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Perhaps the easiest week of dinners you’ve ever cooked!
By
Carolyn Malcoun
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Carolyn Malcoun
As EatingWell's Associate Editorial Director, Carolyn Malcoun searches for cool farmers, chefs and other food stories to tell. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin and a culinary arts degree from New England Culinary Institute. She started at EatingWell as an intern in the Test Kitchen in 2005 and joined the editorial team soon after.
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Updated on March 15, 2024
Reviewed by Dietitian
Jessica Ball, M.S., RD
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Reviewed by DietitianJessica Ball, M.S., RD
Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition toEatingWell, her work has appeared inFood & Wine,Real Simple,Parents,Better Homes and GardensandMyRecipes.
EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines
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Our column, ThePrep, has everything you'll need to make meal planning and meal prep as easy as can be. Nutritional needs differ from one individual to another, and we invite you to use these dinner plans as inspiration and tweak them as you see fit. Sign up to get a meal plan delivered to your inbox every Saturday!
Hi, it’s Carolyn Malcoun, associate editorial director for EatingWell, stepping in for Maria this week to share a meal plan that uses recipes from our new latest feature, Impossibly-Easy One-Pot Meals You’ll Want to Make Forever. All of the recipes are so simple, you don’t even need a knife and cutting board—during development, we made sure a well-stocked supermarket carried all of the ingredients in the recipes already prepped (like shaved Brussels sprouts and garlic paste, for example). And as a working parent who makes dinner almost every night, I’m here for the ease of making these dishes! When choosing this week’s meal plan, I opted for ones that fit in with the Mediterranean Diet. My husband has nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and my cholesterol has been creeping up a bit, so our health care provider recommended that we both follow it. Since this eating pattern focuses on eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins without totally cutting anything out, it’s a sustainable one for us to follow. Let’s dig in!
Your Weekly Plan
Sunday:
Monday: Sheet-Pan Salmon with Crispy Quinoa
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday: with mixed greens tossed with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette
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Sunday: Chicken Alfredo & Broccoli Rice Casserole
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I had the pleasure of visiting our food studio while they were photographing the recipes for this feature, and this was one of my favorites. Packed with lean chicken, broccoli and rice, it’s truly a complete meal. The casserole comes together fast, and I use that baking time to squeeze in a workout, fold laundry, or if I’m being honest, play Zelda. Since it makes six servings and we’re a family of three, we’ll appreciate having leftovers for lunch another day.
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Monday: Sheet-Pan Salmon with Crispy Quinoa
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There aren’t many foods that are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, but it’s important to get enough of them since this beneficial fat can support heart health by lowering triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels. Since salmon is one potent food source of omega-3 fatty acids, we try to eat it every week. But I definitely find myself in a salmon rut from time to time. With burst tomatoes and crispy quinoa, reminiscent of the crunchy bits you get when you eat paella or tah chin, I know my family will love it.
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Tuesday: Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes & Broccolini
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Serving this meal of roasted chicken thighs, sweet potatoes and broccolini over a schmear of thick yogurt helps moderate the heat of the harissa paste. This balanced dinner is hearty and packed with nutrients—from immune-supporting vitamin A in the sweet potatoes and skin-protecting vitamin C in the broccolini to the powerful antioxidant selenium in the chicken thighs.
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Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Cauliflower & Chickpea Tikka Masala
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Our daughter typically has soccer on Wednesdays that can end anywhere between 5 and 7 p.m., so I started making slow-cooker recipes that day to help us avoid going out to dinner. While many crockpot recipes ask you to spend 20 minutes or more getting the ingredients in the cooker, which is not that convenient if you’re also trying to leave for the office, this one just requires you to combine the ingredients and press start. I look forward to the delightful aroma—produced by some of the world’s healthiest spices, like ginger and cayenne—welcoming us.
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Thursday: Sheet-Pan Beef & Cabbage Noodles
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I admit, I was very skeptical about this idea, which is essentially a stir-fry on a sheet pan. But I was delighted to see how well it worked. As the developer Liz Mervosh told me, "The moisture from the cabbage and the starch from the pasta helped thicken the sauce." With lean steak, noodles, cabbage and snow peas, it’s a complete meal that’s ready in 15 minutes. Sometimes my go-to store doesn’t have snow peas, but snap peas or green beans would be great substitutions.
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Friday: Baked Feta & Tomato Chickpeas
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One of the tenets of the Mediterranean Diet is eating more beans and legumes, and this recipe is a delicious way to do that. Since our daughter is constantly baking feta with tomatoes (so much so that she made it for lunch on her last snow day), I know she’ll love this dinner. But what I appreciate most is that it only requires five minutes of active time and 20 minutes to bake. While it’s in the oven, I’ll shake up my favorite dressing—Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette—to toss with some mixed greens to enjoy alongside.
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I wish you all a great week, and I hope you enjoy this dinner plan. And if you try a recipe, don't forget to add a review.
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