Comforting, easy and healthy meals for the week: Springtime pasta bake, fish tacos and more
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Meal planning isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Spend just 10 or 15 minutes mapping out your meals, jot down what you need and head to the store. That’s it. Since you’re busy enough and don’t need another thing on your to-do list, we’ve also got suggestions for streamlining meal prep — and, best of all, you can even take the weekends off if you’re dining out or getting together with family and friends.
What to Eat This Week, April 22, 2024
These days, we’re all too busy. Easy meal prep will help free you up for the things at the top of your to-do list. For breakfast, you’ll batch cook wholesome sweet potatoes and add a variety of toppings to keep things interesting. For lunch, you’ll alternate between a make-ahead slow cooker soup and some throw-together options. Dinner includes some cozy yet healthy meals, with options ranging from tacos to an easy pasta bake.
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Monday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Breakfast Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Cottage Cheese Toast With Tomato
Dinner: Springtime Pasta Bake
Snack of choice
Tuesday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Breakfast Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Edamame Brown Rice Bowl
Dinner: Fish Tacos with Creamy Chipotle Cabbage Slaw
Snack of choice
Wednesday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Breakfast Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Cottage Cheese Toast With Tomato
Dinner: Honey Hoisin Chicken Thighs with Stir-Fried Kale with Brown Rice
Snack of choice
Thursday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Breakfast Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Edamame Brown Rice Bowl
Dinner: Leftovers
Snack of choice
Friday
Breakfast: Breakfast Snack Plate
Lunch: Pesto Salmon Salad Pita with Raw Veggies
Dinner: Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
Snack of choice
Breakfast
Cook once, eat four times with this versatile breakfast recipe. Then throw together a quick snack plate on Friday morning.
Slow-Cooker Breakfast Sweet Potatoes by Casey Barber
The recipe makes four sweet potatoes, so cook them in advance and make ¼ of the topping the morning of.
Breakfast Snack Plate
Have two boiled eggs, fruit and nuts or seeds (such as pumpkin seeds).
Lunch
Talk about low-maintenance: You can throw together these recipe-free lunch options in minutes.
Edamame Brown Rice Bowl
Warm frozen edamame and frozen brown rice according to package instructions. Toss edamame with pre-shredded matchstick carrots and diced red peppers. (Pro tip: Cut extra red pepper strips to snack on this week.) Season the mixture with soy sauce or coconut aminos and sriracha to taste. Serve over brown rice.
Cottage Cheese Toast With Tomato
Protein-packed cottage cheese is having a moment. Here, it’s used on top of toast to make a filling and nutritious, easy lunch. Toast 1-2 slices of whole grain bread and spread cottage cheese over each piece. Top each with thickly sliced tomatoes or sliced cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Serve with a cup of lower-sodium canned or boxed vegetable soup.
Pesto Salmon Salad Pita
Mix canned or pouched salmon with pesto. Stuff the mixture into a split whole grain pita filled with salad greens. Have with raw vegetables on the side.
Dinner
We’ve lined up low-prep dinners to make this week. If you have a busy week or just want to spend less time cooking, double up on one (or more) of the recipes to serve as leftovers later this week. Be sure to also include the suggested side dish to keep your meal nutritiously balanced.
Alex Guarnaschelli
Springtime Pasta Bake by Alex Guarnaschelli
Alex Guarnaschelli
This dish is a lightened up, warm-weather take on our favorite comfort food: pasta! It gives lasagna vibes, while packing in some veggies with in-season zucchini and asparagus. Up the ante by serving it with an easy spinach salad on the side. To make, drizzle extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon over baby spinach. Sprinkle with parmesan and toss to serve.
Fish Tacos with Creamy Chipotle Cabbage Slaw by Daphne Oz
A rainbow of plant foods dominates the plate in these fish tacos that are topped with sautéed veggies and slaw. You can speed up prep time by buying pre-shredded coleslaw. Meanwhile, grab an extra red pepper to make a simple black bean and red pepper salad. To make, dice red pepper and red onion and toss with rinsed and drained canned black beans and freshly squeezed lime.
Honey-Hoisin Chicken Thighs with Stir-Fried Kale by Ching-He Huang
This sweet and spicy meal takes just 10 minutes to prep, and the results are more nutritious than typical Chinese takeout. If you’re not in the mood for chicken, the fuss-free marinade is also a good match for pork tenderloin. This recipe calls for stir-fried kale, but this dish would also be delicious with snap peas or bok choy. No matter which way you go, serve this meal over brown rice
Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers by Anna Painter
Adding black beans to the chicken in these stuffed peppers helps you eat more plant foods and boost your fiber and antioxidant intake while reducing your meat consumption. That’s a win-win. Serve this meal over brown rice–from frozen or batch cooked earlier in the week to save time. Once you cut into the cooked pepper, everything will come together to form a delicious, balanced meal.
Snacks
Snacks that contain whole food sources of protein and fiber offer a winning formula that keeps you full for hours. Here are a few ideas:
Baby carrots dipped in protein-boosted mashed avocado. To make the dip, mash chickpeas or white beans into avocado.
Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with tahini.
Frozen blueberries (thawed) with ricotta cheese.
Red pepper strips with goat cheese.
Unsweetened dried fruit and nuts or roasted chickpeas.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
