I am not a morning person. At all! Unfortunately both of my sons are, so that means I have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn.
For me to have any chance of having a reasonably smooth morning, I have to start planning the night before. I play to my strengths and take advantage of the energy boost I get in the evenings to prep for the next day.
Actually, I start planning for the whole week on Sunday evening. On Sunday evening I make lunches for the week and put them in the refrigerator.
Tip: If you want to make salads in advance, put the dressing on the bottom, add a layer that will not wilt like crunchy carrots or cheese and then place your greens on top. I put a little extra dressing or salsa on bottom, so my husband can dip his vegetable sticks in the leftover dressing.
My husband takes his lunch in a reusable lunch bag. I put the prepped food on the shelf above his lunch sack and refill it when he brings back the empty bag.
I ask everyone their schedule for the week and have them check to make sure they have enough clean clothes for their planned activities. The night before, I plan and lay out clothing and remind my husband and kids to do the same.
I have everyone line up everything that they will need the next day by the front door: back packs, gym clothes, instruments, etc. This prevents the mad dash to gather everything together before we leave.
Breakfasts are pretty easy because my husband usually makes a triple batch of pancakes or waffles on the weekend. I wash fruit the night before and set out place settings, so all we have to do in the morning is toast frozen waffles. Despite our easy weekday breakfasts, I still make my youngest son’s morning cup of milk as well as a “breakfast snack” the night before, just in case he wakes up extra-early and wants breakfast and milk before I am fully functioning. Then he can enjoy pancakes or waffles for his “second breakfast”.
But the most important thing I do the night before is program my coffee maker to go off 5 minutes before my alarm. If I can smell fresh brewed coffee, I will get out of bed instead of hitting snooze.
I have a special cup waiting for me and I take a few minutes to enjoy my Seattle’s Best coffee. By the time I have finished my first cup of coffee, I am ready to face the day. But I pour myself a second cup for reinforcement.
To make our coffee a special treat I make flavored coffee creamers. French Vanilla Creamer is my stand by, but sometimes Mondays require a special creamer like Vanilla Caramel Creamer or Peppermint Mocha Creamer.
- 14 oz. can condensed milk
- 2½ cups milk
- ¼ cup caramel sauce (homemade caramel sauce recipe)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher. Stir vigorously or place a lid on the container and shake to thoroughly combine ingredients.
- Add to coffee.
- Store unused creamer in the refrigerator.
- 14 oz. condensed milk
- 2½ cups milk
- 3 - 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher. Stir vigorously or place a lid on the container and shake to thoroughly combine ingredients.
- Add to coffee.
- Store unused creamer in the refrigerator.
How do you take back your morning? To learn more about Seattle’s Best Coffee, visit their website. My favorite is Level 2 and found it amusing that their “level 2 personality description” matched my personality very closely.
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Seattle’s Best Coffee #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions, ideas, and recipes are my own.
CeeKay says
How about the recipe for the homemade caramel sauce?
Alea Milham says
Here is the Crockpot Caramel Sauce Recipe: http://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/one-ingredient-crock-pot-caramel-sauce/
Here is the Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe: http://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/easy-homemade-caramel-sauce/
Cherilyn says
Do you mean sweetened condensed milk for your coffee creamers or evaporated milk?
Alea Milham says
Sweetened condensed milk.
Chelsea @ Someday I'll Learn says
Wow! I want to start doing more meal prep on weekends, too.
Annie says
These are all great ideas. I’m something of a morning person, but having things run smoothly in the mornings is s benefit just the same.
Pauline Wiles says
So inspiring! I actually enjoy mornings, but I do find it helpful to plan my tasks/objectives so I don’t get hopelessly sucked into social media (oops!).
Love your batch idea for making lunches and the salad dressing tip is perfect. When I used to regularly take a salad to work, I often made it the night before and just added the dressing in the morning. I’ve seen other people keep the dressing at work, which is another alternative; mine was certainly soggier than theirs.