These Healthy Breakfast Hacks Will Save Tons of Time and Help You Eat Better, Too!
If your mornings always seem rushed and breakfast is the first thing to get pushed aside, ensure you don't skip the first meal of the day by using one of these breakfast hacks.
Smoothies
Prep all the fruit and greens you use in your smoothies, and freeze individual serving sizes in quart-sized freezer bags. Note any ingredients that need to be added to the blender, and your smoothie is as good as done.
Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Forty minutes is way too long to wait for steel-cut oats to cook on busy mornings. So use this frozen oatmeal hack, and a chewy, hearty bowl of oats will be ready in minutes.
Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are like the definition of a quick breakfast. Just a few minutes of prep the night before, and breakfast is waiting for you in the morning. Instead of getting out the ingredients every single night, prep five jars at once. Then all you have to do is pour in the soy or almond milk before hopping in bed. How easy is that?
Protein Balls
The ultimate grab-and-go breakfast, protein balls like these chocolate chip pumpkin pie protein balls offer a quick and filling high-fiber and high-protein meal.
Overnight Quinoa
Like overnight oats, overnight quinoa is another amazingly healthy and filling breakfast. To save time at night without having to cook up a new batch of quinoa, make one big batch and freeze one-cup servings.
Pancakes
Bisquick, as the name suggest, might be quick, but it's not the healthiest. DIY your own healthy pancake mix using whole wheat flour for added fiber. You can even add protein powder to your jar.
Banana Bread
While plain banana bread wouldn't be the healthiest breakfast, this one is made with protein powder. Bake a loaf Sunday night so you can grab a slice or two a few mornings that week.
Freeze Greens
Save time measuring greens for smoothies by storing two-cup servings in freezer bags or puree your greens and freeze them in ice cube trays.
Eggs
Cracking an egg takes no time at all, but cracking a few eggs and scrambling them takes a couple minutes. Save those precious moments by freezing scrambled eggs in muffin tins. Just remove two or three "pucks" from the freezer the night before, place them in a bowl in the fridge, and in the morning they're ready to scramble.
Pureed Veggies
If you want to add veggies to your smoothie, don't stop at greens! Puree butternut squash, carrots, or green beans ahead of time and freeze them in ice cube trays. Then you just pop a few in your blender and that's it.
Fruit
If you like fresh fruit in your smoothies, bowl of oatmeal, cereal, or you just like eating a big fruit salad for breakfast, cut up high-maintenance fruits ahead of time that take a little time to prepare, such as apples, melon, and pineapple. Then you can grab what you need in the morning without having to get out the knife and cutting board.
Slow-Cooker Oatmeal
What better way to wake up then to the smell of pumpkin pie cooking in the kitchen? Prep some steel-cut oatmeal the night before by just throwing some ingredients in your slow cooker, and breakfast is served. This recipe makes six servings so you'll have breakfast all week long.
Egg Muffins
Make a big batch of turkey sausage egg muffins or egg and veggie muffins in advance, freeze them, then microwave a couple in the morning.
Egg Casserole
Take 20 minutes for prep the night before, set your slow cooker to low while you sleep, and wake up to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen.
Quinoa Bake
For a twist on oatmeal, cooked quinoa offers more protein. Make a quinoa breakfast bake before bed, and you can eat a square warmed up with a dollop of yogurt.
Breakfast bars
Bake up some protein bars ahead of time, and you'll feel like you're eating cookies for breakfast. Powered with protein powder, oats, eggs, and almond butter, these gluten-free almond oatmeal protein bars can be made the night before and grabbed the next morning. Or go for these chocolate almond protein bars.
Quinoa Egg Bake
Pair eggs with whole grains for a filling breakfast, and prepare a quinoa egg bake ahead of time. Microwave while brewing your coffee, and you'll have a hot breakfast served in minutes.
Overnight Breakfast Cookie
Mix the few simple ingredients together, flatten it on your plate, pop it in the fridge, and when you wake up, you'll be so excited to get your mouth around this no-bake chewy, cinnamony cookie!