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Here’s a monthly Mediterranean diet meal plan! It’s got lots of recipes and inspiration, planning ideas, and a meal planning calendar download.
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (1) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (1)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mediterranean-Diet-Meal-Plan.jpg)
Need healthy food to cook this month? We’ve got answers. Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I have spent years honing our method for how to eat healthy meals every day, not just here and there. We made it our MO, wrote a cookbook called Pretty Simple Cooking, and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to healthy recipes. But how to do you do it…every day?
Here’s our new 28 day Mediterranean diet meal plan, designed to do exactly that! The goal of this plan is to help you make a sustainable practice of cooking and eating healthy food at home. In the process, we hope you’ll become inspired and find a handful of recipes you’ll make again and again. (If you like: Subscribe to our newsletterfor new weekly recipes.)
Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.
Is this Mediterranean diet meal plan right for you?
This Mediterranean diet meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods but want to focus on veggies. This meal plan includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and plant based / vegan recipes. If you eat exclusively vegetarian or vegan, choose from one of the following meal plan options:
- 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan
- 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan
- 28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan
If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.
What makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different?
One problem with standard meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offerno flexibility. Many meal plans call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep! Many also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?
Here’s what makes our Mediterranean diet meal plan different:
- It focuses on dinner ideas. Dinner is the main meal where Alex and I cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is this: Go big on dinner. Go super simple on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas.
- The approach: Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This encourages you to customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes, and to eat up leftovers.
- Repeat your favorites! Offering only 3 dinner ideas encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.
What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?
It’s possible this meal plan might not work for you – and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility for you. There might not be enough options. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. This meal plan is not for everyone, but it’s an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.
Run out of dinner recipes? We’ve got hundreds! Here are some places to browse:
- 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan
- 28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan
- All Dinner Recipes
Download: Mediterranean diet meal plan spreadsheet
To make our Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan tangible, we’ve created a downloadable meal planning calendar for you! It’s our Meal Plan spreadsheet, where you can copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes for each week below.Here’s the download!
Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
Before you start: here’s how to use our Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan!
- Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. Alex and I don’t cook every night! We make enough for leftovers and eat them throughout the week, sometimes re-purposing them in new ways. For this meal plan,pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, “clean out the fridge” meals, or allowing for meals out. If you need more healthy dinner ideas for that week: pick another one of our otherDinner Recipes, or our 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan and 28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan.
- Fill in breakfast, lunch, and snacks ideas. We like to keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, things that don’t use recipes are great: like carrots and hummus, English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit. Doing this, we save our cooking energy for dinner.
- Copy the links into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible than just using a list! Once you’ve taken stock of what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. We suggest filling out the meal plan on the weekend (Sundays seem to be good for many people).
- Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of healthy dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.
Dinner Ideas Week 1
*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 1! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.
- Salmon with Capers(30 minutes) + Pesto Quinoa
- Mediterranean Couscous Bowls (30 minutes)
- Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo (25 minutes) + Easy Arugula Salad
- Quick Garlicky Shrimp Couscous(15 minutes)
- Leftoversfrom above*
*Meal Prep Plan Notes
- Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. It’s an easy recipe so not much can be made in advance. (The caper butter could be, but you’ll have to re-melt it anyway.) You can make the quinoa in advance and refrigerate: wait to mix it with the pesto until the day of serving.
- Couscous Bowls: You can make the tahini sauce and chickpeas in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could make the couscous in advance, but it cooks so fast it works the day of. For gluten-free, substitute quinoa or rice. You could make a big pot of quinoa and use it in the Salmon, Couscous Bowls, and Shrimp Couscous. Of you’re serving with couscous, you could make extra if you’re planning to make the shrimp.
- Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo: Make the sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving. Reheat and serve with fresh cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal. Make the salad while the pasta boils.
- Shrimp & Couscous: This one is lightening fast. If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before. If you have leftover couscous or quinoa from the above meals, it will be even faster.
