Introducing the Healthy Reset Meal Plan

Is it just us, or is there something about back-to-school season that makes you crave a fresh start (whether or not you’re actually going back to school)? 

While it can be tough to say goodbye to the sweet simplicity and carefree fun of summer, early fall does have its perks beyond the arrival of pumpkin spice everything. It’s the ideal time to tap into that back-to-school energy and, like opening a new notebook to its first empty page, start fresh with your healthy routine.

Whether your household is literally going back to school or you’re just getting back into your busy schedule after a summer of kicking back, we’re excited to share a new way to cook and eat healthily: the Healthy Reset Meal Plan. It’s a fresh take on meal prep that will nourish you in more ways than one.

What is the Healthy Reset Meal Plan?

If you hear “meal prep” and think of a fridge full of the same boring meal on repeat, allow us to introduce you to the Healthy Reset Meal Plan, a five-day menu of 15 healthy, delicious, make-ahead meals. That means:

• Five ready-to-eat breakfasts
• Five throw-‘em-together lunches
• Five 30-minute (or less) dinners

Who’s this meal plan good for? Anyone who wants to eat more wholesome, home-cooked meals (and spend less on takeout), who’s bored of their go-to weekday recipe repertoire, or who’s fed up with groceries going to waste when the week gets too busy to cook. 

It’s meal prep reimagined, to treat your taste buds, stretch your grocery budget, and cut down on food waste. And thanks to a few clever tips and hacks, you might just learn a thing or two about how to work smarter, not harder in the kitchen.  

How the Healthy Reset Meal Plan Works

We took care of the recipe planning. All you have to do is follow a few steps:

1. READY: Stock up on healthy groceries, starting with top-quality pantry staples, proteins, and frozen items from Thrive Market and rounding it out with some fresh ingredients. Hint: look over the grocery list before you shop; you probably have a lot of these staples in your kitchen already!  

2. SET: Put on your favorite podcast, grab your clean storage containers (hint: clean takeout containers and mason jars work great) and plan for a few hours of food prep work on Sunday. Your future self will thank you.

3. RESET: Enjoy the fruits (and veggies, and soups, and smoothies…) of your labor from Monday through Friday. FYI: The breakfast recipes make one serving but can be easily doubled. Lunch and dinner recipes serve two, which means you can share, enjoy leftovers tomorrow, or (in some cases) freeze for later.

READY: Grocery List

Here’s what you’ll need to make the recipes included in the Healthy Reset Meal Plan. The plan is designed to minimize waste, and relies on a number of pantry staples that you likely already have in the cupboard (so take stock before you shop). Feel free to make substitutions as you see fit for your diet, tastes, or simply to use what you have.

Pantry 

Rolled oats
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Honey or maple syrup 
Coconut milk, 1 can
Apple sauce (pouches or jar)
Raw cashews
Raw almonds
Chicken bone broth (or vegetable broth), 1 16-ounce carton
Red curry paste
White basmati rice
Chickpeas
Short pasta of choice (penne, elbows, shells etc.), 1 8-ounce box
Olive oil
Toasted sesame oil
Tahini
Red wine vinegar
White wine vinegar
Whole-grain mustard
Avocado oil mayonnaise
Crushed red pepper
Ground cinnamon
Flaky sea salt
Almond milk (or milk of choice)
Olives (optional)

Frozen

Edamame, 1 bag
Strawberries, 1 bag
Bread of choice, 1 loaf (try Base Culture Keto Bread or Food for Life Ezekiel Bread)
Frozen potstickers, 1 package
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, 16 oz 
Ground beef (or ground turkey or Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground), 1 lb
Salmon, 1 ½ lb

Produce

Vegetables

Arugula, 5 oz
Baby spinach, 5 oz
Romaine hearts
Zucchini, 1 large
Cherry tomatoes, 10 oz
Broccoli, 4 small or 2 large heads
Fingerling potatoes, 24 oz
Fennel, 1 large or 2 small
Asparagus, 1 large bunch
Cucumber, 1 large or 4 Persian
Butternut squash, 1 large or 2 small
Garlic, 3 whole heads
Yellow onion, 1 large
Shallots, 2

Fruit

Lemons, 4 to 5
Limes, 4
Banana, 2 large
Avocado, 2
Fruit of choice (berries, stone fruit, etc. or use frozen)

Herbs*

Thyme, 1 bunch
Basil, 1 bunch
Parsley, 1 bunch
Mint, 1 bunch
Cilantro, 1 bunch

*Suggested. Get what you like!

