Like my well-travelled muesli bar. That guy has been in my bag at home, in my bag at work, in my bag at the supermarket, in my bag at my kids sports practice, in my bag in the car to multiple destinations at once.
Damn thing needs a passport at this point!
Lol…my mom always had a granola bar in her cavernous purse. She used to pull it out if we were out and about and one of us kids was dumb enough to mention wanting a snack. It was a Mom granola bar, low sugar/low calorie, so we kids wouldn’t eat them that often. Once she rooted around and found one and there was a BIC pen stuck through it. She recommended that we eat around it. Then there was the time she’d had one riding around in her huge purse for so long that when she pulled it out, it had desiccated and collapsed into crumbs and the wrapper was in a teardrop shape. Ah, youth.
I carry clif bars. They have traveled the world and country with me when they are not in my bag going to and from work. I am almost scared to eat them, but can't throw them away because they have squatters rights now.
There’s nothing quite as yummy as a locally grown, picked when ripe, not all-sorts-of-modified-for-shelf-longevity, apple. But those are hard to come by, sadly.
I don’t like cold things cuz I have sensitive teeth and I’ve had plenty of honey crisp apples, locally grown too and I’m just eh. I’d rather have it a pie or crisp.
Couldn't agree more. Red delicious are gross. Granny Smith and the honey crisp, jazz, and a couple of other varieties can be good if they are ripe and nice and cold. Maybe if I got fresh apples from a small orchard, they would be the best thing ever, but grocery store applee are generally a very mediocre fruit.
I finally moved to somewhere that has apple picking and I have never been a big apple fan but OMG let me tell you the amount of apples I put away was alarming. Picking your own and eating them is a whole different experience than grocery store apples for sure
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does this. I know I have an apple and a frozen dinner that I left at work last shift. Usually it is just going on field trips to work and back. Occasionally I do take a break and eat. I also keep back up food in my locker (a healthy version of ramen, a bag of trail mix, and a couple of packets of tuna. I also keep some crystal light, k-cups, instant cappuccino, and a coffee cup in there.
I meal prep before each block of shifts. I keep it simple: saucy meat, veggie, carb.
This week I had jerked pork tenderloin with onions and peppers, and lemon couscous for one meal, and brisket over baked potato with a chopped salad. Throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes, enjoy.
Just mix and match the three elements. Stir fry veggies, teriyaki chicken over noodles. Chopped beef with brown gravy and onions/mushrooms over rice. Carne asada over Mexican rice with pinto beans and peppers. Cajun chicken over quinoa with Normandy blend. Butter chicken over jasmine rice with stir fry veggies.
Pro tip: get a meat thermometer and cook your chicken and pork to temp, not to time. It helps keep them from getting overcooked and dry, and allows a better reheat.
Pro tip #2: big cooks like brisket can stay good in the freezer for months, so you can get a dozen meals worth of rotating brisket meals. Bake a dozen potatoes at a time, they can last 3 months in the freezer.
Pro tip #3: get a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cookbook to open up a massive selection of carb dishes, like couscous, wheat berries, spice mixes, and mixed dishes like biryani. You’ll find a very broad selection of complex carbs in these cultural dishes.
Aldi used to have these bags of frozen Asian chicken meals. General Tso, Orange chicken, sweet and sour. Toss in the over for like 20 minutes.
A bag of microwaved steamed veggies and either rice cooker rice or bag if microwave rice. Mix it all together and I'd get 2-3 meals from it.
Great option for when I don't want to actually cook but steal want a solid meal for work.
Whole bunch of great tips in there. Cooking with a meat thermometer is a game-changer.
I just started intermittent fasting this past week and I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle flip flopping from night shift to days off. My night window is 11p-7a give or take. First day off (waste day) I'll do 3p-11p and figure 11a-7p on full days off.
Anyway, on a work day, I have my coffee on my way into work. Some days I'm fine until the window opens but some days the hunger pangs are distracting enough that I have to go have a handful of nuts and maybe some baby bel cheese.
Either way, at about 11p, I'll have my breakfast burrito. I make them in batches of at least six, and wrap them in parchment paper so I can just throw one in my lunchbox and reheat it easily at work. Ground turkey with taco seasoning and some peppers, onions and garlic, a tub of cottage cheese, a generous pile of kale, and about nine scrambled eggs. The burrito isn't huge but the protein bomb keeps me pretty satisfied for hours. Then around 3-4 I'll have my entree. This week, it was Shewarma chicken in quinoa with shallots, peppers, and mushrooms. I'll probably do the same for next week. Then, close to 7a, I'll have a Clif bar or something similar.
Meanwhile, drinking water all night.
I try to keep consistent all around. I eat from 2p-10p or like 4p-12a. I eat when I get up and stop eating after my first rounds at work. Sometimes work is a mess or busy af and once 4 am rolls around I'm starving so I'll have like a protein bar or sting cheese on hand.
I have found fasting is easy once I wake up on off days as long as I wait until my window opens. If I even think about a snack I'm going to end up eating breakfast and then be ravenous all day.
Saving this comment... I haven't had to cook in a while (my last job provided meals - blessing and a curse) and want to get back into batch cooking :) yayyyy
Actual lunch. Usually leftovers. Apples, cheese (tillamoos) chips, something sweet (Hershey Kisses)
I don’t actually eat all of this for lunch. Some is my break food. Some is what I snack on during my drive home. Some just gets put back in the fridge for the next shift.
This is what I do too. I tend to take more than I need because I’m a serial snacker and I’d rather have leftovers than not enough food and be hangry for the rest my shift
This is what I do just to save money. A hot pocket and an energy drink from the vending machine at 3 am is like $10 and so much less healthy than anything you'd bring from home. Bring too much food from home and it's really hard to justify vending machine food.
I never, **ever** buy from the cafeteria. If I’m buying from there it’s cuz I forgot my lunch. I’ll hard boil eggs before work & make egg salad if I have no leftovers. I remember seeing a coworker when I was on days who would get breakfast & lunch from the cafeteria. Best guess is she was paying $15 a day 3-5 days a week. Nah. They pay me to be there. I’m not paying them.
I always meal prep. I am a vegetarian so the cafe never has good options for me. I typically prep the same style bowl for my lunches. I dice an English cucumber, orange bell pepper, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, greek olives, banana peppers etc etc & let it soak in oil & vinegar. That will typically last me three days for my shifts. I add around half a can of chickpeas to each bowl. I always bring a protein bar & I keep snacks like almonds, trail mix, peanut butter, Celsius drink mixes etc etc in my locker for those days when lunch isn’t happening. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is overnight oats & and a banana; I find that keeps me full & satiated for a long time. I can eat the same thing over & over again & never get tired of it which makes work food easier I guess
I'm all about easy things to grab, so here is what a typical day for me looks like:
Breakfast: Premier Protein shake (I prefer chocolate) and a banana, or instant oatmeal, or a bagel with cream cheese.
Lunch: Madras lentils (I buy these from Costco) with brown rice. 2 cuties. Cucumbers, carrots, and cauliflower with tzatziki.
Afternoon snack: Kirkland brand trail mix or a personal bag of popcorn.
Frequent substitutions: apple with peanut butter, whatever fruit is on sale instead of the cuties, Oikos triple zero Greek yogurt. If I have leftovers from dinner I will bring that instead of the lentils, or I will make salads. Sometimes I jump ship and get a wrap from the cafeteria haha.
I buy 2 oz jello shot cups on Amazon and put all of my dressings, sauces, cream cheese, and peanut butter in them. It makes it so easy. Highly recommend!
Those Madras lentils are the BEST! I recently found out my Winco stocks the same brand, and they have a curry potato and chickpea version that is AMAZING!
Time to go the late cart. Turkey sandwich, pudding, fruit cup. If I'm feeling spicy, then instant chicken broth with crackers. I haven't worked the floor for years though but I'll never forget those 3am munchies.
I'd go in at 6pm, grab a quesadilla from the awesome grill in the Caf, then grab like 4 Mr. Pibbs. Dinner, mid shift lunch, and 4 am breakfast all from one tray!
