Zoe Bingley-Pullin’s easy 7-day healthy meal plan
Set your healthy eating goals up for success with Zoe Bingley-Pullin’s easy-to-follow meal plan, for a week of simple, delicious and fresh ideas you’ll love.
Being prepared is a critical part of achieving a healthy lifestyle and can often be what makes or breaks our goals.
Preparation also allows us to know exactly what is going into our meals instead of leaving it to chance.
Meal planning may sound daunting to those who haven’t tried it before.
But with these simple tips, it will soon become second nature.
Healthy eating 101
The first step is to understand what constitutes a healthy meal.
Ideally, each main meal should contain a source of:
- Protein: eggs, lean meat, fish, dairy, legumes, tofu, nuts/seeds
- Healthy fats: extra virgin olive oil, nuts/seeds, avocado
- Complex carbohydrates: brown rice, quinoa, wholegrain bread, buckwheat pasta, sweet potato
- Vegetables: spinach, kale, cabbage, carrot, capsicum, broccoli
When planning meals, use the above as a checklist. This will help to ensure your meals are satisfying and will keep you energised.
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Meal planning: Working out the week
The next step is to sit down with a weekly planner and start slotting meals into the different meal times.
For example, you may choose to make a batch of bircher muesli and have it on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday may be a smoothie, and Saturday and Sunday an egg-based breakfast such as an omelette.
For lunches, you may choose to make a salad, which will keep until Wednesday and have it with some protein.
Come Thursday and Friday you may choose to have a wrap or sandwich with some salad and protein or dinner leftovers.
For dinner, you can make one meal to last two to three nights or freeze leftovers for future dinners.
If you know you will be home late one night, you may choose to schedule in leftovers or opt for a quick meal such as scrambled eggs.
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The importance of snacks
Snacks should also feature on meal plans, especially if looking to keep your healthy eating on track.
If we don’t have healthy snacks on hand, it’s all too easy to raid the vending machine in search of a quick hit of energy.
Some simple snacks to have on rotation are:
- Fruit and raw nuts/seeds
- Dip with seed crackers or raw vegetables
- Mini frittatas
- Yoghurt + LSA and berries
- Popcorn
- Wholegrain crackers and avocado
- Boiled eggs
Putting it all together
Now that you know how to meal plan, here are some ideas to help you get started:
- Roast a big tray of vegetables at the start of the week for salads and dinner sides.
- Boil eggs and store in the fridge to eat as the protein element of meals or snacks.
- Cook a batch of quinoa, brown rice or your favourite grain and store in the fridge for 1-3 days.
- Make a healthy meal such as stir-fry for dinner and schedule in as lunch leftovers the next day.
- Chop vegetables and fruits and store in containers ready for snacks.
- Make a weekly dip of choice for snacks.
- Soak rolled oats in coconut water or milk ready for bircher muesli in the morning. You can leave it in the fridge for up to three days.
Zoe’s easy 7-day meal plan
Day 1
Breakfast
Goat cheese and kale scrambled eggs: Two eggs scrambled with chopped parsley, cooked quinoa, tomato, kale and goat/feta cheese.
Snack
1 small green smoothie
Lunch
Chickpea and mango salad: ½ cup chickpeas, ½ diced mango, baby spinach, basil leaves, diced cherry tomatoes and sprinkle of cashew nuts with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
Snack
1 piece of fruit and handful raw nuts
Dinner
Chermoula baked snapper: 120g snapper fillet topped with 2 tsp chermoula paste and squeeze of lemon – parcel wrapped and baked. Serve with steamed green beans, fresh tomato salsa (diced tomato, onion, coriander, lime juice) and 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
Day 2
Breakfast
Mango and hemp smoothie: Combine 1 small frozen banana, ½ mango, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp yoghurt, and ½ tbsp hemp seeds, handful of ice.
Snack
Vegetable sticks and dip (eg hummus)
Lunch
Buckwheat pesto pasta salad: ¾ cup cooked buckwheat pasta tossed with spinach, cherry tomatoes, 2 boiled eggs and pesto.
