A free 7-day flexible weight loss meal plan including breakfast, lunch and dinner and a shopping list. All recipes include calories and Weight Watchers Freestyle™ SmartPoints®.
December is always a busy month, even busier in my home because it’s also my daughter and husband’s birthday month! I’m also planning my January recipes, let me know what types of recipes you would like to see for the new year!
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!
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 Weight Watcher Freestyle Points 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 (12/10)
B: 2 hard-boiled eggs (0) and banana (0)
L: 1 ½ cups Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili *(0) with 2 tablespoons reduced fat cheddar (1)
D: Pasta Fagioli (5)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 6, Calories 879**
TUESDAY (12/11)
B: ⅓ cup quick oats (3) with 1 teaspoon honey (1), ½ cup blackberries (0), 1 tablespoon skim milk (0), 1 tablespoon chopped pecans (2), pinch salt.
L: 1 ½ cups Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili (0) with 2 tablespoons reduced fat cheddar (1)
D: 2 Chicken Enchiladas (8) with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower “Rice” (1)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 16, Calories 1,029**
WEDNESDAY (12/12)
B: 2 hard boiled eggs (0) and a pear (0)
L: 1 ½ cups Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili (0) with 2 tablespoons reduced fat cheddar (1)
D: Cheeseburger Soup (7)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 8, Calories 869**
THURSDAY (12/13)
B: ⅓ cup quick oats (3) with 1 teaspoon honey (1), ½ cup blackberries (0), 1 tablespoon skim milk (0), 1 tablespoon chopped pecans (2), pinch salt.
L: 1 ½ cups Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili (0) with 2 tablespoons reduced fat cheddar (1)
D: Baked Beef and Cheese Manicotti (10)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 17, Calories 1,018**
FRIDAY (12/14)
B: 2 hard-boiled eggs (0) and banana (0)
L: LEFTOVER Baked Beef and Cheese Manicotti (10)
D: Baked Scallops (5) with ¾ cup Spaghetti Squash with Bacon and Parmesan (4)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 19, Calories 1,043**
SATURDAY (12/15)
B: Bacon Egg and Avocado Breakfast Sandwich*** (6)
L: Chicken and Lentil Soup (1)
D: DINNER OUT!
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 7, Calories 632**
SUNDAY (12/16)
B: Easy Bagel Recipe (3) with 2 tablespoons light cream cheese (3) and sliced tomatoes (0)
L: LEFTOVER Chicken and Lentil Soup (1)
D: Braised Chicken Thigh with Mushrooms and Leeks (8) and Massaged Raw Kale Salad (2)
Totals: Freestyle™ SP 17, Calories 1,022**
*Prep Sunday night.
**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.
***Make a double batch of bagels for breakfast on Sunday.
Shopping List:
Produce
- 2 bananas
- 1 pear
- 1 (6-ounce) container fresh blackberries
- 1 large head (about 2 pounds) cauliflower
- 10 ounces (2 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 1 medium bunch Lacinato kale
- 2 large or 3 medium leeks
- ½ pound white mushrooms
- 1 large bunch cilantro
- 2 medium heads garlic
- 1 small bunch celery
- 1 small bunch carrots
- 1 small bunch scallions
- 2 medium lemons
- 6 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
- 1 small (4-ounce) Hass avocado
- 1 small bunch fresh Italian parsley
- 2 small limes
- 2 small, 1 medium and 1 large yellow onion
Meat, Poultry and Fish
- 2 ¼ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 2 ½ pounds (8) bone-in chicken thighs
- ¾ pound (3) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 pound (16) large sea scallops
- 1 package center-cut bacon
- ¾ pound 93% lean ground beef
Grains
- 1 small package quick oats*
- 1 package Ditalini (or other small) pasta*
- 1 package manicotti pasta shells*
- 1 package (7-inch) low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas (I use La Tortilla Factory)*
- 1 package all-purpose flour*
- 1 package panko bread crumbs*
Condiments and Spices
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cooking spray
- Olive oil spray (or get a Misto oil mister)
- Kosher salt (I like Diamond Crystal)
- Pepper grinder (or fresh peppercorns)
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Reduced sodium taco seasoning**
- Bay leaves
- Chipotle chili powder
- Honey
- Oregano
- Basil
- Red pepper flakes (optional for Breakfast Sandwich)
- Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Sazon
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Bagel toppings: such as everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes (optional)
Dairy & Misc. Refrigerated Items
- 1 wedge fresh Parmesan
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 small box unsalted butter
- 1 (8-ounce) tub reduced fat cream cheese
- 1 18-pack large eggs
- 1 (8-ounce) bottle skim milk
- 1 (17.5-ounce) container nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Frozen
- 1 (10-ounce) package corn kernels
Canned and Jarred
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can kidney beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans
- 1 (32-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
- 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chilis in adobo
- 2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with chilies
- 2 jars marinara sauce (I like Delallo Pomodoro Fresco)