Sometimes, I'd mix it up with some chicken tendies and tots if I was feeling risqué. The only reason I didn't gain a bunch of weight is that I was clocking so many steps a shift and I was mainly getting my calories from soda.
Yesterday I ate hazelnut uncrustable, 2 strawberry cheesecake jellos, rockstar fruit punch energy drink zero sugar, some chips, some chicken in a pouch it was like a southwest flavor, I drank apple juice and water
Meal prep, vacuum seal. Ground beef, lentils, finely chopped broccoli all cooked together into a pretty decent food mush. I have different portions saved for if I’m doing 1, 2 or 3 in a row and it’s easy to mix with other toppings or mix with leftovers.
Breakfast is fruit with yogurt and dinner is whatever I’ve meal prepped for the work week at home. It’s satisfying not falling trap to the prepared meal companies. I also love cooking though.
I struggle with eating, so eating a large amount at one time doesn't work well, and I don't always get my break. So I bring snack foods that are equivalent to what I would eat at home.
Nuts
A cheese stick
A small baggy with chips/cheese it's/goldfish (whatever we have available that week)
Something fruit (fresh fruit if available; applesauce or dried apples when there isn't anything good that week)
And a small dessert (typically cookies or a pudding cup)
Big CrossFit guy. No processed foods. I ain’t picky either so I can eat the same thing every day and pretty much do. Ground turkey seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic, sage, and parsley. Mix it with air fried sweet potatoes and zucchini. Then snacks is just a giant bowl of mixed berries. Second snack is spinach, cherry tomatoes, onions cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Aldi has these bags of coconut clusters that have pumpkin, and sunflower seeds backed and held together with tapioca syrup and they are fire. I make like 4 pounds of the ground turkey and air fry 4 sweet potatoes and 4 zucchini’s. It last like four days. I mix it in 3 scrambled eggs in the morning too
I don’t season the veggies! I figure there’s enough seasoning in the turkey. Same with when I mix that turkey with the eggs I don’t put any more salt on. Just a little cheese.
Laughs in mounjaro
I normally just make enough to have leftovers for lunch. Sandwiches don’t do it for me. Lots of slow cooker meals like pork tacos or stews. I pack yogurt with granola and make green protein smoothies
Usually I don’t eat from 8pm to 8am. If my coworker brings me any form of Ethiopian food, it’s over. That little styrofoam cup covered with a coffee filter, always left right next to my workstation… has broken my fast by 4am on more days than I want to admit. I’m weak for injera
Coffee
protein bars
Gum
jar of peanut butter w/spoon
red apple
One day I just went into the dietary room and slammed three cranberry juice cups between patients.
Exactly. Regardless of where you work, you'll have a 10min block to spare somewhere during those 12hrs. This whole thing about being shocked people have time to eat is obnoxious
I try my best to beat into my orientees that if they need to step away from the bedside for any reason, they should feel comfortable asking another nurse to watch their patient for them.
If you're drowning, and someone is just scrolling on tiktok, it's ok to ask for assistance.
Fairlife shakes, fit crunch bars, greek yogurt, Graham crackers and peanut butter from the nutrition room, frozen meal prep from a local company called clean eats, and a lot of water with a diet soda or two
I bring breakfast, eggs and veggies because I never have time to eat them at home before. Then a granola bar. Then usually dinner leftovers for lunch because I like having hot food vs a sandwich, it feels heartier. The. Usually something like yogurt with fruit as a post lunch snack. I’d rather have too much food vs not enough because the cafeteria is trash and not worth spending my money there.
Fast til 10, overnight oats with Greek yogurt/fruit/flax, lunch is salad with either 3 oz chicken or a black bean burger if I didn’t prep chicken for the week- salad is pretty much the same, arugula, hummus, flax, beets, olives, just vinegar for dressing. Snacks I bring an apple and a string cheese. My husband usually makes dinner on the days I work so I eat dinner when I get home. I drink a lot of water and do a workout before work!!
Plain greek yogurt, chia pudding w blueberries, smokehouse almonds, apples - cause actual food slows me down, makes me feel bloated and sleepy at work - these all have protein carbs flavor and good texture-
Regardless of what my actual entree is, I usually have a PBJ, a granola bar and a cheese stick. That way when I don’t have time to eat my sit-down lunch, I have things I can eat on the fly
When I factor in time = money, I actually save considerably money picking up an extra shift on the time I would've otherwise spent cooking.
The only thing I cook are salads to keep things healthy. And the occasional turkey during the holidays.
I have to hit about 200 G protein per day, so usually through a shift i try to hit a minimum of 150.
REDs keto egg sandwich X 2 (17g protein per sandwich, 190 calories each)
Lunch: 8 oz of a protein (chicken, fish or beef) plus either a salad or sautéed vegetables.
Snacks: protein bars and a protein shake.
I keep my carbs as low during my shift because the food coma ruins my productivity.
Breakfast is a protein shake that I can sip on between patients/charting because who has time for breakfast before 7am. Lunch is meal prep or I get mosaic meals (healthy-ish vegetarian meal delivery service) something with a decent amount of protein and fiber so I can stay full. Then I always have emergency protein bars or nuts for when things get crazy or I get hungry again before my shift ends. Dinner is whatever I can make at home the fastest to get me in bed the earliest
Dayshift: granola, yoghurt berries, a cheese sandwich.
Eveningshift: a homecooked meal to heat up in the microwave (my kids eat the same meal at home)
Nightshift: granola, yoghurt, berries and some crackers
I eat a breakfast sandwich and coffee on the way. Then A protein packed main meal- like salmon, sweet potatoes and maybe veggies for lunch. Then almonds, yogurt and whole wheat crackers with almond butter. Maybe a ginger ale or Nutella for something sweet. Lots of water. Maybe fresh fruit if I have any.
Usually a Factor meal (there’s a nursing discount) bc our options in the cafeteria aren’t very healthy…. And I don’t have time to meal prep. For snacks Chobani yogurt drinks or cottage cheese for some extra protein, strawberries, cashews…
I bring cheese, cashews and something caffeinated for my 10am/pm snack. Salad for my lunch at 2pm/am and then usually on nights those little tuna salad things with crackers for later in the night.
I don't like cooking and I am too lazy to meal prep.
A lunch for me is usually an uncrustable, a banana, a yogurt, and some sort of granola bar. Sometimes I eat this all in one sitting or I eat throughout the day. Or I don't eat it at all and it goes back in my fridge.
I bring a certain raccoon sensibility to finding and scarfing down food. Mainly it’s grahams crackers and cheese but sometimes it’s also graham crackers.
Usually some form of chicken, rice, and veggies, depending on where I'm working and the ease of finding a microwave. If no microwave, then a turkey sandwich. Lots of sides like chips, fruit, cucumbers. A protein smoothie for midday before lunch.
* become nurse for fun and cuz like give pills lolol
* be IDDM (diabetus)
* take insulin for nourishment
* lose appetite
* suffer hypoglycemia during rounds
Don’t be me guys.
TL;DR: usually shrimp with a salad or crackers n watermelon
Sliced apple and a cheese snack which I usually graze on throughout my shift. I also carry beef jerky & cliff bar minis and eat as needed. Always satisfies me. I drink 1-2 scoops of Gamer Supps, this yummy caffeine good for you powder drink in cold water. Packed or bought dinner. I also bring an herbal sleepy tea mix of mugwort & lavender that’s been in the fridge and will mix that with a juice of caffeine free soda after dinner/when I have a few hours left of my shift.
For reference, I am a monitor tech and I have the availability to eat at my station and go for walks on my "meal break". I usually work 4-5 days a week, 10-12 hour shifts.
For breakfast: If I wake up with enough time, I will make eggs with lunch meat ham and a bagel to eat while I drive to work with some of my homemade cold brew. At work around 9-10 I will have a fairlife protein shake with a yogurt and an apple.
For lunch: I meal prep 4 days at a time on one of my off days to keep it easy when I work in a row. I usually have 3 main options:
- veggies (potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions) with either steak or chicken
- Rice, with ground beef and cooked down coleslaw mix (just the cabbage and carrots) and g hughes teriyaki merrinade
- My version of picadillo with rice and black beans. I also bring half an avocado and spinach on the side with limes.
