What is in your lunch box?

Nurses General Nursing

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What do you bring for lunch? I work 12 hour days, and seem to get so low on energy around 5pm. What are the energy generating secrets- is it coffee, energy bars or something else?

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Boiled egg, cubed cheese, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, chick peas, plain yogurt, strawberries, apple. Water to drink.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

My lunch varies-

Tuna fish sandwich, leftovers, soup, chicken pot pies (the only frozen meal I ever bring), chef salad with eggs, etc.

Snack wise - I get "low on energy" around 10am. I slice up an apple, and have apple and peanut butter. Jiff makes "jiff to go" peanut butter so you dont have to spoon out the pb every AM before work.

I also like granola bars and orange juice - that perks me right back up. And carrots and dip.

I find healthy snacks are best- good for me and give me the energy I need.

Good luck!

-Meghan

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4 12-oz sodas....no, I don't usually drink all of them, but I have them. Sometimes that's all and I'll buy my breakfast and lunch. If I pack food it will be a yogurt cup or cereal for breakfast. Lunch will be either a sandwich or leftovers.

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Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.

Hello,

I have an Ensure for breakfast and I am much more awake since I started drinking them. All day as a matter of fact. They are quite tasty actually.

Swtooth

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My lunch varies-

Tuna fish sandwich, leftovers, soup, chicken pot pies (the only frozen meal I ever bring), chef salad with eggs, etc.

Snack wise - I get "low on energy" around 10am. I slice up an apple, and have apple and peanut butter. Jiff makes "jiff to go" peanut butter so you dont have to spoon out the pb every AM before work.

I also like granola bars and orange juice - that perks me right back up. And carrots and dip.

I find healthy snacks are best- good for me and give me the energy I need.

Good luck!

-Meghan

You are disgustingly healthy.........

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Simple carbs (aka sugary goodness) make me low energy in about 2 hours and often more hungry then too. I try to stick to things like protein drink, small handful of almonds with half a cut up apple, low sugar yogurt, cheese stick or protein bar of some sort for snacks. I'm trying to lose a little weight and our cafeteria doesn't have the best selections (burger and fries is no help at all). So for lunch I bring a selection of 3-4 frozenSouth Beach meals to choose from and have them available for the week. Our unit is really good about not stealing your food, especially if you put your name on it. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure most of the staff would steal my South Beach stuff anyway! LOL! A lot of them are more prone to chips and salsa...

And I make sure I drink plenty of water - for each cup of coffee or tea I make myself have a glass of water too. Rarely drink soda.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

PB & J sandwich - does not need refrigeration, easy on the stomach. Small packs of peanuts - an occaisional nibble on a hectic day (ER) keeps the blood sugar elevated.

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Ditto the almonds, apple and PB.

Balance bars make a great variety of protein/carb bars that won't spike your blood sugar, and you can eat them really fast when you're dragging. Other "energy" bars are candy in slight disguise, I tend to believe. These bars are cheapest at drugstore.com, I've found.

Trader Joe's has all these big bulk bags of trail mixes and raw nuts and things for kind of cheap, and I get my favorites, package them into snack size ziploc baggies, and throw them in the snack drawer. They're awesome. Especially the peanut butter pretzel pillows. YuMmmmmmm.

I'm still a student so I try to balance convenience with healthy with not-too-expensive. It is tricky at times. I try to make sure my snacks all have a good protein component.

I never thought of the Ensure. I'll try it!

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Specializes in cardiac med-surg.

yogurt, almonds, turkey on whole wheat, baby carrots, oj, v-8, banana, raisin bran, salad, cottage cheese, frozen healthy entree, apple, fruit cup in juice, fresca

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Specializes in medical/surgical.

I have yoghurt with added fibre and chop up a banana in it!

When I'm working nights I find I could eat literally non stop all night, so I chop up apples, melon, strawberries, kiwi, mango, banana and pineapple and pick away at it all night!

Yummy

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I keep single pack oatmeal at work for breakfast. I usually take a turkey sandwich for lunch and we make a salad. for snacks I have a peanut butter sandwich about 4pm. raisins, nuts, fruits, yogurts for snacks.

Im trying to get healthy and lose weight.

I also found this great site www.thedailyplate.com

it's an online free food diary...calculates your calories taken in and burned out. it's my new best friend.

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