5 Easy 'Make Ahead' Breakfasts

Time is always the issue, right? You're running out the door to get to work or take your kids to school, and you want to give yourself a high five for actually brushing your teeth and getting out on time, much less with a cup of coffee in hand. But ooh, wait...you're hungry. By the time you get to work or drop off the kids, you're turning into The Hulk, and nothing anyone says is right. It's not you, it's them. Everyone is stupid, inconsiderate, and needs to hurry the hell up. (Or maybe it IS you.)

When we get hungry and wait too long before we eat, we don't think clearly and we become less than a civil human being (most of us). The term "hangry" is a real struggle for people. I know you've seen kids falling apart while waiting for food at a restaurant, and I want to remind you that this is how we all FEEL, it's just not socially acceptable to act this way as an adult. The poor nugget's blood sugar has crashed, they feel crazy, and that may surface as anger or frustration. My husband is one adult who totally gets it. Real talk.

You may be one of those people who doesn't get hungry right after you wake up, but the reality is you haven't eaten anything for probably close to 12 hours and you'll need something before lunch. Sidenote: you want to have at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast to give your body enough time to completely digest and go into "reset" mode with this "mini fast" each night while you sleep. It helps improve overall digestion when you adopt this practice.

Even if you don't get hungry early in the morning, it's important to grab something small if you are leaving your house, so you don't get in a pinch when you suddenly get hungry at 9:30am. I suggest this for one reason only: to prevent you from putting yourself in a situation where you are ravenous, and you go on a search for anything in sight to satisfy that hunger before lunch rolls around. Fruit is always a great option on the go because it's portable and has good fiber to fill your belly. An apple or banana with peanut or almond butter are always good ideas.

If you are someone who can and likes to eat breakfast in the morning, I have 5 quick, easy, and healthy breakfasts that will help you start your day on the right foot! Habit change tip: try one or two of these recipes this week and one or two next week. Choose the ones you like, and make those a regular habit!

Basic Overnight Oatmeal

  • ½ cup oats
  • ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • ½ banana
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • *optional: 1-2 tsp honey or maple syrup

Add all ingredients into a mason jar or another sealed container. Stir to combine. Put in fridge and let sit overnight. Enjoy in the morning!

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Flourless Pancakes

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of sea salt
  • butter, coconut oil, or ghee for greasing pan
  • maple syrup

Add everything to a blender (or mash up bananas by hand and mix all ingredients together by hand). Pour batter into a greased pan, and flip pancakes after 1-2 mins on each side. Create two stacks of 6-8 pancakes, put in plastic baggies, and keep in fridge until you need them. (Keeps up to 3 days)

*Optional way of eating it: I like to spread almond butter on the top of these puppies and make a sandwich out of it!

Egg & Sausage "Muffins"

  • 8 eggs
  • 2 links chicken apple sausage, or another flavor of chicken sausage, without casing (*you can also use good quality bacon instead of sausage)
  • 2 handfuls of spinach (*or dice up any other veggie instead)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Slice up sausage in 1/2 inch pieces, then cut each circle in quarters, so they are small pieces (remember, this mixture will be baked in muffin tins).

3. Saute the sausage in a skillet for 3-5 minutes, then add the spinach at the end and cook until wilted (it happens quickly).

4. Add this mixture and salt and pepper to the bowl of eggs and stir until combined.

5. Spray/grease a muffin tin and fill the cups 1/3 full (note: you will probably only fill up about 8 cups). Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cool and pack 3-4 muffins in baggies and put in fridge (or freezer) until ready to eat!

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Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins

Recipe from detoxinista.com

  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients mix until smooth. At this point, you can fold in optional add-ins, such as raisins, coconut flakes, diced apple, dark chocolate chips, etc.

3. Scoop the batter, using a 1/4 cup, into each muffin liner.

4. Bake for 15 minutes.

5. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before taking them out of the pan, then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

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Nailed It Breakfast Smoothie

Although this is not technically a "make-ahead" breakfast, it only takes about 3 minutes to make because you are throwing everything into a blender! You could even put all the ingredients portioned out on the counter the night before (minus the banana), so it goes even faster! You'll feel satisfied and full of energy with all that good fat from the nuts and coconut oil and those killer antioxidants from the cacao nibs! Warning: you'll probably crave this all week.

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 2 Tbsp cocao nibs
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 dates (pitted)
  • 2-3 ice cubes
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt

Throw it all in a high speed blender and enjoy!!