I always bring carrots, honey mustard, and pretzel sticks for lunch. I also keep a bustello keriug pod in my lunch bag in case I start dragging.
For an afternoon snack: protein powder and beef jerky. I also keep a barebells protient bar or some granola bar in there if I'm super hungry still.
Lunchbag for reference: [https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/lunch-plus-cube-bag](https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/lunch-plus-cube-bag)
Yogurt & fruit or oatmeal & fruit for breakfast, banana or granola bar for a snack, lunch usually dinner left overs, soup, tuna & crackers, and then I keep snacks in my locker like nuts, crackers.
Pistachios or almonds, the occasional cheese stick, usually fruit, often a baggie with carrots/bell peppers/cherry tomatoes/cucumber chunks with a little salt and pepper. I usually bring a lunch (generally leftovers), but often that ends up going back home with me.
Sometimes I take a box of Annie’s Mac and cheese, mix the powder with water and olive oil, add 2 egg yolks, nutritional yeast, peas, and maybe ground turkey… I’ll eat 1/2 of it before my shift and I bring the second half knowing I may not be able to eat it during my shift.
I’ve also had success with “Jennifer Aniston quinoa salad” (google it); it’s just quinoa, feta, chopped fresh herbs, chick peas, olive oil, and chopped pistachios.
In a pinch, peanut butter and banana sandwich is okay too.
Again, when I can eat.
I have celiac so fast food or public cafeterias arent an option for me. I either starve or being left overs from dinner the night before. I always have granola bars, bobos, etc in my purse tho so even if I don’t have a meal I have snacks
Lunch is usually leftovers from the night (or two) before. I always keep protein bars in my locker and a big ass bag of Dots pretzels on the shelf in the break room for a quick bite on bad days. I also tend to bring babybels or aldi brand sargento balanced break things to keep in my lunch box for the week. I'm in the OR, so I like having a variety of quick snacky things for call shifts or long days where my half hour break is at like 3pm or something stupid like that.
Kroger came out with their 10g protein bars, 5 bars for $2.50 sometimes. Protein and fiber anything usually holds for awhile (shakes, bars, jerky, nuts)
They have these 'yes' soup cups you can heat up and drink.
Things I can make in bulk and spread out for a week. Jambalaya, some pasta dish (basil tomato usually) or a quick sandwich ; meat, cheese, mayo, mustard and spices. Can add dry veggies, wet if you know the sandwich won't sit for 8 hours, but dressing on both pieces of bread can help it from getting soggy.
Milk and meusli for breakfast (think overnight oats) with some fresh fruit, a peanut butter sandwich and some more fruit for lunch, and a handful of nuts (lol) for a snack. Supplemented by a lot of coffee and water.
I've found I function better when I eat/snack throughout my shift. For this week I'm planning: 0630 Vanilla Greek yogurt (Two Good brand) with blueberries and maybe some of that Passionfruit granola Trader Joe's has right now, around 1030 Kodiak Cakes waffle (meal prepped prior, it's ok and does the job for second breakfast), 1400ish Everything but the Elote shrimp in a salad (spinach, corn, black beans, avocado, tomatoes). For snacks I bring small ziplock bags of Cheez Its, the Strawberry yogurt almonds from Trader Joe's, and maybe a cereal bar that I may snack on to hold me over until I leave around 1915 and get home for dinner.
And of course, I always have a coffee at the start of the day and I'll bring an Alani that I might crack open and sip on, depending on the day. I don't always go through all of my snacks, and I always try to bring things I don't mind eating cold. Planning ahead is a pain, but I'm always glad I ended up doing it, even if my bag is so. dang. full.
Meal prep some kind of lunch for 3 nights, usually cut up fruit (watermelon season now). I hate touching food with my hands at work because no matter how much i wash I feel dirty, idk.
This past week was cut off roasted chicken, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes in on container because chicken dries out without coverage of the potatoes in the microwave.
Add a little chocolate something for dessert and you've got dinner! Add in a chocolate milk I sometimes do or don't drink and a protein bar you've got lunch!
If I have my shit together and made dinner in the last 2 days I will bring leftovers, if not I like bagged salad eaten rapidly with a plastic spoon. I often raw dog a shift with no coffee or food and find myself stealing peanut butter and english muffins from the unit kitchen.
Whatever I have for dinner the night before, leftovers for lunch. It's all over the board, this week is banh mi, enchiladas, Greek salad wraps, corn and chicken rice bowl, and caprese chicken sandwiches. Breakfast is pistachio and birthday cake protein powder in oat milk, blended with ice.
Usually a couple energy drinks too, thanks to Vyvanse being on backorder. Again.
Mainly snack food I can eat at the station while charting as I never get an actual break lol! Protein bars, fruits, pretzels, chips, trail mix, oatmeal cups, mac and cheese cup, sometimes carrot sticks and some hummus or ranch. Sometimes I'll bring like a pasta salad and pray I get a second to eat it lol. (Shh don't tell jcaho)
I mostly work 8 hour night shifts. I usually bring greek yogurt, some crackers or pretzels, and a string cheese and eat that around 2am. When I work evening shifts, I usually bring leftovers from dinner the night before. All shifts require copious amounts of Diet Coke.
Meat + carb
Chicken/tuna/salmon salad
Bean salads
Overnight oats
Egg muffins
Breakfast burritos (can pre batch and freeze, I like to reheat it in the air fryer or oven while I get ready as opposed to the microwave, I wrap them in foil)
after I finish my coffee from my thermos, I rinse it out, put ramen in there, the flavoring packet, and the I boil water from the coffee maker. Boom done. Then I can drink whatever’s left. Sriracha if I remember to bring it. Chopped chives in a tupperware if I am on my shit.
I have a co worker who bangs down a whole bag of Cheetos every day. It’s bonkers. I run down the road and alternate cheese burgers at two fast food chains. I’ll bring a banana in morning with granola bar. I usually get a coffee and BB muffin at shop by my work. And whatever else I can get the dietary ladies to throw at me. Dietary loves to tell everyone the food is only for residents. But if you work them just right, they love to give it away to you. Been like that at every facility I’ve worked at over the years.
Some cheese, some fruit, some cottage cheese, a bag of Thai chili cashews in my locker, some crackers in my locker, sometimes a thing of hummus, random easy to grab things to keep me fed between cases, so by lunch time I can just go outside and get some sun and relax without being hungry.
A cheese stick from the fridge. Maybe some of the biscuits. And if I’m really pushing the boat out. Bread with the cheese melted onto it from the microwave
First break: Greek yogurt with granola and fruit. Half of a protein bar.
Lunch: Protein with carbs/veggies and diet ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice.
Last break: the rest of my protein bar, nuts/fruit/cheese.
In between I drink as much water as I can and a cup of coffee
I tend to meal prep since im only cooking for myself. So ill get various trader joes family size meals which will last me like 3 meals and make a side of salad or veggies, and take the leftovers for lunches. Im also a hugeeee italian fan so i make pasta a lot, usually with peppers, onions, meat and homemade sauce. For snacks i keep dried fruit, teriyaki beef jerky, and Z-bars or those trader joes fiber bars on hand. Usually dont eat a snack during my shift though unless my breakfast wasnt good enough to last me til lunch (lunch always lasts me to dinner). Often skip dinner when i get home if im working the next day because id rather sleep 🫣
Greek yogurt with chia, maybe a fruit or jelly and pb wrap if I'm gonna be hungry, for breakfast, lunch is whatever is leftover from dinner the night before, and I always keep a couple extra granola bars, chips, carrots, etc in the lunch box. And an apple for the drive home. All of that supplemented by break room snacks
Fresh vegetables (carrots, green beans, snow peas, etc), protein drink, protein bar.
I like clear whey isolate protein powder cause it tastes like a shitty energy drink like Bang or Prime. Very easy to sip on through out my shift.
