18 Make-Ahead Meals And Snacks To Eat Healthy Without Even Trying
Cook once, eat for a week.
1. Create fruit and date-bread kebabs.
You can also just prep the components (slice the fruits, bake and cut the bread) for easy spearing and serving each morning. Get the recipe.
2. Plot out a few varieties of Mason jar refrigerator oatmeal.
There are eight flavors pictured here: pineapple coconut, mandarin orange, cherry chocolate chunk, peach melba, pumpkin pie, cranberry pecan, apricot ginger, and mocha. Get the recipes, pick your faves.
3. Put together a few freezer breakfast sandwiches.
Breakfast sandwiches are a great morning food — they come with protein, fat, and a little bit of carbs, which is just the right mix to keep you fueled and satisfied until lunch. Get the recipe here.
4. Or some budget-friendly breakfast bowls.
Five days of filling breakfasts. Get the recipe.
5. Cook and freeze this asparagus and bacon quiche.
Cut it into slices before you freeze it to make them easier to thaw out (and reheat) as you need them. Get the recipe.
6. Bake a batch of these quinoa breakfast bars.
Cut them into eight bars and stash them in the fridge. Then grab one every morning on your way out the door. Get the recipe.
7. Box up these grilled chicken veggie bowls.
These chicken bowls come with cauliflower, brown rice, asparagus, haricots verts, and roasted corn. Super healthy, super tasty. Get the recipe.
8. Try these five salads that'll stay fresh all week.
The shopping list calls for 11 items. Get the details here.
9. Re-create the classic Starbucks Protein Bistro Box.
This one's been remixed to have even more protein. Get the recipe.
10. Make some tuna salad sandwiches, and stick 'em in the freezer.
Wrap each one in plastic wrap and stick them in the freezer until the night before you're gonna eat them. Get the recipe.
11. Create a grab-n-go healthy snack bin.
For your kids, for yourself, for everyone — grab a snack on your way out the door and have it with you for when you get peckish. See more great ideas here.
12. Mix up some cranberry orange pecan granola for the week.
This makes eight servings, and if you store it in an airtight container it’ll stay fresh and delicious for two weeks. Great for easy snacks to pack on your way out the door. Get the recipe here.
13. Or cook and freeze these DIY oatmeal cups.
The fun here is that you can add whatever fixings you want — berries, nuts, fruits, you name it. Get the recipe.
14. Or prep a batch of these crispy zucchini chips.
You may need a mandolin to get them extra thin, though. Get the recipe here.
15. Make this chipotle chicken chili.
Then freeze the leftovers as single portions in individual bags or plastic containers to heat up as the week goes on. Get the recipe here.
16. Serve up some hearty burrito bowl Mason jar salads.
With Greek yogurt and quinoa — YAAASS. Get the recipe here.
17. Prep and stash some stir-fry freezer meals.
Get the step-by-step how-to here, via The Kitchn.
18. Or pull together a whole pan of creamy spinach-and-cheese green chile enchiladas.
You can reheat each individual enchilada (or several) in a microwave in no time. Get the recipe here.
One of the Mason jar refrigerator oatmeal flavors is cherry chocolate chunk. We mislabeled it earlier — sorry about that!