A free 7-day, flexible weight loss meal plan including breakfast, lunch and dinner and a shopping list. All recipes include calories and updated WW Smart Points.

7-Day Healthy Meal Plan

Why Should Everyone Meal Plan?

Meal planning is a great way to organize your meals for the week ahead. You also save time and money in the supermarket! And of course, planning ahead helps you stick to your goals!

About The Meal Plan

If you’re new to my meal plans, I’ve been sharing these free, 7-day flexible healthy meal plans (you can see my previous meal plans here) that are meant as a guide, with plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food, coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc or swap recipes out for meals you prefer, you can search for recipes by course in the index. You should aim for around 1500 calories* per day.

There’s also a precise, organized grocery list that will make grocery shopping so much easier and much less stressful. Save you money and time. You’ll dine out less often, waste less food and you’ll have everything you need on hand to help keep you on track.

Lastly, if you’re on Facebook join my Skinnytaste Facebook Community where everyone’s sharing photos of recipes they are making, you can join here. I’m loving all the ideas everyone’s sharing! If you wish to get on the email list, you can subscribe here so you never miss a meal plan!

Also, if you don’t have the Skinnytaste Meal Planner, now would be a great time to get one to get organized for 2020! There was a print error last year, but it’s perfect now! You can order it here!

THE DETAILS:

Breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday, are designed to serve 1 while dinners and all meals on Saturday and Sunday are designed to serve a family of 4. Some recipes make enough leftovers for two nights or lunch the next day. While we truly believe there is no one size fits all meal plan, we did our best to come up with something that appeals to a wide range of individuals. Everything is Weight Watchers friendly, I included the updated WW Blue SP for your convenience, feel free to swap out any recipes you wish or just use this for inspiration!

The grocery list is comprehensive and includes everything you need to make all meals on the plan. I’ve even included brand recommendations of products I love and use often. Cross check your cabinets because many condiments you’ll notice I use often, so you may already have a lot of them.

And last, but certainly not least, this meal plan is flexible and realistic. There’s plenty of wiggle room for cocktails, healthy snacks, dessert and dinner out. And if necessary, you can move some things around to make it work with your schedule. Please let me know if you’re using these plans, this will help me decide if I should continue sharing them!

MONDAY (11/2)
B: Cinnamon Apple Spiced Oatmeal (7B 7G 4P)
L: Turkey Club (7B 8G 7P)
D: Vegetarian Mushroom Kale Lasagna Rolls (6B 7G 6P) with a green salad* (1B 1G 1P)
Totals: WW Points 21B 23G 18P, Calories 932**

TUESDAY (11/3)
B: 2 hard-boiled eggs (0B 4G 0P) and a pear (0B 0G 0P)
L: Turkey Club (7B 8G 7P)
D: LEFTOVER Vegetarian Mushroom Kale Lasagna Rolls (6B 7G 6P) with a green salad* (1B 1G 1P)

Totals: WW Points 14B 20G 14P, Calories 943**

WEDNESDAY (11/4)
B: Cinnamon Apple Spiced Oatmeal (7B 7G 4P)
L: Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (½ recipe) (4B 5G 4P)
D: Turmeric Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes (11B 11G 8P)

Totals: WW Points 22B 23G 16P, Calories 987**

THURSDAY (11/5)
B: 2 hard-boiled eggs (0B 4G 0P) and a pear (0B 0G 0P)
L: Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (½ recipe) (4B 5G 4P)
D: Crock Pot Kid-Friendly Turkey Chili (0B 4G 4P) with 1 ounce avocado (1B 1G 1P) and 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar (2B 2G 2P)

Totals: WW Points 7B 16G 11P, Calories 810**

FRIDAY (11/6)
B: 1 slice whole grain bread (3B 3G 3P), 1 tablespoon peanut butter (3B 3G 3P) and ½ banana (0B 0P 0G)
L: LEFTOVER Crock Pot Kid-Friendly Turkey Chili (0B 4G 4P) with 1 ounce avocado (1B 1G 1P) and 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar (2B 2G 2P)
D: Skillet Cajun Spiced Flounder with Tomatoes (0B 2G 0P) with 2 ounces multigrain baguette (3B 3G 3P)

Totals: WW Points 12B 18G 16P, Calories 922**

SATURDAY (11/7)
B: Crustless Quiche Lorraine # (5B 7G 5P) and an orange (0B 0G 0P)
L: Open Faced Tuna Melt Sandwich (recipe x 2) (4B 5G 4P) and an apple (0B 0G 0P)
D: ORDER IN!

