Meal Prep Plan: How I Prep a Week of Veggie-Packed Pescatarian Meals for 2

This week’s Power Hour is all about meal planning for pescatarians or anyone else who’s interested in eating more plants and seafood. This mostly vegetarian meal plan is packed with colorful produce and also includes fish in the form of salmon and ultra-convenient canned tuna. It also proves that pescatarian meal prep can be quick and simple.

Since one of the risks with filling the fridge with fruits and vegetables is watching some of them go to waste at the end of the week, we’ll make sure to use up the leftovers before a new week begins. During this meal prep session you will get a head-start on a week of dinners, plus put plans in place for easy breakfasts and lunches too. Here’s how to get it all done in two hours or less.

• Breakfast: Simple but substantial meals to start the day with protein and produce.
• Lunch: A veggie- and fiber-fueled salad that you can eat three different ways.
• Dinner: Wholesome vegetarian and pescatarian meals that come together in minutes.
• Nutritional Goals: This week’s plan is all about small-scale meal planning for pescatarians. These meals are well-balanced, filling, and make smart use of leftovers.

• Feeds: 2 adults 
• Prep Time: About 2 hours
• Meals Covered: About 70% of meals (no weekend meals)
• Weekday Cooking Required? Yes. Most ingredients are prepped and dinner is easy to heat and serve.

• Yogurt & Fruit with Boiled Eggs
• Sweet Morning Potatoes
  

• Black Bean Salad with Corn and Avocado

• Vegetarian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Mediterranean White Bean Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette
• Sheet Pan Crispy Salmon and Potatoes
• Broccoli Reuben Sandwiches
• Leftover Niçioise-ish Salad: Use the week’s leftovers to build a Niçoise-style salad

Here is a shopping list with everything you’ll need to prepare a week of vegetarian and pescatarian meals for two. Check your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator for items you may already have on hand before heading to the store. Ingredients like kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil, and vegetable oil are not included on this list.

• Deli/Bakery: 4 slices rye or pumpernickel bread, 1/2 cup sauerkraut
• Dry Goods: 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup Niçoise (or Kalamata) olives, 2 (5-ounce) cans oil-packed tuna, 4 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, nuts (for topping sweet potatoes and yogurt), 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 cup basil pesto, 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, 1 can chipotles in adobo
• Dairy: 8 large eggs, 2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt, 2 ounces (4 slices) Swiss cheese, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Produce: In-season fruit (for topping yogurt), fresh parsley (optional for serving), 5 garlic cloves, 1 pound asparagus, 2 avocados, 4 ounces baby arugula, 1 pound broccoli, 1 small (8-ounce) fennel bulb, 2 lemons, 2 limes, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 3 plum tomatoes, 1 small red onion, 1 pound medium red potatoes, 6 sweet potatoes, 1 jalapeño, 1 small head radicchio, 1 small yellow onion
• Seafood: 4 (6-ounce about 1 1/4-inch-thick) skin-on salmon fillets

1. Heat oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F.
2. Prep broccoli. Cut 1 pound of broccoli (3 stalks) into very small florets, then peel the stalks and slice into rounds.
3. Bake sweet potatoes and roast broccoli: Pierce sweet potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss the prepared broccoli with olive oil, salt, and 2 smashed garlic cloves. Arrange in a single layer on a separate rimmed baking sheet. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Roast the broccoli until charred and tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and store separately in airtight containers.
4. Hard-boil eggs. Prepare 8 hard-boiled eggs according to your preferred method for making hard-boiled eggs. Cool in an ice bath and refrigerate in an airtight container.
5. Make black bean salad. Toss all ingredients except for the avocado together, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate. 
6. Prepare chipotle black beans and yogurt. Prepare the chipotle black beans on the stovetop according to steps 2 and 3 of this Vegetarian Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe, cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container. Following step 4 of the same recipe, mix adobo sauce and yogurt in a small container, then refrigerate.
7. Assemble tuna and white bean salad. Combine drained and rinsed cannellini beans, drained (but not rinsed) oil-packed tuna, and thin slices of fennel and radicchio in an airtight container. Make the pesto vinaigrette in a lidded jar and refrigerate. 

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Yogurt & Fruit with a boiled egg: Sweeten yogurt with maple syrup and top with in-season fruit. If desired, add a hard-boiled egg for extra protein or enjoy it as a mid-morning snack.
• Wednesday, Friday, Sweet Morning Potatoes: Reheat two roasted sweet potatoes in the microwave (or oven), split them open and top with yogurt, maple syrup, and chopped nuts.

• Monday through Friday, Black Bean Salad with Corn and Avocado: Dice an avocado each day and mix into a serving of black bean salad. Switch it up during the week and serve the salad over greens, as a hearty dip with chips, or stuffed into a tortilla. 

• Monday, Vegetarian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: Reheat two sweet potatoes and half of the chipotle black beans in the microwave (or oven and stovetop, respectively). Cut the sweet potatoes in half and add a spoonful each of the black beans and chipotle yogurt. Top with diced avocado, a few cilantro sprigs, and squeeze of fresh lime. Reserve the remaining 2 sweet potatoes and the rest of the chipotle black beans for a quick weekend lunch.
• Tuesday, Mediterranean White Bean Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette: Remove a small handful of arugula from the packaging and add to the half radicchio mixture and toss with a tablespoon or two of pesto vinaigrette. Top with half of the tuna and white bean mixture, then drizzle with more vinaigrette. Reserve remaining vegetables, tuna, beans, and vinaigrette for Friday’s dinner. If frozen, transfer salmon from freezer to refrigerator to thaw overnight. 
• Wednesday, Sheet Pan Crispy Salmon and Potatoes: Marinate the salmon while the oven heats. Slice potatoes and trim asparagus, then toss with oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Add the marinated salmon, skin-side down, and broil until the salmon is just cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Serve, reserving any leftovers for Friday’s dinner. 
• Thursday, Broccoli Reuben Sandwiches: Reheat the broccoli in the microwave while you stir Sriracha and mayonnaise together. Spread the spicy mayo on the bread, add sauerkraut, broccoli, and sliced Swiss cheese. Close the sandwich with the remaining slice of bread, then butter the top of the sandwich. Place sandwich butter-side down on a skillet over medium heat and weigh the sandwich down with a cast iron skillet. When that side is browned, butter the top side of the sandwich, flip, and repeat until the cheese melts and bread toasts. 
• Friday, Leftover Niçioise-ish Salad: Fill bowls with arugula and the vegetable mixture from the Tuesday’s white bean salad dinner. Add a spoonful of beans and tuna and a portion of leftover salmon to the greens. Add sliced potatoes, asparagus, quartered plum tomatoes, olives, and any extra hard-boiled eggs to the bowls. Drizzle with leftover pesto vinaigrette. 
  

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Power Hour Meal Prep is the series where we help you put it all together. We show you how to eat well during the week with an hour or two of Power Hour prep over the weekend. Every plan is different; mix and match to find your own personal sweet spot.