Our 5 Free Real Food Meal Plans

I’ve created 5 free real food meal plans to help make things a little easier for those busy families who would like to cut out processed food while still enjoying family meals. Together, these provide weekly meal plans for 5 weeks total. If you follow the instructions below to download the meal plans then this is what you’ll get:

  • Five 7-day practical “real food” menu plans designed for busy families – that’s 35 delicious recipes for meal planning. 
  • Complete, healthy meals listed each day for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner time with leftovers incorporated.
  • Food quantities calculated for a family of four.
  • Corresponding complete grocery list showing what to buy in order of the store and actual cost for each item (as opposed to the price per serving) with seasonal ingredients highlighted on Meal Plans 3 – 5 so purchases can be made from your local farmers’ market if desired.
  • Tips on meal prep such as what to make ahead to get ready for the week.
  • Grocery budget-friendly prices that are close to what a family of four would receive on full food stamp (SNAP) benefits– $167/week – with plenty of additional cost-saving opportunities because:
    • Coupons were not used
    • Sales prices were not used
    • Prices for organic items were used in most cases
    • If you follow this plan you will end up with some leftover food (like granola, eggs, flour, butter, marsala wine, and corn meal) that can be incorporated into recipes the following week
  • All underlined recipes are available on 100DaysofRealFood.com – check out the Recipe Index for a full list.
  • All recipes are working mom/dad-friendly including tips on what to make in advance over the weekend.
  • Almost every item listed follows our strict 10-day pledge rules, with just a few minor exceptions to keep the plan realistic for those busy working parents.

Here’s a glimpse of a few easy meal ideas that are included:

  • slow cooker meals, like tacos and chicken (which make enough for leftovers!)
  • stir fry packed with veggies
  • granola and smoothie ideas for quick snacks (or healthy breakfasts)
  • plenty of options that should appeal to picky eaters (including some tasty treats)
  • recipes for homemade sauces like teriyaki or tzatziki
  • budget-friendly dinner ideas that spice up comfort foods like macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, ground beef, and quesadillas

Here’s the scoop on how to get your Meal Plans

Sign up for our “Free Real Food Resources” to get access to these meal plans as well as other free resources. You will also be subscribed to our weekly newsletter to get updates on the blog (you can unsubscribe from the bottom of any email if you wish).

454 thoughts on “Our 5 Free Real Food Meal Plans”

  2. Amy

    Hi,
    I am already on the email subscription with, 100 Days Of Real Food, however I did not or do not remember getting a link to the free meal plans that are available. What can I do to get these without adding my email again?

    Reply
  4. L

    These five meal plans are great! I’ve tried lots of other meal planning services and none have been as well planned as these. This really minimizes food waste while still making enough food for a family of four. Really great job! Do you have any more?

    Thank you!

    ~L~

    Reply
  8. Sam

    Hi Lisa – I love the idea of eating real/not processed food. However, my entire family is vegetarian (we do not eat fish either), do you have any meal plans for vegetarians?

    Reply
    1. Emily

      Can you just pack my lunch? Every. Day. Please?

      These meal ideas look amazing and are doable. I’ll be browsing a little more, but I do believe I’m sold. I’ve made awesome lifestyle changes over the last several months, but really want to get rid of the last bit of processed food I eat.

      Reply
  18. jeni

    We only need dinner plans. Is there a way to receive a menu and grocery list for that. We eat eggs and fruit for b fast and salad with yogurt pretty much daily.

    Reply
    1. Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

      Hi Jeni. When you subscribe and receive the plans (PDFs), you can take the parts you need and leave the rest. :)

      Reply
  21. Vivienne

    So happy that I found your website, as I intend to change my eating habits, so that I can be healthier and lose weight. I am a breast cancer survivor.

    Reply
    1. Jennifer

      Hooray Vivienne!!!
      Your post really caught my eye! Although I am not a cancer survivor, I just recently turned 50, and have changed my eating habits for a few months now…it truly is VERY easy, and Lisa’s book and website make it even easier- I wish I had known about them a few months back! Best of luck to you!!

      Reply
  23. Kiera

    `We are a family of 6, soon to be 7!! As a pregnant momma with 4 children, 11yrs and younger, we need a meal plan that is easy (both parents work full time and the kids are in sports – cross country and swim – after school — SUPER busy family!!)

    I am very grateful for the options and looking forward to seeing happier family-time at the end of the work day, instead of a mad-rush worrying about what to have for dinner!! :-)

    Thank you!

    Reply
  25. Janice Altenburger

    What I need is for someone to develop a meal plan for one person or maybe two. It is very hard to be on meal plans that are for families. I am trying to follow the Mediterranean diet plan and find that I throw out way too much food because I can’t use it all before it goes bad. Do you happen to have anything that would meet my needs. I know I am not alone.

