Looking for a meal plan to help support your nutrition goals? This anti-inflammatory meal plan for the week is designed to help promote weight loss. Balanced with fiber and protein, these meals can help keep you feeling full throughout the day. In this plan, there are recipes packed with inflammation-fighting foods like antioxidant-rich berries and dark leafy veggies, whole grains, legumes and fish and nuts high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Why This Plan Is Great for You
Why is reducing inflammation important? While acute inflammation is important for healing when you have a cut or an injury, chronic inflammation can negatively affect your body by weakening your immune system, increasing joint pain and causing digestive issues. Chronic inflammation typically is caused by environmental and/or lifestyle factors like lack of sleep, unbalanced diet, being sedentary or chronic stress.
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on eating less ultra-processed foods that are high in added fat and added sugar, and instead eating mostly whole foods that are high in antioxidants. This includes foods like whole grains, nuts, beans, brightly-colored fruits and vegetables, whole grains, omega-3-rich fish, seeds and unsweetened dairy.
You don’t need to follow this meal plan exactly to lose weight! The best part of the anti-inflammatory diet is that it’s highly flexible where you can adjust and substitute foods that you enjoy eating. This meal plan is set to 1,500 calories a day, but calories for weight loss can be different from person to person. Feel free to adjust as needed to best meet your needs. This plan has modifications for 1,800 and 2,000 calories to support those with different calorie needs.
While we previously included meal plans and modifications for 1,200 calories, we no longer do. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting your calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.
Day 1
Breakfast ( 423 Calories)
A.M. Snack ( 42 Calories)
- 1/2 cup of blueberries
Lunch ( 401 Calories)
Dinner ( 633 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons of walnuts to A.M. snack, add ½ cup of cherries to lunch, and add ¼ of an avocado to dinner
Make it 2,000 calories: Add ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons of walnuts to A.M. snack, add ½ cup of cherries to lunch, add 3 Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls to P.M. snack and add 1/2 of an avocado to dinner
Daily Totals: 1,496 calories, 53g fat, 10g saturated fat, 102g protein, 163g carbohydrate, 35g fiber, 2,206 mg sodium
Day 2
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Breakfast (410 Calories)
Lunch (374 Calories)
Dinner (674 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add ½ cup of cottage cheese and 1 medium peach for A.M. snack and add High-Fiber Guacamole Snack Jar as P.M. snack
Make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 serving of Spinach & Feta Scrambled Egg Pitas to breakfast and add High-Fiber Guacamole Snack Jar as P.M. snack
Daily Totals: 1,459 calories, 68g fat, 22g saturated fat, 57g protein, 168g carbohydrate, 27g fiber, 1,809mg sodium
Day 3
Breakfast (343 Calories)
Lunch (454 Calories)
P.M Snack (221 Calories)
- ½ cup of blueberries
- ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon of walnut
Dinner (468 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add 1 serving of Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls and 1 medium banana to A.M. snack
Make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 serving of Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls and 1 medium banana to A.M. snack and half an avocado to lunch
Daily Totals: 1,486 calories, 71g fat, 14g saturated fat, 94g protein, 128g carbohydrate, 36g fiber, 1,459g sodium
Day 4
Ali Redmond
Breakfast (343 Calories)
A.M Snack (193 Calories)
Lunch (498 Calories)
P.M. Snack (170 Calories)
Dinner (305 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add 1 serving of Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls to P.M. snack and half an avocado to lunch
Make it 2,000 calories: Add another tablespoon of pistachios to A.M. snack, add 1 serving Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls and ½ cup of 2% cottage cheese to P.M. snack and half an avocado to lunch
Daily Totals: 1,508 calories, 72g fat, 16g saturated fat, 106g protein, 193g carbohydrate, 27g fiber, 1,921mg sodium
Day 5
Breakfast (343 Calories)
A.M. Snack (170 Calories)
Lunch (393 Calories)
P.M Snack (221 Calories)
- ½ cup of blueberries
- ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon of walnuts
Dinner (387 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add 1 serving Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls to A.M. snack and half an avocado to lunch
Make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 serving Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls and ½ cup of cottage cheese to A.M. snack, add half an avocado to lunch, and add ½ cup of cherries to dinner
Daily Totals: 1,513 calories, 71g fat, 17g saturated fat, 75g protein, 153g carbohydrate, 36g fiber, 1,581mg sodium
Day 6
Breakfast (380 Calories)
Lunch (454 Calories)
P.M. Snack (170 Calories)
Dinner (524 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add 1 serving Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls to A.M. snack and add ¼ avocado to lunch
Make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 serving Cranberry-Almond Energy Balls and ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt to A.M. snack, add 1/2 avocado to lunch, and 1 medium peach to dinner
Daily Totals: 1,528 calories, 70g fat, 14g saturated fat, 86g protein, 149g carbohydrate, 30g fiber, 1,621mg sodium
Day 7
Jacob Fob
Breakfast (414 Calories)
Lunch (430 Calories)
P.M Snack (221 Calories)
- ½ cup of blueberries
- ½ cup of low-fat greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon of walnut
Dinner (446 Calories)
Make it 1,800 calories: Add another serving of Blueberry Almond Milk Pancakes to breakfast
Make it 2,000 calories: Add another serving of Blueberry Almond Milk Pancakes to breakfast, add High-Fiber Guacamole Snack Jar as A.M. snack, and ½ cup of cherries to lunch
Daily Totals: 1,511 calories, 68g fat, 11g saturated fat, 83g protein, 159g carbohydrate, 20g fiber, 1,739mg sodium
How to Meal Prep Your Week of Meals:
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Yes! This meal plan is meant to serve as a framework for an anti-inflammatory eating plan. It doesn’t need to be followed exactly to reap the benefits. When choosing recipes, we made sure to check calories, protein and sodium so they would fit within the total calorie goal of 1,500 calories per day, be within our sodium limits, and are high in antioxidants. If you’re making a recipe swap, it may be helpful to choose a recipe with similar calories, protein and sodium levels. For more inspiration, check out these easy anti-inflammatory meals.
-
Definitely, it’s fine to eat the same breakfast or lunch every day. Each breakfast ranges from 342 to 420 calories while each lunch spans 392 to 498 calories. These ranges are fairly close, though if you’re closely monitoring your calories or other nutrients, like protein, you may want to adjust a snack or two.
-
We no longer provide modifications for 1,200-calorie days in our meal plans. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Focus On
- Fish, especially fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and tuna
- Shellfish
- Fruits
- Vegetables, especially dark-colored vegetables, like sweet potatoes and spinach
- Olives and olive oil
- Avocado and avocado oil
- Nuts and seeds, including natural nut butters
- Beans
- Lentils
- Edamame
- Whole grains
- Unsweetened fermented dairy, such as yogurt, kefir and cottage cheese
How We Create Meal Plans
Registered dietitians thoughtfully create EatingWell’s meal plans to be easy-to-follow and delicious. Each meal plan meets specific parameters depending on the health condition and/or lifestyle goal it is targeting and is analyzed for accuracy using the nutrition database, ESHA Food Processor. As nutritional needs differ from person to person, we encourage you to use these plans as inspiration and adjust as you see fit.