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (2) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (2)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/oven-baked-salmon-with-capers-018.jpg)
Dinner Ideas Week 2
*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.
- Easy Sheet Pan Dinner (45 minutes)
- Lentil Sloppy Joes (30 minutes)
- Nicoise Salad (40 minutes)
- Make again!1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
- Leftoversfrom above*
Meal Plan Prep Notes
- Sheet Pan Dinner: Chop the veggies in advance, then just pop them in the oven the day of serving. Or, you can roast them in advance and just reheat in a 350 degree oven until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes. You also can make the rice or quinoa in advance and reheat prior to serving.
- Lentil Sloppy Joes: Cook the lentils in advance, then make the sauce the day of. Even better, make the entire filling in advance (it tastes better as it sits). If you’re serving with Pickled onions, make those in advance too.
- Nicoise Salad: This classic French salad has lots of components, but they can all be made ahead! Make the hard boiled eggs, beans, potatoes, and lemon vinaigrette in advance and refrigerate until serving. Make sure to let the dressing come to room temp before serving.
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (3) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (3)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Salade-Nicoise-018-800x1000.jpg)
Dinner Ideas Week 3
*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.
- Shrimp Marinara (30 minutes) + Arugula Beet Salad
- Best Damn Lentil Soup or Curry Lentil Soup (45 minutes)
- Best Chickpea Burgers (40 minutes)
- Make again!1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
- Leftoversfrom above*
Meal Plan Prep Notes
- Shrimp Marinara: If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before. You can use purchased marinara sauce or make the Easy Marinara in advance. For the arugula salad, use store-bought boiled beets for easiest prep.
- Lentil Soup: You could make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: it saves well. (Leftovers also freeze well.) Or you could chop the veggies in advance to speed up prep.
- Chickpea Burgers: These save well! Make the entire burger in advance and refrigerate or freeze until serving. Consider making a double batch. You can also make the shiitake bacon in advance. For gluten-free, serve without the bun or on a salad with tahini sauce drizzle.
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (4) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (4)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Chickpea-Burgers-010.jpg)
Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4
*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.
- Lemon Dill Salmon (20 minutes) + BEST Steamed Broccoli
- Easy Chickpea Curry (20 minutes) + Basmati Rice
- Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + crusty bread
- Make again!1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
- Leftoversfrom above*
Meal Plan Prep Notes
- Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. You can make the lemon dill sauce in advance and refrigerate. The broccoli comes together quickly and you can make it while the salmon bakes.
- Curry: This one is quick to put together, but you could chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate. Make the Basmati Rice in advance. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
- Tuscan Soup: This soup is pretty quick to whip up, but you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate to save a few minutes on prep.
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (5) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (5)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Chickpea-Curry-007-800x1000.jpg)
Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4
Here are lots of simple ideas for healthy Mediterranean diet breakfasts! Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!
- Peanut butter orNut butteron multigrain toast or English muffin
- Best Oatmeal or DIY Instant Oatmeal
- Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
- Cinnamon Pecan Muesliwith almond milk (made in advance)
- Avocado Toast with Egg
- Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins or Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
- Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies(made in advance)
- Pesto Arugula Breakfast Sandwich
- Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie
- Acai Bowl
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (6) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (6)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Best-Oatmeal-017-800x1000.jpg)
Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4
Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet.
- Green Pea Dip& crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
- Easy Stuffed Dates
- Dark Chocolate Hummus or Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip & fruit
- Hummus,Green HummusorGreek Yogurt Ranch Dip& veggies
- Healthy Banana Bread Muffins with peanut butter
- Healthy Chocolate Snack
- Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
- Kale Chips
- Classic Tuna Salad with crackers
- Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
- Roasted almonds and dried cherries
- Popcorn (Homemadeor purchased without flavoring)
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (7) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (7)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Stuffed-Dates-023.jpg)
Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4
Lunches can be hard, especially if you’re eating at your desk! Again, our philosophy for lunches is: keep them very simple, without a recipe if possible. Pick any of these to eat throughout the weekand copy them into your Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan spreadsheet.
