minute Baked Salmon

First up in our ALDI meal plan: dinners! This baked salmon is so quick: just 10 minutes in the oven makes a moist and flaky piece of salmon. It's paired with chimichurri, a bright green parsley and garlic sauce that originates from Argentina and Uruguay. It comes out a beautiful neon green and it tastes garlicky and fresh. ALDI has a wide range of salmon options: look for the Fresh Atlantic Salmon Side.

Serve with: Pick from sauteed broccoli, baked asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed spinach, steamed green beans, roasted potatoes (listed in the salmon recipe), or kale salad

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

Next up: Mediterranean stuffed peppers! Multi-colored bell peppers are sliced open and roasted, then stuffed with the flavors of the Mediterranean. Roasting peppers is quite easy: it takes just 30 minutes and you can do it while making the filling. The filling features quinoa, pistachios, spices, and feta cheese: all available at ALDI!

Tip: Make more quinoa and use it for the salmon poke bowl, quinoa tacos, or veggie fried rice below.

Serve with: Tossed salad, sauteed spinach or steamed cauliflower

Loaded Quinoa Tacos

Ready for another delicious and easy dinner idea? Loaded quinoa tacos! It’s a delicious plant based and vegetarian taco recipe that takes only 30 minutes to make! The quinoa taco “meat” is topped with a quick bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and pickled onions. One word: magic. You can get every single ingredient in this recipe at ALDI, making it super accessible and affordable.

Serve with: ALDI chips & salsa

Salmon Poke Bowl

Hawaiian poke bowls feature fish, veggies, rice, and savory sauces. Classic poke bowls traditionally feature raw ahi tuna, but here's a tasty spin: a seared salmon poke bowl! You can get the salmon and all of the ingredients at ALDI, and the salmon is wild caught using their sustainable seafood practices. The veggies are all seasoned differently and combine into a healthy and easy dinner recipe.

3-Bean Healthy Chili

Here's an insanely-tasty healthy chili recipe! It’s got a savory, hearty flavor even though it’s meatless. And it’s full of good-for-you ingredients; a trio of protein-packed beans, quinoa, and loads of spices. You can get all the ingredients at ALDI: and it makes a huge pot!

Tip: Use leftovers for lunches throughout the week, or no-cook dinners.

Serve with: Vegan Cornbread or Best Cornbread

Veggie Packed Quinoa Fried Rice

Here's how to use up that leftover quinoa at the end of the week in an easy meal: quinoa fried rice! It's got the appearance of your favorite takeout. But instead, it’s a healthy spin on fried rice featuring quinoa to pack in the plant-based protein! It's loaded with vegetables and a mix of baby greens: all available at ALDI.

Serve with: Frozen edamame, sauteed broccoli (with soy sauce and sesame seeds)

Mexican Pinwheel Recipe

Next in our ALDI meal plan: lunch ideas! This Mexican pinwheel recipe is all about making a healthy lunch as fast as possible. The pinwheels are packed with healthy veggies rolled into a tortilla with a bit of hummus: and MAN, they are so tasty! You can get all of the ingredients for this recipe at ALDI they're perfect for office or school lunches.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

This chickpea salad sandwich is one of our top healthy lunch ideas: a vegetarian version of a chicken salad sandwich made using chickpeas! The garbanzo beans are smashed and mixed with a touch of mayo, lemon juice, celery and green onions to make the most savory, delicious spread. Serve it as a sandwich or eat it with ALDI crackers or pita chips.

Best Oatmeal

This toasted oatmeal recipe is a fan favorite easy breakfast idea: because it tastes incredible and only requires a bit of time! Toasting the oats before making the oatmeal gives them a nutty flavor: you’ll never be able to go back to your old oatmeal again! Our favorite topping: all natural ALDI peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter. It will keep you full all day long!

Almond Butter Toast

It’s easy to forget about the simplest of ideas when you’re in a rush in the morning. Nut butters are perfect for breakfast and lunch because they are packed with protein and super filling! Grab some ALDI bread and nut butter like almond, peanut or cashew butter. Then top with any berries or sliced fruit you have on hand: and a little drizzle of maple syrup makes it extra special.

ALDI Baked Salmon

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4

Print Recipe

Description

Short on time? This 10-minute baked salmon recipe is an ultra quick dinner, paired with a bright green chimichurri sauce.

Ingredients

For the salmon*

1 1/2 pounds Fresh Atlantic Salmon Side
Kosher salt
Stonemill Ground Black Pepper

For the chimichurri

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, tightly packed (about 1 large bunch)
1 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, tightly packed (about 1 large bunch)
2 green onions (tops only)
1 garlic clove
½ cup SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon SimplyNature Oregano
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Several grinds Stonemill Ground Black Pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450F. While the oven preheats, let the salmon sit at room temperature.
Generously sprinkle the salmon with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the salmon for about 10 minutes until flaky and just cooked; test it with a fork to assess doneness. Watch the salmon to make sure not to overcook; the timing can vary based on the thickness of the salmon and variations between ovens.
Meanwhile, make the chimichurri: Slice off the tops of the green onions. In a blender, blend all ingredients until a smooth sauce forms, (if necessary, stop and mix the ingredients to allow them to fully blend).
To serve, drizzle the salmon with chimichurri, and serve with potatoes.

Notes

*For an optional side dish, serve the salmon with roasted red potatoes: Preheat the oven to 450F. Slice 2 pounds red potatoes into thin rounds. In a large bowl, mix them with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the potatoes in an even layer on top. Roast the potatoes for about 35 minutes total, until golden brown, stirring halfway through.

Category: Main Dish
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American

Keywords: ALDI Meal Plan

More meal plan resources

Outside of this ALDI meal plan, here are a few more resources for meal planning:

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 19:30:45 +0000

Looking to eat a plant based diet but not sure where to start? Here’s a 28 day plant based diet meal plan with a meal planning calendar.

Are you looking to start eating a plant based diet, but don’t know where to start? Ten years ago, Alex and I were there too! Since then, we’ve written the cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious and Food & Wine. We’ve cooked everywhere from our home kitchen to the TODAY Show with the message that eating mostly plants can be “pretty simple”.

Eating a mostly plant based diet is all about finding a sustainable practice. The goal of this plant based diet meal plan is to help you find a handful of favorite easy plant based recipes that you can make again and again! If you’d like, subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

What is a plant based diet?

The term plant based diet or whole food plant based (WFPB) diet have been gaining in popularity. But what do they actually mean? Does it mean you never eat any animal products, like a vegan diet, or consume animal products in moderation? There’s a lot of contention about these terms.

Many sources agree a plant based diet is eating mostly plant based food with little to no animal products. But some sources would argue it is a diet of only plants, equating it with a vegan diet. Read more here: Plant Based Diet for Beginners

This plant based diet meal plan includes only vegan recipes, but you can determine the level of animal products that’s right for you. We encourage you to decide what plant based means for you! Alex and I eat a mostly plant based diet, which we define as eating mostly vegetarian and vegan recipes, and seafood on occasion. If you’d like to include vegetarian or seafood recipes in your meal plan, check out the options in our 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan and 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan.

Is this plant based diet meal plan right for you?

This plant based diet meal plan is right for you if you’re looking to eat more plants! The recipes in this meal plan are easy vegan recipes. As noted above, feel free to work in vegetarian or seafood recipes as well based on how you’d like to define plant based. For a vegetarian meal plan, head to 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan. If you also eat fish, go to our Healthy Meal Plan, Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan or Pescatarian Meal Plan.

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

The problem with meal planning calendars

For Alex and me, one problem with meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offer no flexibility. Most meal plans we’ve found call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep that they call for! They also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our plant based diet meal plan different:

Spotlight dinner ideas. For us, dinner is our main meal where we cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is to go big on dinner, and then do super simple things for breakfast and lunch. That’s what works for us! At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas. You can use these, or find others that fit your tastes.
Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes. It also encourages eating up leftovers.
Repeats. Since we only offer 3 dinner ideas, this also encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this meal plan might not work for you–and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility for you and not motivate you to make the recipes. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. We know this meal plan is not for everyone, but this is an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Related: Looking for workout plans too? Try our 28 Day Home Workout Plan.

Download: Plant based diet meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Plant Based Diet Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Plant Based Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below. Here’s the download!

Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Plant Based Diet Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Confession: Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week too, sometimes repurposing them in new ways. For this meal plan, pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, doing “clean out the fridge” meals without recipes, and allow for meals out. If you end up needing more healthy dinner ideas for that week, skip ahead to the next week and try one. (Or, pick one of our other Dinner Recipes!)
Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We focus on dinner as the main daily meal, so we keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, we love things that don’t use recipes (like English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit). That way, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Plant Based Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what your week holds and what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 1

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 1! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (15 minutes)
Best Teriyaki Vegetable Stir Fry (30 minutes)
Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce (30 minutes)
Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup (35 minutes)
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

For the Mediterranean veggie sandwich, you can use either the Herbed White Bean Dip or purchased hummus. For fully plant based, use Kalamata olives instead of feta cheese. You also may want to serve with a green salad, like this Best Kale Salad or Strawberry Salad.
For the Teriyaki Stir Fry, it’s fairly simple to make the day of. You can chop the vegetables, tempeh, and ginger in advance and refrigerate: this would make for very quick prep. You could also make the rice in advance; see the reheating rice instructions in Week 2. The teriyaki sauce takes only 5 minutes to make, so it’s easiest made day of; if you make in advance and refrigerate, let it come to room temperature before serving (you may even need to add a small splash of water since it thickens as it sits.).
For the Chickpeas Couscous Bowls, you can make the Lemon Tahini Sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. You could also make the couscous in advance, but since it takes only 5 minutes, it’s not a large time saver.
The Tortilla Soup takes about 20 minutes of hands on time. If desired, you can make the tortilla strips in advance or use crushed tortilla chips (just find chips that are minimally processed, with a few ingredients like corn, oil and salt). You can make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: the flavor gets better over time!

