Weekend Meal Prep For Busy Weekday Schedules

Busy schedules have been a staple of my college life. I would often have to pack a lunch and a dinner to eat with me at school due to being in classes from eight in the morning until ten at night some days. With student teaching filing my final semester of college I now only have one meal to pack for the day. However, I have to be awake much earlier than I did for college classes so I have found myself needing ready made breakfasts.

I have been making breakfasts on Sunday that I save for the early parts of the week. Last week I made French toast sticks out of regular wheat bread dipped in melted butter and maple syrup and toasted in the oven. I paired this with strawberries and cottage cheese. The amount I made was enough for three mornings.

Later in the week I made peanut butter chip banana bread. I ate this for breakfast with apples and peanut butter. I was also able to pack this as part of my lunch for the later part of the week.

This week I have planned ahead with cinnamon and vanilla pancakes loaded with walnuts for breakfasts. In the mornings I will load them with strawberries and bananas. I also made up some cornbread muffins, which I will probably use as a snack during my teaching schedule. They will be a helpful part of my lunchbox because they are easy and fast to eat.

On the weekend I also make up some chicken, seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. I bake it in the oven on 350 for about an hour, checking on it in fifteen minute increments. When it cools. I chop it into bite sized pieces for chicken salad, and Caesar salad wraps. When I make chicken salad I simply toss the seasoned chicken with some mayo and put it on top of some romaine lettuce and wrap it up in a wheat wrap. I also make wraps out of cold cuts like salami, ham, or turkey.

On the weekends I also chop up my lettuce and cucumbers that I will use for the week. I put the lettuce on all of my wraps. My favorite healthy snack food is chopped cucumbers in vinegar. they aren't quite cucumbers, but they aren't quite pickles either.

For dinner we eat a lot of leftovers from weekend meals. This week my finance made a baked macaroni and cheese that makes for great leftovers. After those were done I thawed some left over soup from my thanksgiving turkey and turned it into stew. Eating leftovers saves me time in the evenings so that I can spend more time catching up on work and spending time with my fiance and my pets.