Before Week 1

Snacks

Each day of the plan names one snack from the lists below — have it in the morning or the afternoon, whichever you like, and last night’s dessert at the other time. Every option is about 100 to 150 calories in the amount shown, so any one can stand in for another — swap whenever you like. The shopping lists buy only the named snacks, so add what a swap needs.

Nuts & dried fruit

• A handful of almonds (about 20)
• 6 walnut halves + 1 Medjool date
• Pistachios in the shell, a small handful (about 40 nuts)
• 2 dried figs + 4 walnut halves

Yogurt & fresh cheese

• Greek yogurt (¾ cup) + a teaspoon of honey
• Greek yogurt (¾ cup) + a teaspoon of chopped walnuts
• Greek yogurt (½ cup) + ½ cup berries, fresh or frozen
• Low-fat cottage cheese (½ cup) + half a sliced pear
• Ricotta (¼ cup) + a teaspoon of honey on 2 whole-grain crackers

Fruit with a few nuts or a little cheese

• Apple slices + a thin slice (½ oz) of mild cheese
• Orange or mandarin + 8 almonds
• Pear + 4 walnut halves

Vegetables & dips

• Hummus (¼ cup) + cucumber & carrot sticks
• Quick tzatziki (½ cup Greek yogurt, grated cucumber, a pinch of garlic powder, dill) + cucumber spears

Small Mediterranean plates

• Small Caprese (1 tomato, 1 oz fresh mozzarella, basil, 1 tsp olive oil)
• Tomato + 5 Kalamata olives + 1 slice whole-grain bread

Pantry — check before shopping

Buy every required item you do not already have, including canned foods and broth. Tick each item when confirmed or purchased. Check these pantry staples before shopping for any week; they include the snack staples — nuts, dried fruit, crackers, and frozen berries keep for weeks, and the amount shown covers every snack in the 28 days. Most are used by the spoonful, so one standard pack lasts all four weeks — except olive oil, about 5 cups over the 28 days (a 1.5-liter bottle), and honey, about 1¾ cups (a 24-oz jar).

Use these standard pack sizes when reading the lists. A bag is 10 oz, a produce pack 8 oz, a yogurt or labneh tub 16 oz, a feta block 8 oz, and a cheese wedge 5 oz. Buy 15-oz cans of beans, 14.5-oz cans of no-salt-added tomatoes, 6-oz cans of tomato paste, 24-oz jars of passata, and broth in 32-oz cartons (a 14.5-oz can where one can is listed); each fresh herb listed needs one small bunch. Choose no-salt-added canned tomatoes and tuna; the sodium on the recipe cards counts them.

Preparation — read before each week

• Check pantry and refrigerated remainders before shopping; buy only missing amounts and respect use-by dates. Use thick Greek yogurt for 1.03; no separate labneh tub is needed. For half of 1.06, use 1 oz frozen chopped spinach. Freeze the spare egg whites from each natillas (8.05) for the next almond cookies (8.03); thaw them in the fridge. For all batches below, follow the earlier cooling and reheating rules; prepare green salads fresh.

Week 1 — preparation notes

• Buy: one cleaned branzino, about 1 lb, for Day 4; freeze if needed. Mushrooms: about 3 oz for Day 3, loose if available. Caprese snacks: 1 oz mozzarella each; plan a use for any package remainder.
• Thaw in the refrigerator overnight: branzino before Day 4; stew beef on Day 4 evening; cod on Day 6 evening.
• Prepare ahead: Day 3, full recipe 2.01 for Days 5–6; Day 4, full 5.02 for Days 5–6; Day 6, full 2.06 for Days 7–8. Start Day 5’s beef stew early; it remains a longer cooking day.
• Day 3: half of 4.01 makes one serving only. Day 4: quarter of 3.02 makes the half-serving of fresh fattoush; reheat soup separately. For 6.07, use the whole 1-lb fish with half the potatoes and seasonings; a single boneless fillet uses the card’s shorter baking time.

Week 2 — preparation notes

• Carry over: Day 8 finishes Day 7’s 2.06, 3.03 and 8.01. Buy 10 oz frozen chopped spinach for Days 10 and 13–14; thaw, squeeze dry and use 5.04’s frozen-spinach option. Reserve one fresh white-bread slice for 7.03 and one day-old slice or breadcrumbs for 5.04; freeze extras. Caprese: 1 oz mozzarella per snack.
• Thaw overnight in the refrigerator: pollock on Day 9 evening; flounder on Day 11; lamb on Day 12.
• Prepare ahead: Day 8, half of 2.03 for Days 9–10; Day 12, full 2.05 and 5.04 for Days 13–14.
• Day 8: half of 8.03 makes two cookies; use half a lightly beaten egg white. Eat one and store the other airtight for tomorrow. Day 11: quarter of 4.02 uses ⅛ of a 15-oz chickpea can; refrigerate ½ can in a covered container for Day 12’s 5.04 prep, and freeze ⅜ promptly. This serving is about 217 kcal and 6 g protein; recalculate totals if increasing it.

Week 3 — preparation notes

• Carry over: Day 15 finishes 8.04 from Day 14. Reserve 2–3 fully baked, day-old bread slices for Day 15’s panzanella; buy ahead or thaw previously frozen bread.
• Thaw overnight in the refrigerator: chicken breast on Day 17 evening; cod on Day 19; chicken thighs on Day 20.
• Prepare ahead: Day 16, full 2.04 for Days 17–18; Day 19, full 2.01 for Days 21–22. Reheat egg-lemon soup gently to 165°F without boiling; its texture may change.
• Day 15: make the full 6.04 batch with one 5-oz tuna can; eat one serving, freeze the other promptly, and make the green salad fresh.

Week 4 — preparation notes

• Carry over: Day 22 finishes Day 21’s 2.01, 5.06, 7.01 and 8.04. Freeze 2 oz of the bread (about 2 slices) for Day 28’s panzanella.
• Thaw overnight in the refrigerator: cooked chicken and raw shrimp on Day 25 evening; ground beef on Day 26; hake on Day 27.
• Prepare ahead: Day 22, half of 2.03 for Days 23–24; Day 26, full 2.04 for Days 27–28. Reheat egg-lemon soup gently to 165°F without boiling; its texture may change. Day 23: keep Day 24’s potato-salad herbs separate until serving.