Mediterranean diet meal plan for a real-life week
The Mediterranean diet is less a set of rules than a way of eating: lots of vegetables, beans, whole grains, olive oil and fish, a little meat. This prompt has your todo.is agent turn that into a concrete week you can shop for and cook, with fish twice, legumes most days and simple dishes from Greece, Italy, Spain and the Levant.
The prompt
- Make me a 7-day Mediterranean diet meal plan for [PEOPLE]. Follow the usual pattern: vegetables and fruit every day, legumes at least 4 times, fish or seafood at least twice, olive oil as the main fat, whole grains, nuts, and red meat at most once. We like [FAVORITE FOODS] and avoid [FOODS TO AVOID]. Weekday dinners should take under [COOKING TIME]. Plan breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a simple snack list. Add short recipes and a grocery list, and put it in a nicely formatted PDF I can print. Email it to me.
What to change
- [PEOPLE]: E.g. "2 adults in their 50s", or "me and my partner".
- [FAVORITE FOODS]: E.g. "Greek salads, lentils, grilled fish".
- [FOODS TO AVOID]: Allergies or dislikes, e.g. "shellfish, anchovies".
- [COOKING TIME]: E.g. "30 minutes".
Example result
- Mediterranean week for 2 adults
- Likes Greek salads, lentils, grilled fish · no shellfish · 30-minute dinners
- Breakfasts (rotate)
- • Greek yogurt with honey, walnuts and fresh figs or berries
- • Whole grain toast with crushed tomato, olive oil and a boiled egg (Spanish pan con tomate style)
- • Oats with grated apple, cinnamon and almonds
- Lunches and dinners
- • Mon: Lunch: lentil salad with feta, red onion and parsley · Dinner: baked cod with tomatoes, olives and capers, crusty whole grain bread
- • Tue: Lunch: leftover cod in a pita with tzatziki · Dinner: chickpea and spinach stew (Spanish espinacas con garbanzos)
- • Wed: Lunch: Greek salad with white beans · Dinner: whole wheat spaghetti with zucchini, lemon and pine nuts
- • Thu: Lunch: leftover chickpea stew · Dinner: grilled sardines or mackerel, roasted peppers, boiled potatoes with olive oil
- • Fri: Lunch: tabbouleh with hummus and vegetables · Dinner: chicken souvlaki with Greek salad and pita
- • Sat: Lunch: farro salad with roasted vegetables · Dinner: Italian minestrone with borlotti beans and Parmesan
- • Sun: Lunch: slow-cooked lamb with lemon potatoes (the week's red meat) · Dinner: light mezze plate
- Snacks
- • A handful of almonds or walnuts · fresh fruit · olives · carrot sticks with hummus
- The pattern in this week
- • Fish: twice (cod, sardines or mackerel). Oily fish gives omega-3
- • Legumes: 5 times (lentils, chickpeas twice, white beans, borlotti)
- • Red meat: once, as a Sunday meal
- • Olive oil: extra virgin for dressing, regular olive oil for cooking
- • Drinks: water most of the time; wine is optional and in many guidelines limited or skipped
- Grocery list (excerpt)
- Fish and meat: cod fillets 2 · sardines or mackerel 4 · chicken breast 400 g · lamb shoulder 600 g
- Produce: tomatoes 10 · cucumbers 2 · red onions 3 · zucchini 3 · spinach 400 g · peppers 4 · lemons 4 · parsley 2 bunches
- Pantry: green lentils · chickpeas 2 cans · white beans · borlotti beans · farro · bulgur · whole wheat spaghetti · extra virgin olive oil
How to do it with todo.is
- Fill in who you're cooking for, foods you love and avoid, and your weekday cooking time.
- Send it to your todo.is agent on WhatsApp or Telegram, or paste it on the Today screen.
- You get a printable PDF with 21 meals, snacks, recipes and a grocery list by email.
- Ask for a second week with new dishes, or a Word version you can edit.
Tips for a better result
- Canned sardines, mackerel and chickpeas make the Mediterranean diet cheap and fast. Ask your agent to use them.
- Ask for regional dishes you'd like to try, like Turkish lentil soup or Sicilian caponata, to keep it fresh.
- If you're following it for heart health, ask for lower-salt versions and check the plan with your doctor.
- Make it a weekly to-do on Saturday mornings so a new menu and list arrive before you shop.
Mediterranean diet meal plan: FAQ
- What can you eat on the Mediterranean diet? Mostly vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds and olive oil, with fish and seafood often, moderate dairy and poultry, and little red meat or sweets.
- Is the Mediterranean diet good for weight loss? It can help when portions match your needs, and it is easier to keep up than many strict diets. Add a calorie target to the prompt if weight loss is your goal.
- Do I have to drink wine on the Mediterranean diet? No. Wine is optional, and many health bodies advise not starting to drink for health reasons. The plan works fully without it.
- Can the plan be vegetarian? Yes. Say "no meat or fish" and your agent will lean on legumes, eggs, dairy and nuts, which are already central to Mediterranean eating.
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