Think about your typical weekday morning. Do you leisurely sip a hot cup of tea or coffee while savoring a healthy, satisfying breakfast? Or are you frantically running around trying to get out of the house on time with barely a second to decide what to grab for breakfast?

With a full-time job and two young kids, I completely understand just how hectic mornings can be. However, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice breakfast. Taking as little as 5 minutes to sit down and eat breakfast can change the trajectory of your day. But don’t feel like your day will be doomed if you don’t have time for a sit-down breakfast. You can still follow the strategies outlined below and just take the food on-the-go.

Make your mornings easy with these make-ahead #breakfasts. #saslife Click To Tweet

Making it Happen

Since we can’t literally add more minutes to the morning (but wouldn’t it be nice if we could!), having options ready-to-go in the fridge and/or freezer is our next best choice. By having breakfast made in advance, there’s no wasted time rummaging through the kitchen trying to find something to eat or extra time required for cooking – all you have to do each morning is reheat (where applicable) and eat!

Ok, so where to start…

1. Decide how far in advance you want to prep breakfast. Would you prefer to do it the night before, at the start of the week or weeks in advance? And you don’t have to pick one lane – you can absolutely mix and match depending on your schedules and/or recipes.
2. Think about how much time you have each morning. Can you spare 5 minutes to scramble a fresh egg to pair with something from the fridge or freezer? Are you able to sit down and eat? Do you need to have something portable to eat on-the-go? The answers to these questions can help guide your meal choices.
3. Create a meal plan or meal rotation. This can be as simple or detailed as you like. You can write out what you’re having for breakfast each day like you would for lunch or dinner. Or you can have options in the fridge/freezer and decide each morning what to eat depending on what you’re in the mood for. My personal favorite is to create breakfast themes for each day of the week (think Muffin Mondays, Oatmeal Tuesdays, Pancake Wednesdays, Parfait Thursdays, etc.). This method reduces decision fatigue while incorporating variety so no one gets burned out after eating the same thing 3 days in a row.
4. Stock your fridge and/or freezer. Here’s where some basic batch cooking principles come in handy. Spend time the night before, the week before or weeks in advance preparing various breakfast recipes. This again will vary from one person to the next – you can prepare overnight oats at night for the next morning; you can bake a breakfast casserole on Sunday for the week ahead; you can whip up a big batch of muffins or pancakes to store in the freezer; or you can do a combination of these methods.
5. Reheat and eat! Where applicable, of course – no one really wants hot yogurt. 😉 And remember, if your morning is mayhem or your schedule just doesn’t allow for a sit-down breakfast, take it on-the-go. You’ll still reap the benefits of having a well-balanced, healthy breakfast!

Fridge Breakfast Ideas

The fridge is perfect for foods prepared 1-7 days in advance as well as ones that may not reheat so well after freezing.

• Slow Cooker or Instant Pot steel cut oats (after reheating, stir in 1-2 Tbsp of nuts, seeds or nut butter or a scoop of protein powder or pair with eggs or plain Greek yogurt for a balanced meal)
• Overnight steel cut oats
• Boiled eggs (served with fruit and/or nuts)
• Tempeh kale hash
• Tofu scramble (served with fruit)
• Chickpea scramble breakfast bowl
• Coconut and chocolate peanut butter protein bars
• Greek yogurt parfaits
• Savory cucumber yogurt bowl
• Amaranth breakfast bowl
• Crudité bowl
• Zoodle breakfast casserole
• Roasted butternut squash and sausage frittata
• Sweet potato waffles (topped with plain Greek yogurt, smashed avocado and/or eggs)
• Breakfast cookies (can be stored in an air-tight container on the counter or fridge for 5-7 days)

Freezer Breakfast Ideas

The freezer is your go-to for more long-term food prep. These can all also be made and stored in the fridge for the week.

• Steel cut oat pucks (after reheating, stir in 1-2 Tbsp of nuts, seeds or nut butter or a scoop of protein powder or pair with eggs or plain Greek yogurt for a balanced meal)
• Breakfast burritos
• Egg muffins (served with fruit and sliced avocado – sliced avocado stores great in the freezer too!)
• Sheet pan oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes
• Zucchini butternut squash pancakes (served with plain Greek yogurt and/or sliced avocado)
• Banana zucchini oatmeal cups
• Blender banana oat muffins
• Peanut butter banana muffins
• Homemade turkey sausage or blackberry sage breakfast sausage (store in pre-portioned, cooked crumbles or patties; served with fruit, oatmeal, eggs, etc.)
• Smoothie packs (pre-portion most ingredients and store in the freezer, then dump into blender and add liquid of choice + protein powder/nut butter/avocado)

*NOTE: If you cannot/do not consume eggs, try one of these egg substitutes for the above muffin/pancakes/baked goods recipes. Flax eggs are my go-to!

 

What’s your favorite make-ahead breakfast?