Weight-Loss Meal Plans

Grilling cabbage and carrots gently softens the crunchy vegetables for a smoky yet still crisp version of a favorite summer side in this easy coleslaw recipe. For an easy grilled dinner, cook some chicken, fish or veggie burgers alongside the vegetables.

The combination of slightly smoky grilled eggplant and sweet tomatoes is delightful. The eggplant-tomato mixture served over whole-wheat pasta with fresh basil and a bit of salty cheese makes an easy, healthy weeknight dinner.

The sweet flavor and plump flesh of ripe tomatoes are a natural fit with the silky texture that eggplant gets from grilling. You can get the same effect by broiling the eggplant for about 4 minutes per side. Serve over creamy polenta for an easy healthy dinner, or swap in whole-wheat pasta for the polenta for a faster weeknight supper.

This healthy fish recipe from chef Mike Lata is made with banded rudderfish, which is an amberjack--a species coveted in sushi restaurants, where it's known by its Japanese name, hamachi. Lata's love affair with the Italian dish vitello tonnato (cold sliced veal with tuna sauce) started with a glorious one he had in Milan. He's found the sauce to be a great way to use the scraps that result from butchering whole fish. He serves thicker versions over cold poached meats and thinner ones like this over vegetables and salads.

This crowd-pleasing and easy dinner recipe takes just 20 minutes to make, start to finish, so it's perfect for weeknights! When tomatoes are at their in-season best, just a quick chop and a few ingredients are all you need to make a spaghetti sauce in minutes. Store-bought chicken meatballs keep the low-effort theme going all the way to the table.