Struggling with tracking and eating well at work.

justkate88
justkate88 Posts: 40
in Food and Nutrition
I recently had two weeks off work and was managing really well with eating nice and clean and tracking everything I ate.

Now I'm back at work, and really struggling.

I work long hours in a residential home for people with serious mental illness. We have a chef at work, and I am fed on-shift. I'll be honest and say that he (mostly) feeds our residents rubbish. Not through lack of trying, I might add - though I'm sure there's an element of laziness there too. There's a LOT of white bread, white potatoes, white rice and processed meats. It's usually something (processed) and chips.

Typically I work a 9 hour day, and so will be at work for two meals of the day (either breakfast and lunch, or lunch and tea). At least once a week (usually twice) I work a super long shift. I start at 2pm, sleep in the staff room from 10pm until 7am and then work until 4pm. I am not allowed to leave the premises whilst on-shift and cannot really bring nearly 30 hours worth of food to work with me and store it in the chef's fridge.

There is a microwave I can use, but that's about it really without interfering with the chef.

Any ideas as to things I can take with me to work? I'm not here to look for opinions on the chef or the stuff he is feeding my clients (I have my own opinions on that...) I'm looking for opinions on my nutrition and how I can eat better at work.

Thanks!

Replies

  • dawningr
    dawningr Posts: 387 Member
    Fresh Fruits, Tuna, Veggies, Nuts, Peanut Butter, Whole Grain Bread or Wraps, Yogurt (doesn't take up much room in a fridge), oatmeal (do you have hot water for coffee?)
  • justkate88
    justkate88 Posts: 40
    Fresh Fruits, Tuna, Veggies, Nuts, Peanut Butter, Whole Grain Bread or Wraps, Yogurt (doesn't take up much room in a fridge), oatmeal (do you have hot water for coffee?)

    Yeah to hot water; breakfast isn't really an issue, I always have oats for breakfast. I know the consensus on the little sachets of oats is not good, but they are perfect for me at work.
  • justkate88
    justkate88 Posts: 40
    A shameless bump.
  • KaraKramerRapp
    KaraKramerRapp Posts: 11 Member
    My husband works 10 hour days and he brings his breakfast, lunch and snacks to work. He has a larger insulated lunch bag and uses ice packs to keep the food cool throughout the day.

    Breakfast is yogurt, home-maid banana oat muffins, omelets made in muffin tins, or fresh fruit

    He brings left overs mostly for lunch but will pack the occasional sandwich as well.

    For healthy snacks I'll pack dried fruits and nuts in snack size baggies, cheese stick, carrot sticks with ranch, yogurt and granola, apple sauce cups, apple slices with peanut butter and pretzels are some of his favorites.


    Hope that helps
  • SanDiegoCasey
    SanDiegoCasey Posts: 130 Member
    no one says you have to eat what the chef cooks right? don't. Bring your food, nuts, fruits, dare I say protein bars, and a shake with a shaker bottle. If you have access to a fridge or can keep stuff cold, BRING LEFTOVERS!, and you can get steamable packs of veggies that go in the microwave, if you can keep them cold. Of course there is canned tuna, chicken, salmon etc.

    Don't fall into the trap of eating what they provide you!!!
  • ScottishMrs
    ScottishMrs Posts: 254 Member
    Get a minicooler and some ice packs and you can bring anything at all! My dad works long shifts and he always uses a minicooler as his lunch box. Pack homemade soups, fixings for sandwiches, salads, casseroles, really anything that floats you boat! Good luck!
  • booboo68
    booboo68 Posts: 302 Member
    I work 12 hour shifts. Some days I will either have boiled eggs, a protein shake or a serving or peanut butter on a 35 calorie bread for breakfast before or on the way to work.

    For lunch I will pack pouches of tuna, nuts, cheese sticks, raw veggies, chicken breasts, Quest Bars, greek yogurt, salad, oranges or apples, grapes, soup. Definitely use a small cooler lunch box. If keeping foods cold is a problem, eat the things out of the cooler that are cold first and then move on to the other stuff for your additional meals. That's what I do since I'm there for lunch and dinner.

    Oh, and I pre-log my foods to stay on track and honest while at work.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    Get a minicooler and some ice packs and you can bring anything at all! My dad works long shifts and he always uses a minicooler as his lunch box. Pack homemade soups, fixings for sandwiches, salads, casseroles, really anything that floats you boat! Good luck!

    **THIS**
  • jc1961AA
    jc1961AA Posts: 283 Member
    I work a late shift, therefore I only have access to a microwave or ordering food from local restaurant (expensive and not very healthy options), so I bring my own food, mainly home-made salads. Green leaves don't have much calories so you can pack a fair bit, add onion, sweet red pepper, a few seeds, for protein it's tuna, boiled egg or grilled turkey. Fruits for desert, for sweets home-made popcorn. In my drawer i keep some porridge, and cereals for those days when I get a craving and don't want to end up eating crap from the snack machine
    JC

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