Mexican Sweet Potatoes

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 2

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Weeknight Chickpea Curry (20 minutes)
Mexican Sweet Potatoes (30 minutes)
Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Curry, you can make the chickpeas in advance, though they only take 20 minutes! If serving with rice, you can make the basmati rice in advance and reheat. Tip: To reheat the rice: place the rice in a saucepan with a splash of water and use a fork to break up any clumps. Heat over low heat until warmed through and moist.
The Mexican Sweet Potatoes, make the Creamy Cilantro Sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving: make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. You could even use this sauce for the Cauliflower Tacos too! If desired you could roast the sweet potatoes in advance and refrigerate; then reheat in a 400F oven until warm before serving.
For the Crispy Cauliflower Tacos, these require a bit more time but it’s well worth it! They are one of our fan favorite recipes and perfect for showing how delicious plant based eating can be! You can make the Yum Yum sauce in advance (with vegan mayo for fully plant based), or use leftover Creamy Cilantro Sauce from the Mexican sweet potatoes above. Because the cauliflower takes the most time (about 40 minutes), you can also prepare that in advance and reheat the day of; reheating instructions are in the recipe. We’ve had it both ways and it’s delicious!

Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 3

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 3! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Greek Nachos with Cilantro Drizzle (25 minutes)
Quick Cuban Black Beans (35 minutes)
Tomato Coconut Cauliflower Curry (35 minutes, plus rice)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Nachos, make the pita chips and Creamy Cilantro Sauce (or use leftovers from Week 2 above!). You can also use storebought pita chips as a time saver.
For the Cuban black beans, you could make the beans in advance and refrigerate until serving: the flavor will just get better over time! Use the vegan option of olive oil: or if you’re doing some vegetarian, use the butter (you don’t regret it).
For the Curry, you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate until serving: in that case make the curry within about a day or two. Follow the rice and quinoa prep instructions from Week 3.

Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 4

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa (25 minutes)
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes)
Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich (40 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

The Tacos are one of our simplest recipes: you simmer the beans in the time it takes to make the pineapple salsa. If desired, you can make the salsa in advance and slice up the garnishes. For a filling side, serve with rice (or to look fancy, turmeric rice).
For the Soup, you can cut fennel and chard in advance and refrigerate until making the soup. In this case, we’d make the soup within a day or two of cutting the vegetables. While the soup simmers, you can whisk up the dressing for the salad. We like using boxed salad greens for easy prep.
For the Jackfruit BBQ, this one is a little outside the box but SO delicious! You’ll be surprised at how much jackfruit tastes like pulled pork. You could make the jackfruit filling in advance and refrigerate until serving; then reheat in a skillet. Also you could chop the veggies for the vinegar coleslaw in advance: then add the dressing right before serving. Our best creamy coleslaw would also be fantastic using vegan mayo.

Healthy Granola Recipe

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Alex and I do really, really simple breakfasts that don’t require a recipe so we don’t have to think too hard in the morning. This frees us up to spend most of our creative energy on dinner. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

Peanut butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
Avocado toast
Best Oatmeal with PB&J
Healthy Granola Recipe with almond milk
DIY Instant Oatmeal
Toasted Oatmeal
Cinnamon Pecan Muesli (made in advance)
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (made in advance)
Turmeric Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
Glowing Green Apple Smoothie
Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie
Homemade Acai Bowl
Healthy Banana Bread Muffins — if you plan to allow some eggs, these banana bread muffins are fan favorites and are easily made in advance! You can also freeze them.

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Green Pea Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
Dark Chocolate Hummus Recipe & fruit
Hummus or Glowing Green Hummus & veggies
Pecan Snack Bars or Cashew Snack Bars
Kale Chips
A handful of almonds and dried cherries or apricots
Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
See also: Vegan Snacks, Healthy Snack Recipes

Easy Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Lunches can be hard, especially if you’re eating at your desk! Again, Alex and my philosophy for lunches are to keep them super, super simple, without a recipe if possible. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
Peanut butter (unsweetened) on multigrain toast or English muffin
Avocado toast
Simple Chickpea Salad
Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Easy Stuffed Dates (use the nut butter option)
Hummus, Green Hummus, or Garlic Herb White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers
Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
Easy Chickpea Salad Sandwich (or use curried chickpea salad)
Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups
Vegan Banh Mi Sandwiches
Chickpea Salad with pita or crackers
Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup and multigrain bread
Easy Marinated Tofu (make up a batch and refrigerate; consider serving with brown rice)
See also: Vegan Lunch Ideas

Did you like this plant based diet meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this plant based diet meal plan: let us know in the comments below. And let us know if you have any questions!

If you enjoyed the recipes in this plan, you might enjoy our healthy cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Healthy Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 13:00:19 +0000

Looking for a healthy weekly meal plan? Here’s a 28 day healthy meal plan with recipes for healthy meals throughout the week.

Are you overwhelmed by what healthy food to cook but don’t know where to start? Alex and I were there when we first got married! But over the last 10 plus years, we’ve invested a huge amount of time and energy into a system of eating healthy meals that actually works. Since then, we’ve become authors of the cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018 and best vegetarian cookbooks. We’ve cooked everywhere from our home kitchen to the TODAY Show with the message that healthy eating can be “pretty simple.”