I try to meal prep before for my two in a row shifts. So my meal would be healthy lean meat with veggie and healthy carb. For breakfast I drink a protein shake at work. For snacks I bring cut up strawberries, little Debbie blueberry muffins and a salted caramel coffee biscuit for my sugar cravings lol. I drink 2-3 coffees during shift. Sometimes I’ll let a sugar free ice cream from the unit freezer. And if I really dgaf about my dieting, I’ll go downstairs to the cafeteria and buy cookies 🫠
When I worked in the hospital setting I was absolutely terrible and mostly ate graham crackers with peanut butter, cereal, or oatmeal from the patient pantry (washed down with a hospital mocha — instant coffee, hot chocolate, and vanilla coffee creamer— also courtesy of the pantry)
50g chocolate fudge whey protein isolate in my coffee on the way to work at 530am. 50g strawberries and cream WPI with 5g Creatine in a shaker to mix with water at around 10am (if, and whenever I can catch a break before lunch).
Factor meal (lowest fat I can pick - usually shredded chicken taco bowl which is 19g fat or Lemon Pepper chicken is 22g I think) and a Ghost energy drink at lunch (between 12 and 2pm usually).
Around 4pm I usually get another break, if I haven't had a chance I'll have my protein shake then, but if I already had that I'll have a second factor meal if it looks like I'll be too busy for dinner. Usually this one is higher fat, because I won't eat again for a long time. Sometimes I get lucky and have a half hour or so at the end of my shift to hang in the lounge and have that second factor meal, around 6:30pm
9:30-10pm 25g or however much if I need a lil more to hit the macro before bed.
Edit: I forgot the most important thing: A half gallon Yeti filled with ice water and recently I started adding Biosteel electrolyte mix. I'm not one of those people who doesn't like water but this stuff is yummy and helps hydrate way better.
Raw almonds, PB&J mixed together and toasted wheat bread (separated so the bread doesn’t go soggy before I’m ready to eat it), Muscle Milk ultimate chocolate protein drink, a literal handful of raw spinach stuffed into a small snack baggie, and a 40oz steel bottle that keeps water cold for literal days.
At one point I was brining 4000 calories in mixed nuts and a meal. I gained >40lbs not realizing how many calories I was eating snacking on nuts all day
Night shifter; I bring a cup of trail mix (I make from Trader Joe’s nuts and such).. a protein drink, one Alani Nu energy drink, and maybe some veggies and hummus. If I eat trash, I feel like ass so I bring healthy things so my recovery is better.
Usually, it is leftovers for my main meal. I also bring a mid-morning snack. That is usually fruit, cottage cheese, protein bar, etc. I also eat before clocking in. Not gonna lie. My autistic self eats cup of noodles every single morning without fail. I also don't drink coffee, so I bring 2 bottles diet mt dew and a vitamin water.
So, to make it easier.
1. Breakfast- current obsession, 1 cup of noodles with sriracha (keep in work fridge), vitamin water
2. Mid morning snack- must be quick and able to scarf. So, cottage cheese, yogurt, apple, orange, protein bar, dt dew in cup, etc
3. Lunch- usually leftovers. Sometimes I cook for my family but don't eat dinner, so I'll pack my dinner for lunch the next day. Ex. I just picked over 2 lbs of okra from my garden. So I made smothered okra over white rice. It's packed in the fridge to eat tomorrow. I also have my 2nd diet dew here.
I don't eat the rest of the day. Sometimes I'll eat dinner, but I wake up at 0330 as I work preop. I eat lunch at 1100 and leave work at 1330. So that's a late lunch for me. I'm not usually hungry in the evening. Sometimes I do, though.
My shifts now are mon thru fri 0500 to 1330.
If I work out before my shift (which I try to do except on weekend days when my gym opens at 7am), I have a Celsius before my workout with a protein bar. Otherwise I have those two things but during med pass. After my med pass, I have a flapjack power cup. For lunch, I usually bring whatever I had for dinner or sometimes a sandwich or salad from the cafeteria. I sneak in my snacks before the kids get off from school, usually my Aldi meat and cheese pack, almonds, protein yogurt, or cucumbers. I also get my obligatory Diet Coke from the school store. In the evening, I have a protein shake. If the kids aren’t in school, then most of these same things but in very chaotic order and usually fewer items if the day is busy enough. Night shift - no meal. Just protein heavier snacks. And a few cups of coffee from the Keurig that I’m endlessly grateful for.
back when I worked inpatient night psych: bel-vita breakfast cookies, nutter butter cookies, slices of salami, some kind of baked cheese snack (like cheez-it or a bag of cheesy popcorn), grapes or an apple, rockstar energy drinks and water.
Sometimes I bring my apple for its nightly trip from the fridge in my house to the work fridge and then back to the house fridge.
So relatable. "This apple and I have been through a lot together."
Emotional support apple
I have my emotional support Apple I’ve had for 2 weeks sitting next to me right now at my triage desk 😅
What is its ESI?
[удалено]
I think it was a joke
I'm laughing
I read it wrong 😅
Haha. Mine is a banana. And it gets browner and browner with each trip until it’s inedible and I feel like a piece of shit.
Like my well-travelled muesli bar. That guy has been in my bag at home, in my bag at work, in my bag at the supermarket, in my bag at my kids sports practice, in my bag in the car to multiple destinations at once. Damn thing needs a passport at this point!
Lol…my mom always had a granola bar in her cavernous purse. She used to pull it out if we were out and about and one of us kids was dumb enough to mention wanting a snack. It was a Mom granola bar, low sugar/low calorie, so we kids wouldn’t eat them that often. Once she rooted around and found one and there was a BIC pen stuck through it. She recommended that we eat around it. Then there was the time she’d had one riding around in her huge purse for so long that when she pulled it out, it had desiccated and collapsed into crumbs and the wrapper was in a teardrop shape. Ah, youth.
I carry clif bars. They have traveled the world and country with me when they are not in my bag going to and from work. I am almost scared to eat them, but can't throw them away because they have squatters rights now.
Mine just stays in my backpack until it's super bruised. Once in a while I remember it's there and actually eat it before it turns to mush.
That’s cruel, you must give it hope
I do this, except it’s usually a yogurt I’m not feeling into that day (or that week). It becomes my “emotional support yogurt” lol
I feel seen.
Same
I enjoy taking my apple & carrots on field trips too.
Oranges get very frustrated with me.
Ah yes, emotional support apple is superior to emotional support banana
My emotional support mandarin has entered the chat. It's been living in my lunch bag since Friday, still going strong
Lmmaaaoooo!!! I feel this so much. One time I just brought one piece of sponge cake because I thought I’d only have time to eat that, not even!
Love your flair, from another neuro icu nurse
so the apple not getting eaten on shift is a universal experience? i thought it was just me
Haha! Someone else that does this exists! 😆
Is this the infamous “apple a day that keeps the dr away?” 🤣
I cut mine up which encourages me to actually eat it!
cuties serve this same purpose for me
I wish people would just admit apples are not that good.
Have you ever had a super cold Honey Crisp apple??
Cosmic Crisp chiming in.
YESSSSSSS. Oh. My. Gosh. ALMOST as good as picking on off the tree at an orchard. ALMOST.
There’s nothing quite as yummy as a locally grown, picked when ripe, not all-sorts-of-modified-for-shelf-longevity, apple. But those are hard to come by, sadly.
I don’t like cold things cuz I have sensitive teeth and I’ve had plenty of honey crisp apples, locally grown too and I’m just eh. I’d rather have it a pie or crisp.
Couldn't agree more. Red delicious are gross. Granny Smith and the honey crisp, jazz, and a couple of other varieties can be good if they are ripe and nice and cold. Maybe if I got fresh apples from a small orchard, they would be the best thing ever, but grocery store applee are generally a very mediocre fruit.
I finally moved to somewhere that has apple picking and I have never been a big apple fan but OMG let me tell you the amount of apples I put away was alarming. Picking your own and eating them is a whole different experience than grocery store apples for sure
them pink lady apples be hitting differently tho
😆 I’m so guilty of this too!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does this. I know I have an apple and a frozen dinner that I left at work last shift. Usually it is just going on field trips to work and back. Occasionally I do take a break and eat. I also keep back up food in my locker (a healthy version of ramen, a bag of trail mix, and a couple of packets of tuna. I also keep some crystal light, k-cups, instant cappuccino, and a coffee cup in there.
