Meal prep can be the turning point of a normal week into a fantastic week. By eliminating the need to think about your food choices for the day (which can be daunting and impractical to do while also juggling life), it frees up your brain for more important things, such as killing it in your career or personal life. One of the easiest, cost-effective, and tasty ways to meal prep breakfasts for an entire week is to embrace the (well deserved) fad of overnight oats. The idea of overnight oats is that you throw the ingredients into a mason jar (because really if it isn’t in a mason jar did you even find the idea on Pinterest?), shake it up, and throw it in the fridge for at least one day until you are ready to eat it. By spending half an hour every Sunday making these, you will save yourself time, stress, and calories by avoiding grabbing a “quick bite” of a fast-food breakfast on your way in to work.
There is a base recipe (added below), and then for the toppings, you can go absolutely wild. We have included some suggestions for toppings, but feel free to get creative and go out with your own ideas.
Base Recipe:
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup milk of your choice
- Sweetener of choice
- Toppings of your choice
Apple Pie Crunch:
- Diced apple
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- Roughly chopped walnuts
Peanut Butter:
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- ½ banana (sliced)
- Dash of chia seeds
Blueberry Bananza:
- ¼ cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
- ½ banana (sliced)
Carrot Cake:
- ¼ cup shredded carrots
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- Dash cinnamon
- Dash nutmeg
PB & J:
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon jam of your choice
- Dash chia seeds
Strawberry Shortcake:
- 3 sliced strawberries (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 cup white chocolate chips
Decadent Peanut Butter:
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1/8 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
