Healthy Make-Ahead Recipes: Chicken Breast, Spaghetti Squash & More (2024)

Oatmeal

We love a good oat-based breakfast… It's wholesome and keeps you full for hours! But we don't always feel like cooking it up first thing in the morning. Solution: Make a multi-serving batch in advance. Then all you need to do is heat it up and add your toppings!

Go-To Recipes: Instant Pot Basic Oatmeal, Big Batch of Growing Oatmeal

Ways to Enjoy It…
• Stir in a spoonful of low-sugar preserves

• Add frozen fruit, and heat it all up together

• Enjoy it chilled and layered with Greek yogurt


Bonus:BAKE your oatmeal!

Chicken Breast

This is one of the most versatile lean proteins on the planet! Pound it to an even thickness so that it cooks quickly and evenly. (You can skip this step with slow cookers and Instant Pots.) Season with simple spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder), and then cook it in a skillet, oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.

Go-To Recipes: Garlic 'n Herb Shredded Chicken, Slow-Cookin’ BBQ Chicken

Ways to Enjoy It…
• Top off a salad or mix it into a slaw
• Add to tacos, wraps, or lettuce cups
• Mix with steamed veggies and sauce for a faux stir-fry

Ground Meat

It doesn't matter if it's beef, chicken, or turkey -- just reach for the leanest kind you can find. Stick to classic seasonings, and it’ll go with anything. For added flavor and moisture, add a splash of broth while it’s cooking.

Go-To Recipe: Super-Sized Ground Beef

Ways to Enjoy It…
• Build a taco bowl with cauliflower rice & your favorite taco toppers

• Mix with marinara and serve over veggie pasta with Parm

• Add to canned soup for a spoonable meal

Spaghetti Squash

Put away the spiralizer, and get a spaghetti squash STAT. A large one will give you at least 5 cups of pasta-like strands… sometimes much more. It’s “cook once, eat all week” perfection!

Go-To Recipes: In a microwave, in the oven, in a slow cooker… This page has it all! Plus, Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash.

Ways to Enjoy It…
• Toss with light vinaigrette for a spin on pasta salad -- add extras like feta, olives, and chopped chicken

• Grab that ground meat and your favorite jarred pasta sauce, and dinner is done

• Add reduced-fat cream cheese, light butter, and Parm for a low-cal Alfredo fix


Bonus: If you miss real noodles, go half and half with this Super-Sized Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash recipe!

Roasted Veggies

Roasting is one of the most delicious ways to cook veggies, but it can be a bit time consuming. Solution: Roast up a whole bunch at once, and add them to your meals all week long. Consider carrots, broccoli, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers... whatever you've got. Just make sure they’re chopped to a similar size for even cooking. HG Tip: Use two baking sheets and space out your veggie pieces so they roast up nicely.

Go-To Recipe: Roasted Root Veggie Power Hour

Ways to Enjoy Them…
• Alongside any centerplate protein, like fish, beef, or chicken

• In a no-fuss egg scramble or omelette

• Mixed with cooked beans and/or grains and your sauce of choice