Simple’s DASH diet meal plan and menu for weight loss
If you’re trialing a new eating routine, it’s like learning how to meal plan all over again: you have to come up with an approach that not only follows the routine’s guidelines but also factors in your nutritional needs, health goals, and personal tastes.
Talk about a lot of moving pieces!
Lucky for you, we’re pretty good at puzzles.
If you’re intrigued by the DASH diet, our Simple Dash diet meal plan has all the expert-approved tools and ideas you need to start crafting the DASH diet meal plan of your wildest health-promoting dreams.
Let’s take a look.
What is the DASH diet?
The definition and purpose of the DASH diet is pretty simple to remember — it’s right in the name:
Dietary
Approaches to
Stop
Hypertension
Built around lowering blood pressure, the DASH diet aims to reduce sodium intake while fueling you with blood-pressure-reducing nutrients like potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein, and fiber.[1]
Sort of a combination of the Mediterranean diet meal plan and the MIND diet, the DASH diet plan is a low-sodium eating routine that prioritizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains while limiting ultra-processed foods and fatty meat and dairy products. Rather than prescribing certain amounts of certain foods, it focuses on serving sizes of different food groups (more on the specifics later!)
Benefits and drawbacks of the DASH diet
Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is like the Big Bad Wolf of the health world: it may not always be obvious, but it can easily get in the way of your peaceful existence.
Think of the DASH eating plan as your wolf defense system: it can help treat or prevent high blood pressure.[1]
Reducing high blood pressure can be beneficial for your health in several ways:
- Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease,[2] so the DASH diet may improve heart health and lower the risk of heart failure.[3]
- High blood pressure can lead to an increased risk of kidney stones [4] and stroke,[5] so the DASH diet may reduce these risks.
- Hypertension and being overweight are often seen hand-in-hand,[6] so the DASH diet may be helpful in weight loss or weight maintenance.[7]
Although the DASH diet is largely a safe and health-promoting eating routine, it still has a few drawbacks:
- It requires careful meal planning and preparation — which can also mean it’s more challenging to stick to.
- Nutrient-dense foods like fresh produce often cost more than prepackaged or processed foods.
- Sodium can be sneaky in how it shows up on our plates, including store-bought sauces and condiments, so limiting such foods may be challenging.
Who is it for?
With its focus on reducing salt intake, the DASH diet is intended for anyone looking to lower their blood pressure or their overall risk of heart disease. It could also be a good option for losing weight or trimming fat. (Nope, they’re not the same! Check out our guide on fat loss vs. weight loss for the lowdown.)
As with any eating routine, there’s no way to predict exactly how yours might react to the DASH diet. Plus, high blood pressure is a medical condition that requires ongoing personalized support. So, before you make any substantive changes to your eating routine or lifestyle, you should always work with your doctor — and registered dietitian, if you have one — to ensure your approach is safe, sustainable, and (hopefully!) successful for you.
If you’re considering the DASH diet for weight loss, it’s also possible to combine the DASH diet with another eating routine that promotes weight loss, like intermittent fasting. Talk it over with your healthcare team, and if they’re on board, we can help. From general advice on what breaks a fast to guidance on constructing an intermittent fasting meal plan that is also DASH diet friendly, you can get access to our expert and personalized tips and advice by taking our Simple quiz.
Simple’s DASH diet food shopping list: what to eat and what to avoid
One of the selling points of the DASH diet is that it’s less of a restrictive set of nutrition rules and more of a suggested shopping list: no food is inherently “bad” or forbidden, but some foods are more health-promoting and goal-oriented than others. Foods can also slide in different directions on that scale depending on how they’re prepared. (For example, banana’s benefits are undeniable, but if you fry them or douse them in sugar and rum — yum! — they might not be the best everyday choice for your fruit intake … )
That said, let’s take a look at DASH diet foods.
| Food | Serving size | Examples |
| Fruits | 4–5 servings / day | apples, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges, cherries |
| Vegetables | 4–5 servings / day | carrots, broccoli, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus |
| Whole grains | 6–8 servings / day | barley, brown rice, farro, bulgur wheat, oats, quinoa, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta |
| Fish and poultry | up to 6 servings / day | chicken, turkey, salmon, trout, cod, flounder |
| Legumes, nuts, and seeds | 4–5 servings / week | beans, chickpeas, lentils, tempeh, tofu, almonds, walnuts, cashews, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds |
| Low-fat or fat-free dairy products | 2–3 servings / day | skim milk, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt |
| Heart-healthy fats and oils | 2–3 servings / day | avocado, olive oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, canola oil |
While you should always strive to find a balance that works for you and your unique nutritional needs, goals, and preferences — another reason why your healthcare team should be involved! — these items are traditionally limited to five or fewer weekly serving sizes on a DASH diet food list.
| Fatty meats | beef, lamb, pork belly, bacon, ham, sausages, ribs, chicken thighs |
| Full-fat dairy products | whole milk, cream, ice cream, cream cheese, butter, cheese |
| Refined carbs and foods high in added sugars | white bread, pastries, waffles, pancakes, white rice, sugary breakfast cereals, soda, sweets |
| High-sodium foods | chips, pretzels, pickles, cured meats, soy sauce, ketchup, canned soup with high sodium content |
| Tropical oils | coconut oil, palm oil |
Simple’s free DASH diet 7-day meal plan
Whether you’re looking for DASH diet breakfast inspo, new DASH diet lunch ideas, or easy DASH diet snacks to satisfy munchies between meals, our free DASH diet meal plan has it all.
