Healthy Meal Plan: Grilled Chicken Thighs, Salmon Rice Recipe

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Encourage

You ask, we answer! Hundreds of Start TODAY members told us they wanted more healthy, balanced meal ideas to help them reach their health goals. This dietitian-designed meal plan gives you the flexibility to easily eat healthy.

If your goal is to eat healthier, we’ll give you easy nutrition strategies in this week’s plan. For breakfast, you’ll get plenty of protein to help keep you full longer and, when eaten at breakfast, can help minimize cravings later in the day. Heartyplant transitional lunches help you reduce your meat intake while still leaving you satisfied. And the variety of dinners shows that seasoning can easily elevate any dish, so healthy meals pack a punch of flavor.

What to Eat This Week, October 16, 2023

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Monday

• Breakfast:Prepared Breakfast Burrito
• Lunch:Vegetarian sandwich
• Dinner:Cup of buffalo chicken lettuce
• Buffet snacks

Tuesday

• Breakfast:Energy Protein Smoothie
• Lunch:Edamame-tuna salad
• Dinner:Garden Frittata with avocado toast
• Buffet snacks

Wednesday

• Breakfast:Prepared Breakfast Burrito
• Lunch:Vegetarian sandwiches
• Dinner:Pan-roasted chicken thighs with mushrooms and mashed cauliflower
• Buffet snacks

Thursday

• Breakfast:Energy Protein Smoothie
• Lunch:Leftover food
• Dinner:Siri Dalys Salmon and Vegetable Rice Bowl
• Buffet snacks

Friday

• Breakfast:Prepared Breakfast Burrito
• Lunch: Edamame-tuna salad
• Dinner:Leftovers or take away
• Buffet snacks

Breakfast

Start your day off right with these protein-packed options. We recommend sitting down while eating, but these meals are easily portable.

This recipe makes four wrapped and frozen burritos. Spend 15 minutes preparing this dish on the weekend for hot meals during the week.

Although you can swap Greek yogurt for protein powder in this smoothie, the recommended amount of protein won’t provide the same level of protein that helps reduce hunger and cravings. To choose aprotein powder, look for one with minimal, simple ingredients and no artificial sweeteners.

Lunch

Plants dominate the world’s healthiest diets. These filling, plant-focused meals will keep you energized and focused all afternoon.

Vegetarian sandwich

Mash some washed and drained canned green beans into store-bought hummus. Spread the mixture on 2 slices of toasted whole grain bread. Arrange roasted red bell peppers and baby spinach between two slices of bread and fold into a sandwich. Serve with some baby carrots.

Edamame-tuna salad

Frozen, shelled edamame beans and canned tuna are two nutritious meal staples. While this recipe only serves one dish, you can easily multiply the servings and make a larger batch of salad to enjoy throughout the week. It will keep for up to four days in your refrigerator. Mix 1/2 can tuna, peeled and drained, peeled, frozen and thawed edamame beans, and shredded carrots with a store-bought vinaigrette. Serve the mixture in a whole-grain pita or on top of a salad.

Dinner

We’ve included four delicious recipes this week but it’s not necessary to make them all. A great meal prep strategy is to make enough leftovers, so choose the most appealing dishes to make this week. We also included another convenient meal prep strategy using healthy convenience foods like frozen mashed cauliflower and brown rice. Don’t forget to include vegetarian side dishes.

This is the recipe you need for busy weeknights. Store-bought rotisserie chicken is transformed into a flavorful meal by tossing with a quick buffalo sauce and topping with yogurt-based ranch dressing. The chicken is served in lettuce cups, but you can always use it to top a salad instead. Or serve the chicken in a whole-grain wrap with a side of vegetables dipped in remaining ranch dressing.

A frittata goes with any meal, but we love it for a low-maintenance dinner. This one uses frozen vegetables to keep things especially low-key. Serve with a piece of whole grain avocado toast on the side.

Chicken thighs are cheaper and more tender than chicken breasts. This boneless chicken thigh dish with minimal ingredients is simple to prepare but makes for an impressive meal. Serve with pre-heated frozen mashed cauliflower or make a mashed potato-cauliflower mixture using pre-mashed potatoes.

This formula is essentially a canvas in which you can easily change what you’re doing. Swap the chicken for salmon, the couscous for rice, or basically any vegetable your heart desires. These bowls are versatile and quick to throw together, an easy way to pack in healthy protein and nutritious veggies.

Snacks

Snacks containing whole food sources rich in protein and fiber provide the perfect formula to keep you full for hours. Here are a few ideas:

• Baby carrots with creamy taco dip. To make the dip, add some taco seasoning to the Greek yogurt and mix.
• Ricotta cheese topped with sliced ​​grape tomatoes.
• Frozen spiced bananas with tahini. To make, sprinkle cinnamon and cocoa powder over banana slices and freeze until firm. Drizzle with tahini.
• Red pepper and edamame.
• Medjool dates with nut or seedless butter.