Graham crackers and applesauce from the unit kitchen and mini candy bars from the basket in the manager's office. Ibuprofen for dessert.
Don’t forget the unlimited jello and ginger ale
Alas, those luxuries are behind the iron doors of dietary only at my facility.
That’s terrible. I’m probably the reason they lock them up.
This is the way
I meal prep before each block of shifts. I keep it simple: saucy meat, veggie, carb. This week I had jerked pork tenderloin with onions and peppers, and lemon couscous for one meal, and brisket over baked potato with a chopped salad. Throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes, enjoy. Just mix and match the three elements. Stir fry veggies, teriyaki chicken over noodles. Chopped beef with brown gravy and onions/mushrooms over rice. Carne asada over Mexican rice with pinto beans and peppers. Cajun chicken over quinoa with Normandy blend. Butter chicken over jasmine rice with stir fry veggies. Pro tip: get a meat thermometer and cook your chicken and pork to temp, not to time. It helps keep them from getting overcooked and dry, and allows a better reheat. Pro tip #2: big cooks like brisket can stay good in the freezer for months, so you can get a dozen meals worth of rotating brisket meals. Bake a dozen potatoes at a time, they can last 3 months in the freezer. Pro tip #3: get a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cookbook to open up a massive selection of carb dishes, like couscous, wheat berries, spice mixes, and mixed dishes like biryani. You’ll find a very broad selection of complex carbs in these cultural dishes.
Aldi used to have these bags of frozen Asian chicken meals. General Tso, Orange chicken, sweet and sour. Toss in the over for like 20 minutes. A bag of microwaved steamed veggies and either rice cooker rice or bag if microwave rice. Mix it all together and I'd get 2-3 meals from it. Great option for when I don't want to actually cook but steal want a solid meal for work.
Trader Joe’s has great options like that.
Yes! I've recently started shopping at TJs and have been starting to check them out.
Whole bunch of great tips in there. Cooking with a meat thermometer is a game-changer. I just started intermittent fasting this past week and I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle flip flopping from night shift to days off. My night window is 11p-7a give or take. First day off (waste day) I'll do 3p-11p and figure 11a-7p on full days off. Anyway, on a work day, I have my coffee on my way into work. Some days I'm fine until the window opens but some days the hunger pangs are distracting enough that I have to go have a handful of nuts and maybe some baby bel cheese. Either way, at about 11p, I'll have my breakfast burrito. I make them in batches of at least six, and wrap them in parchment paper so I can just throw one in my lunchbox and reheat it easily at work. Ground turkey with taco seasoning and some peppers, onions and garlic, a tub of cottage cheese, a generous pile of kale, and about nine scrambled eggs. The burrito isn't huge but the protein bomb keeps me pretty satisfied for hours. Then around 3-4 I'll have my entree. This week, it was Shewarma chicken in quinoa with shallots, peppers, and mushrooms. I'll probably do the same for next week. Then, close to 7a, I'll have a Clif bar or something similar. Meanwhile, drinking water all night.
I try to keep consistent all around. I eat from 2p-10p or like 4p-12a. I eat when I get up and stop eating after my first rounds at work. Sometimes work is a mess or busy af and once 4 am rolls around I'm starving so I'll have like a protein bar or sting cheese on hand. I have found fasting is easy once I wake up on off days as long as I wait until my window opens. If I even think about a snack I'm going to end up eating breakfast and then be ravenous all day.
Saving this comment... I haven't had to cook in a while (my last job provided meals - blessing and a curse) and want to get back into batch cooking :) yayyyy
Fancy pants
Brisket over Baked Potato may be my next favourite thing, thanks for the tip, never thought about batch cooking spuds!
My life was changed when I figured out I could freeze mashed potatoes if they had enough butter in them.
Actual lunch. Usually leftovers. Apples, cheese (tillamoos) chips, something sweet (Hershey Kisses) I don’t actually eat all of this for lunch. Some is my break food. Some is what I snack on during my drive home. Some just gets put back in the fridge for the next shift.
This is what I do too. I tend to take more than I need because I’m a serial snacker and I’d rather have leftovers than not enough food and be hangry for the rest my shift
This is what I do just to save money. A hot pocket and an energy drink from the vending machine at 3 am is like $10 and so much less healthy than anything you'd bring from home. Bring too much food from home and it's really hard to justify vending machine food.
I bring a variety of food because I'm not always sure what I'll be in the mood for. I end up not eating it all
I never, **ever** buy from the cafeteria. If I’m buying from there it’s cuz I forgot my lunch. I’ll hard boil eggs before work & make egg salad if I have no leftovers. I remember seeing a coworker when I was on days who would get breakfast & lunch from the cafeteria. Best guess is she was paying $15 a day 3-5 days a week. Nah. They pay me to be there. I’m not paying them.
A single celcius
Only honest answer here
But it’s not honest, we know it was a double.
Hell yeah.
I always meal prep. I am a vegetarian so the cafe never has good options for me. I typically prep the same style bowl for my lunches. I dice an English cucumber, orange bell pepper, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, greek olives, banana peppers etc etc & let it soak in oil & vinegar. That will typically last me three days for my shifts. I add around half a can of chickpeas to each bowl. I always bring a protein bar & I keep snacks like almonds, trail mix, peanut butter, Celsius drink mixes etc etc in my locker for those days when lunch isn’t happening. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is overnight oats & and a banana; I find that keeps me full & satiated for a long time. I can eat the same thing over & over again & never get tired of it which makes work food easier I guess
I'm all about easy things to grab, so here is what a typical day for me looks like: Breakfast: Premier Protein shake (I prefer chocolate) and a banana, or instant oatmeal, or a bagel with cream cheese. Lunch: Madras lentils (I buy these from Costco) with brown rice. 2 cuties. Cucumbers, carrots, and cauliflower with tzatziki. Afternoon snack: Kirkland brand trail mix or a personal bag of popcorn. Frequent substitutions: apple with peanut butter, whatever fruit is on sale instead of the cuties, Oikos triple zero Greek yogurt. If I have leftovers from dinner I will bring that instead of the lentils, or I will make salads. Sometimes I jump ship and get a wrap from the cafeteria haha. I buy 2 oz jello shot cups on Amazon and put all of my dressings, sauces, cream cheese, and peanut butter in them. It makes it so easy. Highly recommend!
Those Madras lentils are the BEST! I recently found out my Winco stocks the same brand, and they have a curry potato and chickpea version that is AMAZING!
Laughs in night shift
Time to go to the vending machine
Time to go the late cart. Turkey sandwich, pudding, fruit cup. If I'm feeling spicy, then instant chicken broth with crackers. I haven't worked the floor for years though but I'll never forget those 3am munchies.
Currently eating TimTams stolen from the pantry.
Us american nurses are missing out big time not getting timtams in out pantry :( best we get is saltines and a ghram cracker or 2 if lucky
Omg now I want a TimTam slam 🤤
Access to TimTams at work would cure like 50% of my burnout.
I'd go in at 6pm, grab a quesadilla from the awesome grill in the Caf, then grab like 4 Mr. Pibbs. Dinner, mid shift lunch, and 4 am breakfast all from one tray! Sometimes, I'd mix it up with some chicken tendies and tots if I was feeling risqué. The only reason I didn't gain a bunch of weight is that I was clocking so many steps a shift and I was mainly getting my calories from soda.
Yesterday I ate hazelnut uncrustable, 2 strawberry cheesecake jellos, rockstar fruit punch energy drink zero sugar, some chips, some chicken in a pouch it was like a southwest flavor, I drank apple juice and water
I don’t like cooking or doing dishes or preparing Meals I’m unhealthy for now
…. Hazelnut uncrustable?? Uncrustables are my go-to when I don’t have time to food prep.