Snack
150g natural yoghurt with berries
Dinner
Lemon and thyme baked chicken: 120g chicken thigh tossed with 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp dried thyme and drizzle olive oil baked until cooked served with roasted sweet potato and green leafy salad (bake extra for next day).
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Day 3
Breakfast
Overnight Chia Muesli: Combine 1/3 cup oats, 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp chia seeds) in the morning stir through extra milk or yoghurt to loosen up and top with nut/seeds, fruit of choice and optional drizzle of honey.
Snack
1 piece fruit and ¼ cup raw nuts
Lunch
Leftover lemon and thyme baked chicken with salad and sweet potato.
Snack
Vegetable sticks and dip (eg. hummus)
Dinner
Broccolini and tofu stir-fry: 150g diced tofu, ½ bunch broccolini sliced, ½ small red capsicum sliced, 1 small red chilli sliced and bok choy (sauce – 1 clove garlic, ½ tbsp grated lemongrass, 1 tbsp tamari, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp sesame oil and squeeze lime). Serve with ½ cup cooked brown rice.
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Day 4
Breakfast
Apple, yoghurt and LSA: Combine 150-200g yoghurt, 1 grated apple/pear (moisture squeezed out) and 1 tbsp LSA, optional drizzle of honey.
Snack
1 small green smoothie
Lunch
Egg, avocado and sprout wrap: 1 wholegrain wrap topped with 1 tbsp hummus, 2 sliced boiled eggs, handful of spinach or cos lettuce, ¼ avocado sliced, handful of sprouts and sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Snack
Fresh vegetable juice and handful raw nuts
Dinner
Miso honey salmon with greens: 120g salmon fillet (marinade – ¼ tbsp. tamari, ¼ tbsp miso paste, 2 tsp rice wine vinegar and 1 tsp honey) baked/pan-fried served with ½ cup cooked brown rice and steamed greens. Drizzle extra marinade over (cook extra salmon for next day).
Day 5
Breakfast
Muesli with fresh berries: ½ cup muesli with milk, ½ cup fresh diced fruit and 1 tbsp LSA
Snack
Wholegrain crackers with guacamole
Lunch
Leftover miso honey salmon with greens and brown rice
Snack
1 piece fruit and handful raw nuts
Dinner
Chickpea and vegetable curry: Chickpeas, cauliflower, pumpkin, peas, 1 tbsp green curry paste and coconut milk served with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
Day 6
Breakfast
Pineapple and avocado smoothie: 1 cup almond/coconut milk, ¼ avocado, ½ cup diced pineapple, handful spinach and ice cubes.
Snack
150g natural yoghurt with fresh berries
Lunch
Egg, avocado and sprout wrap: 1 wholegrain wrap topped with 1 tbsp hummus, 2 sliced boiled eggs, handful of spinach or cos lettuce, ¼ avocado sliced, handful of sprouts and sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Snack
Vegetable sticks and dip (eg hummus)
Dinner
Lamb and quinoa tabouli: 100g lamb fillet served with quinoa tabouli made using ½ cup cooked quinoa tossed with 1 diced tomato, 1 tbsp parsley, 1/3 cup chickpeas, 1 tbsp chopped walnuts (dressing: 1-2 tbsp yoghurt, squeeze lemon, ½ tbsp chopped herbs (make extra for next day).
Day 7
Breakfast
Dukkah eggs: 1-2 boiled eggs rolled in 1 tbsp dukkah served on 1-2 slices sourdough toast, topped with ¼ avocado.
Snack
1 small fruit based smoothie
Lunch
Leftover quinoa tabouli salad
Snack
1 piece of fruit and handful raw nuts
Dinner
Chilli prawn pasta: 4-6 prawns pan-seared (marinade – olive oil, 1 clove garlic crushed, 1 tbsp chopped parsley and ½ tsp chilli flakes) served with 3/4 cup cooked buckwheat pasta tossed with ½ cup roasted pumpkin, 1 cup rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes and 1 tbsp feta.
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