    Reply
    1. Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

      Hi there. Not exactly, but you can cut most of the recipes in half and adjust the shopping list accordingly as many readers do. Or, you can make life easier on yourself and freeze leftovers from full recipes. A full freezer is very handy. :) Not a perfect solution but Lisa’s recipes are designed to feed a family of four with some leftovers.

      Reply
    2. Amanda

      When I was buying for only myself, I would purchase only 2-3 days worth of fresh fruits and veggies. I was going to the store more often to get more, but I hardly threw anything away.

      Reply
  26. Douglas Brown

    My fiance and I will be getting married soon, in just 2 months, and have been on the lookout for ways to save when shopping for groceries. I think that creating plans that go off of food stamps is an interesting idea that would totally work. We are probably not going to be as busy as some of the people this article is intended for, but we will use them anyway! Thanks for the tips and information.

    Reply
  28. Sis

    I want to take back my earlier comment about living on food stamps. I am so sorry!! I figured it out and as a household of one I get more than the family of four. Again, I am so sorry!!!

    Reply
  29. Sis

    I just read about what you said about a family of four getting $167.00 a week in food stamps. Well, I don’t know where you got your information from, but I live in Bismarck, North Dakota. I am handicapped and am on food stamps. For a household of one I only get $200.00 a month. I really should say “I only get” because I am greatfull to be getting anything…

    Reply
  32. DD

    I’m trying to find a reasonable meal plan. I’m so excited, because we recently got a boost to our income and are jumping from spending $200/6 weeks on food and household supplies to about $65/week for food and household supplies for 5 people!!!!!!! We can’t use any bean, green bean, pea, peanut, soy, mixed tocopherols, etc.

    Reply
  33. Sara

    Want a jump start on a healthy meal plan!
    Don’t waste anytime at the grocery store…
    Then don’t spend another day with a diet that takes up all out time.
    Be sure to use the code
    ‘HEALTHYFOOD’ at check out for $50 off!
    http://bit.ly/1CPuhlY

    Reply
  36. Sally

    I really want to start cooking using only whole foods. I do not want to use processed food in my diet anymore. I need easy and quick recipes if you have any to get me started on this way of eating please. Thank you.

    Reply
  38. Julie J.

    I am looking forward to trying to implement this idea for my husband and I. We still have a lot of processed that I would actually hate to throw away since we did spend all that money….

    Reply
  39. Simone

    Thank you so much for your generous information that helps me with ideas for my kids. Really appreciate the way you think outside the box. And as a parent of school kids and a health coach Im going to ask if I can do the taste test with my kids class. Broaden their horizons… Once again thank you.

    Reply
    1. Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

      Hi Patricia. Have you an email subscriber? If not, subscribe and you will receive a link to the meal plans.

      Reply
  43. Erin

    Looking to get my family away from all thus fake processed food in the stores, healthier, and happier. Looking forward to the meal plans and getting them all to try New things!! :)

    Reply
  45. Paul Smyth

    Found your website due to a friend who shared the Pulled pork in a crock pot recipe. The biggest problem I have as a divorcee is finding good practical economical recipes that work for people living alone. My favourite thing about when my kids come to stay is being able to cook properly. I’d love to see some good suggestions for cooking for one that don’t involve batch cooking and freezing.

    Reply
      1. Paul Smyth

        Thanks so much for those suggestions! Yeah I spent the weekend batch cooking myself. I think I’ll just have to get used to that and build up “stock” over time.

  46. Mindy

    We are firm believers in eating only real food. Organic, if possible and the less altered the better.
    We are a one income family and have 3 teenagers still at home. One of my jobs as a stay at home mom is to make healthy foods,and save time and money.Trying to find new ideas is a chore.
    I just stumbled across this website and I am excited! Most people have meal ideas based on modern, standard American diets, which we will not eat. So the fact that you have created meal plans, grocery lists based on real food? I will for sure being sharing this with others! Thanks for making my job easier!

    Reply
  49. Liporidex Works

    wow, not only does this include dinner and lunch, but breakfast and snacks!!! There is really no thinking involved and that is ideal for busy families. Often meal plans just focus on dinner, but what about the other important meals throughout the day. Often busy moms and dads skip breakfast completely, and get take out for lunch. This is not only slowing down your metabolism, but costing you more money each month. Great meal plan! Thanks

    Reply
  51. Cindy Kemp

    I am a cardiac patient and would like to check this out. I am also a grandparent of 3 girls. One is having weight problems at age 10 so would like to see how this might help her. She enjoys taking her lunch to school.