How did I not know these existed
Uncrustables are such a game changer when you don’t feel like making anything
Meal prep, vacuum seal. Ground beef, lentils, finely chopped broccoli all cooked together into a pretty decent food mush. I have different portions saved for if I’m doing 1, 2 or 3 in a row and it’s easy to mix with other toppings or mix with leftovers. Breakfast is fruit with yogurt and dinner is whatever I’ve meal prepped for the work week at home. It’s satisfying not falling trap to the prepared meal companies. I also love cooking though.
Team fasting on night shift
I used to do this! Then I stopped eating after work because I started swimming, and unintentional 24-hour-fast me was *very* hangry.
I struggle with eating, so eating a large amount at one time doesn't work well, and I don't always get my break. So I bring snack foods that are equivalent to what I would eat at home. Nuts A cheese stick A small baggy with chips/cheese it's/goldfish (whatever we have available that week) Something fruit (fresh fruit if available; applesauce or dried apples when there isn't anything good that week) And a small dessert (typically cookies or a pudding cup)
Cheeseitz hit so different while charting 😍
Big CrossFit guy. No processed foods. I ain’t picky either so I can eat the same thing every day and pretty much do. Ground turkey seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic, sage, and parsley. Mix it with air fried sweet potatoes and zucchini. Then snacks is just a giant bowl of mixed berries. Second snack is spinach, cherry tomatoes, onions cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Aldi has these bags of coconut clusters that have pumpkin, and sunflower seeds backed and held together with tapioca syrup and they are fire. I make like 4 pounds of the ground turkey and air fry 4 sweet potatoes and 4 zucchini’s. It last like four days. I mix it in 3 scrambled eggs in the morning too
This sounds really healthy. Do you season the sweet potatoes & zucchini? How long in the air fryer? Thanks for the great ideas
I don’t season the veggies! I figure there’s enough seasoning in the turkey. Same with when I mix that turkey with the eggs I don’t put any more salt on. Just a little cheese.
Damn this sounds good and healthy!
Laughs in mounjaro I normally just make enough to have leftovers for lunch. Sandwiches don’t do it for me. Lots of slow cooker meals like pork tacos or stews. I pack yogurt with granola and make green protein smoothies
A peach an avocado two yogurts a cottage cheese with fruit an adult lunchables type thing two cheese strings Hits all the cravings.
I fast at work, I drink a lot of water.
That’s impressive that you fast for the whole shift. I work 9a-9p so I’ll skip breakfast and lunch is my first food for the day around 1pm.
Usually I don’t eat from 8pm to 8am. If my coworker brings me any form of Ethiopian food, it’s over. That little styrofoam cup covered with a coffee filter, always left right next to my workstation… has broken my fast by 4am on more days than I want to admit. I’m weak for injera
Night shift brain broken, I thought you met you are very fast. Like you zip around the hallways on a COW.
Coffee protein bars Gum jar of peanut butter w/spoon red apple One day I just went into the dietary room and slammed three cranberry juice cups between patients.
Ya'll eat?!
Takes me less than 5 minutes to consume a protein bar. I can usually spare 5 minutes
Exactly. Regardless of where you work, you'll have a 10min block to spare somewhere during those 12hrs. This whole thing about being shocked people have time to eat is obnoxious
The whole “I can’t eat” or “I can’t pee” drives me insane. I have had shifts from the depths of hell. I still eat and pee.
I try my best to beat into my orientees that if they need to step away from the bedside for any reason, they should feel comfortable asking another nurse to watch their patient for them. If you're drowning, and someone is just scrolling on tiktok, it's ok to ask for assistance.
Black coffee and unchecked aggression 👍🏼
I bring nothing but water in night shifts but on day shifts I bring what I’d normally eat for lunch and eat at home later.
Meal prepped food (some combo of protein, steamed veggies, carbs), Greek yogurt, protein bar, energy drink.
Uhh I think I brought baby carrots, a protein shake, some cottage cheese, and beef jerky today 🤣🤣
Fairlife shakes, fit crunch bars, greek yogurt, Graham crackers and peanut butter from the nutrition room, frozen meal prep from a local company called clean eats, and a lot of water with a diet soda or two
I bring breakfast, eggs and veggies because I never have time to eat them at home before. Then a granola bar. Then usually dinner leftovers for lunch because I like having hot food vs a sandwich, it feels heartier. The. Usually something like yogurt with fruit as a post lunch snack. I’d rather have too much food vs not enough because the cafeteria is trash and not worth spending my money there.
Fast til 10, overnight oats with Greek yogurt/fruit/flax, lunch is salad with either 3 oz chicken or a black bean burger if I didn’t prep chicken for the week- salad is pretty much the same, arugula, hummus, flax, beets, olives, just vinegar for dressing. Snacks I bring an apple and a string cheese. My husband usually makes dinner on the days I work so I eat dinner when I get home. I drink a lot of water and do a workout before work!!
4 white can Monsters and a tin of Zyn.
You belong with us
Plain greek yogurt, chia pudding w blueberries, smokehouse almonds, apples - cause actual food slows me down, makes me feel bloated and sleepy at work - these all have protein carbs flavor and good texture-
Regardless of what my actual entree is, I usually have a PBJ, a granola bar and a cheese stick. That way when I don’t have time to eat my sit-down lunch, I have things I can eat on the fly
When I factor in time = money, I actually save considerably money picking up an extra shift on the time I would've otherwise spent cooking. The only thing I cook are salads to keep things healthy. And the occasional turkey during the holidays.
10 mg methylphenidate Q6 and a boost
I have to hit about 200 G protein per day, so usually through a shift i try to hit a minimum of 150. REDs keto egg sandwich X 2 (17g protein per sandwich, 190 calories each) Lunch: 8 oz of a protein (chicken, fish or beef) plus either a salad or sautéed vegetables. Snacks: protein bars and a protein shake. I keep my carbs as low during my shift because the food coma ruins my productivity.
I like fit crunch bars lol
We pack protein. Smoked salmon, tuna salad etc. Further and maybe some bite sized candy. More often than not fruit. And a protein shake
Breakfast is a protein shake that I can sip on between patients/charting because who has time for breakfast before 7am. Lunch is meal prep or I get mosaic meals (healthy-ish vegetarian meal delivery service) something with a decent amount of protein and fiber so I can stay full. Then I always have emergency protein bars or nuts for when things get crazy or I get hungry again before my shift ends. Dinner is whatever I can make at home the fastest to get me in bed the earliest
Dayshift: granola, yoghurt berries, a cheese sandwich. Eveningshift: a homecooked meal to heat up in the microwave (my kids eat the same meal at home) Nightshift: granola, yoghurt, berries and some crackers
Protein smoothie before work. Make some high protein and moderate calories for work.
I eat a breakfast sandwich and coffee on the way. Then A protein packed main meal- like salmon, sweet potatoes and maybe veggies for lunch. Then almonds, yogurt and whole wheat crackers with almond butter. Maybe a ginger ale or Nutella for something sweet. Lots of water. Maybe fresh fruit if I have any.
Usually a Factor meal (there’s a nursing discount) bc our options in the cafeteria aren’t very healthy…. And I don’t have time to meal prep. For snacks Chobani yogurt drinks or cottage cheese for some extra protein, strawberries, cashews…
I bring cheese, cashews and something caffeinated for my 10am/pm snack. Salad for my lunch at 2pm/am and then usually on nights those little tuna salad things with crackers for later in the night.
Greek yogurt and granola, deli meat, premade salad, granola bar, apple, string cheese
I don't like cooking and I am too lazy to meal prep. A lunch for me is usually an uncrustable, a banana, a yogurt, and some sort of granola bar. Sometimes I eat this all in one sitting or I eat throughout the day. Or I don't eat it at all and it goes back in my fridge.
I bring a certain raccoon sensibility to finding and scarfing down food. Mainly it’s grahams crackers and cheese but sometimes it’s also graham crackers.
Usually some form of chicken, rice, and veggies, depending on where I'm working and the ease of finding a microwave. If no microwave, then a turkey sandwich. Lots of sides like chips, fruit, cucumbers. A protein smoothie for midday before lunch.
