Meal Prepping Sundays

Meal prep done! I'm definitely getting better at this - took me half as long as last week.

There are so many delicious recipes out there and it may be tempting to make them when you're prepping. I did and realized it was just too much. The simpler the better, otherwise I just get overwhelmed and am exhausted after all the cooking.

I'm working on creating meal plans with grocery lists, so stay tuned!

Below are a list of all the meals for the week:

Yummy Egg Muffins

Yummy Egg Muffins

Sometimes you want a hearty breakfast that you can eat on the go or throw in your bag to take to school or work. Usually the most portable of breakfast ideas are carb and sugar loaded. These tasty breakfast egg muffins are a great alternative and can be made in advance! You decide what meat, cheese and vegetables you want to put in it, making the combination possibilities endless. And since you make a bunch in advance you have ready to go breakfast options all week.

Overnight Quinoa. Something Different Than Oatmeal for Breakfast.

Overnight Quinoa. Something Different Than Oatmeal for Breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey

frozen fruit of choice


DIRECTIONS:

• Combine all the ingredients except the fruit. Be sure to mix well. Stir in frozen fruit. If using fresh fruit, I recommend adding the fruit the next morning, right before you eat it.

• Cover and place in the refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.

• The next morning, remove from the fridge and enjoy.

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats are my favorite! I feel like I'm cheating on my clean eating plan! 

Prep time: 5 minutes

Servings: 2

Healthy On-the-Go Cheesy Sausage Egg Muffins

Healthy On-the-Go Cheesy Sausage Egg Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 delicious egg muffins

Sometimes you want a hearty breakfast that you can eat on the go or throw in your bag to take to school or work. Usually the most portable of breakfast ideas are carb and sugar loaded. These tasty breakfast egg muffins are a great alternative and can be made in advance! You decide what meat, cheese and vegetables you want to put in it, making the combination possibilities endless. And since you make a bunch in advance you have ready to go breakfast options all week.

Weird things happened when I started drinking in the morning...

This is my morning face before Shakeology. Wait. Who am I kidding?  This is my face most mornings.  Just ask my coworkers. Or my family. I hated mornings with a passion!!  

I used to drink my Shakeology in the afternoons, which was great (when I stuck to it).  But I'd find that come the afternoon, I wasn't hungry, so I'd procrastinate drinking it and next thing I know, it's dinnertime... 

Shortly before Christmas my work schedule changed. It switched to start at 7 am now. Ugh, right?!  I already struggled with mornings and getting to work at 8 am. How was I going to do this?! I decided to change my thinking and tell myself I CAN be a morning person.

That didn't work.

I was like a zombie. I may have even growled at people until I finished drinking my coffee. Looking back, I probably still growled at them after drinking coffee and just blamed it on whatever I felt like that day.  This needed to change.

So what if I started drinking Shakeology in the morning?  (Do I dare say it...BEFORE my coffee...) *GASP*

This is when weird things started happening...

Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausage Hash

Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausage Skillet Hash

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings:  4

I'm in love!

I'm in love!  Have you tried the new ready-to-juice packages from Harvest Sensations? I found them in the produce section of Fresh & Easy. I throw it all in my Ninja with some water. Two servings in each bag, which means my morning juice is good to go for two days. It's perfect!

Healthy Grab and Go Cheesy Egg Muffins

Healthy Grab and Go Cheesy Egg Muffins

Sometimes you want a hearty breakfast that you can eat on the go or throw in your bag to take to school or work. Usually the most portable of breakfast ideas are carb and sugar loaded. These tasty breakfast egg muffins are a great alternative and can be made in advance! You decide what meat, cheese and vegetables you want to put in it, making the combination possibilities endless. And since you make a bunch in advance you have ready to go breakfast options all week.

Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes
from Hello Healthy via MyFitnessPal

Ingredients

1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 medium Banana, sliced
2 large Egg Whites
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
2 tablespoon Almond Milk
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Gluten-Free Grab and Go: Turkey, Broccoli, and Egg Muffins

Cheddar Egg Muffins

Blueberry Flax Microwave Muffins

Blueberry Flax Microwave Muffins

Making muffins from scratch each morning is easier than you might think.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP ground flax
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp olive oil
2 egg whites
sprinkle of sugar (or other natural sweetener)

Directions:
Mix quick-cooking oats, blueberries, baking powder, ground flax, cinnamon, olive oil, egg whites, and a sugar in a microwave-safe Tupperware container.

Cook on high for 50 to 60 seconds. Let it cool, throw a top on it, and enjoy whenever the hunger pangs hit.

1-minute Microwave Quiche in a Mug

1-minute Microwave Quiche in a Mug

How great is this?!  I'm not a morning person.  I make it work on time with only minutes to spare. So I'm always trying to think of easy and yummy ways to have breakfast at the office.  Knowing me, I'll leave the bread out of the recipe, but I'll try it once with bread...

Total time: 3 minutes
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 1 min
Yield: 1 serving
Level: Easy

Single Serving Blueberry Muffin

Single Serving Blueberry Muffin

Ingredients

3 tbsp spelt flour (30g) (or ww pastry, white, or Bob’s gluten-free)
1/4 tsp baking powder
heaping 1/16 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut or veg oil (You can use applesauce if you don't mind the taste of fat-free baked goods)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp milk of choice (Use less if using liquid sweetener)
pinch uncut stevia OR 1 tbsp sugar or liquid sweetener


Instructions

Preheat your oven to 330 degrees. (Or continue reading for microwave option.) Mix dry ingredients, then add wet. Mix until just combined (don’t overmix), and bake for 17 minutes or so. Baking time will vary, depending on the flour and oil/applesauce you use. If you don’t want to heat your oven for just one muffin, you can make this in the microwave! Just grease/spray a little dish, pour batter in, heat for 90-ish seconds, and enjoy!

See the single-lady post for Single Serving Blueberry Muffin Nutrition Facts

Skinny “Starbucks” Pumpkin Scones

Skinny “Starbucks” Pumpkin Scones

These are delicious!!  With the help of my super cute nephews, we made these and they were gone by the end of the day!!   However, instead of the glaze, we added chocolate chips to the mix. 

Quinoa Breakfast Bars

Quinoa Breakfast Bars

From http://www.theleangreenbean.com/quinoa-breakfast-bars/

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

A grab 'n go breakfast that's tasty and a cinch to make, without all of the added sugar found in store bought bars.

Author: Lindsay L

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 c whole wheat flour (or chickpea flour to make GF)
• 2 c cooked quinoa
• 2 c oats
• ⅔ c nuts, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• ⅔ c peanut butter
• ½ c honey
• 2 egg
• ⅔ c applesauce (or mashed banana)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ⅔ c craisins
• ½ c chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine applesauce, vanilla, eggs, peanut butter and honey in a small bowl and mix well.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until just mixed.
3. Spoon into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 20 min or until golden brown.
4. Let cool and cut into bars.
5. Store in the refrigerator.

These quinoa breakfast bars are chewy and delicious- perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. They’re packed with protein and fiber and they’re gluten-free  as long as you use GF oats. Plus, they could be made vegan if you used a flax egg! I used pecans in mine but almonds would be good as well.

You can also halve this recipe and make them in an 8×8 pan!

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes 

From FitnessMagazine.com

By Roberto Martin

• Makes: 4 servings
• Prep: 15 mins
• Cook: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Serving Size: 8 pancakes

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 bananas, chopped

Directions

In a blender, puree soy milk and oats until smooth. Add bananas, flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and baking powder and puree a few seconds more. Let batter rest 10 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Mist with nonstick cooking spray, then scoop batter into pan in 1/4-cup increments. Reduce heat to medium low and cook pancakes until air bubbles appear and underside is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook about 5 minutes more. 

Top with sliced bananas and maple syrup if desired.