a really simple meal plan v.18

a five-day lineup of nutritious and delicious meals!!

It’s the first week of January, which means we’ve had our fill of cookies and cocktails and are now all craving whole foods, lean proteins, and SO MANY VEGETABLES.

This month’s really simple meal plan delivers. We’ve got delicious full-meal salads, a simple and amazing sheet-pan chicken dinner, both a soup and curry that pack a ton of veggies, and honey-gochujang salmon bowls to fill you up with omega-3 fatty acids, which do so much good for both mental and physical health.

If you haven’t cooked your way through these meal plans yet… what are you waiting for?! Take it from Jemma, who (so very kindly!) emailed on Wednesday to say:

I just wanted to write because I’ve been making your meal plans for the last 2-3 weeks and they have been amazing. I’m a little over 4 months postpartum and was struggling to get excited about cooking again because of the mental effort required to think through meals for the week and the grocery shop. Your meal plans have been perfect for what our family needs and I’m loving cooking again :)

This is exactly why we write these — to make cooking five days of healthy, balanced, home-cooked meals as doable as possible! To view all our really simple meal plans, click here.

Happy new year and happy cooking!

xx
Caro and Molly

As always, we’ve created a shopping list for you organized by section of the store. Check the individual recipes for their exact yields, then double, halve, or cook them as written based on who you’re cooking for and how much your family typically eats.

If you need to edit your shopping list for any reason — to sub an ingredient, double a recipe (though if we’ve said to double something, the shopping list will already reflect that), or cut a meal from the lineup — copy and paste this list into a new Google doc or phone note and modify it as needed.

a really simple meal plan v18 shopping list

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DINNER DAY #1: sheet-pan chicken with artichokes and potatoes

While we’re cooking this dinner, let’s do some meal prep!

Peel and cube 2 sweet potatoes to roast on a separate sheet pan while you cook this dinner. Coat the cubed sweet potatoes lightly with a drizzle of olive oil, a big pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. If you have some (seriously, no need to buy it if not), add a shake of turmeric for extra antioxidants. Mix it all with your hands to coat well. Roast at the same time you cook the sheet-pan chicken dinner. Let the roasted sweet potatoes cool while you eat! To be clear: we’re not eating the sweet potatoes for dinner — just cooking them at the same time. Once cooled, pack them in an airtight container and store in the fridge to use for lunches this week.

LUNCH DAY #2: Fiber-packed kale salad (aka 💩🥗)

I shared this fiber-packed salad on Instagram years ago and get asked for the link to it all the time. So here’s the recipe in a more easy-to-find/follow format!

We’re going to eat the same thing for lunch tomorrow, so go ahead and double the dressing and keep it in the fridge. If you want, you can wash and chop enough kale for both today’s salad and tomorrow’s, and store tomorrow’s greens in an airtight container in the fridge.

This recipe makes 1 huge salad that can feed 1 or 2 people depending on how hungry you are.

For the salad:

• 3 loosely packed cups chopped kale

• Kosher salt

• 3 dates, pitted and diced

• 1/2 cup roasted cubed sweet potatoes (you prepped these yesterday!)

• 1/4 cup cannellini, navy, or Great Northern beans (drained and rinsed)

• 1/4 cup blueberries

• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted almonds (or another nut/seed you love)

• 1/2 avocado, diced

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

• Several grinds of black pepper

Throw the kale in a bowl with a big pinch of salt and massage until tender. Add the remaining salad ingredients. Shake all of the dressing ingredients together in a jar until combined. Toss 2 tablespoons dressing into the salad. Add more to taste.

NOTES:

• If you have leftovers from dinner last night, add them to the mix!

• To keep your leftover avocado half from browning, keep it in the skin with the seed in place. If you have some, spritz the exposed flesh with lemon juice, lime juice, or a light-colored vinegar then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.

DINNER DAY #2: 30-minute honey gochujang glazed salmon and broccoli bowls

Double the coconut rice and use half for your curry dinner later this week. Once the leftover rice has cooled, store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

LUNCH DAY #3: 💩🥗

Make another round of this fiber-packed salad! Your gut microbiome will be so pleased.

DINNER DAY #3: Green chicken tortilla soup

You’re cooking a lot this week so skip the homemade tortilla strips — just buy and crunch up some tortilla chips instead. To get some nutrient diversity in your diet, use spinach instead of kale (or stick with kale if you like it better!)

NOTE: Try to find a 24-ounce jar of salsa verde and reserve 1 cup of it to use for the turkey taco salad later this week. If you can’t find one, buy two smaller jars.

LUNCH DAY #4: 15-minute veggie peanut noods

If you work in an office, cook this the night before, store it in the fridge, and reheat it in the microwave. It’s also great at room temp if you don’t have access to a microwave.

DINNER DAY #4: Peanut vegetable curry

Serve your curry over the leftover coconut rice you cooked 2 days ago! Warm the rice in a pot on the stovetop with a little water to loosen things up (or in the microwave with a splash or water and a damp paper towel over top).

LUNCH DAY #5: Leftover green chicken tortilla soup

This soup, like all soups, makes phenomenal leftovers. Or if you’re out of soup but have leftover curry (or salad), eat that!

DINNER DAY #5: Chopped turkey taco salad

Alright, time to finish out the week with one of my favorite full-meal salads — this turkey taco salad, aka the dankest taco salad, is truly incredible. Enjoy!

NOTE: Do you still have some leftover white beans hanging out in your fridge? If so, add them to this salad!