If you’ve ever sipped cold coffee on your drive to school or skipped breakfast altogether because you were printing morning worksheets at 6:58 AM… this post is for you.

As a former teacher, I know that mornings during the school year are a race. But skipping breakfast only leads to crashing by mid-morning, snacking on whatever’s in your desk drawer, or feeling extra sluggish during 2nd period.

Let’s change that — without adding stress.
Here are 6 *high-protein, easy-to-implement* breakfast ideas that work with real teacher mornings.

1. Cottage Cheese + Fruit + Nuts

Scoop cottage cheese into a bowl or container, add a handful of berries, and sprinkle some chopped walnuts or almonds. Pack it the night before or toss it together in under 2 minutes. It’s packed with protein and fiber, and keeps you full through morning duty.

2. Make-Ahead Egg Muffins (Prep Once, Eat All Week)

Whisk together eggs, veggies, and a protein (like turkey sausage or diced ham), pour into muffin tins, and bake. Store them in the fridge or freezer and reheat in 30 seconds. You can even eat them cold in a pinch — they still taste great!

For a recipe, click HERE.

3. Protein Smoothie Packs (Blend + Go)

Portion smoothie ingredients into freezer bags: frozen banana, berries, spinach, protein powder, and nut butter. In the morning, dump into a blender with milk or water, blend, and take it to go. You can even blend the night before and refrigerate.

4. Overnight Oats with Protein Boost

Combine rolled oats, milk (or yogurt), protein powder or collagen, chia seeds, and fruit in a jar. Let it sit overnight, and it’s ready in the morning. No cooking needed — just grab, shake, and go.

I make these recipes all the time!

5. Yogurt Parfait Jars/Chia Seed Puddings

Layer yogurt with granola, nuts/seeds, and fruit in a mason jar. Optional: stir in some protein powder or top with peanut butter. This can be made 2–3 days in advance for the easiest grab-and-go breakfast.

Several of my favorite chia seed pudding recipes can be found HERE.

6. Breakfast Boxes

Pack premade waffles, sausage or bacon (or both!), and premade eggs (scrambled or hard boiled - you do you boo!) in a microwave safe dish. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. Pop it in the microwave and then drizzle some maple syrup over the waffle and you've got a quick and delicious breakfast. 

Real Talk: Breakfast Doesn’t Have to Be Fancy

It just needs to fuel you so you can teach, think, and move without running on fumes.

Choose one of these to try this week. Prep a few if you’re feeling motivated. Your body (and brain) will thank you — especially around 10:15 when everyone else is crashing.

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You can also grab my free Sunday Reset Kit to help you prep for the week ahead.

Don't forget to check out my breakfast recipes!

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Jessica

 

Meal prep doesn’t have to be extreme. No color-coded containers. No full Sundays lost to chopping.

As a curriculum writer and former teacher, I still work long hours on Zoom and need to eat well — but I also want it to be easy, repeatable, and realistic. After years of trial and error (and burnout), I’ve landed on a simple system that keeps me fed, saves time, and actually works.

Here’s exactly what I do each week — plus the tools that make it 10x easier.

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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🛒 Step 1: Plan 2 Proteins + 2 Meal Combos

I don’t cook 7 different meals. I repeat on purpose.

Each week I choose: (examples in parentheses)

• 2 main proteins (like ground turkey + baked chicken)

• 2 meal combos that can be remixed across 4–6 meals

For example:

• 🥗 Taco bowls (ground turkey, beans, rice, salsa, greens)

• 🌶️ Turkey Chili (ground turkey, canned tomatoes, black beans, chopped onions)

• 🍽  Sheet pan chicken with roasted veggies + sweet potatoes

• 🥗 Chicken Pasta Salad (chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cheese, mushrooms) 

Why it works: I’m not stuck eating the same exact meal over and over, but I’m also not cooking every day.

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🧹 Step 2: Clean + Prep the Kitchen First

I start with a clear counter and empty dishwasher/sink. This step sounds boring but saves so much frustration mid-prep.

Tool I use:
🧽🫧🧻 Basic cleaning supplies like countertop sprays and paper towels

I love Dawn Powerwash Spray! It's so versatile and gets EVERYTHING clean! I also like using reusable paper towels, Blueland dishwashing tablets, and dish soap brush and bar. 

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🔪 Step 3: Keep the Counters Clear as I Go

Instead of letting veggie scraps, packaging, and mess pile up while I prep, I keep my cutting board with a side container right on the counter. I use a big bowl nearby as a "scrap bucket" to collect trash, peels, or compost — and it keeps the space clean and my brain calm.

By the time I’m done chopping, I can dump the bowl and wipe down once instead of stopping five times to clean up. It makes a huge difference.

Tools I use:

🧺 This cutting board with a side container — makes scrap cleanup a breeze
🥣 Giant mixing bowl — I dump scraps as a I go, then rinse it all at once!

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Jessica

Good evening to you!! I just wanted to share how I've been prepping for the coming year other than working in my classroom. I don't know about you, but the beginning of the school year can be super BUSY and I often forget my lunch at home and end up spending money I don't have to Waitr something. Or do the same thing when I get home because I'm too exhausted to fix dinner so I'll just grab something unhealthy like chips or brownies. Does this happen to you?? (If not, what is your secret?!?!?!?)