Healthy eating is more than just making a recipe here and there: it’s finding a sustainable practice of healthy meals in the long term. The goal of this healthy weekly meal plan is to help you find a handful of favorite healthy recipes that you can make again and again! If you’d like, subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this healthy meal plan right for you?

This healthy meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods, but want to eat healthier and eat more vegetables! This meal plan includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and vegan recipes.

This 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan is our main meal plan. If you eat exclusively vegetarian and vegan, choose from one of the following meal plan options:

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

The problem with meal planning calendars

For Alex and me, the problem with meal planning calendars and healthy weekly meal plans is that they offer no flexibility. Most meal plans we’ve found call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep that they call for! They also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our healthy meal plan different:

Spotlight dinner ideas. For us, dinner is our main meal where we cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is to go big on dinner, and then do super simple things for breakfast and lunch. That’s what works for us! At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas. You can use these, or find others that fit your tastes.
Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy meals for dinner. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes. It also encourages eating up leftovers.
Repeats. Since we only offer 3 dinner ideas, this also encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this healthy weekly meal plan might not work for you–and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility for you and not motivate you to make the recipes. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. (If you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, you’ll want to use our 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan and 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan). We know healthy meal plans are not for everyone, but this is an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Run out of dinner recipes? We’ve got hundreds! Here are some places to browse:

Related: Looking for workout plans too? Try our 28 Day Home Workout Plan.

Download: Healthy meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Healthy Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below. Here’s the download!

Healthy Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Healthy Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Confession: Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week too, sometimes re-purposing them in new ways. For this meal plan, pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, doing “clean out the fridge” meals without recipes, and allow for meals out. If you end up needing more healthy meals for that week, skip ahead to the next week and try one. (Or, pick one of our other Dinner Recipes!)
Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We focus on dinner as the main daily meal, so we keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, we love things that don’t use recipes (like English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit). That way, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what your week holds and what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Veggie Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 1

Quick Garlicky Shrimp Couscous (15 minutes)
15 Minute Gnocchi with Romesco (15 minutes) + green salad with Super Simple Salad Dressing
Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup (35 minutes)
Veggie Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice (40 minutes*)
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

The Shrimp Couscous doesn’t require any advanced prep: it’s super quick!
For the Gnocchi, the Romesco sauce can be prepared in advance. You also may want to serve with a green salad; the vinaigrette is perfect to mix up in advance. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
The Tortilla Soup takes about 20 minutes of hands on time. If desired, you can make the tortilla strips in advance or use crushed tortilla chips (just find chips that are minimally processed, with a few ingredients like corn, oil and salt). You can make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: the flavor gets better over time!
The Veggie Burrito bowl has a few components that are easy to make ahead: the peppers and onions can be sliced and cooked in advance. For the sweet potatoes, you could also bake in advance and reheat. If you can’t find cauliflower rice frozen, you can make it from raw cauliflower: you could also cook that in advance and reheat. The eggs are best to make the day of. While it takes a while to prepare the components, this meal is SO delicious and great for leftovers!

Loaded Quinoa Tacos

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 2

Loaded Quinoa Tacos (30 minutes)
Baked Salmon with Chimichurri Sauce (40 minutes*)
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + green salad with Super Simple Salad Dressing or Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Tacos, you can make the quinoa filling in advance, and then just reheat the filling and assemble when serving, which would make it a 15 minute meal! If you’re serving with pickled red onions, mix those up in advance too: they take 5 minutes to make and you can store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
The Salmon is very simple to prepare and bakes in just 10 minutes! If you’re serving with the chimichurri sauce, it can easily be made in advance and refrigerated until serving. If you’d like to serve with the roasted potato rounds, they can be made ahead and reheated in the oven with the salmon.
For the Soup, you can slice the fennel and chard in advance and refrigerate until making the soup; in this case we’d make the soup within a day or two of cutting the vegetables. While the soup simmers, you can whisk up the dressing for the salad. We like using boxed salad greens for easy prep.

Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 3

Chickpea Curry with Rice (20 minutes) + rice or quinoa
Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta (30 minutes) + leftover rice or quinoa, couscous from Week 1, or bread
Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle (35 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Curry, you can make the chickpeas in advance (though they’re seriously fast to make). If serving with rice, you can make the basmati rice in advance (or in an Instant Pot) and reheat. Tip: To reheat the rice: place the rice in a saucepan with a splash of water and use a fork to break up any clumps. Heat over low heat until warmed through and moist.
For the Shrimp, if desired you could mince and dice the onion and garlic prior to serving and refrigerate. Serve with rice or quinoa (see above); you could use leftovers if you have them. Or make the Quick Couscous from Week 1, or serve with pita bread.
from Week 1.
For the Thai Sweet Potatoes, you can make the peanut sauce in advance. You could also slice the veggies for the slaw in advance and then mix it with the lime and seasoning prior to serving. If desired you can cook the sweet potatoes in advance and reheat: you can bake them or use an Instant Pot and the cook time is around 35 minutes.

