Any hospital workers able to help with meal prep?

pbrogowski
pbrogowski Posts: 4 Member
I work on an ICU as a critical care provider. I have a few challenges when it comes to eating healthy while working and I'm hoping I can hear from some others regarding what works for them. Here are some of the concerns:
1. I work 24 hours, so I need to sometimes pack a full days meals if I were to actually bring my meals. (most times I don't and end up eating from the cafeteria or eating out)
2. I work 24 hours, so I'm exhausted and we all know Hungry Angry Lonely Tired can lead to poor choices.
3. I travel to different hospitals so I'm on the road often.
4. My work doesn't always allow for consistent meal times as I may be incredibly busy, I then find myself getting dizzy and tired by 3:30 realizing I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.
5. I'm a poor planner and would love to hear some thoughts on easy to plan recipes. (No salmon or canned tuna for this guy).

Pity party complete. Thanks everyone who reads this and offers any type of support.


Pete

PS: Sign up to be an organ donor and save lives at donatelife.org

Replies

  • zingeber
    zingeber Posts: 124 Member
    From someone who used to work in an ICU ... I feel your pain. Though thank goodness, I never had to do 24's. Hit the 'low hanging fruit' first.

    Finding the easiest possible thing to eat in the car in the morning was key for me. I did NOT care enough at 5 am to get up even a minute earlier than I had to, breakfast be damned. I just kept a bunch of bananas on the kitchen table and grabbed one on the way out the door in the morning. Not a complete breakfast but better than nothing to start the day.

    Find a protein bar/granola bar/portable snack of your choice and stick 2 in your scrubs/white coat/whatever your uniform is pocket every morning. Or put the whole box in your locker at work if you're provided with one. Individual yogurts were a lifesaver too - even on the busiest days I could step away for a minute minutes and inhale one. It was just enough to keep me going, and not dizzy and cranky at 3.

    As far as meal prep, honestly a great tip I got from another MFP'er is to get on youtube and look up easy meal prep. There's bound to be someone offering ideas that fit your style and tastes. At the most basic, you can take 30 - 45 minutes on your day off to make rice, vegetables from frozen, and bake some chicken or your protein of choice, and package it into x number of tupperwares for the week. Pro tip - buy a couple different sauces or dressings at the store for variety so you don't feel like you're eating the same thing every day. This only works if you can carve out the time to eat at work though - otherwise I'd just figure out a balanced day's worth of portable snacks and fill your pockets to bursting lol.

    Good luck! Feel free to add me

    I second donatelife.org!!
  • SilverioSan
    SilverioSan Posts: 3 Member
    I do not work at the hospital and I don't have 24 hours shift but I do a 12hrs shift on my work days and nights. I do love the post of zingeber has a great insight and you can take a lot on that.
    I Meal Prep once a week, prepare my rice, meat, vegetable, and snacks all in once and store in containers. For the first days I store the containers in the fridge for the rest I store in the freezer and take them out the day before I need them.
    In really busy days I replace a meal with a protein bar (Combat Crunch) is tasty and the calories intake are more like a meal.
    In the beginning, it may sound overwhelming by the time you find your spot.
    For the Breakfast issue, I like the suggestion to bring the Banana with you I would add a protein shake to it.

    Hope to have helped a little and visit my blog if you like - https://healthbeauty4all.org/
  • NayaSaidSo
    NayaSaidSo Posts: 157 Member
    I feel your pain, im at the hospital 12hrs a day 7 days a week. I LITERALLY bring my whole life to work with me bc I have to get up at 4 to get my workout in so I def feel your pain. I do have a few tricks that work for me, my only problem is that by the end of the week im bored with the food ive been eating and tend to give into the cafeteria food.

    my first actual meal is my protein shake after working out.

    I eat my breakfast in the car on the way to work. I do overnight oats for 2-3 days, hard boil and entire carton of eggs, and a couple of breakfast burritos ( I freeze these and pop them in the microwave before leaving the house).

