I am a big fan of making big batches of food ahead of time and storing them in the fridge. When it’s meal time, I like to know that I have delicious healthy food all ready to go if I don’t feel like cooking anything…or am just too impatient to wait for anything to cook. Usually it’s the latter. 😉
Some of my favorite things to make in advance are…
Quinoa
I love quinoa because it a complete protein and really fills you up and keeps you satisfied. Just last night, I completely transformed a regular, basic stirfry into a more exciting dish by adding in quinoa:
Quinoa is also great for snacks. Try mixing it with greek yogurt and cinnamon! I know Naomi is a fan of this. 🙂
One side dish that I like to make: mix together quinoa, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, and italian seasonings. You could make it into a meal by adding cottage cheese and then you would have Pizza Quinoa!
Lentils
As with quinoa, lentils are very versatile. I like to throw them into salads, or make a lentil/hummus/balsamic bowl as a side dish. That combo rocks!
Proteins:
- easy egg dishes:
egg casseroles take less than 5 minutes to put together and the flavor combinations are endless. You can keep it simple with just eggs or try add ins such as cottage cheese, ground turkey/beef, chicken, salmon or tuna packets, feta cheese crumbles,sauteed veggies, or grains. (like quinoa!) I really like Julie’s salmon egg casserole!
Other proteins I make ahead:
- chicken (baked chicken nuggets, stuffed chicken, bbq chicken, etc)
- hard boiled eggs
- turkey muffins
- baked tofu
- baked tuna/salmon burgers
Sweet Tooth Treats:
- protein brownies
- pumpkin muffins
- protein cookies
- brownie protein bars
- peanut four baked sweet bread
- oatmeal snack bars
Just to name a few!
This is a very convenient way to eat, while still keeping things fresh and healthy. No need to go out and pick up fast food when you already have it in the fridge!
Do you like to prepare food in advance or do you just make what you want when you get get hungry?
Staples in your fridge?
Kristi
Sweetly Fit 
Awesome post! I’m the same way, I love having stuff already cooked and ready to go in the fridge–it saves so much time/effort and I’m a total lazy bones when I’m hungry 😉
Your quinoa stir fry looks fantastic! 😛 I’ve yet to try quinoa, I always keep forgetting everytime I drop by the grocery haha
try quinoa! I think you would like it. 🙂
Are you still eating gluten free? How’s that going for you? I am thinking of doing it to see if it helps me.
I actually never ate gluten free, haha! But it is a common stomach irritant so I would say you might definitely look into at least trying gluten free since you’ve been having so many problems. It could be the solution for you!
I just make stuff when I’m hungry because I’m otherwise very lazy and hate to bake.
Great post! I usually make stuff in advance. I always have pbutter, yogurt, milk, and bread in the fridge 🙂
Your staples are pretty much the same as mine/ours! I love making protein pancakes in advance and freezing them 😀
ohhh yes, I have those in my fridge right now!
I tend to crave different things at the drop of a hat, so I’ve found that when I prepare meals in advance they often go to waste. This is why I can never do overnight oats. Whenever I make them I always feels like hot oats in the morning. It’s probably just my subconscious being a brat 😉
LOVE your staples!! i am BAD about making staples, but i am a fan of keeping lots of veggies/leftovers in our fridge 🙂
Those sweet treat recipes look so good! I like to keep produce/dairy handy bur I’m bad about making things like beans and grains to have on hand
This is a great post! I always love seeing what other keep for staples in their house too… and mine are quite similar to yours! I don’t make things too much ahead of time… I always feel like I am craving something different than what I prepare haha
My fridge staples are Kombucha, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and spinach. Yeah, I’m that guy 😉
I usually make what I want when I’m hungry, although I do like making food in advanced. I should start doing that again. Some staples in my fridge are, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, butter, eggs, cheese, salsa, almond and/or soy milk, and peanut butter, just to name a few.
That’s a very good idea to make foods in advance, for some reason I never seem to do it though. I usually make my breakfast and lunch the night before because I usually don’t have time before when I head out before work.
That egg casserole looks amazing 🙂
I’m going to make some of your sweet tooth treats when I visit my p’rents in philly this weekend 🙂 they have a proper sized kitchen, whereas mine looks like it’s from a doll house. Gotta love NYC apartments…. Oh by the way.. you’re awesome!!
aww thanks! I hope you like them!! ❤
I keep lots of food made (or I try to). I pretty much always have eggs and chicken ready. I keep frozen veggies in a pinch also. It really helps on those “lazy” days.
I really suck at planning in advance 😆 I usually just make my meals right before I eat them, because I always try to go with my cravings and have no idea what I’ll crave in advance. I have a few go-to meals that I rotate through, so I pretty much know how much time it’ll take me to make them and I always manage to fit it in.
Ohhh yum! So many delicious ideas! I love it!
I’m usually not big on the whole “making foods in advance” thing, but when it comes to grains, TOTALLY count me in! I hate coming home starving and then having to wait half an hour for my brown rice or bulgur to cook. I usually make them in big batches!
So convenient 😉
Have a great weekend!
I really do need to start cooking in advance because usually by the time meal time rolls around I’m too starved to cook anything! Thanks for the great ideas 🙂
My staples in fridge: almond milk and greek yogurt!
i love that quinoa! and i love that company! their quinoa flakes are pretty rad too! 🙂
xoxo
Oats, bananas, almond milk, almond milk yogurt, PB and sweet potatoes to name a few!! Quinoa is amazing tho, I luuurve the nutty flavour
Yum! I really wanna try those protein brownies. Sound perfect for when late night snack attack happens! I usually make a huge batch of hummus at the beginning of the week and like you, lots of quinoa. Perfect for dumping on salads and adding to veggies!