Baked Salmon with Chimichurri Sauce

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

Greek Quesadillas (15 minutes)
Salmon en Papillote with Roasted Potatoes (40 minutes)
Cauliflower and Tomato Coconut Curry (35 minutes, plus rice)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

The Quesadillas require no advanced prep at all!
The Salmon en Papillote bakes for just about 10 minutes; the potatoes are what increase the prep time. You could roast the potatoes in advance and reheat in the oven prior to serving with the salmon.
For the Curry, you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate until serving: in that case make the curry within about a day or two. Follow the rice and quinoa prep instructions from Week 3.

Cinnamon Pecan Muesli

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Alex and I do really, really simple breakfasts that don’t require a recipe so we don’t have to think too hard in the morning. This frees us up to spend most of our creative energy on dinner. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet (or if you prefer, don’t use the spreadsheet at all). We’ve offered a variety of healthy meals to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

PB toast: Peanut butter (unsweetened) or Homemade Nut Butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
Oatmeal: Best Oatmeal with PB&J or DIY Instant Oatmeal
Yogurt: Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Muesli or granola: Cinnamon Pecan Muesli or Healthy Granola
Avocado toast: Avocado Toast with Egg (sunny side up egg is quicker)
Muffins: Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, or Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (made in advance)
Mini Frittatas: Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Sandwiches: 5-Minute Pesto Breakfast Sandwich
Smoothies: Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these ideas eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Weekly Meal Plan spreadsheet (or if you prefer, don’t use the spreadsheet at all for snacks).

https://www.acouplecooks.com/homemade-crackers/Fruit & dip: Dark Chocolate Hummus, Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip
Veggies & dip: Hummus, Glowing Green Hummus, or Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
Crackers & dip: Green Pea Dip, Classic Tuna Salad, Homemade Crackers
Muffins: Healthy Banana Bread Muffins
Yogurt: Healthy Chocolate Snack, Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Crispy chickpeas or beans: Crispy Roasted Chickpeas, Crispy Roasted Black Beans
Kale chips: Kale Chips
Nuts & fruit: A handful of almonds and dried cherries
Popcorn: Homemade or purchased without flavoring
See also: Vegan Snacks, Healthy Snack Recipes

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
PB toast: Peanut butter (unsweetened) on multigrain toast or English muffin
Salads: Simple Chickpea Salad, Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Vegan Italian Pasta Salad, Lentil Salad, Classic Egg Salad
Beans: Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Fruit & dip: Peanut Butter Dip with green apples
Mini frittatas: Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Veggies & dip: Hummus, Green Hummus, or White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese
Sandwiches: Egg Salad Sandwich, Chickpea Salad Sandwich, Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich, Classic TunaSalad, Tuna Salad with Egg, Avocado Tuna Salad, or Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Toasts: Ricotta & White Bean Toasts, Avocado Toast
Rollups: Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups, Mexican Pinwheels
Sides: Easy Stuffed Dates, Perfect Boiled Eggs
Crackers & dip: Famous Tomato Dip,
Lentils: Seasoned Brown Lentils with Greek yogurt or cashew cream and pita wedges
Soups: Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup
Any of the Snacks above

Did you like this healthy meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on healthy meal plans: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!

If you enjoyed the recipes in this healthy weekly meal plan, you might enjoy our healthy cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking! And remember, if you’ve used this one a few times, we have a few others where you can find recipe favorites:

28 Day Healthy Meal Plan

Looking for a healthy weekly meal plan? Here’s a 28 day healthy meal plan with recipes for healthy meals throughout the week.

Baked Salmon Recipe

Short on time? This 10-minute baked salmon recipe is an ultra quick dinner, paired with a bright green chimichurri sauce.

Loaded Quinoa Tacos

These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta!

Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter Sauce

These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe!

Black Bean Tortilla Soup

This vegetarian tortilla soup is so flavorful and quick! It’s an easy healthy soup recipe from the popular Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook.

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Vegan Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 13:00:18 +0000

Looking for a vegan weekly meal plan? Here’s a 28 day vegan meal plan with planning ideas and a meal planning calendar with food to cook.

Are you overwhelmed by what healthy food to cook but don’t know where to start? Alex and I were there too! Over the last 10 years, we’ve invested a huge amount of time and energy into a system of eating healthy that actually works. Since then, we’ve written the cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018 and best vegetarian cookbooks (with plenty of vegan options!). We’ve cooked everywhere from our home kitchen to the TODAY Show with the message that healthy eating can be “pretty simple”.

Eating healthy is all about finding a sustainable practice. The goal of this vegan weekly meal plan is to help you find a handful of favorite easy vegan recipes that you can make again and again! If you’d like, subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this vegan meal plan right for you?

This vegan meal plan is right for you if you eat a vegan diet! The recipes in this vegan meal plan are easy vegan recipes. For more great vegan recipes, see our Plant Based Diet Meal Plan. For a vegetarian meal plan, head to Vegetarian Meal Plan. If you also eat fish, go to our Healthy Meal Plan, Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan or Pescatarian Meal Plan.

