Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan for the Week (with Grocery List)

The Mediterranean diet keeps winning "best diet" lists because it is easy to follow for life. It is not a rulebook. It is a pattern: vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, olive oil, moderate dairy, less red meat, minimal ultra-processed food. Wine and dessert are fine in moderation. Here is a realistic seven-day plan with a grocery list at the end. Servings are for two adults. Scale to four or six in /recipes and the list scales too. ## What makes a meal "Mediterranean" Three quick heuristics: - Olive oil is the default fat. Butter and seed oils are occasional. - Plants outnumber animal protein on the plate. - Fish appears at least twice a week. Red meat appears at most once. That is enough to build a week around. ## The 7-day plan ### Monday - **Breakfast:** Greek yogurt with walnuts, honey, and berries. - **Lunch:** Chickpea and cucumber salad with feta, red onion, lemon, olive oil. - **Dinner:** Sheet-pan salmon with cherry tomatoes, olives, and zucchini. Brown rice. ### Tuesday - **Breakfast:** Whole-grain toast with avocado, tomato, olive oil, flaky salt. - **Lunch:** Leftover salmon flaked into a grain bowl with arugula, lemon, and the leftover rice. - **Dinner:** Lentil soup with carrots, celery, onion, cumin. Crusty bread. ### Wednesday - **Breakfast:** Oatmeal with almonds, chopped apple, cinnamon. - **Lunch:** Hummus, pita, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, a handful of cherry tomatoes. - **Dinner:** Pasta with garlic, olive oil, chili flakes, parsley, parmesan. Side salad. ### Thursday - **Breakfast:** Greek yogurt with the other half of the honey- walnut-berry mix from Monday. - **Lunch:** Leftover lentil soup. - **Dinner:** Grilled chicken thighs with tzatziki, tabbouleh, tomato-cucumber salad. ### Friday - **Breakfast:** Shakshuka — eggs poached in tomato, pepper, onion, paprika. Bread. - **Lunch:** Leftover chicken thighs in a pita with tzatziki and salad. - **Dinner:** White beans with sautéed greens (spinach or kale), lemon, olive oil, a poached egg on top. ### Saturday - **Breakfast:** Whole-grain toast, soft-boiled egg, olives, feta, sliced tomato. A Mediterranean breakfast plate. - **Lunch:** Tuna salad — good canned tuna, white beans, red onion, parsley, olive oil, lemon. - **Dinner:** Roasted whole fish (branzino, bream, or trout) with lemon, herbs. Roasted potatoes and green beans. ### Sunday - **Breakfast:** Oatmeal with pear and walnuts. - **Lunch:** Big Greek salad — tomato, cucumber, red onion, olives, feta, oregano, olive oil. Bread. - **Dinner:** Slow-cooked chicken and chickpea stew with tomato, paprika, spinach. Rice or bread to soak it up. ## Grocery list ### Produce - Cherry tomatoes (2 pints) - Tomatoes, large (5) - Cucumbers (4) - Red onions (3) - Yellow onions (3) - Garlic (2 heads) - Lemons (6) - Berries, fresh or frozen (1 pint) - Apples (2) - Pears (2) - Bell peppers (3) - Zucchini (2) - Carrots (1 bag) - Celery (1 bunch) - Parsley (2 bunches) - Oregano, fresh or dried - Spinach or kale (2 bunches) - Arugula (1 bag) - Green beans (1 lb) - Potatoes (2 lb) - Avocado (2) ### Protein - Salmon fillets (2 portions) - Chicken thighs, bone-in (6) - Whole fish: branzino, bream, or trout (2) - Eggs (1 dozen) - Canned tuna, good quality (2 tins) ### Pantry - Extra-virgin olive oil (yes, the good one) - Brown rice (1 lb) - Pasta (1 box) - Bulgur or couscous for tabbouleh - Rolled oats - Whole-grain bread, pita, and a good crusty loaf - Lentils (1 bag) - Chickpeas (2 cans) - White beans (2 cans) - Hummus (or make from the chickpeas) - Tzatziki (or make from the yogurt) - Olives (1 jar, Kalamata) ### Dairy - Greek yogurt, plain, full-fat (1 large tub) - Feta (1 block) - Parmesan (small wedge) ### Nuts, seeds, extras - Walnuts - Almonds - Honey - Cinnamon, cumin, paprika, chili flakes - Dry white wine for cooking (optional) ## How to make this easier Drop the whole plan into /meal-plan and the grocery list above regenerates automatically in the order your store is laid out. Browse more Mediterranean recipes at /recipes/cuisine/mediterranean, or scale servings for guests in /recipes. Two habits make the Mediterranean pattern stick: - **Cook once, eat twice.** Most dinners above become the next day's lunch. That is why the grocery list is smaller than it looks. - **Default to plants.** Build the plate around the vegetable and the grain first. The protein is the accent, not the anchor. Stay on this pattern for a month and the "diet" part disappears. It is just what dinner looks like.