I get asked for meal ideas all the time. So I thought I’d share my go-to meal list that I reference when I do meal planning. For each idea, I have tried to include a link to a Pinterest pin where you can find an example or a link to the recipe. Some recipes, I make up and don’t have a link for it, so I tried to note the ingredients. For more healthy recipe ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest or like my Facebook page where I often share recipe posts from other healthy food bloggers.
These ideas are more like staple meal ideas or meals that my husband really enjoys. I have many, many, many recipes between my recipe notebook, pins on Pinterest and my email. I don’t often have time to explore the endless recipes I collect, so I have created this quick reference list.
I hope this post gives you lots of clean and healthy eating ideas! It will definitely give you a feel for how we eat or try to eat most of the time.
Breakfast:
- egg casserole/muffins
- protein pancakes or Kodiak Cakes found at Target or on Amazon
- oatmeal (overnight oats)
- fruit smoothies
Lunch:
- soup like chicken salsa verde soup or taco soup (I double the meat/beans if needed to make it hearty for my husband.)
- fresh cut up veggies, healthy tortilla chips and dip (hummus, artichoke/jalapeno greek dip)
- melts (english muffin topped with hummus or laughing cow cheese, tomato, spinach, swiss cheese) – bake in oven till cheese melted and muffin is toasted
- turkey burgers topped with sauteed veggies (mushrooms/green pepper, celery, onions, jalapeno) or cold veggies (avocado, tomato, green pepper, corn)
- hard boiled eggs
- pasta salad with chicken, lots of veggies and whole grain pasta topped with a little salad dressing
- mason jar salads – endless combinations
- black beans over quinoa or couscous topped with cut up fresh veggies like peppers, tomato, avocado
- cottage cheese
- leftovers
Snacks:
- yogurt topped with fruit
- fruit topped with chopped nuts or melted peanut butter and a little truwhip or dark chocolate chips
- healthy cookie or muffin
- mug cakes
- smoothie (like oatmeal cookie smoothie)
- tea latte (tea steeped in almond milk with a little stevia)
- steamed edamame or crispy garbanzo beans
- jerky (nitrate free version)
- nuts especially pistachios and almonds
Dinner:
- avocado toast – toast topped with smashed avocado, fried egg and chopped fresh veggies like cherry tomatoes
- sloppy joes – homemade version lower in sugar (this isn’t the recipe I use, it’s my own version but it’s similiar)
- crockpot chicken to use on salads or in various meals
- grilled marinated chicken breasts
- pizza pasta salad – lettuce, olives, peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, whole grain pasta, nitrate free pepperoni topped with avocado salad dressing
- stuffed peppers (I add a protein to this like ground turkey or nitrate free sausage)
- roasted nitrate/nitrite free sausage and veggies
- veggie burgers topped with fresh or sauteed veggies (see lunch for turkey burger option)
- microwave meatloaf
- spaghetti squash meal
- taco salad or tacos/burritos/quesadillas
- pita pizzas (Mediterranean style)
- baked potato meal – baked potato topped with roasted veggies, cottage cheese, salsa, chicken
- hamburger cabbage stir-fry
- ranch pork chops & veggies
- wings with rub on the grill or done in crockpot with sauce
Here is the list I go through to figure out what I want to prep. I don’t necessarily prep all of this each week, but it helps me think through what I want to prep. It also helps me prioritize what is most beneficial to prep. I always prep my fresh fruits and vegetables.
Prep to eat clean all week:
Make veggies – fresh or roasted
Make fruits
Make mason jar salads or other lunch option
Make other snack items – hummus, peanut butter, & cottage cheese
Make healthy dessert
Make breakfast items – smoothies, oatmeal, egg casserole
Make carb – quinoa, rice, pasta or potatoes (baked or mashed)
Make protein – chicken, boiled eggs, black beans
Check out my resource page for some of my go-to healthy websites or my post on clean-eating for more information on what that means for our family.
Fit Busy Lizzie 