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

The problem with meal planning calendars

Here’s what makes our vegan meal plan different:

Spotlight dinner ideas. For us, dinner is our main meal where we cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is to go big on dinner, and then do super simple things for breakfast and lunch. That’s what works for us! At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas. You can use these, or find others that fit your tastes.
Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes. It also encourages eating up leftovers.
Repeats. Since we only offer 3 dinner ideas, this also encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

Related: Looking for workout plans too? Try our 28 Day Home Workout Plan.

Download: Vegan meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Vegan Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Vegan Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below. Here’s the download!

Vegan Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Vegan Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Confession: Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week too, sometimes repurposing them in new ways. For this meal plan, pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, doing “clean out the fridge” meals without recipes, and allow for meals out. If you end up needing more healthy dinner ideas for that week, skip ahead to the next week and try one. (Or, pick one of our other Dinner Recipes!)
Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We focus on dinner as the main daily meal, so we keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, we love things that don’t use recipes (like English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit). That way, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Vegan Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what your week holds and what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 1

15 Minute Gnocchi with Romesco (15 minutes)
Best Teriyaki Vegetable Stir Fry (30 minutes)
Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls (30 minutes)
Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup (35 minutes)
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

For the Gnocchi, the Romesco sauce can be prepared in advance. You also may want to serve with a green salad; the vinaigrette is perfect to mix up in advance. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
For the Teriyaki Stir Fry, it’s fairly simple to make the day of. You can chop the vegetables, tempeh, and ginger in advance and refrigerate: this would make for very quick prep. You could also make the rice in advance; see the reheating rice instructions in Week 2. The teriyaki sauce takes only 5 minutes to make, so it’s easiest made day of; if you make in advance and refrigerate, let it come to room temperature before serving (you may even need to add a small splash of water since it thickens as it sits.).
For the Raw Falafel Buddha Bowls, you can make the Lemon Tahini Sauce in advance. You can also make the raw falafels and refrigerate them until serving; they keep well in the refrigerator for several days.
The Tortilla Soup takes about 20 minutes of hands on time. If desired, you can make the tortilla strips in advance or use crushed tortilla chips (just find chips that are minimally processed, with a few ingredients like corn, oil and salt). You can make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: the flavor gets better over time!

Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 2

Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens (30 minutes)
Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce (30 minutes)
Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle (35 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Curry, you can make the lentils in advance, then saute the greens and add the sauce the day of serving. If serving with rice, you can make the rice in advance and reheat. (Here’s a quick way to make brown rice, or try it in an Instant Pot.) Tip: To reheat the rice: place the rice in a saucepan with a splash of water and use a fork to break up any clumps. Heat over low heat until warmed through and moist. You can also serve with quinoa cooked on the stovetop or cooked in an Instant Pot. You can make the quinoa in advance or the day of; it takes about 25 minutes overall and requires no special reheating instructions.
The Couscous Bowls, make the lemon tahini sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving: make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. You could also make the couscous in advance, but since it takes only 5 minutes, it’s not a large time saver.
For the Thai Sweet Potatoes, you can make the peanut sauce in advance. You could also slice the veggies for the slaw in advance and then mix it with the lime and seasoning prior to serving. If desired you can cook the sweet potatoes in advance and reheat: you can bake them or use an Instant Pot and the cook time is around 35 minutes.

Easy Vegan Korean Ramen

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 3

Greek Nachos with Cilantro Drizzle (25 minutes)
Easy Vegan Korean Ramen (45 minutes)
Cauliflower and Tomato Coconut Curry (35 minutes, plus rice)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Nachos, make the Cilantro Drizzle and Pita Chips in advance; you can also use storebought pita chips as a time saver.
For the Ramen, make the pickled cucumbers in advance and refrigerate until serving; you can also chop the vegetables in advance. This one takes a bit longer than the other recipes but the flavor is well worth it!
For the Curry, you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate until serving: in that case make the curry within about a day or two. Follow the rice and quinoa prep instructions from Week 3.

BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa (25 minutes)
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + Salad with Super Simple Salad Dressing or Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew (45 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

The Tacos are one of our simplest recipes: you simmer the beans in the time it takes to make the pineapple salsa. If desired, you can make the salsa in advance and slice up the garnishes. For a filling side, serve with rice (or to look fancy, turmeric rice).
For the Soup, you can slice the fennel and chard in advance and refrigerate until making the soup; in this case we’d make the soup within a day or two of cutting the vegetables. While the soup simmers, you can whisk up the dressing for the salad. We like using boxed salad greens for easy prep.
For the Stew, you can cut the veggies in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could also measure out the spices and mix them together in a container. See the rice and quinoa instructions in Week 2.

