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A heart-healthy eating plan isn't about restricting—it's about enjoying! Let this easy-to-follow meal plan be your guide.
Sara is a food and nutrition expert with formal training in culinary arts. She has been a registered and licensed dietitian since 2002 and a professional chef since 2008. She works as a consultant chef and dietitian with a focus on freelance writing, recipe development and food photography. Sara is the author of the Taco! Taco! Taco! cookbook and co-author of the Fertility Foods Cookbook. Her cooking, nutrition and food expertise have been featured in all forms of media. She also loves conducting cooking demonstrations and enjoys speaking at conferences, expos and other engagements.
Updated on August 4, 2024 Reviewed by DietitianChrista Brown is a registered dietitian and business owner with a practice focus on diabetes management and content development for brands and fitness influencers. She is a licensed dietitian with a Master of Science in Nutrition Education and a certification in gut health by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
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Whether you're managing heart disease or just looking for some new recipes, you'll love this easy-to-follow meal plan. Specially tailored for people just starting with a heart-healthy diet, the recipes and snacks are straightforward and delicious. You'll see lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein—including plant-based proteins—whole grains, heart-healthy fats and plenty of herbs and spices to help deliver flavor without the need for too much salt. Eating this combination of healthy foods helps to keep your blood pressure balanced, your cholesterol levels in a healthy range and your heart happy.
Registered dietitians thoughtfully create EatingWell’s meal plans to be easy-to-follow and delicious. Each meal plan meets specific parameters depending on the health condition and/or lifestyle goal it is targeting and is analyzed for accuracy using the nutrition database, ESHA Food Processor. As nutritional needs differ from person to person, we encourage you to use these plans as inspiration and adjust as you see fit.
We kept this meal plan at 1,500 calories and you'll find plenty of heart-healthy proteins (think salmon, chicken, and beans) and fiber to keep you feeling satisfied after meals—not starving an hour later.
The sodium for each day is below 1,500 milligrams, per the American Heart Association guidelines, but you won't miss it with these tasty, low-sodium recipes. To keep salt in check when shopping for packaged foods, be sure to look at nutrition labels and go for options lower in sodium. A good rule of thumb is to choose items where the Daily Value (DV) percent for sodium is close to 5% DV, according to the FDA. Close to or above 20% DV is considered high, so skip those products.
This 1,500-calorie meal plan has modifications for 2,000 calories to support those with different calorie needs. While we previously included meal plans and modifications for 1,200 calories, we no longer do. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting your calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.
We no longer provide modifications for 1,200-calorie days in our meal plans. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.
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Muesli is a hearty breakfast dish that can be enjoyed hot or cold! The choice is yours for this morning's breakfast.
Daily Totals: 1,449 calories, 67 g protein, 194 g carbs, 36 g fiber, 53 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 1,208 mg sodium
To make it 2,000 calories: Add 5 dried apricots and ½ oz. unsalted almonds to lunch. Add 1 medium banana to the P.M. snack. For dinner, increase the serving of Italian Penne to 2 cups, add ¼ avocado to the salad, increase olive oil to 2 tsp., and add 1 Tbsp. unsalted sunflower seeds.
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Make your own parfaits this morning for breakfast. It's easier than you think and such a nourishing start to the day.