Focused on simple recipes with easy-to-source ingredients, this plan is built around DASH diet meals that are both health-promoting and hassle-free.
Finding a meal plan that works for you is a lot like dating: it can take a lot of trial and error (and lessons learned) along the way to figure out what suits you best. While the DASH diet can accommodate loads of dietary requirements — whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, or a die-hard carnivore — make sure to discuss your meal plan with your healthcare team before committing to a new routine. They’ll be best placed to factor in everything that makes you “you” and help you craft a personalized meal plan that nourishes every part of you.
Click here to download this DASH diet sample menu as a PDF.
Beginners’ tips for success when meal planning for the DASH diet
If your healthcare team gives you the green light to try the DASH diet, here are our tips for making the transition and the upkeep as simple and safe as possible.
- Start small. Especially if you’re used to eating lots of salty or sugary treats, DASH diet meal plans may be a shock to your system. Ease into new eating habits to give yourself time to adjust — even changing one percent of your eating habits each week leads to a 4% difference by the end of the month.
- Prioritize foods you already enjoy. No healthy eating routine is sustainable (or actually healthy, physically or mentally) if you’re trying to force-feed yourself things you don’t like.
- Make time for meal prep. To avoid the temptation of grabbing a few donuts on the way to work or sitting down to a late-night plate of fries, plan for some DASH diet meal prep ahead of your busiest days so you can have DASH-diet-friendly options ready to go.
- Become besties with your water bottle. Chronic dehydration can put you at risk for blood pressure irregularities [8] as well as general ickiness (the technical term for headaches, fatigue, cramps — you name it). Hydration is also an important part of successful weight loss,[9] and it can help with hunger pains as you adjust to new eating habits (it’s one of our favorite ways to hack hunger while fasting for a reason!). If you get sick of the plain stuff, try infusing it with herbs, spices, or slices of citrus fruit.
- Build in flexibility. When you’re DASH diet menu planning, don’t forget that you’re human, and you’ll have days where you “need” that sweet, sweet bag of Doritos or a big, juicy steak. That’s totally okay — no eating routine should be so rigid that you can’t occasionally have those uber crave-able foods you enjoy most.
How quickly you can see results on the DASH diet depends on a lot of individual factors. Some studies suggest you can see the impact on blood pressure in a couple of weeks,[10] but if you’re aiming for weight loss, you might see results more gradually (1 or 2 pounds per week is a safe target).
Yes, the DASH diet recommends exercise — as do many health-promoting eating routines! Exercise is a great way to improve resting blood pressure,[11] alleviate hypertension,[12] and lose weight.[13] Plus, it has loads of mental health benefits.
- Filippou CD, Tsioufis CP, Thomopoulos CG, Mihas CC, Dimitriadis KS, Sotiropoulou LI, et al. Dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet and blood pressure reduction in adults with and without hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Adv Nutr. 2020 Sep 1;11(5):1150–60.
- Masenga SK, Kirabo A. Hypertensive heart disease: Risk factors, complications and mechanisms. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023 Jun 5;10:1205475.
- Ibsen DB, Levitan EB, Åkesson A, Gigante B, Wolk A. The DASH diet is associated with a lower risk of heart failure: A cohort study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2022 May 25;29(7):1114–23.
- Cappuccio FP, Strazzullo P, Mancini M. Kidney stones and hypertension: population based study of an independent clinical association. BMJ. 1990 May 12;300(6734):1234–6.
- Yu JG, Zhou RR, Cai GJ. From hypertension to stroke: Mechanisms and potential prevention strategies. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2011 Oct;17(5):577–84.
- Julius S, Valentini M, Palatini P. Overweight and hypertension : A 2-way street? Hypertension. 2000 Mar;35(3):807–13.
- Soltani S, Shirani F, Chitsazi MJ, Salehi-Abargouei A. The effect of dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet on weight and body composition in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Obes Rev. 2016 May;17(5):442–54.
- Watso JC, Farquhar WB. Hydration Status and cardiovascular function. Nutrients. 2019 Aug 11;11(8).
- Bracamontes-Castelo G, Bacardí-Gascón M, Jiménez Cruz A. Effect of water consumption on weight loss: A systematic review. Nutr Hosp. 2019 Dec 26;36(6):1424–9.
- Appel Lawrence J., Moore Thomas J., Obarzanek Eva, Vollmer William M., Svetkey Laura P., Sacks Frank M., et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. N Engl J Med. 336(16):1117–24.
- Edwards JJ, Deenmamode AHP, Griffiths M, Arnold O, Cooper NJ, Wiles JD, et al. Exercise training and resting blood pressure: A large-scale pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med. 2023 Oct;57(20):1317–26.
- Lopes S, Mesquita-Bastos J, Alves AJ, Ribeiro F. Exercise as a tool for hypertension and resistant hypertension management: Current insights. Integr Blood Press Control. 2018 Sep 20;11:65–71.
- Bellicha A, van Baak MA, Battista F, Beaulieu K, Blundell JE, Busetto L, et al. Effect of exercise training on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity: An overview of 12 systematic reviews and 149 studies. Obes Rev. 2021 Jul;22 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):e13256.
