7 Day No-Sugar Meal Plan for Heart Health, Created by a Dietitian

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Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Follow this 7-day no-sugar meal plan for heart health for a full week of heart-healthy meals and snacks curated by a dietitian. Most Americans eat more added sugars, saturated fat and sodium than the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) and the American Heart Association recommend. They also typically fall short on fiber. This type of dietary pattern can increase your risk of health issues like heart disease and diabetes. So, we’ve curated this meal plan to be entirely free of added sugars and rich in fiber so you can meet your needs and support a healthier heart.

Whether you’re looking to proactively prevent health issues or you want to manage preexisting issues like elevated cholesterol or high blood pressure, this meal plan is for you!

Why This Meal Plan Is Great for You

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. A healthy diet is one way to help prevent heart disease and risk factors for heart disease like high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. This meal plan aligns with the American Heart Association’s heart-healthy diet recommendations. It centers around fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Plus, it has limited sodium and saturated fat. It meets the American Heart Association’s recommendation to limit your sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day. Plus, we’ve capped saturated fat at 14 grams per day—well within the DGAs’ recommendations. The only exception is when heart-healthy fatty fish are on the menu.

Americans eat an average of 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day. That’s 5 teaspoons more than the Dietary Guidelines recommend and almost 10 teaspoons more than the American Heart Association recommends for a 2,000-calorie diet. This meal plan is completely free from added sugars. Instead, you get sweetness from natural sugars in fruit or dairy. This is beneficial for heart health, metabolic health, and more.

This 1,800-calorie meal plan has modifications for 1,500 and 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.

Day 1

Breakfast (349 Calories)

Morning Snack (199 Calories)

• ¼ cup unsalted, dry roasted mixed nuts

Lunch (503 calories)

Afternoon Snack (181 Calories)

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

• 1 cup fresh strawberries

Dinner (447 Calories)

Evening Snack (133 Calories)

• 2 pitted medjool dates

Daily totals: 1812 calories, 67 g fat, 97 g protein, 224 g carbohydrates, 36 g fiber, 1331 mg sodium, 14 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit morning and evening snacks.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add 2 tablespoons chia seeds to breakfast smoothie and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts to afternoon snack.

Day 2

Breakfast (352 Calories)

Morning Snack (181 Calories)

• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

• 1 cup fresh strawberries

Lunch (432 calories)

Afternoon Snack (201 Calories)

• ¼ cup hummus

• 1 cup fresh carrots

Dinner (503 Calories)

Evening Snack (133 Calories)

• 2 pitted medjool dates

Daily totals: 1802 calories, 64 g fat, 96 g protein, 232 g carbohydrates, 44 g fiber, 1408 mg sodium, 10 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit morning and evening snacks.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add ¼ cup unsalted mixed nuts to morning or evening snack.

Day 3

Breakfast (352 Calories)

Morning Snack (199 Calories)

• ¼ cup unsalted, dry roasted mixed nuts

• 2 pitted medjool dates

Lunch (411 calories)

Afternoon Snack (201 Calories)

• ¼ cup hummus

• 1 cup fresh carrots

Dinner (406 Calories)

Evening Snack (208 Calories)

Daily totals: 1781 calories, 85 g fat, 96 g protein, 180 g carbohydrates, 37 g fiber, 1392 mg sodium, 18 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit evening snack and chia seeds from breakfast.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add an extra tablespoon of chia seeds to breakfast and 2 pitted medjool dates to morning snack.

Day 4

Breakfast (349 Calories)

Morning Snack (202 Calories)

• 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

• 2 clementines

• 2 tablespoons walnuts

Lunch (432 calories)

Afternoon Snack (122 Calories)

Dinner (496 Calories)

Evening Snack (208 Calories)

Daily totals: 1806 calories, 59 g fat, 98 g protein, 247 g carbohydrates, 36 g fiber, 1189 mg sodium, 13 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit evening snack and clementines from lunch or morning snack.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds to morning smoothie and 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts to morning snack.

Day 5

Breakfast (349 Calories)

Morning Snack (268 Calories)

• ¼ cup unsalted, dry roasted mixed nut

• 2 clementines

Lunch (467 calories)

Afternoon Snack (122 Calories)

Dinner (433 Calories)

Evening Snack (133 Calories)

• 2 pitted medjool dates

Daily totals: 1773 calories, 61 g fat, 86 g protein, 241 g carbohydrates, 34 g fiber, 987 mg sodium, 14 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit morning snack.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add 2 tablespoons chia seeds to morning smoothie and 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt to evening snack.

Day 6

Breakfast (352 Calories)

Morning Snack (202 Calories)

• 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

• 2 clementines

Lunch (469 calories)

Afternoon Snack (201 Calories)

• ¼ cup hummus

• 1 cup fresh carrots

Dinner (485 Calories)

Evening Snack (99 Calories)

Daily totals: 1808 calories, 60 g fat, 103 g protein, 227 g carbohydrates, 41 g fiber, 1461 mg sodium, 11 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit morning and evening snacks.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts to morning snack and 2 pitted medjool dates to evening snack.

Day 7

Breakfast (382 Calories)

Morning Snack (199 Calories)

• ¼ cup unsalted, dry roasted mixed nut

Lunch (472 calories)

Afternoon Snack (199 Calories)

• ½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

• 2 pitted medjool dates

Dinner (419 Calories)

Evening Snack (99 Calories)

Daily totals: 1769 calories, 61 g fat, 69 g protein, 253 g carbohydrates, 46 g fiber, 1139 mg sodium, 10 g saturated fat

To make it 1,500 calories: Omit morning and evening snacks.

To make it 2,000 calories: Add 1 medium banana to morning snack and have 2 servings of Lemon-Parm Popcorn for evening snack.

Note: Make sure to use no-sugar-added muesli for breakfast.

How to Meal-Prep Your Week of Meals

Frequently asked Questions

Is it OK to mix and match meals if there is one I do not like?

If there’s a meal you don’t like, feel free to swap it for a different one in this plan. You can also browse our wide array of heart-healthy recipes or no added sugar recipes for a different option. For reference, each day we aimed for 1,800 calories, at least 30 grams of fiber and opted to keep saturated fat under 14 grams (unless heart-healthy fatty fish was on the menu) and sodium under 1,500 milligrams.

Can I eat the same breakfast or lunch every day?

Feel free to eat the same breakfast and lunch every day if that’s easier for your routine. Each breakfast is about 350 calories, while the lunch options range from about 410 to 500 calories. These ranges are fairly similar, so a swap should work for most people. If you’re closely monitoring any other nutrients like sodium or saturated fat, you may want to adjust some meals or snacks accordingly.

Why is there not a 1,200 calorie modification?

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.

Added Sugar & Your Heart Health

On average, Americans consume 17 teaspoons of added sugar each day. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s 5 teaspoons more than the DGAs recommend. The American Heart Association has even stricter recommendations—7.5 teaspoons per day for a 2,000-calorie diet. But why are added sugars worth limiting?

Eating too many added sugars is linked with many health issues. A 2023 study in the journal BMJ found that eating too many added sugars, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, is linked with higher risk of health issues like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, dental caries and premature death from any cause. This doesn’t necessarily mean added sugars directly cause all of these health issues, but there is a clear association present. So, for overall health, it’s important to minimize added sugars by prioritizing whole foods and checking nutrition facts labels to pick foods with little to no added sugars.

How We Create Meal Plans

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.

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