The Sunday Night Breakfast Project: 6 Weeks of Breakfast Prep Ideas & Printables!

 

I don’t think I need to tell you guys anymore that I am not a morning person…I’ve said it a thousand times.  I don’t function before I’ve been “awake” for at least an hour and been able to inhale at least a cup of coffee.  I’ve finally accepted that I never have been, nor never will be one of those early risers that gets things done before the crack of dawn.  (Now, accomplishing things at a freakish pace at night?  That’s my thing.  I’m in my zone after the kids go to bed.)

So, breakfasts have always been a challenge for me.  I’ll be honest – I am normally not a breakfast eater.  I don’t even like eating breakfast for dinner.  Before the kids came along, that meal was kind of a “fend for yourself” thing in our house.  Whatever we could grab on our way out the door was whatever we ate (and, admittedly, it normally wasn’t very healthy).  But, when Emmie was old enough to start eating breakfast with us, I tried to start wrangling in our unhealthy breakfasts and at least put something on the table that was somewhat wholesome.  And it was always a little bit of a struggle – remember that whole “not functioning before coffee” thing?  It doesn’t work well with trying to meal plan on the fly.

But, a couple of months ago, we changed the way we were doing our breakfast planning, and it has been a definite game-changer in our home.  As much of a planner as I am, I can’t believe this idea never dawned on us before!  On Sunday nights, we prep all of the breakfasts we will need for the whole week.  I try to include at least 1 protein, at least 1 fruit/veggie, and a carb/bread in each meal.

Luckily for you guys, I’ve taken all of the guess-work out of planning your next 6 weeks of breakfasts!  I call this The Sunday Night Breakfast Project.

Here’s how it works: I have all of the information below that you’ll need to plan, shop for, and prep your meals one night per week.  These instructions each take an hour or two on Sunday nights (don’t worry, you can still get other things done while you’re prepping!).  Then, you’ll basically just assemble breakfasts each weekday!  It takes just minutes to prep each morning, and you’ll have a wholesome, well-rounded breakfast on the table without all of the dirty work and planning.

Let’s get going!

Step 1: Print your menus and grocery lists.

The menus and grocery lists I’ve included are for four people…so, obviously, if you have more or less, these will need to be adjusted.  I include 5 days of food in each menu/prep session (so there will be 20 total breakfasts prepped on Sunday night).

And, it’s me, so I have pretty printables to go with each meal plan!   Click here to download your copies of the menus/lists.  This is one big file that will give you all 6 pages…just keep scrolling to see them all.

I also have a fun bonus for email subscribers in the printable collection!  Click here to sign up for your password or use the form below!  You’ll get instructions for how to access your printable in your inbox within a few minutes. (If you’re a subscriber who has forgotten your password, check your last newsletter…it’s at the bottom.)

You can see an example of one of the printable pages in the instructions below.  Each week, you’ll cut your page in half…the top half goes on the fridge (to eliminate all of those “what’s for breakfast?” questions) and the bottom half goes with you to the grocery store.  Once you make your grocery run, you’ll come back to this post for instructions on how to do your prep session!

Step 2: Make your grocery run.

You’ll need to include the items on each printable in your grocery trip each week…there are lots of meats/produce, so I wouldn’t recommend buying more than a week in advance.  All of the lists have less than 15 items, though!  Since I usually get the fill-in items for my Boot Camp meals on Sunday anyway, this process works out perfectly for my family…I always know that my breakfast items are going to be fresh.

Step 3: Dedicate an hour or so to breakfast prep each Sunday night.

Once you’ve gotten your printables all settled away and you’ve made your grocery run, you can start your prep sessions with the instructions below…

 

Week 1:

Sausage balls, fruit salad, and hash browns:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix together sausage, cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, and pancake mix.  Roll into 1″ balls and place on a non-stick baking sheet (spray with cooking spray or use a silicone baking sheet).  Bake sausage balls for 30-40 minutes, until browned and cooked through.
• While sausage balls are cooking, chop your onion, bell pepper, and 1 clove of garlic.  Mix with the bags of frozen hash browns.
• In a large pan, heat the olive oil and throw in hash brown mixture.  Saute until slightly browned and soft.
• Core apples and peel/core pineapple.  Dice apples and pineapple into 1″ pieces.  Halve grapes and mix all fruits (including oranges) together.
• On meal day: reheat as needed.

Week 2:

Bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and oranges:

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
• Lay slices of bacon flat on a sheet pan.  Place in the oven (even before it is pre-heated) and cook for 15-20 minutes, until bacon is crispy.  Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. (You might have to do this in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.)
• While bacon is cooking, mix pancake mix with water as specified on the box.  Also mix in 1/4 cup butter per 2 cups pancake mix.  Prepare 40 total pancakes (2 pancakes per person per day).
• Crack 6-8 eggs in a bowl.  Add just a splash of water and salt/pepper as needed and whisk well.  Pour into a pre-heated pan and cook to preference.  Cook 2 dozen eggs in batches.
• On meal day: reheat as needed and serve pancakes with syrup/butter.

Week 3:

Turkey sausage patties, sliced apples, bagels with cream cheese:

• Fry sausage patties in a pan according to package directions.
• Core and slice the apples.  In a large storage container, toss the apples together with the juice of 1 lemon to prevent browning.
• On meal day: heat parties in the microwave (with just a spoonful of water on top) for 30 seconds per side.  Toast bagels and serve with cream cheese.

Week 4:

Breakfast burritos, yogurt with fruit:

• Cook bacon on a sheet pan in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  When finished, drain on a paper towel-lined plate and crumble.  While bacon is cooking, brown and crumble sausage and scramble eggs.
• Once bacon, sausage, and eggs are cooked, combine all 3, hash browns, and both packs of cheese in a large bowl.
• Place about 1/3 cup of the mixture on a tortilla and roll into a burrito.  Complete with 19 other tortillas.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
• On meal day: place burritos in the microwave for 1-2 minutes per side.  You’ll also need to wash and prep berries for the yogurt each morning…they’ll go bad quickly if you try to wash in advance!

Week 5:

Strawberry banana smoothies, waffles, sausage links:

• Dice bananas and place on a cookie sheet.  Pop it in your freezer for 1-2 hours.
• Slice strawberries.  In 20 sandwich bags, combine frozen bananas, strawberries, and 1/2 cup baby spinach.
• Grill sausage links.
• Mix pancake mix according to package directions, adding 1/4 cup melted butter per 2 cups of mix.  Cook in a waffle iron. (Should have 20 waffles.)
• On meal day: combine smoothie packs with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup milk in a blender.  Warm waffles and sausage links as needed and serve with butter/syrup.

Week 6:

Ham, blueberries, banana bread, omelettes:

• Combine mashed bananas, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, sugar, 1 stick melted butter, 2 eggs, and flour in a large bowl, until there are no lumps.  Pour mixture into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.
• While banana bread is baking, slice ham steaks into 7 individual pieces and fry in a pan for 3-4 minutes per side.
• Chop onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms.  In the same pan, add a little bit of butter if needed and saute veggies for 3-4 minutes, until soft and translucent.
• Crack 8-10 eggs in a large bowl.  Add 2-3 splashes of water and whisk.  Pour single-serving sizes (about 1/4 cup) of mixture into the hot pan and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until egg mixture is no longer liquid.  On the second side, add a sprinkle of cheese and a little less than 1/4 cup of the veggie mixture.  Fold over and remove from pan; repeat until 20 omelettes are completed.
• On meal day: slice banana bread and reheat omelettes/ham in a microwave as needed.

Now go forth and conquer breakfast prep!  I promise, if I can do it, anyone can.