Cinnamon Pecan Muesli

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Peanut butter (unsweetened) on toast or English muffin
Avocado toast
Best Oatmeal with PB&J
DIY Instant Oatmeal
Toasted Oatmeal
Cinnamon Pecan Muesli (made in advance)
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (made in advance)
Turmeric Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
Glowing Green Apple Smoothie
Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Healthy Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Very Verde Cilantro Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
Dark Chocolate Hummus Recipe & fruit
Hummus or Glowing Green Hummus & veggies
Pecan Snack Bars or Cashew Snack Bars
Kale Chips
A handful of almonds and dried cherries or apricots
Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
See also: Vegan Snacks, Healthy Snack Recipes

Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
Peanut butter (unsweetened) on toast or English muffin
Simple Chickpea Salad
Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Easy Stuffed Dates (use the nut butter option)
Hummus, Green Hummus, or Garlic Herb White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers
Avocado toast
Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
Easy Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
Seasoned Brown Lentils (with cashew cream and pita wedges)
Vegan Banh Mi Sandwiches
Spicy Vegan Lettuce Wraps
Chickpea Salad with pita or crackers
Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup and multigrain bread
Easy Marinated Tofu (make up a batch and refrigerate; consider serving with brown rice)
See also: Vegan Lunch Ideas

Did you like this vegan meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this vegan meal plan: let us know in the comments below. And let us know if you have any questions!

If you enjoyed the recipes in this plan, you might enjoy our healthy cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 13:00:17 +0000

Looking for a vegetarian weekly meal plan? Here’s a 28 day vegetarian meal plan with planning ideas and a meal planning calendar with food to cook.

Are you overwhelmed by what healthy food to cook but don’t know where to start? Alex and I were there too! Over the last 10 years, we’ve invested a huge amount of time and energy into a system of eating healthy that actually works. Since then, we’ve written the cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018 and best vegetarian cookbooks. We’ve cooked everywhere from our home kitchen to the TODAY Show with the message that healthy eating can be “pretty simple”.

Eating healthy is all about finding a sustainable practice. The goal of this vegetarian weekly meal plan is to help you find a handful of favorite healthy vegetarian recipes that you can make again and again! If you’d like, subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this vegetarian meal plan right for you?

This vegetarian meal plan is right for you if you eat vegetarian! The recipes in this vegetarian meal plan include vegetarian and vegan recipes. For a fully vegan meal plan, head to 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan or Plant Based Diet Meal Plan. If you also eat fish, go to our Healthy Meal Plan, Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan or Pescatarian Meal Plan.

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

The problem with meal planning calendars

Here’s what makes our vegetarian meal plan different:

Spotlight dinner ideas. For us, dinner is our main meal where we cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is to go big on dinner, and then do super simple things for breakfast and lunch. That’s what works for us! At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas. You can use these, or find others that fit your tastes.
Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes. It also encourages eating up leftovers.
Repeats. Since we only offer 3 dinner ideas, this also encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this meal plan might not work for you–and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility for you and not motivate you to make the recipes. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. (If you eat a fully vegan diet, you’ll want to use our 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan). We know this meal plan is not for everyone, but this is an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Related: Looking for workout plans too? Try our 28 Day Home Workout Plan.

Download: Vegetarian meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Vegetarian Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below. Here’s the download!

Vegetarian Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Vegetarian Meal Plan!

Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Confession: Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week too, sometimes repurposing them in new ways. For this meal plan, pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, doing “clean out the fridge” meals without recipes, and allow for meals out. If you end up needing more healthy dinner ideas for that week, skip ahead to the next week and try one. (Or, pick one of our other Dinner Recipes!)
Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We focus on dinner as the main daily meal, so we keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, we love things that don’t use recipes (like English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit). That way, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
Copy the links into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what your week holds and what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 1

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 1! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

15 Minute Gnocchi with Romesco (15 minutes)
Thai Curry Naan Pizza (25 minutes)
Veggie Burrito Bowl with Cauliflower Rice (40 minutes*)
Chipotle Black Bean Tortilla Soup (35 minutes)
Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

For the Gnocchi, the Romesco sauce can be prepared in advance. You also may want to serve with a green salad; the vinaigrette is perfect to mix up in advance. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
For the Pizza, you can mix up the sauce in advance. If desired you could also slice the veggies in advance and refrigerate until serving.
The Tortilla Soup takes about 20 minutes of hands on time. If desired, you can make the tortilla strips in advance or use crushed tortilla chips (just find chips that are minimally processed, with a few ingredients like corn, oil and salt). You can make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: the flavor gets better over time!
The Veggie Burrito bowl has a few components that are easy to make ahead: the peppers and onions can be sliced and cooked in advance. For the sweet potatoes, you could also bake in advance and reheat. If you can’t find cauliflower rice frozen, you can make it from raw cauliflower: you could also cook that in advance and reheat. The eggs are best to make the day of. While it takes a while to prepare the components, this meal is SO delicious and great for leftovers!

Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 2

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens (30 minutes)
Chickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini Sauce (30 minutes)
Thai Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Drizzle (35 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Curry, you can make the lentils in advance, then saute the greens and add the sauce the day of serving. If serving with rice, you can make the rice in advance and reheat. Tip: To reheat the rice: place the rice in a saucepan with a splash of water and use a fork to break up any clumps. Heat over low heat until warmed through and moist. You can also serve with quinoa cooked on the stovetop or cooked in an Instant Pot. You can make the quinoa in advance or the day of; it takes about 25 minutes overall and requires no special reheating instructions.
The Couscous Bowls, make the lemon tahini sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving: make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. You could also make the couscous in advance, but since it takes only 5 minutes, it’s not a large time saver.
For the Thai Sweet Potatoes, you can make the peanut sauce in advance. You could also slice the veggies for the slaw in advance and then mix it with the lime and seasoning prior to serving. If desired you can cook the sweet potatoes in advance and reheat: you can bake them or use an Instant Pot and the cook time is around 35 minutes.

