Meal Plans

7-Day Superfood Meal Plan

This week's meal plan features foods that pack a powerful punch of health-promoting nutrients, like vitamin A in sweet potatoes, fiber in beans, and omega-3s in salmon.

By

Victoria Seaver, M.S., RD

Published on May 31, 2016

Add some super-healthy foods to your diet with a week of dinners full of superfoods. This week's meal plan features foods that pack a powerful punch of health-promoting nutrients, like vitamin A in sweet potatoes, fiber in beans, and omega-3s in salmon-just to name a few. Superfoods aren't always rare or expensive-think spinach, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Here are a handful of delicious recipes with nourishing, vibrant ingredients to fuel you up and help keep you healthy.

For more veggie-packed recipes, take our Eat More Veg Challenge.

Day 1: Mexican Cabbage Soup

Mexican Cabbage Soup: This recipe combines tons of healthy veggies-onion, carrot, celery, peppers, and cabbage-with lean black beans and flavorful spices, to create a filling, zesty soup. The combination of colorful vegetables provides a mix of vitamins, minerals and protective antioxidants. This soup is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread and a leafy green salad with vinaigrette.

Day 2: Falafel Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Falafel Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing: Deep-fried falafel can be a total grease bomb. But these pan-seared falafel still get crispy in just a few tablespoons of oil with equally satisfying results. The fiber-rich chickpeas and vibrantly-colored vegetables make for a delicious and healthy meal. Be sure to use dried, instead of canned, chickpeas in this healthy recipe-canned chickpeas add too much moisture.

Day 3: Quick Lentil Salmon Salad

Quick Lentil Salmon Salad: In this budget-friendly salmon recipe, canned salmon, rich in healthy omega-3 fats, tops lentils, carrots and celery-ingredients you probably have on hand already. Fiber-rich lentils come in a variety of colors and they typically cook faster than dried beans, so they're a great choice for a fast weeknight dinner.

Day 4: Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms: Sliced Brussels sprouts and mushrooms cook quickly and cling to the pasta in this version of pasta primavera. Brussels sprouts-a member of the cruciferous vegetable family-have been shown to help protect against certain cancers. And mushrooms are one of the few food sources to provide vitamin D. To cut down on prep time, look for presliced mushrooms. Serve this dish with a tossed salad with vinaigrette.

Day 5: Cauliflower & Kale Frittata

Cauliflower & Kale Frittata: Inspired by traditional Spanish tortillas made with potatoes, this healthy frittata recipe swaps potatoes for cauliflower and adds in kale, both of which have been shown to protect against certain cancers. Not a fan of kale? Any dark leafy green will do! Serve the frittata with a slice of crusty bread and a tossed salad with vinaigrette.

Day 6: African Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew

African Sweet Potato & Chicken Stew: In this African peanut and chicken stew recipe, nutrient-rich sweet potatoes and no-salt-added tomatoes keep this creamy stew healthy. To complete the bowl, the flavorful chicken stew is served over whole-wheat couscous seasoned with lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro.

Day 7: Loaded Garden Pizz'alad

Loaded Garden Pizz'alad: Here a garden salad packed with tons of nutritious ingredients like mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado and sprouts rests atop a provolone cheese pizza. And it's all drizzled with tangy homemade ranch dressing. We recommend a knife, fork and plenty of napkins to dig into this pizz'alad! Using bread flour gives the pizza crust a crisp and sturdy structure, but all-purpose flour works well in its place. For a gluten-free pizza crust variation, see the "Tips" section of the recipe.