DASH diet meal plan made simple: servings, foods and a sample day

The short version

DASH is a flexible eating plan from the NHLBI. It needs no special foods.
It leans on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, poultry and low-fat dairy.
It limits sodium, saturated fat and sugary drinks.
On 2,000 calories, that's 4 to 5 servings each of vegetables and fruit a day.

Jump to a section

What is the DASH diet?
What do I eat on DASH?
What do I limit?
How many servings do I need?
What does a DASH day look like?
Do I need to eat a lot of potassium?
How do I start without overhauling everything?
How does Imi help?

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It sounds clinical, but day to day it’s simply a way of filling your plate: lots of plants, some lean protein and dairy, and less salt. A balanced, lower-sodium diet like this may help living well with high blood pressure.

What is the DASH diet?

A flexible, balanced eating plan from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). It needs no special foods.

The NHLBI developed it from research studies on eating and blood pressure. One of the best known is the DASH-Sodium trial, published in 2001, which tested the DASH pattern at three different sodium levels. The NHLBI describes it as a way to build a heart-healthy eating style for life.

What do I eat on DASH?

Vegetables, fruit and whole grains, with fish, poultry, beans, nuts, low-fat dairy and vegetable oils.

These foods are naturally rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber and protein, which is a big part of the idea. The NHLBI suggests choosing foods low in saturated and trans fats as well.

What do I limit?

Sodium, saturated fat and sugary drinks.

Sodium: 2,300 mg a day, or 1,500 mg on the lower-sodium version of the plan.
Saturated fat: fatty meats, full-fat dairy, and tropical oils like coconut and palm.
Sweets and sugary drinks: sweets are kept to 5 servings or fewer a week.

Most of the sodium comes from packaged and restaurant food, so the sodium sources guide is a good companion to this one.

How many servings do I need?

For 2,000 calories a day, the NHLBI suggests these servings.

Food group	Servings	One serving looks like
Grains, mostly whole	6–8 a day	1 slice bread, 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta or oats
Vegetables	4–5 a day	1 cup raw leafy greens, 1/2 cup cooked vegetables
Fruit	4–5 a day	1 medium fruit, 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit
Low-fat dairy	2–3 a day	1 cup milk or yogurt, 1 1/2 oz cheese
Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs	6 or fewer a day	1 oz cooked meat, fish or poultry, 1 egg
Nuts, seeds, beans	4–5 a week	1/3 cup unsalted nuts, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 cup cooked beans
Fats and oils	2–3 a day	1 tsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp mayonnaise
Sweets	5 or fewer a week	1 tbsp sugar or jam

The serving sizes follow the NHLBI’s DASH worksheet. If you eat more or less than 2,000 calories, the servings scale up or down.

Easy ways to add a serving

Fruit on your oatmealA side salad at lunchBeans in your soupYogurt as a snackTwo vegetables at dinner

What does a DASH day look like?

Ordinary meals, built around plants, with sodium spread thin.

Breakfast: oatmeal made with low-fat milk, topped with a banana and a few walnuts
Lunch: a big salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and grilled chicken, olive oil and lemon dressing, a whole-grain roll and an orange
Snack: plain yogurt with berries
Dinner: baked salmon, brown rice and roasted broccoli and carrots
Something sweet: a small square of dark chocolate or a baked apple with cinnamon

That’s roughly 5 to 6 grain servings, 4 to 5 vegetable, 4 fruit, 2 dairy and 5 to 6 servings of fish and poultry. Cooking at home with fresh ingredients is one of the main ways the FDA suggests keeping sodium down.

Do I need to eat a lot of potassium?

DASH foods are naturally rich in potassium, but more isn’t right for everyone.

The NIH notes that low potassium intake is linked with higher blood pressure, especially alongside a lot of sodium. It also notes that people with kidney disease, and people who take certain medicines including some blood pressure medicines, can end up with too much potassium in their blood. See potassium-rich foods and when to be careful.

How do I start without overhauling everything?

Add one serving of vegetables or fruit to each meal for a week, then look at sodium.

Small, steady changes are easier to keep. After vegetables and fruit, try swapping one refined grain for a whole grain, then one salty packaged food for a fresher version. The AHA suggests replacing some meat with beans, fish or nuts, which fits DASH well too.

How does Imi help?

Imi follows the same ideas as DASH: less sodium, more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, and potassium where it’s right for you.

On the blood pressure focus, Imi tracks sodium in every meal against 2,300 mg a day, or 2,000 mg on the steadier pace, and sodium sits at the top of Home. Imi only plans extra potassium, at 3,500 mg a day, when you tell it you take no blood pressure medicine. Ask it to make a recipe lower in sodium and it remakes it with acid, herbs and spice. Readings from Apple Health sit next to your meals, with a gentle reading reminder, and Imi never tells you what a reading means.

See what Imi plans for blood pressure, or try the sodium label checker.

This guide is general education about food, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant, or take medication, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about your own needs.

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