With a hectic schedule and never-ending to do list, making a healthy homemade breakfast is a tall order most mornings! Set yourself up for a successful and healthy week by preparing your breakfast the night (or several nights) before. Then keep them fresh throughout the week in a stasher bag. These meal prep recipes will help you minimize plastic (bye, granola bar wrappers and yogurt cups) and lead a less stressful daily routine.

Banana Pancakes

Whip up a huge batch of these healthy, naturally sweet banana pancakes on the weekend, and eat them throughout the week!

Ingredients (for one serving):

• 1 small banana or ½ large banana, mashed
• ¼ cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 egg
• ½-1 scoop protein powder (we love Bob’s Red Mill chai protein powder)

Instructions:

Mash the banana thoroughly and mix with the egg until well combined. Mix in oats and protein powder, let sit for 2 minutes. Heat coconut oil in a skillet and cook pancakes (makes 2-3) until lightly browned.

Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to prepare multiple breakfasts. Get imaginative with your toppings- these pancakes can be heated up (did you know you can microwave food in your stasher bags?) and dunked in syrup, smeared with peanut butter for an extra helping of protein, or simply served plain with a side of fruit.

(If you’re packing multiple breakfasts ahead of time, pack fruit in a separate snack-sized stasher)  

Cinnamon French Toast  

Add a little sweetener to your French toast to make French toast sticks that are easy to grab as you’re running out the door in the morning- no messy syrup or powdered sugar required!

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of bread
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Beat egg, and mix well with additional ingredients. Dip bread in egg mixture, covering both sides. Heat butter or coconut oil in a skillet and cook egg-coated bread slices on medium low heat until browned on both sides (the lower the heat, the fluffier the toast!).  

Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to prepare multiple breakfasts. Serve with fruit- a sweet, ripe mango is our favorite!

(If you’re packing multiple breakfasts ahead of time, pack fruit in a separate snack-sized stasher).

The Protein Pack  

Those bistro boxes that you can grab at coffee shops may be healthy, but they’re also expensive and packaged in lots of single-use plastic. Save money and make your own healthy morning burst of power.

Ingredients:

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 2 oz cheese
• ½ gala apple
• 1 ½ Tb peanut butter
• A handful of almonds

Instructions:

This meal can be customized in so many different ways! Swap the apples for grapes or melon, include a English muffin instead of the eggs, thow in walnuts or pecans instead of the almonds.

(If you’re packing multiple breakfasts ahead of time, squeeze lemon on the apples, and keep the cheese and almonds in a separate snack-sized stasher in the refrigerator).

Meal Prep Tips:

Meal prep can be a bit tedious, but the time you spend on it definitely pays off throughout the week as you save money, stick to a healthy diet, and cut down on waste. Here are a few tips to make meal prep fun and simple!

1. Make your meal prep time count by using the time you spend chopping, cooking, and portioning to catch up with a friend (use a headset or speaker phone), listen to a podcast or book you’ve been wanting to read, or even unwind by putting on Netflix or listening to music.
   
   
2. Look at your meal plan and try to figure out the most efficient way to prep your ingredients. If you’ll be using carrots in two different recipes, plus stocking up on raw carrot sticks, wash and slice all of the carrots you’ll need at once.
   
   
3. Use a dry erase marker to date your stored food, or to note the day of the week you’re planning to enjoy the food inside so that you’ll easily know which stasher to grab and throw in your lunch bag. The ink will easily wash off your stasher bag, again and again.

this post was written by our friend Hannah Theisen, editor of life+style+justice, founder of a beautiful refuge and a member of the ethical blogger network. connect with Hannah on instagram.