Meal Plans ThePrep Gut-Healthy Dinners You Can Make in 4 Steps or Fewer (Weekly Plan & Shopping List!) This week’s plan shows that increasing your fiber intake and taking care of your gut can be easy. By Megan Ginsberg Megan Ginsberg Megan Ginsberg is the Senior Editor for EatingWell. She has a keen eye for grammar, is always looking for new recipes to try and loves the satisfaction that comes from meal planning. Most of her 20-plus-year editing career has been focused on food-related content. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 18, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time getting enough fiber in my typical day. I seem to naturally get enough of other nutrients without thinking too hard, but I really need to try to prioritize fiber and seek out high-fiber foods. Why is getting enough fiber important? Because it’s crucial for a variety of body functions, including gut health. It might surprise you to learn that gut health isn’t just about your gut. The gut is connected to so many other parts of the body, so taking care of your gut health is one way to take care of the rest of you. To help you (and me) do that, this week’s recipes are all high in fiber—plus they feature foods rich in prebiotics and/or probiotics, which help support good gut bacteria. So let’s jump in and increase our fiber intake this week—without overthinking it. Your Weekly Plan Sunday: Broccoli-Pesto PastaMonday: Crunchy Chopped SaladTuesday: Roasted Vegetable SoupWednesday: Crispy Tempeh Steaks with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream SauceThursday: Roasted Squash & Lentil Kale SaladFriday: Piled-High Veggie Sandwich Get the Shopping List Our column, ThePrep, has everything you'll need to make dinner planning and grocery shopping as easy as can be. Nutritional needs differ from one individual to another, and we invite you to use these dinner plans as inspiration and adjust them as you see fit. Sign up to get a dinner plan delivered to your inbox every Saturday! 01 of 06 Sunday: Broccoli-Pesto Pasta Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman Instead of just tossing broccoli with pasta, here we transform broccoli into a pesto that coats the pasta. To make it, you simply pulse fiber-rich, tender-crisp cooked broccoli in the food processor with basil, garlic, lemon zest, artichokes and Parmesan cheese. Toss the pesto with whole-wheat spaghetti and use a little of the pasta cooking water to thin it out so it coats every strand. Get the Recipe 02 of 06 Monday: Crunchy Chopped Salad Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This crunchy chopped salad features a quartet of high-fiber ingredients that all start with the letter “C”: cabbage, carrots, cucumber and chickpeas! And because it has so many vegetables, it’s not just gut-healthy, it’s also packed with a variety of health-promoting vitamins and nutrients. Plus, it has a delicious, punchy ginger-soy-miso dressing to tie everything together. Serve it with a little rotisserie chicken on the side. Get the Recipe 03 of 06 Tuesday: Roasted Vegetable Soup Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This satisfying, gut-healthy soup gets probiotics from white miso and a good base of fiber from chickpeas and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes get roasted with apple, leek, cherry tomatoes, scallions and seasonings to ensure a deeply flavorful soup. Blending it all with the chickpeas, miso and coconut milk gives it a silky texture. Serve it with a crusty whole-wheat baguette. Get the Recipe 04 of 06 Wednesday: Crispy Tempeh Steaks with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman Like the ever-popular “Marry Me” chicken, this dish features a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, but it swaps in tempeh, a probiotic-rich plant-based protein, for the chicken. The tempeh, plus fiber-rich kale, makes it great for improving gut health. Some Parmesan and basil sprinkled on top ensure that it’s super-flavorful too. Serve it over brown rice to catch the sauce. Get the Recipe 05 of 06 Thursday: Roasted Squash & Lentil Kale Salad Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman Kale is a gut-health superstar. Not only is it packed with fiber, but it’s also a prebiotic food, which means it feeds your good gut bacteria and keeps it healthy. Add to that some butternut squash, lentils and pepitas, and you’ve really got a powerhouse salad, chock-full of fiber and nutrients. Be sure to massage the kale to make it tender and easier to chew. Get the Recipe 06 of 06 Friday: Piled-High Veggie Sandwich Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman It’s the end of the week. We all deserve an easy dinner. Let’s make a sandwich, but not just any sandwich—one that’s packed with gut-healthy veggies and fiber. Start by combining yogurt, cream cheese and pesto to make a flavorful spread, then layer on sliced tomato, chopped artichoke hearts, shaved asparagus, spring mix and some pickled cherry peppers. Your gut will thank you. Get the Recipe I wish you all a great week, and I hope you enjoy this dinner plan. If you try a recipe, remember to add a review. 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