Healthy Summer Meal Plan: | One Week of Dinners

See our healthy summer meal plan! These meals are delicious, require no baking, and are simple enough to make any night of the week.

We like to stick to easy, cool meals that are loaded with summer vegetables. We came up with this healthy summer meal plan so we don’t have to spend our days in the kitchen cooking. And we definitely don’t want our oven on all day.

We know mine do. During the summer, we have a large garden full of fresh tomatoes, summer squash, zucchinis, peppers, and cucumbers. Even if you don’t garden, we bet your local grocery store has a lot of these vegetables on major sale!

We like to stick to pan-frying or the instant pot for making meat. This avoids heating the house up with the oven. We like to have meals that are easy to make and easy to pack for all of our summer outings.

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ONE WEEK OF HEALTHY SUMMER MEALS

#1 TACO SALAD

This is the ultimate summer meal, and we could eat it every night of the week! It is so simple, and we have most of the ingredients growing in our backyard.

On top of a large bed of lettuce, we add shredded chicken, beef, or pork. Sprinkle the meat with our homemade gluten-free taco seasoning.

Add a handful of chips to crush on top or to dip into the toppings. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top. You can’t go wrong with this dish! Top the salad with fresh diced tomatoes, onions, avocados, salsa, sour cream, jalapeños, and cheese.

Like this recipe? See a couple more variations HERE and HERE.

#2 CHICKEN SALAD

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We bake a whole chicken in the instant pot, allow it to cool then shred it. We then add diced celery, onions, grapes, nuts, salt, pepper, and homemade mayo. Stir it together and serve it with sliced avocados. This is another meal we often make during the summer months.

So delicious and easy to pack for a day out at the park or beach.

HOW TO MAKE A WHOLE CHICKEN IN AN INSTANT POT

1. Remove the neck and giblets from the inside cavity and place chicken in the instant pot.
2. Add 1/2 cup of water or broth.
3. Sprinkle with your favorite seasonings. We use salt, pepper, garlic, and onion.
4. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes and let it release pressure naturally.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE MAYO

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup avocado oil
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all the ingredients into a wide-mouth mason jar.
2. Blend with an immersion blender. Start at the bottom, and as you see the liquid turn creamy and white, work the blender upward towards the top. This takes about 3 minutes total.

This is the immersion blender We have.

#3 BURGERS AND SEASONAL VEGETABLES

Grill up some burgers on the barbecue pit or pan fry them inside. Serve them with garden-fresh sliced tomatoes, onions, and avocados.

If you are gluten-free, place the burger and toppings on top of a large leaf of lettuce. This is our favorite way to eat it!

#4 MINI ZUCCHINI PIZZAS

It is a great way to add more vegetables to our diet. During the summer, we have zucchini coming out of our ears. We literally add it to everything! We shred it and throw it in meat, eggs, bread, soup, etc., you name it, and we have done it.

It has since become a regular. We have made zucchini lasagna many times, and we all love it. One night, when we didn’t have much time to make dinner, we came up with this recipe. We had planned to make zucchini lasagna but found this to be faster, and everyone loved it!

INGREDIENTS

4 zucchinis, sliced in 1/4 inch circles

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup marinara

Pepperonis, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon avocado oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the avocado oil in a cast-iron skillet and add the sliced zucchinis.
2. Cook for 5 minutes on both sides or until slightly browned.
3. Top each zucchini slice with marinara, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4. Place the cast-iron skillet in the oven and broil on high for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
5. These are great for leftovers, as a snack, or for an appetizer.

#5 MEXICAN CHICKEN AND FRESH PICO

We're breaking out the instant pot for this recipe too! Can you tell we love this thing? It is especially handy during the summer months when we don’t want to use our oven and heat up the house.

Serve with avocado slices and fresh pico de gallo. Following the same recipe that we shared above, cook a whole chicken in the instant pot. When it is finished, let it cool, and then shred it. Add a couple of tablespoons of paleo taco seasoning and fresh lime juice.

PALEO TACO SEASONING

We try to avoid taco seasonings from the store because most of them have gluten, MSG, artificial dyes, and some form of sugar. Try mixing up a batch of this for the next time you are enjoying tacos. With a few spices in your pantry, you can whip up a taco seasoning that is healthy.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon salt (we use pink Himalayan.)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon red hot pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until well combined.
2. Store in an airtight container.

We store ours in a small mason jar. We like to make a large batch of this while we have all the spices out.

PICO DE GALLO

1 tomato, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice from one key lime

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the chicken.

#6 GRILLED CHICKEN WITH BERRY SALSA

You will love this dish if you are into sweet and salty. Grilled chicken can get boring, but topping it with this berry salsa will add so much flavor!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup strawberries, diced

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons red onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1 lemon, juiced

Fresh rosemary, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, except the lemon and rosemary. Stir until well combined.
2. Sprinkle with rosemary and squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top of the salsa.
3. Pour over grilled chicken breast.

#7 FISH TACOS

1lb salmon

1 cup sour cream

1 diced jalapeno

1/8 cup onion, diced

1 avocado, diced

Juice of one key lime

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Tortillas (If gluten-free or paleo, you can buy cassava flour tortillas.)

Chipotle mayo (you can make your own with homemade mayo, hot sauce, garlic, and lime juice)

Shredded purple cabbage for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grill salmon until it can be easily flaked apart with a fork, about 4 minutes per side.
2. While salmon is cooking, lightly fry tortillas in coconut oil.
3. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl (except mayo).
4. Place grilled salmon on one half of the tortilla. Top with the sauce mixture, chipotle mayo, and shredded cabbage.

What are your favorite things to make during the summer?

We hope this note gives you some summer meal inspiration!