Refried Bean Tacos

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 3

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 3! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Refried Bean Tacos (30 minutes)
Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + Salad with Super Simple Salad Dressing or Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew (45 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

For the Tacos, make the Chipotle Tahini Sauce in advance; refrigerate and then bring to room temperature prior to serving. If desired, you can chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate until serving (up to 1 day in advance). For a filling side, serve with rice (or to look fancy, turmeric rice).
For the Soup, you can slice the fennel and chard in advance and refrigerate until making the soup; in this case we’d make the soup within a day or two of cutting the vegetables. While the soup simmers, you can whisk up the dressing for the salad. We like using boxed salad greens for easy prep.
For the Stew, you can cut the veggies in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could also measure out the spices and mix them together in a container. See the rice and quinoa instructions in Week 2.

Veggie Packed Quinoa Fried Rice

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

Greek Quesadillas (15 minutes)
Cauliflower and Tomato Coconut Curry (35 minutes, plus rice)
Veggie Packed Quinoa Fried Rice (35 minutes)
Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

The Quesadillas require no advanced prep at all!
For the Curry, you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate until serving: in that case make the curry within about a day or two. Follow the rice and quinoa prep instructions from Week 3.
For the quinoa fried rice, it’s easiest to make the quinoa in advance and refrigerate until serving. We prefer to slice our veggies right before making the fried rice, but you could also slice and refrigerate until serving (1 day in advance).

Apple Gluten Free Oatmeal Muffins

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Alex and I do really, really simple breakfasts that don’t require a recipe so we don’t have to think too hard in the morning. This frees us up to spend most of our creative energy on dinner. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

Peanut butter or Homemade Nut Butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
Best Oatmeal with PB&J
DIY Instant Oatmeal
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
Cinnamon Pecan Muesli (made in advance)
Turmeric Egg Avocado Toast (sunny side up egg is quicker)
Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, or Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (made in advance)
Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
5-Minute Pesto Arugula Breakfast Sandwich
Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Vegetarian Meal Plan spreadsheet.

Very Verde Cilantro Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
Easy Stuffed Dates
Dark Chocolate Hummus Recipe & fruit
Hummus, Glowing Green Hummus or Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip & veggies
Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip & fruit
Healthy Banana Bread Muffins
Healthy Chocolate Snack
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
Kale Chips
Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
A handful of almonds and dried cherries
Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)

Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Leftovers from any of the dinners!
Peanut butter (unsweetened) on multigrain toast or English muffin
Simple Chickpea Salad
Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
Peanut Butter Dip with green apples
Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich
Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
Hummus, Green Hummus, or White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese slices
Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
Seasoned Brown Lentils (with Greek yogurt or cashew cream and pita wedges)
Chickpea Salad with pita or crackers
Ricotta & White Bean Toast or Avocado Toast
Classic Egg Salad or Boiled Eggs
Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Lentil Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup and multigrain bread
Any of the Snacks above

Did you like this vegetarian meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this vegetarian meal plan: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!

If you enjoyed the recipes in this plan, you might enjoy our vegetarian cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Meal Plans - A Couple Cooks

40 Daniel Fast Recipes & Guide

What is the Daniel Fast?

Daniel Fast foods list

What you can eat on the Daniel Fast

What to avoid on the Daniel Fast

Other questions to consider

Daniel Fast recipes

*Bonus: Meal plan download! To create a meal plan, click this Daniel Fast Recipes Spreadsheet.

Side dish recipes

More Daniel Fast breakfast recipes

Whole food plant based eating

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Is this Mediterranean diet meal plan right for you?

What makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different?

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

Download: Mediterranean diet meal plan spreadsheet

Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Dinner Ideas Week 1

Dinner Ideas Week 2

Dinner Ideas Week 3

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Did you like this Mediterranean diet meal plan?

Meal Planning Ideas

Meal planning ideas: best meal plans for your everyday

How to meal plan

28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan

Is this pescatarian meal plan right for you?

What makes our pescatarian meal plan different?

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

Download: Meal plan spreadsheet

Pescatarian Meal Plan

Dinner Ideas Week 1

Dinner Ideas Week 2

Dinner Ideas Week 3

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Did you like this pescatarian meal plan?

7 Recipes for the Week Ahead

Read this first!

And now, 7 recipes for the week ahead!

For more recipes, go to our Healthy Meal Plans.

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Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Looking for 4-week meal plans?

ALDI Meal Plan

ALDI Meal Plan (1 week)

6 dinner ideas, 2 lunch ideas, and 2 breakfast ideas for the week ahead!

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

More meal plan resources

28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

What is a plant based diet?

Is this plant based diet meal plan right for you?

The problem with meal planning calendars

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

Download: Plant based diet meal plan spreadsheet

Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 1

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 2

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 3

Plant Based Diet Dinner Ideas Week 4

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Did you like this plant based diet meal plan?

28 Day Healthy Meal Plan