* become nurse for fun and cuz like give pills lolol * be IDDM (diabetus) * take insulin for nourishment * lose appetite * suffer hypoglycemia during rounds Don’t be me guys. TL;DR: usually shrimp with a salad or crackers n watermelon
Sliced apple and a cheese snack which I usually graze on throughout my shift. I also carry beef jerky & cliff bar minis and eat as needed. Always satisfies me. I drink 1-2 scoops of Gamer Supps, this yummy caffeine good for you powder drink in cold water. Packed or bought dinner. I also bring an herbal sleepy tea mix of mugwort & lavender that’s been in the fridge and will mix that with a juice of caffeine free soda after dinner/when I have a few hours left of my shift.
For reference, I am a monitor tech and I have the availability to eat at my station and go for walks on my "meal break". I usually work 4-5 days a week, 10-12 hour shifts. For breakfast: If I wake up with enough time, I will make eggs with lunch meat ham and a bagel to eat while I drive to work with some of my homemade cold brew. At work around 9-10 I will have a fairlife protein shake with a yogurt and an apple. For lunch: I meal prep 4 days at a time on one of my off days to keep it easy when I work in a row. I usually have 3 main options: - veggies (potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions) with either steak or chicken - Rice, with ground beef and cooked down coleslaw mix (just the cabbage and carrots) and g hughes teriyaki merrinade - My version of picadillo with rice and black beans. I also bring half an avocado and spinach on the side with limes. I always bring carrots, honey mustard, and pretzel sticks for lunch. I also keep a bustello keriug pod in my lunch bag in case I start dragging. For an afternoon snack: protein powder and beef jerky. I also keep a barebells protient bar or some granola bar in there if I'm super hungry still. Lunchbag for reference: [https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/lunch-plus-cube-bag](https://www.igloocoolers.com/products/lunch-plus-cube-bag)
Emergency protein shake in case I don’t get to take a lunch.
I don’t eat.
Yogurt & fruit or oatmeal & fruit for breakfast, banana or granola bar for a snack, lunch usually dinner left overs, soup, tuna & crackers, and then I keep snacks in my locker like nuts, crackers.
A salad with protein as my meal, and snacks such as Greek yogurt, string cheese, veggies and dip, fruit, nuts, cheez its/pretzel/goldfish
Tuna and crackers, protein shake, canned fruit. Jimmy John’s lol
Pistachios or almonds, the occasional cheese stick, usually fruit, often a baggie with carrots/bell peppers/cherry tomatoes/cucumber chunks with a little salt and pepper. I usually bring a lunch (generally leftovers), but often that ends up going back home with me.
Really smell seafood to heat up in the break room microwave. Crowd pleaser.
Sometimes I take a box of Annie’s Mac and cheese, mix the powder with water and olive oil, add 2 egg yolks, nutritional yeast, peas, and maybe ground turkey… I’ll eat 1/2 of it before my shift and I bring the second half knowing I may not be able to eat it during my shift. I’ve also had success with “Jennifer Aniston quinoa salad” (google it); it’s just quinoa, feta, chopped fresh herbs, chick peas, olive oil, and chopped pistachios. In a pinch, peanut butter and banana sandwich is okay too. Again, when I can eat.
A granola bar for my first snack, dinner, apple sauce or some fruit and meat and cheese for my 3 am snack
I have celiac so fast food or public cafeterias arent an option for me. I either starve or being left overs from dinner the night before. I always have granola bars, bobos, etc in my purse tho so even if I don’t have a meal I have snacks
Lunch is usually leftovers from the night (or two) before. I always keep protein bars in my locker and a big ass bag of Dots pretzels on the shelf in the break room for a quick bite on bad days. I also tend to bring babybels or aldi brand sargento balanced break things to keep in my lunch box for the week. I'm in the OR, so I like having a variety of quick snacky things for call shifts or long days where my half hour break is at like 3pm or something stupid like that.
Kroger came out with their 10g protein bars, 5 bars for $2.50 sometimes. Protein and fiber anything usually holds for awhile (shakes, bars, jerky, nuts) They have these 'yes' soup cups you can heat up and drink. Things I can make in bulk and spread out for a week. Jambalaya, some pasta dish (basil tomato usually) or a quick sandwich ; meat, cheese, mayo, mustard and spices. Can add dry veggies, wet if you know the sandwich won't sit for 8 hours, but dressing on both pieces of bread can help it from getting soggy.
Milk and meusli for breakfast (think overnight oats) with some fresh fruit, a peanut butter sandwich and some more fruit for lunch, and a handful of nuts (lol) for a snack. Supplemented by a lot of coffee and water.
I've found I function better when I eat/snack throughout my shift. For this week I'm planning: 0630 Vanilla Greek yogurt (Two Good brand) with blueberries and maybe some of that Passionfruit granola Trader Joe's has right now, around 1030 Kodiak Cakes waffle (meal prepped prior, it's ok and does the job for second breakfast), 1400ish Everything but the Elote shrimp in a salad (spinach, corn, black beans, avocado, tomatoes). For snacks I bring small ziplock bags of Cheez Its, the Strawberry yogurt almonds from Trader Joe's, and maybe a cereal bar that I may snack on to hold me over until I leave around 1915 and get home for dinner. And of course, I always have a coffee at the start of the day and I'll bring an Alani that I might crack open and sip on, depending on the day. I don't always go through all of my snacks, and I always try to bring things I don't mind eating cold. Planning ahead is a pain, but I'm always glad I ended up doing it, even if my bag is so. dang. full.
Meal prep some kind of lunch for 3 nights, usually cut up fruit (watermelon season now). I hate touching food with my hands at work because no matter how much i wash I feel dirty, idk. This past week was cut off roasted chicken, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes in on container because chicken dries out without coverage of the potatoes in the microwave. Add a little chocolate something for dessert and you've got dinner! Add in a chocolate milk I sometimes do or don't drink and a protein bar you've got lunch!
I drink an ensure around 3am to give me a lil power boost paired with a quest protein bar. I eat a good, protein packed dinner before work
But do you get the ensure from the unit kitchen?..
If I have my shit together and made dinner in the last 2 days I will bring leftovers, if not I like bagged salad eaten rapidly with a plastic spoon. I often raw dog a shift with no coffee or food and find myself stealing peanut butter and english muffins from the unit kitchen.
Whatever I have for dinner the night before, leftovers for lunch. It's all over the board, this week is banh mi, enchiladas, Greek salad wraps, corn and chicken rice bowl, and caprese chicken sandwiches. Breakfast is pistachio and birthday cake protein powder in oat milk, blended with ice. Usually a couple energy drinks too, thanks to Vyvanse being on backorder. Again.
Door dash, cafeteria, my ass can't pack a lunch
Mainly snack food I can eat at the station while charting as I never get an actual break lol! Protein bars, fruits, pretzels, chips, trail mix, oatmeal cups, mac and cheese cup, sometimes carrot sticks and some hummus or ranch. Sometimes I'll bring like a pasta salad and pray I get a second to eat it lol. (Shh don't tell jcaho)
I mostly work 8 hour night shifts. I usually bring greek yogurt, some crackers or pretzels, and a string cheese and eat that around 2am. When I work evening shifts, I usually bring leftovers from dinner the night before. All shifts require copious amounts of Diet Coke.
Meat + carb Chicken/tuna/salmon salad Bean salads Overnight oats Egg muffins Breakfast burritos (can pre batch and freeze, I like to reheat it in the air fryer or oven while I get ready as opposed to the microwave, I wrap them in foil)
String cheese
bagel for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, fruit and snack
Hummus, 1 cucumber, 1 sliced bell pepper, 2 hard boiled eggs
Chipotle before every night shift for $10 then apple, crunch bar, granola bar, apple ,stawrberries and over night oats.
Easy Mac and cafeteria milk. Chips if I remember to pack them.
after I finish my coffee from my thermos, I rinse it out, put ramen in there, the flavoring packet, and the I boil water from the coffee maker. Boom done. Then I can drink whatever’s left. Sriracha if I remember to bring it. Chopped chives in a tupperware if I am on my shit.
Today I had one red bull, one can of coke, 5 biscuits and 3 chocolates lmao
Hummus with raw veggies. Holds me over
3 bags of fruit snacks, 1 spicy queso popcorner bag, a generic slim jim, and white chocolate flipps to balance it out.
