5 Healthy Breakfasts That You Can Prepare In Advance
You’ve heard the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” However, when your mornings are rushed and you have a lot to do before getting your family out of the house, a healthy breakfast feel like an impossible goal. It’s often much easier to grab a sugar-rich cereal or even skip breakfast altogether.
Preparing healthy breakfasts in advance can help. You don’t have to spend time in the kitchen in the mornings but you can still make sure you and your family get a balanced meal to start the day.
Five examples of healthy breakfasts that you can prepare in advance are overnight oats, egg muffins, smoothie packs, breakfast wraps and chia seed pudding. These breakfast all include a healthy balance of different food groups to keep you going for longer and are easy to make.
In this blog post I will give you an overview of each breakfast type to make it easy for you to start preparing these meals in advance. The best part is that they are really versatile, so you can switch up which foods you add to the basic breakfast to make sure you don’t get bored within a few weeks!
Important Factors To Consider When Preparing Food in Advance
Some foods are more suited to preparing them in advance than others.
Ideally, breakfast food prepared in advance should:
Remain fresh – you don’t want the food to spoil overnight and have to come up with a last-minute solution in the morning
Not become soggy – certain foods like sandwiches tend to become soggy when you prepared them the night before, especially if you add sauces. This can make the food less appealing.
Work as a hot or cold meal – this is especially applicable in South Africa, where loadshedding schedules change every few days. If you have a ready-made breakfast that doesn’t need to be heated up you can avoid the frustration of having no power in the morning.
5 Healthy Breakfasts To Prepare In Advance
1.Overnight oats
We love oats because our kids love to eat them too and they keep us full for longer!
Leaving the oats in a liquid overnight softens them up so you can enjoy a creamy treat the next morning.
Here’s how to prepare overnight oats:
Mix rolled oats, milk or yogurt, and your choice of toppings (such as fruit, nuts, and seeds) in a jar or container and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you’ll have a nutritious and delicious breakfast ready to go.
Overnight oats are a great option because you can create many different varieties:
- You can use different types of milk (including cow milk and plant milks) and yoghurt (plain or flavoured)
- You can use different fruits as they are in season
- You can also use frozen fruit, which will defrost overnight. Frozen fruit is often more affordable, especially if the fruits you love aren’t currently in season. It also lasts longer than fresh fruit so you can reduce the number of times you have to shop for groceries.
2. Egg muffins
Although I prefer egg muffins that are re-heated, you can also eat them cold.
I also love that egg muffins make it easier to add vegetables to your breakfast. As a family we try to add as many vegetables to every meal we eat and I’ve found this to be most difficult with breakfasts!
You can use any leftover vegetables from other meals. I would cut them into small pieces to make them less chunky in the muffins (especially if you have fussy eaters!). Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, tomato, onion and carrots all work really well.
I also like to add fresh herbs from our garden to our egg muffins, including basil, parsley and chives.
Here’s how to prepare egg muffins:
Whisk together eggs and your choice of veggies, cheese, and/or meat, and pour the mixture into a muffin tin. Bake in the oven and store the muffins in the fridge for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.
Egg muffins can also be frozen really well, so you can prep a whole lot in one go and have breakfast ready in the freezer for many mornings.
3. Smoothie packs
Pre-portion fruits and vegetables into individual bags or containers and freeze them. In the morning, simply blend the ingredients with milk or yogurt for a healthy and refreshing smoothie.
I actually prefer to put the frozen fruits and vegetables directly into our Nutribullet the evening before so that they already defrost in the fridge. This helps that the smoothies isn’t too cold, especially in winter.
We also love creating smoothie packs to help our food last longer. There is nothing like picking up spinach from your fridge to use in a smoothie and have that disgusting brown water run down your arm as you realise it’s gone off again.
If you like your smoothie very runny, you can also add extra water in addition to milk and yogurt.
You can also add protein powder to your smoothies to increase your protein intake.
Vegetables to include in your smoothie include:
- Spinach
- Beetroot
- Carrots
- Kale
- Cucumber
4. Breakfast wraps
I love eggs for breakfast because the protein helps to keep me full for longer.
To prepare breakfast wraps in advance, cook scrambled eggs, veggies, and/or meat and wrap them in a wrap. Store the burritos in the fridge or freezer, and reheat them in the morning for a hearty and satisfying breakfast.
I love to include spinach, tomato, onion, chives, basil, parsley, sweetcorn and broccoli in our scrambled eggs.
5. Chia seed pudding
Pudding for breakfast? Yes please!
To make chia seed pudding, mix chia seeds, milk, and your choice of sweetener (such as honey or maple syrup) in a jar or container and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, top with fruit, nuts, or granola for a tasty and nutritious breakfast.
You can prepare the fruit, nuts and granola ahead as well by placing it into a separate container.
I even like to add some chocolate chips to chia seed pudding! The sugar free chips from Nova Chocolate are incredibly yummy!
I hope these breakfast ideas make your life easier and help you to have a healthier breakfast in the morning. I just know this will set your day off on a happier note!
