Let’s face it there is always one thing we wish we had extra time for…for some people it’s reading, going to the gym, drawing and for others it is cooking. With only 24 hours in the day, it really gets hard to get everything on the to-do list done. And unless you are getting up at the crack of dawn – it just not always going to happen. But, what if you took an hour on Sunday to prep meals for the week to give yourself more time to do what you want later one? To me, that is the beauty of meal prepping.
As a part of my weekly meal prep, I always try to prepare some sort of breakfast item. You know, for those fridged mornings when all I want to lay in my warm bed as long as possible. Or those mornings you know you need to be at the office early to prep for a big presentation. Whatever your morning brings, its a pretty good feeling knowing you have one less thing to do and you can enjoy your morning coffee that much longer.
Not only are you saving time and stress, but you are obviously saving money. Instead of that $12 smoothie – you can buy a ton of fresh fruit for the same price and make your own at home to last the week. The same goes for that overpriced Starbucks Oatmeal or Avocado Toast.
All you need to do is to find a few breakfast foods you like, pick up the ingredients needed, give yourself 1-hour on Sunday and you’ll be excited for breakfast all week. Here are some of my favorite go-to’s. We like to rotate them so nothing ever gets overdone.
Hard Boiled Eggs – This by far is the EASIEST route. Boil up a dozen eggs and you have Avocado Toast ready in minutes. (or you can always bring them with you for a mid-day snack). I did a blog post on perfecting hard boiled eggs – I like mine softer in the middle so I usually cook them for 4-6 minutes.
Oatmeal – Oatmeal to me is the comfort food of breakfast. It is so satisfying on a chilly morning plus it is filling so you’ll find you won’t be hungry as early. But the nice thing about oats is how versatile they are, they can be eaten hot or cold. Quick/Instant Oats are tried and true, overnight oats are great during the warmer months & crockpot Oatmeal can be made Sunday night and you’ll have enough for the week.
Pancakes – Is there a more nostalgic breakfast than Pancakes? I feel like everyone can remember having Pancakes on a Saturday as a child. And they can be just as good as an adult, healthy too. There are now healthy pancake mixes floating around stores like Kodak Cakes or Bob’s Red Mill. These are great in a pinch if you don’t have the key ingredients to make from scratch. But these
homemade cakes can do no wrong.
Yogurt, Granola & Berries – To me, this equals summer breakfast. Creamy Greek yogurt, crunchy toasted granola, and fresh sweet berries. I recently tried to Gimme Some Oven’s
Healthy Granola recipe and OMG I am never buying store bought granola ever again! It has 9 ingredients and takes 20 minutes to make. Throw everything in a cute mason jar and you’re ready to go with breakfast in tow.
Egg Cups – Another classic breakfast in my house. The best part about egg cups is how versatile and there is never an end to the combination of add-ins. Pick your favorite veggies, throw in some bacon, ham or turkey and sprinkle in your choice of cheese and bake to perfection. But take it from me, DO NOT forget to spray the tray with cooking spray – I learned that the hard way.
Smoothies – another go to in the warmer months especially when so many good fruits are in season. I usually stock up (or steal fruit from my parent’s
farm share) on our favorite fruits to use. Throw in a little spinach (for extra iron), protein, chia and flax (totally optional), ice and you’re ready to hit blend. What makes smoothies so great is there is no wrong way to make one. You only have banana, pineapple & spinach on hand – that sounds like an amazingly delicious smoothie to me. Plus it never hurts to keep frozen fruit on hand for when your running low.
So there you have it. These are my go-to meal prep breakfasts that I have come to love because of how stress-free they make my mornings and I hope they give you some inspiration.
Have an on the go breakfast that you love? Feel free to share I would love to hear what your go-to is!
Congrats guys! We did it. We made it through yet another winter that felt like a bazillion days long (especially since NY is about to experience our 4th Nor’Easter in about two weeks) But we’re here, it’s staying lighter longer which is awesome and on our way to warmer weather.
