Mediterranean Diet Recipes 7 Day Meal Plan

How do you follow the Mediterranean diet? This simple Mediterranean diet meal plan with expert tips and easy recipes is the best place to get started! Use it as a blueprint to plan your own meals and enjoy big Mediterranean flavors!

Named the world’s top diet several years in a row by US News and World Report and other expert organizations, the Mediterranean Diet is a heart-healthy, well-balanced way of eating that prioritizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lean proteins (particularly from fish), and good fats from things like extra virgin olive oil and nuts.

As someone who is a true daughter of the Mediterranean and who grew up living the Mediterranean lifestyle, I love sharing my experience and helping others learn about this delicious way of eating.

Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Beginners 2022

Please Note: the information shared here on The Mediterranean Dish is intended for your general knowledge. It is not intended as a medical diagnosis or advice. Please be sure to consult your healthcare provider before trying a new diet or a way of eating. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking treatment based on what you read.

While the Mediterranean diet is a plant-based or plant-heavy diet, there are no big restrictive rules, deprivation, or calorie counting as with other diets. Eating the Mediterranean way is about satiation, inclusion, and enjoying your favorite treats in moderation!

It is not a diet in the restrictive sense, but a a well-balanced eating pattern that you can customize and use day-to-day to make healthier choices that honor your body.

Summer Mediterranean Diet

To help you get started, I have put together a Mediterranean diet meal plan with some tips and recipes. Use my meal plan as a blueprint to help you make sustainable food choices and infuse your mealtime with loads of flavor! And when you’re ready for more, check out my list of top Mediterranean diet recipes!

Meal planning begins with the pantry. You’ll find that the Mediterranean way of eating uses simple ingredients that are available in most grocery stores (and you may have some already on hand). I have a complete Mediterranean diet shopping list for you. But aside from stocking your fridge with vegetables and leafy greens, and your freezer with some good wild-caught fish and other seafood, here is a short list of essential pantry items that I keep on hand and use often in Mediterranean cooking:

As you plan your meals and dinners, keep in mind the basic principles of eating the Mediterranean way. Focus more on fresh vegetables, herbs, grains, legumes, and nuts, with some lean proteins such including fish and poultry. Generally, this is how I plan my Mediterranean dinners this for my family:

Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Beginners (2024): The Complete Nutrition Guide

You’ll find hundreds of Mediterranean recipes here on our site, but I put together a sample Mediterranean diet meal plan with a few easy recipes to get you started:

I've created a quick at-a-glance calendar for this sample meal plan. When you download the plan by clicking the button below, you will be able to click on the recipe names so that you can see each recipe in full.

Want to learn more about the Mediterranean diet? Don't miss our Q & A with Kelly LeBlanc, a registered dietician and director of nutrition forOldaways, a food and nutrition nonprofit. So many of your questions answered!

Mediterranean Diet For Beginners

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Try this 7-day Mediterranean diet meal plan for a week and see how you feel! I think you’ll feel pretty good…This Mediterranean diet plan includes a grocery list and delicious healthy Mediterranean recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus some suggestions for snacks and desserts. Remember, we’re all different, so listen to your body and make this diet plan your own!

It’s a new month and it’s time for another challenge! I’m a bit late, I know…don’t throw your shoe at me just yet. I know I’ve been slacking over the last, like, what 12 months? But the good news is that I’m back today, so let’s make the most of it.

Weeks Of Mediterranean Diet Meal Plans

So let’s make it a Mediterranean diet challenge this time, mmmkay? I love the Mediterranean diet – you can eat good food, share it with others, save time and stay healthy. What’s not to love? No more protein powder with broccoli. No more chicken smoothies. We’re gonna eat some hummus, some salads, some fish, nuts, some good bread, olives – all the good Mediterranean foods and it’s going to be so easy and so delicious.

Now, this is my weekly meal plan and I do not count calories, I do not cut out food groups (although I will be changing some of the recipes and using gluten and dairy-free alternatives, since I need to eat this way for a while). Please keep in mind that your body’s needs are unique and you need to fuel your body for your needs.

If you’re feeling hungry eat a little bit more. Don’t like tomatoes? Try another vegetable you enjoy. If there’s too much food for you – don’t force yourself to eat. The Mediterranean diet is not about restriction, it’s not about being strict and having rules around something as natural as eating. It’s about enjoying healthy, natural foods, cooking meals with loved ones, sharing that food and living life.

Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan (7 Day Guide For Beginners)

Make sure to drink enough water throughout the day, to actually take your time to chew and taste your food, to move your body every day in a non-structured way aka don’t put all of your movement in the workout basket.

Simply aim to live more and to keep a more active lifestyle through daily activities like walking, hiking, playing ball or even gardening. And get enough sleep.

Here’s what I’ve been thinking regarding this Mediterranean meal plan. I want to make it super accessible so that everyone can benefit from eating good, healthy food. I also want you to have variety, fun and learn new things so that you want to eat this way in the future. Not because you have to, but because you actually enjoy it.

Day Mediterranean Meal Plan: 1,500 Calories

To do this, we’re going for quick and easy Mediterranean meals and meal prepping in a way that allows us to make different dishes every day faster. Here’s a list of the things you can meal prep at the beginning of the week:

To be prapared for the rest of the week, on day 4 you can make some more quinoa and this homemade granola.

We’re going to make lunch really uncomplicated by eating salads. That’s right, salads. We all need to eat vegetables. It’s a universal truth. They’re the healthy part of any diet that helps improve your health or helps you lose weight. It’s not the fat, fiber or protein. There’s more to food than mathematics and macronutrients. By eating a diverse diet without overcomplicating it, we can get it all, and more than enough. And fruits+vegetables>vitamins or macronutrients. So salad it is.

Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Breakfast: Easy Overnight Oats. Pick a flavor and make these the night before. My favorite flavors are the apple pie and the blueberry. Highly recommend!

Lunch: Mashed Avocado Chicken Salad. You can wrap this one in a tortilla or serve it on toast. I recommend using whole grain or gluten-free bread for this one.

Dinner: 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowls. This recipe is super easy to duplicate, once you have all of the hummus, tzatziki and quinoa ready, you just need to adjust for how many people you want to make it.

Day Plant Based Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan

Breakfast: Crustless tuna quiche. I would usually have two slices for breakfast with some fresh vegetables like peppers, lettuce, cucumber, avocado or tomato on the side. Feel free to make the quiche without cream cheese, if you want to keep it really healthy.

Dinner: Amazing Mediterranean Chicken Wraps. Use whole grain or gluten-free tortillas to make these wraps even healthier. The recipe makes 4 servings, which means we’re going to have this delicious meal again the next evening.

Dinner: Mediterranean Salmon Salad. The recipe makes one serving, so make sure to adjust if you’re sharing this dinner with someone. I also recommend roasting some more vegetables using this or this recipe to have some for the dinner on day 6.

The Authentic Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan And Menu

For me, eating like this, I’d usually have a snack and always a dessert with lunch or dinner. The snack can be a smoothie, something sweet or savory. Whatever I feel like at 3-4 pm. Here are some ideas and some of my favorite recipes to meal prep or make in 5 minutes:

If you enjoy the first week of Mediterranean recipes, make sure to keep practicing what you’ve learned. I promise it will pay off and you will see improvement in your health, your mood, everything after a few months.

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The 7 Day Mediterranean Meal Plan