The Feel-Good Meal Plan is a positive, thoughtful, easy-to-follow cookbook that will help make meal prep easy and maybe even fun.

What happens when a registered dietitian who is also a certified intuitive eating counselor writes a book? The result is a well-executed, easy-to-follow, nutrient-dense cookbook that saves you time and fills your belly with flavour. 

That’s exactly what Lindsay Pleskot has achieved with The Feel-Good Meal Plan. This book really is such a positive lens on food and eating. It’s not about what you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” consume, instead it’s a celebration of colour, texture, flavour and nourishment. 

Pleskot promotes a 3-2-1 meal prep method, which was easy for me to latch onto. How it works is you fill your plate with three vegetables, two proteins and one carb. The book also includes a four-week meal plan and QR codes for grocery lists, which honestly made my life so easy. 

Another thing I love is that each recipe is flagged as Batch Prep, Freezer Friendly or Super Quick, which gives the reader a nice bird's-eye view of the meal prep in store for them. 

The great pains that Pleskot takes to flag the health benefits and key ingredients in each recipe is apparent. Noting the benefits of flax, for example, or that gut-healthy fibre is found in oats, was an aspect of the book that I truly enjoyed. 

Beyond delicious recipes, which it has plenty, this book is what I consider a meal planning Bible. It’s educational, informative, not preachy or shaming and equips you with knowledge on food as well as serves up tasty, time-saving, nutritious recipes. What’s one of the biggest pain points of being a parent? It’s the meal prep and planning, am I right? 

My family and I LOVED the recipes in this book. Keep reading for the recipes I tried. The publisher shared some recipes, too. They’re linked below. Happy eating! 

Roasted Red Pepper and Gruyère Egg Bites, page 89

So, there’s a certain coffee shop that sells egg bites. And as easy as they are to make, sometimes I just don’t have the time or drive. These coffee shop egg bites are a go-to for me. However, this recipe is such a perfect and delicious dupe that I now have no excuse (neither do you!) for not making these at home. I’m not a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, so the fact that it’s all blended and smooth works for me. Get the recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Gruyère Egg Bites

Coffee Shop Double Chocolate Tahini Breakfast Cookies, page 101

What if you could eat a cookie for breakfast? I mean a delicious, chocolatey, satisfying cookie. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? How about one that helps with your iron levels? And one that keeps your blood sugar in check? Oh, and one that also helps your brain with a good dose of Omega-3s. MAKE THIS COOKIE! It has all the answers. 

Savoury Oat Risotto, page 122

“Oatmeal is sweet and full of dried fruit and nuts,” says my brain. But then I tasted this savory oat ‘risotto’ and my brain was put in its place by my tastebuds. This is creamy, it’s salty (thank you, Parm), it’s fresh and crisp from the peas and asparagus and it’s rich from the soft-cooked eggs. Honestly, it hits all the notes and I absolutely loved it.

Salted Peanut Freezer Bombs, page 143

Meet your go-to snack for the kids. These could not be easier to make and carry no sweet-treat guilt. I opted to use an all-natural peanut butter (no sugar) and used sugar-free chocolate chips for the shell. Except for 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, this was a sugar-free, high-protein treat that got gobbled up in my house. A keeper recipe, for sure! Get the recipe: Salted Peanut Freezer Bombs

Flavour Packed Farro Salad, page 180

Talk about an incredible time-saver salad. All you do is prep it, dress it and stick it in the fridge. It makes such a delicious and quick lunch. It doesn’t get soggy and just seems to get more flavourful the longer it’s in the fridge. I must admit, I am not a fan of blue cheese, so I substituted feta (as per her “Swaps and Subs” note). Farro is such a satisfying, almost chewy grain and I found that a small amount of this salad kept me feeling full for hours and hours. I learned that in addition to tasting so great, it is a dish that is filled with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties and gut-nourishing probiotics. 

Peanutty Soba Noodle Bowls, page 193

So, this sauce, let’s talk about this sauce! I want it every day and on everything. I’ve even used it as a dip for fresh rolls, but certainly as a dressing on this noodle bowl, it is spectacular. The edamame is the protein in this dish, but I also added some simple air-fried firm tofu which amped up the protein and made this a perfect vegan meal for my family. Get the recipe: Peanutty Soba Noodle Bowls

There’s Even Sheet Pan Dinners

If you’ve read some of my other cookbook reviews, you’ll know I’m a big fan of an easy sheet pan dinner.  Margarita Shrimp Fajitas, page 218, cook in less than 20 minutes and make enough to have some delicious leftover shrimp and peppers that you can use to top a salad for lunch the next day. I also loved Helen’s One-Pan Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Balsamic Chicken Orzo, page 242, which was so homey and creamy and comforting. I also tested the Creamy Roasted Vegetable Sheet Pan Gnocchi, page 245, which, with minimal prep, creates a simple but super flavourful family dinner that you can have on your table in less than 30 minutes. 

Vegan Chili, page 270

In the intro to this recipe, we are told this is a super-easy ‘dump everything into a slow cooker and let it do its thing.’ Except that you first have to roast sweet potatoes for 45 minutes and brown the onions and the veggie ground round in a frying pan. And THEN you can put it all into the slow cooker and walk away. So, although I completely agree that the roasting and the frying add depth of flavour and improve this chili exponentially, it is a bit more effort, but ultimately it is a good and solid vegan chili. Save this one for a recipe project with the kids. 

Excerpted from The Feel-Good Meal Plan by Lindsay Pleskot, RD. Copyright © 2024 Lindsay Pleskot. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.