5-Day Meal Plan: Dinner Tonight, Lunch Tomorrow
With this #DinnerTonight #LunchTomorrow meal plan, you'll cook once and eat twice. This meal plan maps out 7 days of delicious dinners, plus 5 days of quick and easy lunches for the work week made using dinner leftovers. By making a little extra at dinner each night and packing it up before you go to bed, you'll give yourself at least 10 extra minutes each morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and ease into the day. Plus, having lunch all ready to go guarantees you'll have a healthy meal to look forward to that's much cheaper than an expensive takeout lunch. Try the leftover-lunch combos in this plan or make your own tasty creations.
Start this plan on Sunday so you'll have the 5 lunches for the work week.
Day 1
Cook extra chicken, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts when you make this easy sheet-pan dinner so you have enough for a satisfying salad for lunch tomorrow. Make a simple Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing to drizzle on top.
Lunch Tomorrow: Roasted Veggie & Chicken Chopped Salad over Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Chop leftover chicken, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts and pile on top of mixed greens. Dress with the Balsamic Vinaigrette and top with crumbled goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pecans.
Day 2
Dinner Tonight: Seared Salmon with Green Peppercorn Sauce with Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw and a simple baked potato
Cook an extra salmon fillet at dinner and set aside extra slaw to use in tomorrow's super-easy spicy salmon sandwich. Make a spicy mayo for the sandwich by combining 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise with a generous squirt of hot sauce.
Lunch Tomorrow: Spicy Salmon Sandwich with Slaw
Slice and toast a whole-wheat roll and spread each side with the spicy mayo. Place the salmon fillet and a big spoonful of the crunchy slaw in the roll and enjoy.
Day 3
Dinner Tonight: Green Goddess Salad with Chickpeas
You'll use most of the same ingredients in tonight's dinner to prep the fixings for tomorrow's Mediterranean pita-pocket lunch. Make a chickpea mash by combining 1/2 cup chickpeas, 3 or more chopped Kalamata olives, a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly ground pepper. Chop extra cucumber, tomato and lettuce and set aside some of the green goddess dressing. Refrigerate the chickpea mash and prepped veggies overnight and wait to build the sandwich until tomorrow so it doesn't get soggy.
Lunch Tomorrow: Mediterranean Pita Pocket
Cut a pita round in half and spread the green goddess dressing inside. Divide the chickpea mash and chopped veggies between the 2 pita pockets.
Day 4
Dinner Tonight: Seared Steak with Garlic Aioli and Broccoli with Balsamic Mushrooms
Simply cook a serving of whole-wheat rotini or other tube pasta tonight and combine with the leftover Broccoli with Balsamic Mushrooms to make a veggie-packed pasta for tomorrow's lunch.
Lunch Tomorrow: Broccoli, Mushroom & Parmesan Rotini
Reheat the pasta and vegetables and top with shredded Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Day 5
Dinner Tonight: Pulled Pork Tenderloin with Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce with cornbread and Vidalia Onion & Cucumber Salad
Save a serving of both the pulled pork and the onion & cucumber salad and refrigerate overnight. This tangy combo make the perfect filling for crisp lettuce wraps for tomorrow's lunch.
Lunch Tomorrow: Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps
Serve the pulled pork in large lettuce leaves. Top with the Vidalia Onion & Cucumber Salad and hot sauce for an extra kick.
Day 6, No-Cook Night!
Enjoy an evening out for dinner, order in from your favorite delivery place or use up whatever leftovers you may have. If you do feel inspired to cook tonight, try these better-than-takeout dinner recipes that are ready in just 30 minutes.
Related: Healthy Recipes of Takeout Favorites
Day 7
Dinner Tonight: Barbecue Chicken Pizza
We gave classic barbecue chicken pizza a healthy twist with hidden shredded zucchini in the sauce. Add even more veggies by serving with a side salad.