Eggs and Dairy

Half-dozen eggs
Parmesan cheese, approx. 4 oz (optional, omit if dairy-free)
Yogurt of choice, at least ½ quart

SET: Sunday Meal Prep 

There’s no getting around the “prep” part of meal prep, but with a few basic steps you’ll be stocked for five days of healthy meals.  

Click here for the recipes you’ll need to prep ahead; they’re divided into vegetables and grains, dressings and seasonings, and mains.

Meal Prep Schedule at a Glance

1. Preheat oven on to 400℉. Put a medium to large pot of salted water on the stovetop, cover, and bring to boil. (You’ll use this to boil both broccoli and your pasta.) Put a second pot of cold, salted water and fingerling potatoes on the stovetop, cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. 
2. Now, chop some veggies: peel, seed, and chop butternut squash; slice onion into 6ths; and prep garlic. Transfer everything to a sheet pan and roast for 30 to 40 minutes.
3. Drain and thoroughly dry chickpeas.
4. Roast dry chickpeas for 30 to 40 minutes. Grind bread for breadcrumbs.
5. Cook broccoli in the first pot of water you prepared, then remove with a slotted spoon, reserving the cooking water. The potatoes should be done around the same time. Drain and set aside to cool.
6. Cook pasta according to package instructions in the same water you used to cook the broccoli. Separately, cook basmati rice. 
7. Lower oven temperature to 350℉.

Break time! Tidy up, walk the dog, have a snack, etc. 

8. Season cooked basmati rice with a few pinches of salt and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool before storing.
9. Make frittata.
10. In a blender or food processor, make broccoli basil pesto.
11. Clean it out, then use it to make chia pudding base. Finish chia pudding. Make overnight oats.
12. Make whole grain mustard vinaigrette, tahini vinaigrette, and roasted garlic aioli.
13. Wash, dry, and store herbs (wrap in a damp towel or place stems in a jar of water).
14. Coat chicken and salmon in aioli and store in fridge to marinate. 

RESET: 5 Days of Recipes

We worked with recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist extraordinaire Aubrey Devin to create a menu of meals that reuse ingredients and components in multiple, creative ways, ensuring you never get bored and nothing goes to waste. 

A note about the menu: In order to make these recipes appeal to as many people as possible, they aren’t tailored to a specific diet. That said, we’ve designed them to be adaptable, so you can make adjustments as you see fit to suit your diet and preferences. You’ll find a few specific substitution ideas, but feel free to make these recipes your own—skip the meat and add an egg or a scoop of beans, swap in cauliflower rice or veggie pasta, or get creative to use the produce you have on hand.  

Without further ado, here are your daily menus with links to each recipe:

Day 1: Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats + Veggie Frittata Sandwich w/ Broccoli Pesto + Lemon Chicken w/ Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Day 2: Strawberry Chia Pudding + Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Pesto + Wild Salmon Caesar Salad

Day 3: Veggie Frittata + Plant-Based Grain Bowl w/ Lime Tahini + One-Pot Pasta w/ Spicy Broccoli

Day 4: Apple Cinnamon Smoothie + Roast Salmon Salad w/ Mustard Vinaigrette + Potstickers w/ Avocado, Edamame, and Sesame-Lime Sauce 

Day 5: Strawberry Chia Smoothie + Thai-Style Beef Lettuce Wraps + Coconut Red Curry Soup

We hope these recipes and tips make getting back into your healthy routine a little easier, a little more fun, and a lot more delicious.