    Reply
  53. Cheree

    You have done a great job eliminating most of the processed food from your family’s diet and that is awesome! I would encourage you to do some additional research about grains and the negative effects they have on the body, whether you are gluten-sensitive or not. Wheat really isn’t healthy for you and “whole grain” isn’t necessary. What is needed is fiber and the best place to get fiber is from fruits and vegetables. Also, as much as I love dairy, milk products in their current, mass-produced state, aren’t really good for us either. If you are consuming dairy, it should be raw and full-fat.

    Reply
  54. Nicole tate

    We are family of 9(my husband and I and our five kids plus my sister and her son) and we all decided to cut all the processed and unhealthy ( hubby’s fighting to give up mtn dew though) , we also receive snap here in California! What s good way be able to make, purchase easy meals for our family of 9

    Reply
    2. Yvette Arceneaux

      we are also a family of 9 (2 adults and 7 kids) but do not get any monetary help with food expenses. Our issue is getting past the eyes. If it doesn’t look good these people will not eat it. The kids run ages 23-6 months.

      Reply
    1. Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

      Hi Dawn. That is unlikely since Lisa’s family is not vegan and the recipes she creates are meals for them. You are welcome to adapt any of the recipes to your own dietary needs. I make many of Lisa’s recipes meat, gluten, and dairy free. :)

      Reply
  57. Peggy

    I am a big fan of your blog and purchased your book to help my family to get away from processed foods. We have 3 people who have wheat allergies and dairy intolerance and one who gets migraines so bad that we has to sit in a dark room for hours. The Dr. suggested no processed food, which I had been trying to get them off before she said that, to help with the migraines. My only issue is my hubby. He was raised with everything being so cooked to death that he will not eat veggies accept a salad occasional and a scoop of peas or 2 pieces of broccoli. Most of your meal plans are made with veggies and not a lot of meat. So how in the world do I get my whole family on board? Grass feed meat is more then we can afford and since every meal needs to have some, how?

    Reply
  60. Out of your Mind

    I only have $60 a week to spend on food, and anything else I want to do, like go to the movies etc. I would kill for your budget!

    Reply
  61. Sally

    Debbie, I received a link to week 5 in the email I received. I had to first confirm the email subscription. Sometimes these emails end up in your junk email. Check there. Maybe that is what happened.

    Reply
    1. Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

      Hi Nora. Look for Whole Foods, Sprouts,Fresh Market,and other health food oriented stores. Also, most larger mainstream groceries carry similar items and are offering more clean and organic products and produce. ~Amy

      Reply
  63. SK

    Thanks for these meal plans – I understand how much work and time they take to make!

    I guess for most people $167 a week is considered budget? But just because people on food stamps get that, doesn’t mean it is budget. We make just over what qualifies for food stamps and we can barely afford $150 a month, let alone a week. Just another perspective on what’s “budget”.

    Reply
    1. Ashley

      I’m with SK. $167 a week is insane to me, definitely not what I think of when I think budget. For me, making things from scratch as much as possible and limiting how much meat I use has really helped.

      Reply
  64. Cindy Harris

    Wow, these menus and shopping lists are amazing. I’m about to take the 10 Day Whole Food Pledge and I was creating my own menus and then I stumbled upon this – how incredibly awesome of you to provide this!!! You just saved me several hours! So excited!

    Reply
  67. Eve

    Uh-oh. I only have an iPad. my husband has a computer but it is filled with all these music programs so I don’t go near it. I’ll work it out from your recipes. : )

    Reply
  68. Pamela

    This is so great! I just made a 7 day menu for my family and I can appreciate how much time and effort this must have taken you! It is no easy task and my next one was going to be a seasonal menu… I have a Tolstoy novel in web printoffs about what grows well in my area. And my menu didn’t really go so fars as to have many recipes either. Wow! You beat me!

    Reply
  70. Mel

    It doesn’t say “sign up and like us on facebook” to get this. If I’d known up front that was required, I wouldn’t have signed up. Seems a cheat to do it this way.

    Reply
    1. Tracy

      Very clearly states step 1: sign into facebook 2: like page 3: click on image and download. You must have missed that. Its worth it, I hope you decide to read this again and try! You wont regret it!

      Reply
  71. Melissa Smith

    I LOVE the meal plans. It makes my life easier and less stressful if I don’t have to plan the meals for the week. I do make a few changes here and there (we don’t care for asparagus for instance) but all in all the recipes have been yummy and even my picky eater tries everything since she knows it’s “made from scratch.” Thanks so much!

    Reply
  72. Lisa

    Please explain what the serving size for the meal plan and weekly shopping list. For instance, I am a family of 3 (no children) can we all eat with that budget or would I have to take the shopping list and times it by 3?