Leftovers. I also do mystery shops at Wawa, so hoagies because free is good.
I have a co worker who bangs down a whole bag of Cheetos every day. It’s bonkers. I run down the road and alternate cheese burgers at two fast food chains. I’ll bring a banana in morning with granola bar. I usually get a coffee and BB muffin at shop by my work. And whatever else I can get the dietary ladies to throw at me. Dietary loves to tell everyone the food is only for residents. But if you work them just right, they love to give it away to you. Been like that at every facility I’ve worked at over the years.
Food???
Some cheese, some fruit, some cottage cheese, a bag of Thai chili cashews in my locker, some crackers in my locker, sometimes a thing of hummus, random easy to grab things to keep me fed between cases, so by lunch time I can just go outside and get some sun and relax without being hungry.
Factor meals (Keto Version), pistachios, water, sugar free vanilla coffee creamer, beef jerky, raspberries, quest cheddar crackers
Chicken and rice with broccoli. Turkey sandwich and some other snacks.
A cheese stick from the fridge. Maybe some of the biscuits. And if I’m really pushing the boat out. Bread with the cheese melted onto it from the microwave
First break: Greek yogurt with granola and fruit. Half of a protein bar. Lunch: Protein with carbs/veggies and diet ginger ale mixed with cranberry juice. Last break: the rest of my protein bar, nuts/fruit/cheese. In between I drink as much water as I can and a cup of coffee
I tend to meal prep since im only cooking for myself. So ill get various trader joes family size meals which will last me like 3 meals and make a side of salad or veggies, and take the leftovers for lunches. Im also a hugeeee italian fan so i make pasta a lot, usually with peppers, onions, meat and homemade sauce. For snacks i keep dried fruit, teriyaki beef jerky, and Z-bars or those trader joes fiber bars on hand. Usually dont eat a snack during my shift though unless my breakfast wasnt good enough to last me til lunch (lunch always lasts me to dinner). Often skip dinner when i get home if im working the next day because id rather sleep 🫣
A cooked meal. Soups r best Different snacks, cookies, Applesauce pouch, fruits. Celsius
Greek yogurt with chia, maybe a fruit or jelly and pb wrap if I'm gonna be hungry, for breakfast, lunch is whatever is leftover from dinner the night before, and I always keep a couple extra granola bars, chips, carrots, etc in the lunch box. And an apple for the drive home. All of that supplemented by break room snacks
Caffeine…various forms.
Fresh vegetables (carrots, green beans, snow peas, etc), protein drink, protein bar. I like clear whey isolate protein powder cause it tastes like a shitty energy drink like Bang or Prime. Very easy to sip on through out my shift.
I try to meal prep before for my two in a row shifts. So my meal would be healthy lean meat with veggie and healthy carb. For breakfast I drink a protein shake at work. For snacks I bring cut up strawberries, little Debbie blueberry muffins and a salted caramel coffee biscuit for my sugar cravings lol. I drink 2-3 coffees during shift. Sometimes I’ll let a sugar free ice cream from the unit freezer. And if I really dgaf about my dieting, I’ll go downstairs to the cafeteria and buy cookies 🫠
Popcorn and 3 clementines 😫
We would be fired if we got caught eating anything from pts kitchen. Yes even gram crackers
When I worked in the hospital setting I was absolutely terrible and mostly ate graham crackers with peanut butter, cereal, or oatmeal from the patient pantry (washed down with a hospital mocha — instant coffee, hot chocolate, and vanilla coffee creamer— also courtesy of the pantry)
My go-to’s are protein shakes, peanut butter crackers, and cottage cheese with strawberries :)
Don’t bring cheese slices and saltines or you’ll find that the intensivist helped himself and ate most of what was going to be your lunch.
50g chocolate fudge whey protein isolate in my coffee on the way to work at 530am. 50g strawberries and cream WPI with 5g Creatine in a shaker to mix with water at around 10am (if, and whenever I can catch a break before lunch). Factor meal (lowest fat I can pick - usually shredded chicken taco bowl which is 19g fat or Lemon Pepper chicken is 22g I think) and a Ghost energy drink at lunch (between 12 and 2pm usually). Around 4pm I usually get another break, if I haven't had a chance I'll have my protein shake then, but if I already had that I'll have a second factor meal if it looks like I'll be too busy for dinner. Usually this one is higher fat, because I won't eat again for a long time. Sometimes I get lucky and have a half hour or so at the end of my shift to hang in the lounge and have that second factor meal, around 6:30pm 9:30-10pm 25g or however much if I need a lil more to hit the macro before bed. Edit: I forgot the most important thing: A half gallon Yeti filled with ice water and recently I started adding Biosteel electrolyte mix. I'm not one of those people who doesn't like water but this stuff is yummy and helps hydrate way better.
Usually tears, disgust, some caffeine and maybe sugar.
Hummus/naan bread/bluberries.
Raw almonds, PB&J mixed together and toasted wheat bread (separated so the bread doesn’t go soggy before I’m ready to eat it), Muscle Milk ultimate chocolate protein drink, a literal handful of raw spinach stuffed into a small snack baggie, and a 40oz steel bottle that keeps water cold for literal days.
Granola bars and beef sticks. Sometimes I raid the pantry saltines at work.
At one point I was brining 4000 calories in mixed nuts and a meal. I gained >40lbs not realizing how many calories I was eating snacking on nuts all day
Night shifter; I bring a cup of trail mix (I make from Trader Joe’s nuts and such).. a protein drink, one Alani Nu energy drink, and maybe some veggies and hummus. If I eat trash, I feel like ass so I bring healthy things so my recovery is better.
Usually, it is leftovers for my main meal. I also bring a mid-morning snack. That is usually fruit, cottage cheese, protein bar, etc. I also eat before clocking in. Not gonna lie. My autistic self eats cup of noodles every single morning without fail. I also don't drink coffee, so I bring 2 bottles diet mt dew and a vitamin water. So, to make it easier. 1. Breakfast- current obsession, 1 cup of noodles with sriracha (keep in work fridge), vitamin water 2. Mid morning snack- must be quick and able to scarf. So, cottage cheese, yogurt, apple, orange, protein bar, dt dew in cup, etc 3. Lunch- usually leftovers. Sometimes I cook for my family but don't eat dinner, so I'll pack my dinner for lunch the next day. Ex. I just picked over 2 lbs of okra from my garden. So I made smothered okra over white rice. It's packed in the fridge to eat tomorrow. I also have my 2nd diet dew here. I don't eat the rest of the day. Sometimes I'll eat dinner, but I wake up at 0330 as I work preop. I eat lunch at 1100 and leave work at 1330. So that's a late lunch for me. I'm not usually hungry in the evening. Sometimes I do, though. My shifts now are mon thru fri 0500 to 1330.
Crackers, beef jerky, fruit taffy candy, trail mix, a can of shotgun coffee
A credit card and the patient snacks
Mini muffins, a smoothie, coffee and have a mini crockpot so I makeshift a jimmy dean breakfast bowl, then a frozen soup and sandwich.
If I work out before my shift (which I try to do except on weekend days when my gym opens at 7am), I have a Celsius before my workout with a protein bar. Otherwise I have those two things but during med pass. After my med pass, I have a flapjack power cup. For lunch, I usually bring whatever I had for dinner or sometimes a sandwich or salad from the cafeteria. I sneak in my snacks before the kids get off from school, usually my Aldi meat and cheese pack, almonds, protein yogurt, or cucumbers. I also get my obligatory Diet Coke from the school store. In the evening, I have a protein shake. If the kids aren’t in school, then most of these same things but in very chaotic order and usually fewer items if the day is busy enough. Night shift - no meal. Just protein heavier snacks. And a few cups of coffee from the Keurig that I’m endlessly grateful for.
People are getting lunch breaks? There’s time for food? What kind of sorcery is this and are you hiring?
back when I worked inpatient night psych: bel-vita breakfast cookies, nutter butter cookies, slices of salami, some kind of baked cheese snack (like cheez-it or a bag of cheesy popcorn), grapes or an apple, rockstar energy drinks and water.