7 Day Healthy Family Meal Plan

Feeding a busy family healthy meals can feel intimidating and overwhelming. However, this 7 day healthy family meal plan serves up some of my best tried-and-true tips and tricks, as well and some the most beloved kid-approved recipes out there….making your week of healthy eating and cooking drama free!

Okay, we’ve jumped into the New Year…and I’m sure many of us are hoping to do it on a healthy foot. But….how? Where do you start tackling healthy eating when life is already so busy?

With a carefully crafted meal plan of delicious, tried-and-true, family-geared healthy recipes! 

This 7 day meal plan is made up of make-ahead or quick, easy and healthy meals that are aimed toward the busy family.  This is a wonderful way to kick off the new year in a healthy fashion and one that you can also work into your life. Everything on this meal plan is made with whole, real food ingredients and hand selected to be something you can throw into the slow cooker quickly before you head out for your day, prepare during your weekly meal prep, or throw together in a flash when you get home. 

Food for thought:

• When selecting what days to plug the meals into, look at your week ahead! Select your slow cooker or one-sheet meals for your busiest days and save the ones with a little extra prep for the calmer days.
• Don’t be afraid to have dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner! There is no hard and fast rule saying that a smoothie for dinner is a no-no, just like roasted veggies for breakfast are a lovely way to start your day! 
• Use it as a blueprint for your week, but if you feel inspired to get creative in the kitchen….run with that! This meal plan is a wonderful jumping off point for your family, but every family’s life and eating style varies and you have to make this meal plan fit your unique life. 

gf: gluten free, v: vegan, veg: vegetarian, df: dairy free, p: Paleo, W30: Whole30 compliant

** indicates recipes to consider making during meal prep to help healthy eating be as easy as possible during your busy week!

Healthy family meal plan breakfasts:

You’re going to notice that there are a lot of things in this section that I suggest you make ahead of time. Reason being, mornings are rough for most of us! We don’t need to be trying to cook and adding stress to our day, so I suggest you focus a lot of your meal prep efforts on making easy foods to grab-and-go or reheat on busy weekday mornings! If you don’t want to make that many separate recipes, pick a few of these and make double batches. You’ll still have lots of food for the morning without spending your whole weekend cooking!

1. Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins (**) with Creamy Cauliflower & Blueberry Smoothie (gf, df)
2. Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins(**) with a side of fruit (gf, veg, df, p)
3. Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie (with greens!) and Sleepy Sunday Sage Breakfast Patties (**) (gf, df)
4. Superhero Waffles  (**) with a side of fruit (gf, veg, df, p,)
5. Instant Pot Morning Glory Oatmeal (gf, veg, df)
6. Sweet Little Breakfast Souffles (**) with nitrate-free bacon (gf, df, p)
7. 5-Ingredient Bacon & Broccoli Egg Cups (**) with Easy Peasy Veggie-Loaded Applesauce (gf, veg, df, p)

Healthy family meal plan lunches:

Lunch is the meal that I tend to plug in a lot of leftovers from dinner or breakfast. I find it really is a time saver in the kitchen, but here are a few ideas for easy lunch for your family during the week.

1. Beet Hummus (**) with raw veggies, hard boiled eggs and side of fruit. (gf, veg, df)
2. Lemon Garlic Chicken Stuffed Peppers with veggies or on a salad with plantain chips (gf, df, p) 
3. Veggie-Loaded Smashed Chickpea Salad (**) with unsweetened applesauce and sliced raw veggies (gf, df, p, veg)
4. 30-Minute Carrot Ginger Tuna Bites , side of fruit, and leftover veggies from a dinner or raw veggies (gf, df, p)
5. Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Basil Soup  (**) in a thermos with plantain chips, cubed organic cheese, fruit and carrot sticks (gf, veg)
6. Glorious Green Veggie Chicken Burgers with simple green salad or bun and fruit (gf, df)
7.  Spring Chicken Salad sandwich or salad with a side of kale chips and fruit (gf, df, (and if not using bread for a sandwich, p and W30)

Healthy family meal plan dinners:

Dinner is where I plug in all of my fast and easy recipes! We don’t have time to spend 2 or 3 hours cooking dinner after a busy day of living life. So dinner is aimed to be easy and as effortless as possible while still making a family-friendly and nourishing meal.

1. Slow Cooker Lemon Thyme Chicken with quinoa and Turmeric Roasted Carrots (gf, df)
2. Slow Cooker Black Beans with shredded cheese, rice/quinoa topped with mild salsa, corn and avocado (gf, veg)
3. Veggie-Loaded Mini Taco Meatloaves  (gf, df, p, W30)
4. One-Sheet Roasted Garlic Salmon & Broccoli with baked potatoes (gf, df, p, W30)
5. Instant Pot Butternut Squash Chicken Curry with rice/quinoa and side of peas (gf, df, p, W30)
6. Chicken & Cauliflower Meatballs  (p, gf, df) with 30-Minute Veggie-Loaded Tomato Sauce (p, gf, df, veg, V) with rice or lentil pasta and side salad
7. One-Pot Curry Lentil Soup (gf, df, veg)