- Leftovers from any of the dinners!
- Simple Chickpea Salad
- Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
- Peanut Butter Dipwith green apples
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich
- Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
- Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
- Hummus,Green Hummus,orWhite Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese slices
- Famous Tomato Dipwith crackers
- Classic Tuna Salad, Tuna Salad with Egg, or Avocado Tuna Salad
- Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
- Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
- Seasoned Brown Lentils(with Greek yogurt orcashew creamand pita wedges)
- Chickpea Saladwith pita or crackers
- Avocado Toast or
- Classic Egg Salad or Hard Boiled Eggs
- Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Lentil Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad
![28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (8) 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (8)](https://i0.wp.com/www.acouplecooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Simple-Chickpea-Salad-006.jpg)
Did you like this Mediterranean diet meal plan?
We’d love to hear your feedback on this Mediterranean diet meal plan: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!
For more recipes like these: try our cookbook,Pretty Simple Cooking!
Published on / Last updated on
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About the authors
Sonja & Alex
Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.
About Us
I am an expert and enthusiast assistant. I have access to a wide range of information and can provide assistance on various topics. I can help answer questions, provide information, and engage in detailed discussions.
Regarding the concepts used in this article, here is some information related to them:
Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
The Mediterranean diet is a way of eating that is inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It emphasizes whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. The diet also includes moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and dairy products, while limiting red meat and processed foods. Olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean diet, and it is often used as the primary source of fat. The diet is known for its health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, promoting weight loss, and improving overall well-being.
Meal Planning
Meal planning involves organizing and preparing meals in advance. It can help save time, reduce stress, and promote healthier eating habits. By planning meals ahead of time, individuals can ensure they have nutritious options available and avoid relying on unhealthy convenience foods. Meal planning often involves creating a menu for the week, making a shopping list, and preparing ingredients in advance. It can be tailored to individual preferences, dietary restrictions, and goals.
Flexibility in Meal Planning
Flexibility in meal planning allows individuals to adapt their meals to their schedule, preferences, and dietary needs. It recognizes that people may have different commitments and may not be able to cook every day. Flexibility can involve incorporating leftovers into future meals, allowing for meals out or "clean out the fridge" meals, and customizing recipes based on personal tastes. This approach aims to make meal planning more sustainable and adaptable to individual lifestyles.
Meal Prep
Meal prep refers to the process of preparing meals or meal components in advance. It typically involves cooking and portioning out meals or ingredients to be used throughout the week. Meal prep can help save time during busy weekdays and ensure that healthy meals are readily available. It often involves batch cooking, where larger quantities of food are prepared and stored for later use. Meal prep can be done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on individual preferences and schedules.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast is often considered an important meal of the day, providing energy and nutrients to start the day. Healthy breakfast ideas can include a variety of options such as whole grain toast with nut butter, oatmeal with toppings like fruit or nuts, yogurt with granola or berries, smoothies, muffins, and savory options like avocado toast or breakfast sandwiches. It is important to choose options that are balanced and provide a mix of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.
Healthy Snack Ideas
Healthy snacks can help curb hunger between meals and provide additional nutrients. Some examples of healthy snack ideas include hummus with veggies, fruit with nut butter, yogurt with fruit, homemade granola bars, roasted chickpeas or nuts, kale chips, and dark chocolate. It is important to choose snacks that are nutrient-dense and satisfy cravings without relying on processed or sugary options.
Healthy Lunch Ideas
Healthy lunch ideas can include a variety of options that are easy to prepare and pack for work or school. Some examples include salads with protein sources like chickpeas or tuna, sandwiches with whole grain bread and lean protein, wraps or roll-ups with veggies and hummus, grain bowls with a mix of vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, and leftovers from dinner. It is important to choose options that are balanced and provide a mix of nutrients to keep you satisfied throughout the day.
Please note that the information provided above is a summary based on search results and general knowledge. For more specific information or personalized advice, it is always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian.