Anyone who knows me well knows that breakfast food is pretty much the only food I actually eat. While you’ll find me eating the cafeteria’s breakfast from time to time (it’s not that bad), I generally prefer to cook my own food. At the same time I’m a lazy, busy university student, who doesn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. When the mood strikes, I try to prepare a week’s worth of breakfasts all at once. I’m usually running to catch the shuttle in the morning, so it’s super helpful to have my meal already taken care of. Whether you’re trying to save money, 减肥 (lose weight), or trying to be healthier in general, these meals might be the solution you need. All the meals I prepare are vegetarian, but not vegan.

The MenuMonday: “The Basics”- a boiled egg and cinnamon oatmeal.Tuesday: “Asian Fusion”-an omelet and a baoziWednesday: “Mildly Western”- scrambled eggs and an appleThursday: “Pure Laziness”- a boiled egg and a baoziFriday: “Treat Yo-self”- banana bread oatmeal and a boiled eggSaturday: “At Least I made it Through the Week” – scrambled eggs with cucumber and tomato slicesSunday: “Brunch a.k.a Avoiding the Sadness that is Homework”- an omelet with avocado and banana slices. Throw in some toast if you’re really fancy.

The Bits and Bobs1) Two bananas2) One cucumber3) One medium tomato4) A handful of mushrooms5) A handful of greens (I like spinach, but honestly you can use anything, as long as it’s an edible leaf)6) A dozen eggs7) Salt, pepper, sugar, cinnamon8) A bag of pre-cooked baozi (with or without meat, it’s up to you)9) Oatmeal10) A medium bowl11) A small bowl12) 8 containers

The Preparation1) Wash all of the produce and put it aside, preferably on a towel or in a container. It is best not to place your washed produce directly on the countertop, especially if you’re using a communal kitchen. Bacteria and viruses from unclean countertops can transfer onto your produce, which will make you sick.2) Store the apple.3) Slice the tomato, slice half the cucumber and put the slices into a container. Set the container aside but don’t put it away. Store the other half of the cucumber. 4) Cut the greens and mushrooms into small pieces. Put them in the medium bowl.The Useful Part1) Put three eggs (uncracked) into a pot and add hot water until the eggs are completely submerged.2) Turn on the kitchen hood and turn the hot plate up to high (if you’re using a gas stove, use medium heat).3) Put the eggs on the heat and continue on to the next step, but keep an eye on the pot.4) In a small bowl, crack 3 eggs and beat them.5) When the water with the eggs gets to a rolling boil, the eggs have 5-10 minutes left before they’re done. 5 minutes will give you soft-boiled eggs; 10 minutes will give you hard boiled eggs. Pour the hot water out of the pot, replacing it with cold water. Put the eggs aside.6) Put a 1 yuan coin-sized drop of oil in a pan and use the same hot plate you used to boil the eggs (the burner you use is irrelevant if you’re using a gas stove. Gas heats the pan much more quickly than the electricity of a hotplate). After a few moments, the pan should be hot enough to use. To test the heat, drop a tiny bit of raw egg into the pan. If it sizzles and cooks immediately, the pan is ready.7) Pour the raw egg from Step 4 into the pan. When the edges of the egg start to bubble, stir the egg with the spatula.8) Repeat Step 7 until all of the egg is cooked. This should take about 5 minutes.9) Turn off the heat and separate the scrambled eggs into two containers. One of these containers should be the one with the cucumber and tomato.10) Pour the water out of the pot of boiled eggs. If you don’t mind taking the shell off the egg in the morning, store the eggs as-is. If you don’t have time in the morning, take the shells off now and store the eggs. All the boiled eggs can go in the same container.11) Crack 4 eggs into the small bowl you just used, then beat them.12) Add a bit more oil to the same pan you used to scramble the eggs. Put the pan on high heat (again, use medium if you’re using a gas stove).13) When the pan is hot, pour half of the raw egg into it.14) After about a minute, cover one half of the pan with greens and mushrooms. 15) After about another minute, flip the empty side of the egg onto the greens and mushrooms.16) After one more minute, flip the entire omelets over.17) Place the finished omelet into a container, and repeat Steps 12 – 16 for the rest of the raw egg. Place the second finished omelet into another container.18) Microwave three baozi according to the directions on the package. If you can’t read the packaging, look for either a drawing of a microwave or the characters “微波炉,” then look for a range of numbers followed by 分 (i.e. “3-5分”). This is the suggested cook time for the baozi.19) After they’re cooked, place two baozi in one container. Put the third into a container with an omelet.20) Pour oatmeal into two containers. In one container, add sugar (optional) and cinnamon. In the other, slice and add a banana. Put just a pinch of cinnamon. The cut banana will blacken a little over the course of the week, this should not be cause for concern.

That's it. Cover and store all the containers. For added convenience, store any accompanying fruit along with the containers. On the mornings with boiled eggs and oatmeal, throw an egg into the oatmeal container and add hot water. The hot water will cook the oatmeal and reheat the egg. For the other days, just grab the proper container, reheat if necessary, and enjoy. This article was written by Sarabi Eventide. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Flickr