ThePrep: A Week of 400-Calorie Mediterranean Meals

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Last week was a busy one and with it came a bit of chaos and lots of thrown-together meals. Sound familiar? I'm feeling the need to recenter myself and, for me, that means planning out and actually shopping for a week of healthy meals. Believe it or not, even though I come up with these menus week after week, I don't always follow through. But this week of Mediterranean-inspired meals that clock in right around 400 calories is all the motivation I need! These dinners feature plenty of veggies, healthy fats and lean protein sources to help me feel my best all week long—and you too!

Your Meal Plan

I'm super excited to kick off this week with the Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce on Sunday. It'll be my first time making it and my mouth is watering just thinking about the creamy tomato and white-wine sauce that coats the salmon. This dinner is served over brown rice to balance out the meal and soak up all that lovely sauce. Monday's Chicken Sausage & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan is another brand-new recipe I'm trying this week. The yummy picture above of this dinner speaks for itself!

You'll see salmon again in Wednesday's Easy Salmon Cakes with Arugula Salad but you won't be mad about it—I love this herby, light dinner! (Bonus points for the fact that the salmon cakes can be made with fresh salmon or economical and convenient canned salmon.) Thursday's Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken and Friday's Cauliflower Gnocchi with Asparagus & Pesto both sneak in extra veggies in the form of zucchini noodles and cauliflower gnocchi, which is a great way to finish off this week of healthy dinners.

Sunday: Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce (440 calories)

Monday: Chicken Sausage & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan (435 calories)

Tuesday: One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach over Easy Whole-Wheat Couscous (436 calories)

Wednesday: Easy Salmon Cakes with Arugula Salad (424 calories)

Thursday: Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken (430 calories)

Friday: Cauliflower Gnocchi with Asparagus and Pesto (404 calories)

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Big-Batch Snack

This recipe is a riff on our oh-so-popular Baked Banana-Nut Oatmeal Cups but with the addition of fresh, juicy blueberries. This warm, nutty muffin is just the thing to get me out of bed in the morning and makes for the best afternoon snack. And thanks to all those oats, there's a nice little fiber boost.

Get the Recipe: Baked Blueberry & Banana-Nut Oatmeal Cups

Treat Yourself

This colorful cocktail gets its color from muddled blackberries but you could really use any type of berry here. A little gin and soda water top it all off and if I have fresh thyme or rosemary on hand, I like adding a sprig. It's really the easiest 3-ingredient drink you'll ever make! We intentionally kept this drink free of added sugar but if you need a little sweetness, stir in some honey or simple syrup.

Get the Recipe: Gin & Blackberry Spritz