Totals: WW Points 9B 12G 9P, Calories 592**

SUNDAY (11/8)
B: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes (8B 8G 8P) with 1 tablespoon maple syrup (3B 3G 3P)
L: Avocado and Lump Crab Salad (recipe x 2) (5B 5G 5P)
D: Salisbury Steak Meatballs (5B 6G 5P) with Skinny Garlic Mashed Potatoes (5B 5G 1P) and String Beans with Garlic and Oil (2B 2G 2P)

Totals: WW Points 28B 29G 24P, Calories 994**

*Green salad includes 12 cups mixed greens, 4 scallions, 1 cup each: tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, chickpeas and ½ cup light vinaigrette. Freeze any leftover lasagna you/your family won’t eat.

**This is just a guide, women should aim for around 1500 calories per day. Here’s a helpful calculator to estimate your calorie needs. I’ve left plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food such as coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc.
# Freeze any leftover you/your family won’t eat.

*Google doc

Shopping List

My Simply Recipes co-editors and I have lovingly referred to this past month as Choctober.

Chocolate is good anytime, anywhere, but chocolate recipes feel especially on point when the weather turns colder. Hot chocolate! Hot cocoa! Chocolate banana bread! Chocolate brownies! Double chocolate cupcakes! Someone stop me, please, before I share this list of 14 more decadent chocolate recipes. (Too late.)

To make all the chocolate things you need to have some chocolate (bar or chips) or cocoa on hand. But what kind?

Quality, flavor, meltability can all vary from brand to brand, so I queried my fellow team members for their favorite go-to brands for cocoa, baking chocolate, and chocolate chips.

Our Favorite Cocoa

Before we get into cocoa, are you wondering about the difference between Dutch-process and natural cocoa? We wrote a post about that! Check it out here.

Now on to our favorites…

Hershey’s Original 100% Cocoa

$3.00 for 8-ounce can

Hershey’s natural, non-alkanized cocoa powder (read: not Dutch-processed) has a pleasant, familiar flavor, great for cozy baked goods you want to taste like your childhood.

This make a solid brownie, and that’s about all I need! –Emma

Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa

$3.00 for 8-ounce can

In the last year Hershey’s changed their Special Dark Cocoa from a natural and Dutch-processed cocoa blend to 100% Dutch-processed cocoa. Not everyone loved this change, as evidenced by the reviews, but some of us are big fans, especially considering it’s a budget-friendly Dutch-processed cocoa easily found at most grocery stores.

I’ve tried fancier cocoa powders (like Guittard, which is great) but I always come back to Hershey’s Special Dark. It has a nice robust flavor, and the price is right! -Megan

Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Cocoa

$4.00 for 8-ounce bag

Another natural, non-alkanized cocoa, Ghirardelli provides a lovely, sweet chocolate flavor to baked goods and hot cocoa.

Ghirardelli wins on flavor and accessibility. I’m a Ghirardelli girl all the way. -Summer

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Guittard Cocoa Rouge Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

$6.99 for 8-ounce can

Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge cocoa is a Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and a slam dunk when you’re aiming for a truly rich, deep chocolate flavor. It has more fat (from cocoa butter) in it than other cocoas, which means baked cakes, cookies, and brownies come out extra moist and fudgy.

This is one of my favorite cocoa powders when I’m going for an all-out chocolate flavor, like in these Double-Chocolate Cupcakes. It’s more expensive than other cocoa, for sure, but worth it. – Cambria

Droste Cocoa

$6.99 for 8.8-ounce box

Droste Cocoa is imported from Holland and, yes, it is a Dutch-processed cocoa! Like Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge Dutch-processed cocoa, Droste has a higher fat content than most other cocoas for a full-bodied, rich cocoa flavor. It’s exceptional.

