7 Days of “1-2-3 Eat!”

Here’s a secret:  You don’t need to make fancy recipes from Pinterest to eat really well.  It’s true.

Now, you certainly CAN make fancy recipes from Pinterest (may we suggest our Pinterest page or just our recipe section on this site for some wonderfully fancy recipes?)…but it’s not required for clean eating, healthy eating, or even for beautiful and impressive plates of food.

One of my favorite ways to eat clean, healthy, impressive, tasty meals that take almost no recipe at all is Heidi’s genius but simple “1-2-3 Eat!” method of meal planning.  We describe this method in more detail in THIS POST, but I’ll go over it quickly again here.

“1-2-3 Eat!” is a simple philosophy for putting together a nearly endless number of healthy meals by picking from 3 categories.

1. Pick a protein:  A simple grilled steak or chicken breast, broiled pork chops, a filet of salmon.
2. Pick a veggie:  Some steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, squash, or a salad.
3. Pick a starch:  a whole grain roll, whole grain pasta, brown rice, or a sweet potato.

Just pick one from each list, prepare them as simply or as complexly as you like, and VIOLA…you have dinner.

With this method, you can keep frozen veggies, frozen brown rice packs (see this post on how to make your own), and frozen meats around to put a meal like this together just about any time you want.

For this blog, I put together a full 7-day Easy 1-2-3 Eat Meal Plan.

Of course, there’s no requirement to eat this type of meal for the entire week, but the variety that’s possible is showcased nicely here.  You can feel free to swap out a few of them for soups, stews, casseroles, or other dishes as you see fit, or you can try it as is.

Here’s how the meal plan goes:

This is one of the ultimate “1-2-3 Eat!” meals in the catalog.  It has a healthy balance of about 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% healthy fats.  Plus, it’s oh so beautiful and impressive on a plate.

The flagship of healthy meat and potatoes dinners…the grilled steak with baked sweet potato and a vegetable.

This balsamic chicken is tender and flavorful and pairs so nicely with the sides.  You are always welcome to switch out the veggie or the starch if you prefer, but you may want to keep this one as is.

Meatballs may not be what you think of when you envision eating “1-2-3 Eat!” but this recipe allows you to make extra and freeze them to reheat in the oven just like the meatballs you can buy in the supermarket freezer!  Now, that makes “1-2-3 Eat!” even easier.

This marinated steak is a bit different than just salting and grilling a steak.  You’ll love it.

If you’d like a different side than the asparagus, feel free to change it out, but sometimes having the same thing a few days apart can save money and waste at the grocery store.

Sheet Pan meals take “1-2-3 Eat!” to whole new level.  Everything goes on one sheet pan and into the oven.  So easy!

If you like this idea but not necessarily the meals in this plan (or you want to make more like this), you can easily use our website or many other resources to make your own meal plan with our custom meal planner.  You can try it without even putting in a credit card at all.  You’ll get 3 weeks to try it and then the option to subscribe for less than $10 per month.  No automatic charges at the end of the free trial (we don’t have your credit card at all).  TRY IT HERE.