    Reply
    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hi there. Lisa designed the shopping list and menus to works for her own family of four. You may have a few more leftovers with a family of three. :) ~Amy

      Reply
    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hi Charlize. All Lisa’s recipes will feed a family of four, usually with leftovers. ~Amy

      Reply
  75. Marti

    I also RV and find it difficult to keep fresh food from bashing around from the road bounce. Suggestions? The RV fridge temp is not stable, therefore, fresh food sometimes freezes in the fridge. Suggestons?

    Reply
  76. Amber

    I can’t remember if I read that you had these meal plans evaluated by a nutritionist to check and see if it meets nutritional requirements for the mom, dad, and children? I am wanting to try it but just looking at it seems like there is not enough protein and a lot of carbs and fruit versus veggies and protein. Maybe that is just because that is what I am used to eating compared to what I should be eating. Either way I know this is a great start to healthy and whole food eating!

    Reply
  79. Liz

    I came here from Pinterest and also had trouble navigating and downloading on my iPad. However, once I opened it up in Safari, the links took me to Facebook where I easily accessed the files. Thanks so much for these wonderfully convenient and healthful meal plans.

    Reply
  80. Sarah

    Thank you so much for making this available to us for free! I am having trouble opening the documents on the facebook page. Any chance these could me emailed to me? :) I just pre-ordered the book today and I am really looking forward to it!

    Reply
  81. Lisa

    I only have Facebook with my business, Mystical Reflections Stained Glass Studio. I have liked your page and added it as a favorite on my page but still can’t get access to the Meal plans. Please email to me. I’m so intrigued by the concept of not eating any processed foods. I’ll keep your website in my favorites and visit often for more great information. Keep up the great work of keeping the rest of us informed!

    Reply
  84. victoria

    Could I have meals plans 1-4 emailed please. Only have mobile while laptop is being repaired. Thanks :)

    Reply
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  86. sheila

    I just want to echo the others above me. This is a mobile world, we use the iPad for everything. Don’t have a working computer in the house right now and at work the internet is very restricted. Please consider making this available on mobile devices or email. Thank you!

    Reply
  87. Carmie

    I use only an IPad, but really want to view the meal plans! Will there be an app or some way to view in the future? My 74 year old mother who had a stroke also uses an IPad since she only has use of one hand and I’m sure there are many others without a pc. HELP!

    Reply
    1. Onyx

      If you’re on an iPad, you should be able to ‘request the desktop site’. Check your menu settings while on Facebook or your settings in general for the internet. It’s actually easier to navigate (for me) on the desktop version on my tablet rather than the mobile one.

      Reply
  89. Allison

    Is there a way to have the first set of meal plans emailed to me? I am not on Facebook. Thank you so much for this website!

    Reply
  90. Jennifer

    Hi, is there a way to get the meal plans without facebook. I am no on FB nor do I care to be, but I would really like to utilize your meal plan resources as I struggle that way.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  91. Katherine

    What a wonderful recipe! I’m pregnant and had serious banana muffin cravings and was looking to satisfy my cravings responsibly and boy did this recipe do the trick.

    I used applesauce and honey instead of butter and maple syrup and also added 1tsp cinnamon, 1tsp vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg.

    Thanks so much for sharing!!!

    Reply
    1. Katherine

      Oops I forgot, I also added 3tsp wheat germ for those looking for an extra benefit and straight from the oven, I put a nice slab if butter on top.

      Reply
    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hi Nancy. Lisa has gluten free recipes but not a specific gluten free meal plan. ~Amy

      Reply
  93. Crystal

    This is really helpful for people starting the (hopefully) life-long journey of eating healthfully. Making a weekly meal plan has been a major factor in improving my diet and saving money (especially since I hardly ever have to throw out food anymore). For anyone who is looking to make their own meal plans, I highly recommend this free weekly meal planner: http://spoonacular.com/weekly-meal-planner

    I use it to sort my own recipes and find new ones :)

    Reply
  94. Robert Andrews

    Great website and I like your meal plan. Started working out in february and I’ve been trying to eat right. You know how that can go.

    Just wanted to say congratulations on your website success. I heard about you on the Pat Flynn podcast. Keep up the great work.

    Reply
  95. Tiana

    Getting ready to try the meal plans out this week and the link doesn’t work to the Caprese pasta salad in meal plan 4. Where can I find it? I’ve already done the grocery shopping :( Thank you!

    Reply
  97. Jennifer

    Hello! I subscribed to the email list awhile ago but I don’t remember getting Meal Plan 5 in my email. Or I might have missed it. Can you resend it to me again? I would really appreciate it.

    Thank you!

    Reply

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