This was the cocoa my mother used when I was growing up, and it’s still a gold standard in my book. It’s also America’s Test Kitchen favorite cocoa, many years running. It makes amazing hot cocoa. – Cambria

Our Favorite Baking Bar Chocolate

Baker’s Bittersweet 

$2.59 for 4-ounce bar

Made of 66% cacao, Baker’s Bittersweet is Emma’s choice for an affordable, accessible baking chocolate that’s not too bitter and not too sweet.

Easy to find and inexpensive! – Emma

Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Bar 

$4.99 for $17.6-ounce bar

The Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s makes a fantastic baking chocolate. It’s slightly sweet (but not overwhelmingly so), not too bitter, smooth, and melts like a dream.

You can’t beat the Pound Plus block of Trader Joe’s baking chocolate. It’s reasonably priced, accidentally vegan, and super delicious chopped up in cookies or melted into brownies or cakes. – Megan

Truly one of the best dark chocolate deals out there. It shouldn’t be this good for this price, and yet it is. – Cambria

Ghirardelli Unsweetened, Bittersweet, and Semi-Sweet Baking Bars

$2.69 for 4-ounce bar

With its consistent texture and chocolate flavor, Ghirardelli remains one of our reliable go-tos for baking chocolate.

I use Ghirardelli bittersweet, unsweetened and semi-sweetened baking bars depending on the recipe. They’re easy to find, delicious and reasonably priced for a higher-end chocolate. – Summer

Our Favorite Chocolate Chips

Guittard Real Semisweet and Extra Dark Chocolate Chips

$3.69 for 12-ounce bag

Guittard is a family-owned business based out of San Francisco and their chocolate chips, like their cocoa, are consistently delicious and high-quality.

Guittard is local to me in the Bay Area, so I like to support them. But I also think the Semisweet chips have a solid chocolate flavor that compliments baked goods without overpowering. – Emma

The Extra Dark chocolate chips are made with 63% cacao and offer the perfect bittersweet chocolate bite, which is what I want in a chocolate chip cookie. It’s best when the chocolate provides a counterbalance to all the sugar! – Cambria

Ghirardelli Semisweet and 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

$2.78 for 12-ounce bag; $4.82 for 20-ounce bag

Ghirardelli is widely accessible, which is great news for chocolate chip lovers! Their chocolate chips have a smooth flavor and texture, and are wonderfully gooey after baking.

The 60% Bittersweet chips have great flavor and no waxy aftertaste. I have to have an immediate baking purpose for them otherwise I snack on the whole bag! – Megan

I love Ghirardelli’s Bittersweet and Semi-Sweet chips, but my go-to is Bittersweet. Well balanced flavor, melt well in a pinch, and I like their size and price. – Rachel

What are your favorite cocoa, baking chocolate, and chocolate chip brands? We’d love to hear!

A chocolatey riff on the classic Adonis cocktail, this drink is made with crème de cacao, sherry, and vermouth. This low-proof cocktail feels so special you won’t know what you’re missing. It’s equally perfect for a holiday cocktail party or Friday movie night!

Photography Credit: Sam Schick

This Meatloaf and Brown Gravy is a family favorite, this one is made a bit healthier than most, with a mix of half beef and ground turkey plus nutritious oats, topped with a delicious brown gravy – comfort food at its finest!

Meatloaf and Brown Gravy

This Meatloaf and Brown Gravy is the best meatloaf recipe ever! When I crave comfort food, this meatloaf hits the spot. I have tons of turkey meatloaf recipes, but for this recipe I wanted it to taste more like a classic beef meatloaf. To keep it light, I used a blend of lean ground beef and turkey with oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. And if you want some other meatloaf ideas, try Cheese-Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf and Bacon-Topped Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce.

Many traditional meatloaf recipes have a mix of beef, veal, and pork, so using a lean beef and turkey mix made sense. It turned out great and still had the beefy flavor I wanted.

How do you make meatloaf moist?

The eggs, milk, and sauteed onions and celery will make this meatloaf moist. Another tip for not drying it out is to make sure not to overmix the meat, which will make it tougher.

Also, you don’t want to overcook the meatloaf. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the meatloaf. When it reads 160 degrees, the meatloaf is done. Let it rest for ten minutes before slicing.

How do you make meatloaf gravy from scratch?

