Easy Make-Ahead Recipes for Staying Healthy When You’re Busy  

Eating healthily at every meal can be difficult, especially when you’re always on the go. It also gets expensive if you’re constantly eating out. Yet with a little planning ahead, you can save yourself the time and money with these easy (and healthy) freeze-ahead recipes. 

Healthy Breakfast Sandwich (Makes 6)

• • • 6 whole-wheat English muffins or bagel thins
    • 6 slices turkey bacon, cut in half and cooked
    • 6 eggs (or 12 egg whites)
    • 6 slices skim cheddar cheese
    • Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Liberally coat a muffin tin with non-stick spray and crack an egg into each of the cups. Break the yolk and slightly mix together. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until set. Let cool completely, and then use a spatula to remove.
2. When the eggs are done, heat your oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place each half of the muffins or bagels face up in a single layer. Broil for 3 minutes, flip over, and broil for 2 more minutes. Let cool completely.
3. Once everything has cooled, assemble each sandwich with one egg, 2 half slices of bacon, and 1 slice of cheese. Individually wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap and freeze.  In the meantime, microwave the bacon, wrapped in a paper towel.
4. When ready to eat, remove plastic, wrap sandwich in a paper towel and cook on defrost for 1 minute 30 seconds. Flip over and cook on high for one more minute.

Oatmeal Cups (Makes 12)

• • • 2 cups dry old fashioned rolled oats
    • 3-½ cups water
    • Dash of salt
    • 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
    • ½ t cinnamon

Topping Ideas:

• • • Sliced almonds, pecans, or walnuts
    • Shredded unsweetened coconut
    • Dried fruits such as cranberries, raisins, apricots, or bananas
    • Nut butter (peanut, almond, walnut, cashew)

1. Cook oatmeal according to package directions. Once it’s all cooked, stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
2. Coat each cup of a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon cooked oatmeal into each cup, filling it almost all the way full, and add your desired toppings, pressing lightly so that they stick to the oatmeal.
3. Put muffin tin in the freezer until completely frozen (usually about 3 hours). Once frozen, pop the oatmeal pucks out and store in airtight freezer bag.
4. To serve, place 1-2 oatmeal pucks in microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Add a splash of water or milk, stir, and heat again for another minute. Enjoy!

Easy Pasta Lunch (Makes 6 servings)

• • • 3 cups dry whole-wheat or veggie pasta (penne, bow tie, or rotini work best)
    • 5 quarts water
    • Olive oil
    • Pasta sauce of choice (tomato based sauces or pesto work best)

1. Cook the pasta to al dente directions. This keeps them from getting mushy when reheating. Drain and toss cooked pasta with olive oil.
2. Once it’s all the way cooked, divide pasta into 6 different containers or sealable plastic bags (about 1 cup of pasta in each), then freeze.
3. For the sauce, lightly coat an ice cube tray with non-stick cooking spray, and pour your desired pasta sauce into each cup. Place tray level in the freezer until the sauce is frozen (usually about 2-3 hours). Pop out the sauce cubes and store in airtight bag in the freezer.
4. To serve, make sure pasta is spread evenly in microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute and stir. Add 1-2 sauce cubes and heat on high for another minute. (Note: If the pasta is in the fridge for a few hours, it should be mostly thawed and you won’t need to heat it up as long.)

Whole Wheat Calzones (Makes 8)

• • • 2 lbs. store bought whole-wheat pizza dough
    • 15 oz. container skim ricotta cheese
    • 1 ½ cups grated skim mozzarella cheese
    • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
    • 2-3 cups of fillings: cooked spinach, onions, peppers, chicken sausage, turkey pepperoni, etc.
    • 1-2 cups tomato sauce
    • 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, and your fillings.
3. Separate the pizza dough into 8 equally pieces and roll into balls. Press the dough flat and use a rolling pin to roll it into an 8”-9” circle.
4. Spread tomato sauce on center of dough, leaving a clear border around the outside. Top with approximately 1/3 cup of filling, still leaving a border. Fold dough over itself and press edges to seal. You can also use a fork to seal the edges even more, or roll the edges up (folding it over on itself).  Poke a few holes on top with a fork.
5. Repeat steps 2-3 until all calzones are formed. Brush each one with the beaten egg to get a nice golden color when baking. Transfer calzones to parchment or foil lined baking sheet, and bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
6. Once completely cooled, wrap each calzone tightly in plastic wrap. When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap and wrap in paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute, turn over and heat for another minute. If still not heated through, microwave in segments of 30 seconds, until warm.