So I like to meal prep in advance to help me get into the swing of things. I have another meal plan on my blog {CLICK HERE} that I posted many moons ago. These are done in the same way. 

If you want to skip ahead to the meal plans, here they are: 

Freezer Meals Part 2 - Two Week Meal Plan

Freezer Meals Part 3 - Two Week Meal Plan

For those that don't know, two years ago, Carly had a troubling checkup. She has diabetes on both sides of her family, so the doctor was a bit worried about the amount of sugar she was ingesting and concerned she could develop diabetes. So we cut the carbs. And did it help!! We both found ourselves with increased energy, we were sleeping easier, hunger was less, and it wasn't hard to eat things we were supposed to be eating rather than junk. Now, there are times when we go off the low carb lifestyle (like when we go to Disney!!) or like this entire summer (oops), but we always manage to get back on track. 

But just so you know, not all of these meals are Low Carb - I've made notes on the ones on what needs to be changed to make it low carb.

And now we come to my meal prep!! I accumulated over 20 easy to put together low carb meals from the Internet and placed them in two easy to follow documents, complete with a shopping list and instructions on how to meal prep. I also have a sample menu plan for two weeks. They are in two documents, each for a two week plan. Depending on how many people you cook for, you may have to multiply or divide the number of ingredients needed. 

First, look over the shopping lists and determine what you already have and what you will need to purchase. Make sure to look over the meals, too. 

Then go shopping!! Or do what I do and Walmart Grocery Pickup everything!! 

I bought for the entire month!! So this is about $160 worth of groceries from Walmart. I also had a lot of the spices and baking supplies already. 

Then you start prepping!! 

I usually make the simple freezer meals first, such as the ones where I don't have to brown any meat, and set up the bags by writing the name of the dish and the instructions. 

I also save time by using frozen chopped veggies, such as PictSweet Seasoning Blend. I hate chopping vegetables (onions!!) so I save time and sanity by buying frozen ones. 

I also like to purchase some frozen sides, such as riced cauliflower and broccoli so that it's easier to put together a complete meal after a very tiring day at work.  

Halfway through meal prep!! Slowly running out of freezer space but that's okay. I played Tetris as a child. 

I also like to purchase some steaks that we can air fry quickly one night and serve with a side of leftovers. 

And Real Good Foods makes frozen family size pizzas!! SCORE! 

For lunch, I like to pre-pack some tupperware dishes for the week with protein packs and a few hot lunches. I use Oh My Keto's sausage dip stuffed peppers and some frozen broccoli (heated, of course) as some delicious, easy to pack and travel, hot lunch at school. 

The protein packs I like to place some pickles, almonds, cheese, and pepperoni. Sometimes I'll throw in some olives or deli meat. I also love Shrewd Food Protein Croutons*. They are delicious as a crunchy snack and a topping for salads. 

These sausage dip stuffed peppers are SUPER EASY to make and they freeze beautifully. 

A side of broccoli is so simple to add to your meals, and there's a ton of fiber. Topping with some Everything But the Bagel seasoning adds huge layers of flavor to the dish. 

Take out the freezer meals the night before and defrost in the fridge. The next morning, line your slow cooker with a Reynold's Slow Cooker Liner* Dump the meal and set the cooker to the time and setting according to the instructions. 

When you get home at the end of a long day, you'll have dinner all ready!! And clean up will be a breeze since you've used a liner! 

Here is the Cheeseburger Meatloaf with a side of Caulimash and broccoli.  

And who can forget dessert?!?!!? These peanut butter chocolate chip bars from Keto Is Life are divine and super easy to make. 

Okay so here you go! 

Click the titles to be taken to the Google Doc. 

Freezer Meals Part 2 - Two Week Meal Plan

Meals include: 

Low Carb Blueberry Muffins

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Cream Cheese Pancakes

Sausage and Cheese quiche

Low Carb Waffles

Low Carb Chili with cheese, sour cream, and pork rinds

Slow Cooker Shrimp Chowder

Butter Ranch Pork Chops with caulimash

Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Parm Meatballs

Slow Cooker Melt in your Mouth Chicken

Cheeseburger Meatloaf with caulimash

Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas 

Crab shrimp and artichoke casserole

Cheesy Low Carb Bread

Creamy Broccoli Bake

Freezer Meals Part 3 - Two Week Meal Plan

Meals include: 

Stuffed Breakfast Biscuits

Low Carb Breakfast casserole with sausage and cheese

Sausage Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Sheet Pan Pancakes

Sausage Dip Stuffed Peppers

Cheeseburger Meatloaf with caulimash

Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas

Meatballs alla Parmigiana

Mississippi Roast

Crack Chicken on "Eggos"

Make Ahead Freezer Burgers

Protein Snack Pack

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Cheesy Bread

Spanish Caulirice

I made both of these together for a full month. Though to be honest, we will have plenty more leftovers than the two week daily meals provide for, so it's more like five weeks.  

I've included ideas for sides and desserts, and sometimes we like to have the same meal (such as cheeseburger meatloaf) multiple times and it's easy so I prepare it double. 

I hope this can help some of you out! Enjoy!

*Tech and Teachability is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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Jessica