7-Day Meal Plan: Healthy Makeovers of Your Favorite Comfort Foods
In this 7-day meal plan, we give traditional comfort foods a healthy makeover for a week of craveworthy dinners. Favorites like gooey grilled cheese, twice baked potatoes and creamy pasta all made the menu. The recipes use simple cooking tricks, like adding in more veggies and using more spices in place of salt, to help keep these meals healthy, without sacrificing any flavor.
See More: Healthy Comfort Food Recipes
Day 1: Spanakopita Loaded Potatoes
Spanakopita Loaded Potatoes: In this healthy take on twice-baked potatoes, spinach, feta, garlic and oregano are stuffed into the potato shells along with the mashed potatoes. Serve with chicken sprinkled with oregano or marjoram and a big leafy green salad with vinaigrette.
Day 2: Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Chicken Tortilla Casserole: Eggplant, corn and zucchini star in this healthy, Mexican-inspired casserole that's perfect for serving a crowd or for a dinner with leftovers for the next day. Packed with veggies and just the right amount of cheese, this healthy meal hits the spot.
Day 3: Montreal-Style Hanger Steak & Sweet Potato Frites
Montreal-Style Hanger Steak & Sweet Potato Frites: Steak frites, a.k.a. steak and fries, is a French bistro staple. In this healthy recipe, we swap roasted sweet potatoes for the fried spuds and make a yogurt-blue cheese sauce instead of compound butter.
Day 4: Collards & Portobello Grilled Cheese
Collards & Portobello Grilled Cheese: Meaty portobello mushrooms and sautéed collards turn this easy grilled cheese recipe into a healthy meal. With this recipe, you get the cheesy-goodness of a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, plus added nutrients and fiber from the veggies.
Day 5: Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta
Creamy Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms One-Pot Pasta: You'll only have to dirty one pot in this easy pasta recipe that cooks chicken and vegetables right along with the noodles. By using the exact amount of water you need to cook the pasta, the starch that usually gets drained off with your pasta water stays in the pot, giving you delectably creamy results, without the cream.
Day 6: Flank Steak Gyro with Quick Pickles
Flank Steak Gyro with Quick Pickles: For this fast and healthy gyro recipe, lean flank steak (used in place of traditional gyro meat) is brushed with flavorful seasoned oil and broiled. Topped with quick-pickled veggies and tzatziki sauce, this Greek-style sandwich has all the flavor of the traditional version.
Day 7: Kielbasa & Cabbage Soup
Kielbasa & Cabbage Soup: This Eastern European soup is traditionally made with sauerkraut. To keep the sodium in check in this healthy recipe, we use fresh cabbage and save the sauerkraut for a deliciously salty-sour garnish.
WATCH: How to Make a Loaded Potato
