Back to school comes with a big shift from our leisurely summer schedule. Extracurriculars and sports are starting, and with an increase in homework and studying, we all have less time. Below we list our favorite easy and quick dinner recipes, as well as quick breakfast ideas. Overall, all of these items make for easy back to school meals – plus snacks! Many of these recipes can be pre-made on the weekend, or in the evenings, making your mornings easier and stress free.
Blueberry Bran Muffins: Pre-make these muffins on the weekend, and pop them in the freezer. Then simply take one out in the evening, to make for a stress free morning the next day. These muffins also make a great lunch or snack. The bran will keep you full, and the blueberries add a hint of sweetness. Bonus: add some chocolate chips!
Instant Oatmeal: This is one of the best quick breakfast ideas. Purchase instant oats from your grocery store, and add milk/water to your bowl in the morning. I like to wait 10 minutes for the oats to absorb the milk while I make my bed. On mornings that I don’t have time to wait 10 minutes, I prepare it the night before, cover and refrigerate. In the morning I just pop it in the microwave. Microwave as directed, and add some fruit on top!
Hard-boiled Eggs & Toast: This breakfast is protein-packed, meaning it’ll keep you full for a long time. Pre-boil the eggs in the evening or even on the weekend. Grab a few out of the fridge in the morning, toast a piece of bread, and your breakfast is ready to be enjoyed! If you are in a rush, this is also a great lunch for school. Click here for a hard-boiled egg recipe.
Easy BLT Wrap: This wrap only takes a few minutes to put-together in the mornings, and tastes so good when you eat it at school. If you want to make your wrap healthier, swap the bacon with ham, and the mayo with mustard.
Yogurt & Granola: This is one of our favourite healthy school meals. It’s a great breakfast and its also a tasty and nutritious lunch. In the evening, pack some yogurt into a container. In a separate, smaller container, add some granola. To a third container, add cut-up fruit. In the morning, just grab your containers from the fridge, and at school mix the granola into your yogurt. Click here for an assortment of fun granolas that you can order online!
Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwich: Combine this delicious salad with a sandwich! Put caesar dressing on your bread, add romaine lettuce, leftover grilled chicken, a few shavings of parmesan cheese, and even a slice of tomato. Then, add your second slice of bread on top. This sandwich can be made the night before or in the morning.
Spaghetti & Meatballs: This recipe only takes 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook. This makes it one of the easiest back to school meals – perfect after a long school day.
Frozen Vegetable Stir-Fry (VEGETARIAN): Using frozen vegetables makes for easy quick dinner recipes. Try this stir-fry recipe for a healthy, yummy, and filling meal. If you want to add some meat to this vegetarian dish, try adding chicken or shrimp.
Greek Salad: This meal is refreshing, and filled with so many good-for-you nutrients. Also, try cooking some rice or using instant rice to eat along with your salad, and if you want to add some protein, add chicken, or beans. This is yet another of our favourite easy quick dinner recipes.
Fruit:
Although this might sound like a really simple and boring snack, fruit is so easy to prepare, really healthy, and tastes good. Fruit doesn’t have to be boring, there’s so many different varieties you can try.
Switch-it-up:
Pineapple, melon (cantelope, watermelon, honeydew), cherries, plums, peaches, strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, pear, berries.
And so many more!
Veggies & Hummus: Ask your parents to buy pre-cut raw vegetables (i.e broccoli, carrot sticks, bell peppers, cucumber), and bring these to school. Then, put some store-bought (or even homemade) hummus into a container and enjoy. If you want to try making your own hummus: click here!
Popcorn: For a healthier option, buy unseasoned popcorn and bring it to school! Since its unseasoned, you can add as much salt as you want (without it being over-salted).
We hope that these easy and healthy school meals help you have stress-free mornings, and give you (and your taste buds) a small bit of happiness.
For more happiness check out our Mood Boost page.
Featuring quick videos created for teens by teens.
These easy quick dinner recipes, healthy school meals, quick breakfast ideas, and ways to have stress-free mornings will help you come back to school.