    I also portion out fruits, veggies, almonds, and hummus as my snacks. I make sure I have enough for 2 snacks each day (mid morning and mid afternoon). Small things like almonds, blueberries etc i keep in my white coat for when Im really busy and miss a meal.

    I plan and cook my lunch and dinners for the entire week in advance. this is the part that gets boring for me, I usually just do two lean meats and prepare them several different ways. Ex this week is chicken and salmon. I have garlic and herb chicken breast, chicken fajitias , chicken salad, baked salmon, and salmon salad. what ever I eat for dinner the night before is my lunch for the next day.

    I keep everything in the fridge and lined up so in the am I can grab my breakfast, two snacks, lunch and dinner and be out. I have a huge lunch bag that takes up way too much space, but its the only way I can bring all my food lol.

    BTW im open to suggestions for things to add/ change to this schedule bc like I said its boring. Im on day two and already im eating chicken f
  • amelialoveshersnacks
    amelialoveshersnacks Posts: 205 Member
    I use to keep an 'emergency lunchbox' in my locker - cuppa soup, nuts, dried fruits, tuna and crackers and a shelf stable meal or 2 with a bit of loose change for a drink the days that I would be so busy that I'd leave home without having breakfast, no lunch, no dinner and only prunes in my bag.. Of course remembering to replace said goodies became a whole new issue.
    Maybe keep one in the car? Grazing may be your best plan. E.g bliss balls, mini quiches, mini pies, foods that can just be popped in your mouth.
  • CharlieAnn31
    CharlieAnn31 Posts: 45 Member
    I work as a hospice nurse case manager driving between homes, hospitals and nursing homes. I work 8 to 10 hours day and am on the road as well which means passing up all the fast food restaurants. If I pack a lunch the car gets too hot and the food is too warm by the time I eat it even when I use a small igloo in the car gets so hot it doesn't seem to keep it cold enough. I have the added problem that since I dive so much I don't walk enough and am considered sedentary even though I'm busy all day.
  • polkadotsandpoptarts
    polkadotsandpoptarts Posts: 21 Member
    I use to keep an 'emergency lunchbox' in my locker - cuppa soup, nuts, dried fruits, tuna and crackers and a shelf stable meal or 2 with a bit of loose change for a drink the days that I would be so busy that I'd leave home without having breakfast, no lunch, no dinner and only prunes in my bag.. Of course remembering to replace said goodies became a whole new issue.
    Maybe keep one in the car? Grazing may be your best plan. E.g bliss balls, mini quiches, mini pies, foods that can just be popped in your mouth.

    As an ex-shift worker I used to do this too. I would always have 'emergency' snack foods in my bag like cuppa soups and dried fruit and nuts etc.
    I used to find when working nights that I didn't know what I wanted to eat so meal prep was a nightmare. I would often prepare my meal as i was leaving that morning/night and just fill a few tubs with snacks that I could graze on throughout the night such as grapes, carrot sticks and hummus etc.

  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 380 Member
    Lots of good suggestions above! I like to buy the rotisserie cooked turkey breasts in the deli section of the grocery store and make wraps, , throw in salads. I buy lots of greek yogurt-fat free and low sugar. May add peeled sections of a cutie (mandarin orange) or low sugar cranberries, few sliced almonds into it. I really like the mini-quiche recipes you can make and bake in muffin pans, refrigerate if eating within a few days. or freeze to last longer. (Eggs with cheese n choice of vegs like onions, mushrooms, peppers, jalapenos, kale, or even pizza or mexican style with pepperoni, olives, beans, salsa, etc.) As said by others above, I carry granola bars, nut mixes, fruit in my car, or store in my locker. I watch the sodium, so some delicious snacks are out of my scope. Still try to keep within my calories and macros. I think the hardest part is trying to carve out exercise time!!!! But so worth it, sometimes have to force myself to exercise, but it always feels better afterwards.