Meze & Miles
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03 · Evening

Dinner

Eight mains, rotate as you like. These lean on the proteins you already cook most — chicken, salmon, beef, shrimp, tofu — with olive oil, whole grains, and vegetables doing the work that white rice and heavier sauces currently do. Portions below assume a training day; see Marathon Fueling for how to scale carbs up on long-run Saturdays.

Baked Salmon, Lemon-Garlic Farro & Roasted Broccoli

30 min2× per week target
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~680 kcal46g protein54g carb30g fat9g fiber

Ingredients

  • 6 oz salmon fillet
  • 1 cup cooked farro
  • 1½ cups broccoli florets
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper

Method

  1. Roast broccoli at 425°F with olive oil, 15–18 minutes.
  2. Bake salmon at 400°F, ~12 minutes, with garlic, lemon slices, olive oil.
  3. Toss warm farro with lemon juice and a little olive oil; plate with salmon and broccoli.
This is the anchor dinner of the week. Aim for salmon or another fatty fish at least twice — it's the single highest-leverage food on this whole site for your ApoB and Lp(a) numbers.

Sheet-Pan Greek Chicken Thighs, Potatoes & Olives

40 min, mostly hands-offOne pan
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~660 kcal44g protein48g carb30g fat7g fiber

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (~6 oz)
  • 1 cup baby potatoes, halved
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes
  • 10 kalamata olives
  • Oregano, lemon, garlic, olive oil

Method

  1. Toss potatoes with olive oil, oregano, salt; roast at 425°F for 15 minutes.
  2. Add chicken, tomatoes, and olives to the pan; roast 20–25 minutes more until chicken hits 165°F.
  3. Finish with lemon juice.
Roasted-garlic chicken is one of your most repeated dinners — this keeps that flavor profile and adds the olives and tomatoes that make it Mediterranean rather than just roast chicken.

Mediterranean Beef & Lentil Skillet

25 minLean cut, small portion
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~640 kcal40g protein50g carb28g fat13g fiber

Ingredients

  • 4 oz lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner)
  • 1 cup cooked lentils
  • ½ cup diced tomato
  • Cumin, cinnamon, garlic, onion
  • Fresh parsley, lemon

Method

  1. Brown beef with onion and garlic; drain excess fat.
  2. Add lentils, tomato, cumin, and a pinch of cinnamon; simmer 10 minutes.
  3. Finish with parsley and lemon juice.
Beef is heavily represented in your log (201 entries in the past year) — this halves a typical portion and stretches it with lentils, which cuts saturated fat load per serving while keeping the dish filling.

Shrimp & White Bean Stew with Spinach

25 minOne pot
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~560 kcal42g protein46g carb20g fat14g fiber

Ingredients

  • 6 oz shrimp, peeled
  • 1½ cups white beans
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 cup diced tomato or crushed tomato
  • Garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil

Method

  1. Sauté garlic and paprika in olive oil. Add tomato and beans, simmer 10 minutes.
  2. Add shrimp, cook 3–4 minutes until pink.
  3. Stir in spinach until wilted.
A lighter, higher-fiber dinner for a rest day (Monday) when you don't need the biggest carb load of the week.

Whole-Wheat Pasta, Pesto, Grilled Chicken & Cherry Tomatoes

20 minPre-long-run friendly
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~720 kcal44g protein72g carb26g fat8g fiber

Ingredients

  • 2 oz dry whole-wheat spaghetti
  • 5 oz grilled chicken breast, sliced
  • 2 tbsp basil pesto
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Parmesan, black pepper

Method

  1. Cook pasta to package directions.
  2. Toss hot pasta with pesto, tomatoes, and a splash of pasta water.
  3. Top with sliced chicken and parmesan.
Pasta with pesto or marinara is a clear favorite in your log. Whole-wheat pasta plus chicken keeps the format intact while raising fiber and protein — and this is the one to schedule the night before a Saturday long run for the extra carb load.