- 1 (15-ounce) can and 1 (32-ounce) carton chicken broth
- 1 (32-ounce) carton low sodium chicken broth
Misc. Dry Goods
- 1 small bag chopped pecans
- 1 bottle white wine
- Baking powder
- 1 (1-pound) bag dry lentils
- 1 small bottle sherry
*You can sub gluten-free, if desired
**You can sub homemade using ingredients in list plus onion powder.
What do the numbers in () mean? For example, Hard Boiled Eggs (0). My apologies if you covered this somewhere but I can’t seem to find it today. Thank you!
Amazing! I own all your cookbooks but save all of your meal plan emails. Thanks for including the smart points. Makes following weight watchers easy too. Keep up the great work. Happly Holidays. Wishing you and your family a great new year.
Thanks Audrey, you too!
I love love love your meal plans. Perfect for my schedule and our family of 4. Thank you and please keep sharing!
Thank you so much for these meal plans! I absolutely love them. I’ve been using them every week!
Please keep making these. I just discovered them and they are exactly what I was looking for.
My husband and I just almost completed our first full week and I am soo happy with your recipes and plan and I hope it will help us on our road to better health! Thank you so very much please keep sharing!
Please do keep sharing. I’m a busy mom and Ginsburg time to think of something fresh and fun to eat can be very difficult. My husband loves following recipes si we’ve following the meal plans. They are delicious!!!
I am dairy free and would love to see more dairy free recipes on your site!
This is my first time following one of your meal plans, or meal planning and prepping in general. Today I prepped several meals. I feel a bit overwhelmed but I hoping after this week that it gets better. I am making the braised chicken as one of the first dishes, as the mushrooms I bought I do not think will last seven days. I am excited to see how this goes!!! I have made several of our recipes and loved them all so far!
Just read that you are planning to keep these going next year and I couldn’t be more excited!! These recipes have helped me get back on track with my health goals and back on track with my budget. Love them and thank you for taking the time to post.
I love that you have simple, basic meals and make use of leftovers for lunches. I don’t have time or desire to cook every single meal every day, so this works well for me. Thanks for making my life a bit easier!
I love these plans.
If I forget, I always find myself coming back to use these plans. Very grateful for this site!
Made the Braised chicken thighs with leeks and mushrooms last week and they were phenomenal! Very easy to throw together and the whole family loved it- toddler included!
I love using these plans.
I love these plans!!! Thank you for creating them! Just one more step I don’t have to worry about!
Hi Gina. Love your site, the meal plans & tasty recipes. You repeat many of your recipes which is great. I like to make big batches and freeze, so this works well with repeat recipes. do you have these covered in one of your cookbooks? or can you indicate which ones are suitable for batch freezing? I made a triple batch of the turkey greek meatballs and naked salmon burgers. These are both so delicious and are great for those nights when I get home late. Cheers!
Look at the FF symbol to the right, those are all freezer friendly if you click on them.
You asked for feedback about whether your readers are using your weekly meal plans. I’ve been struggling with my weight for the past few years and I think I’m at the point where I want to work on what I’m eating. I’ve had success with Weight Watchers before, but don’t want to go to meetings again. I was hoping to start using your weekly meal plans in the near future, so I hope you don’t discontinue them! Thanks for all the work you do to make recipes for healthy food available.
These are so very useful for our busy family of 9. Please, keep sharing!