If you’ve never made gravy before, it’s actually pretty simple.

1. Start by combining beef broth, thyme, and flour in a small saucepan, whisking over medium heat until it begins boiling.
2. Then simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, occasionally stirring about 5 minutes.
3. Pour any drippings from the meatloaf on the sheet pan into the gravy and whisk for another minute.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove the thyme.

What to Serve with Meatloaf and Brown Gravy

This meatloaf and brown gravy would be fantastic with macaroni and cheese, garlic mashed sweet potatoes, rice pilaf, or mashed potatoes. For a vegetable side, serve a salad, sauteed spinach, or roasted broccoli.

More Meatloaf Recipes You’ll Love:

Cocoa powder, the ground cacao powder that comes after you remove some of the cacao butter from the processed cacao bean, comes in two forms: natural and Dutch-process.

Natural cocoa powder is lighter in color, has a higher acidity of about 5 pH, and because of that acidity, has a sharper chocolate flavor.

Dutch-processed powder is natural cocoa powder that has been treated with an alkalizing agent, changing the pH from a more acidic 5 pH to a neutral 7 pH. The process was invented by Coenraad Johannes van Houten, a Dutchman (thus the name “Dutch-process”).

Dutch-processed cocoa powder is milder on the palate, though it can, paradoxically, have more chocolate flavor because more cacao butter is left in the powder. (Fat is a carrier of flavor, remember!)

Dutch-Process vs Natural Cocoa Powder

Dutch-process cocoa is often darker in color than natural cocoa, ranging from a dark gray, to reddish brown to almost black, depending on the brand and process. The color has nothing to do with the quality or flavor of the cocoa powder. Black cocoa, an extra Dutch-processed cocoa, has most of the chocolate flavor stripped out of it, and is what is used in Oreo cookies.

Dutch-process cocoa also dissolves easier in liquid than natural cocoa, making it ideal for hot cocoa mixes.

Can You Substitute or Swap Natural Cocoa for Dutch-Processed Cocoa?

Whether or not you can substitute cocoa powders depends on the recipe. Here are the general rules:

WHEN IT’S OKAY: Is the cocoa being used for coloring or added to a non-baked dish just for flavor? Then yes, you can swap one type of cocoa powder for the other without issue.

For example, I like to add a teaspoon or so of cocoa powder into the cinnamon layer of our coffee cake, to give it more color contrast. Same goes for recipes like hot cocoa, pudding or mole sauce. In those cases, I’d swap the two cocoa powders without an issue. Keep in mind, however, that the flavor might shift depending on the recipe, as natural and Dutch-process do taste differently.

WHEN IT’S NOT OKAY: Is the cocoa being used in baking recipes like brownies, cakes, or anything that “rises” when you bake it in the oven? Then no, you should not swap one cocoa for the other, at least not without modifying the leavening agents, i.e. the baking powder and baking soda measurements (more on that below).

If you swap cocoa powders without changing the leavening, the results will be unpredictable.

Your baked goods may be fine, depending on how the recipe is built. But there’s a high chance your cookies and brownies could be denser, and cakes may be flatter without the fluffy crumb.

Swapping Dutch-process for natural cocoa without adjusting the leavening could result in baked goods that have a slight salty, metallic, or soapy taste because of the extra non-reactive baking soda in it. Swapping natural for Dutch-process without changing the recipe could lead to a less balanced, sharper, and more acidic-flavored baked good.

How to Substitute Natural Cocoa for Dutch-Processed Cocoa

All that said, if you find yourself with only one kind of cocoa powder on hand and don’t feel like going to the store to get the other kind, here’s how to substitute:

If the recipe calls for natural cocoa, and all you have is Dutch-process, use the same amount of Dutch-process cocoa but remove the baking soda and double the amount of baking powder. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon baking powder, use 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa, no baking soda, and 2 teaspoons baking powder.

If the recipe calls for Dutch-process cocoa and all you have is natural cocoa, use the same amount of natural cocoa but remove the baking powder and add half the amount of the baking soda. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda, use 1/4 cup natural cocoa, no baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Keep in mind, as with all substitutions, that the outcome can vary drastically depending on the recipe. But the above is a good starting point for substituting one cocoa powder for the other!