Coconut-Curry Cod with Chickpeas & Greens

20 minOne pan
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~590 kcal40g protein44g carb26g fat11g fiber

Ingredients

  • 6 oz cod or another white fish
  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • 2 cups spinach or kale
  • ½ cup light coconut milk
  • Curry powder, ginger, garlic
  • ½ cup cooked brown rice

Method

  1. Sauté garlic, ginger, and curry powder in olive oil.
  2. Add coconut milk and chickpeas, simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Nestle cod into the sauce, cover, and cook 8–10 minutes until it flakes. Stir in greens at the end.
Curry is the single most common flavor profile in your ten-year log — this is the dinner-sized version of that craving, built around white fish and legumes instead of the usual rice-and-sauce takeout format.

Grilled Steak, Chimichurri & Quinoa Tabbouleh

25 minWeekend option
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~700 kcal44g protein48g carb36g fat9g fiber

Ingredients

  • 5 oz sirloin or flank steak
  • ¾ cup cooked quinoa
  • ½ cup parsley, chopped fine
  • ¼ cup cucumber, tomato, diced
  • Lemon juice, olive oil, mint (optional)
  • Chimichurri: parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, chili flake

Method

  1. Grill steak to preferred doneness; rest 5 minutes before slicing.
  2. Toss quinoa with parsley, cucumber, tomato, lemon, and olive oil for the tabbouleh.
  3. Blend chimichurri ingredients; spoon over sliced steak.
Your once-a-week (or so) steak dinner, reframed — the quinoa tabbouleh replaces a starch side with something higher in fiber and micronutrients, and chimichurri adds flavor without extra sodium.

Tofu & Vegetable Braise, Olive Oil & Lemon

Plant-based20 min
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~510 kcal28g protein48g carb22g fat10g fiber

Ingredients

  • 7 oz firm tofu, cubed
  • 1 cup green beans
  • ½ cup diced tomato
  • Garlic, olive oil, lemon
  • ¾ cup cooked brown rice or farro

Method

  1. Pan-sear tofu in olive oil until golden on two sides.
  2. Add garlic, green beans, and tomato; cover and braise 8–10 minutes.
  3. Finish with lemon juice, serve over the grain.
Tofu already appears fairly often in your log. A lighter, plant-based night once a week or so adds variety and keeps saturated fat intake down across the week without you having to think about it.

Greek Chickpea Stew (Revithada) with Rosemary

Plant-based30 min
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~560 kcal20g protein76g carb20g fat17g fiber

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chickpeas, rinsed
  • 1 cup diced tomato or crushed tomato
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 sprig rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to finish
  • Crusty whole-grain bread, to serve

Method

  1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add chickpeas, tomato, rosemary, bay leaf, and enough water to just cover. Simmer 20 minutes, mashing some of the chickpeas against the pot to thicken.
  3. Remove rosemary sprig and bay leaf. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. Serve with bread for dipping.
A traditional Greek Sunday dish — simple, filling, and one of the highest-fiber dinners on this whole site. Good for a rest-day night when you want something hearty without a lot of active protein prep.

Chickpea & Spinach Curry with Salmon

25 minOne pan
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~650 kcal42g protein50g carb28g fat14g fiber

Ingredients

  • 5 oz salmon fillet, cut into large chunks
  • 1½ cups chickpeas
  • 2 cups spinach
  • ½ cup light coconut milk
  • Curry powder, ginger, garlic
  • ¾ cup cooked brown rice

Method

  1. Sauté garlic, ginger, and curry powder in olive oil, 1 minute.
  2. Add coconut milk and chickpeas; simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Nestle salmon chunks into the sauce, cover, and cook 6–7 minutes until just cooked through. Stir in spinach at the end.
Combines two things already working hard for you elsewhere on this site — the curry flavor you keep coming back to and the fatty fish that matters most for your cholesterol picture — in one dinner instead of choosing between them.

Cooking dried chickpeas (Instant Pot)

No soak: 1 cup dried chickpeas + 3 cups water + ½ tsp salt (optional). High pressure 35–40 min, natural release 15–20 min.
Soaked overnight: 1 cup soaked chickpeas + 2½ cups water. High pressure 10–12 min, natural release 10 min.
1 cup dried yields about 3 cups cooked. For the chickpea stew, home-cooked chickpeas hold their shape a bit longer than canned — simmer a few extra minutes if you want that same creamy, mashed texture.

Portion note

These are training-day portions. On easy or rest days, trim the grain portion by roughly a third. On long-run Saturdays, do the opposite — see Marathon Fueling for exact adjustments.