Recipes and snack ideas for school and clinicals

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Hey everybody! I'm starting LVN school on Friday and I thought it would be a good idea if we got a thread (is that what this thing is called?) going for snack and food ideas. I know it would help me and maybe a few others! So post your go to grab and run snacks for school and clincals and those easy peesy dinner ideas! Thanks!

I think the takeaway from this to plan. :)

I concur 100%! I've compiled recipes for years and yet still fought the same battle over and over of "why are we in a food rut?", "nothing sounds good" and "just grab fast food on the way home". The recipes had a tendency to pile up without ever being used.

For me, the answer was monthly menu planning. Some people do very well on a weekly plan. I have co-workers who shop almost daily because they want fresh ingredients for their meals. They compile recipes and actually use them since shopping one meal at a time doesn't bother them. They are also single and have no kids and their education is done so all they worry about is work and play. They see the grocery store as their playground. I see it as one more thing to check off the to-do list.

Gather your recipes in an easy-to-find location (I prefer electronic). Then try different plans until you find the one that works for you. But if you don't plan, I'm afraid you'll find yourself months or years down the road with recipes and cookbooks scattered throughout the house and on-line that you never get around to using. I sure did. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: Insert Homer Simpson's "Doh!"

Thank you Silverowl and Rubato for the Paleo information. I don't follow that plan, but was pleasantly surprised to see that I follow it ~75% of the time. I'm more of the divide-the-plate kind of girl....50% fruits/veggies, 25% protein, 25% starch. I'm training hubby and kids on what qualifies as a veggie and what is a starch. Hubby is more of a 50% protein, 50% starch kind of guy and even the kids are starting to scold him because they've heard Mom scold everyone repeatedly. They can be taught! :up:

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I think the takeaway from this to plan. :)

EXACTLY!!! :D

This is one thing we can definitely agree is definitely necessary!!

PS - I LOVE how open everyone is here to others' lifestyles!

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Specializes in Oncology.
Rather than offer recipes, which can be collected from MANY sources (I personally like Pinterest and allrecipes.com), I'll share a strategy that seems to be working well for us...

In preparation for NS (learning to live on a tighter budget), I recently started monthly menu planning. I had the whole family sit down and brainstorm things we like to eat. Once we exhausted our brains, we hit the cookbooks looking for interesting things to try. I created a master list of these recipes to pull from (and organized the list by main ingredient so we can ensure we get more variety). Then I sat down and made a 1-month calendar and proceded to fill in the calendar with these meals. By doing so, I ensure we only eat each meal twice in a month so we don't get tired of them. We cook 3 days and then have leftovers on day 4 to ensure we aren't tossing out so much. Once I create the menu, I make a list of all ingredients needed and then scour the cupboards, scratching off the items we already have. Then I shop. This sounds like a lot of work, but we're halfway through the 2nd month and LOVING the new program. The first month took forever but the 2nd month took me about 20 minutes to make the menu, another 30 to make the shopping list and about 90 minutes in the grocery store. When I got home, I made the hubby and teenager put everything away (I was exhausted).

I pre-shredded 2 blocks of cheese (1 cheddar, 1 mozarella), a couple of bell peppers and an onion. The trick is to lay the small pieces on a cookie sheet and freeze for about an hour, then you transfer them to your final freezer container. When we assemble our meals, I can easily add shredded cheese, onions, or bell peppers (each was frozen individually). I also pre-cooked 2 pkgs of bacon (in the oven so no splatter) and froze those as well. Bread freezes well and can go straight from the freezer to the toaster. Since I have a food processor, this prep work went quickly but even without a processor, this would be WELL worth the time saved all month long. I love being able to grab these items on a whim.

For breakfast, I can quickly fry a few eggs, toast english muffins, nuke a few slices of bacon and the kids are ecstatic with bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. I will occasionally eat this but often prefer 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a handful of frozen fruit. Both options are insanely easy and quick since most of the prep work is already done.

When planning the menu, I try to incorporate ingredients into multiple meals. For example, if we grill carne asada and serve with beans and rice one night, we'll use those same items to make burritos on the second night. Or, we may have meatball subs one night and then use the leftovers to make spaghetti and meatballs the second night.

Once readers compile recipes they want to try, consider spending 1/2 of 1 day a month to organize and shop. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised as I did to 1) look forward to meals, 2) save an incredible amount of time all month long, 3)save money and 4) save your waistline.

My one and only regret is that I didn't stumble upon this idea earlier. I got most of my ideas off of Pinterest under Monthly Cooking, Freezer Cooking, Pressure Cooker Cooking, Crockpot Cooking, Lunch Ideas, etc. After compiling ideas from various topics onto my own Pinterest page (username also 1efistymama if you care to peruse), I was able come up with a plan that worked for our family.

I really like this method and will be giving Pinterest a visit. Thanks for sharing!

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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They see the grocery store as their playground.

That would be me!! :cat:

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... Any other Paleo eaters out there??!? :D

My biggest challenge by FAR will be trying to adhere to Paleo while having such a limited amount of time, especially in an accelerated program!! The entire principal of the Paleo lifestyle (it's not a "diet"...) is the pure opposite of the high-convenience SAD (Standard American Diet), which means I will have to do an astronomical amount of planning to even have a shot in the dark at staying on track!! I think I'm going to start doubling most of my recipes going into the summer, and try to save a freezer-full of prepared meals. Snacks are going to be the tough one...

First post ever, I have lurked around Allnurses for the last year, finally been accepted into my program of choice. I read this and could not help but register and respond. The book "Well Fed" by Melissa Joulwan has so many amazing ideas. She cooks up a bunch of beef, chicken etc and then has recipes to quickly make a meal by incorporating the precooked meat and veg. She has a blog as well, The Clothes make the Girl. Also the blog Nom Nom Paleo is amazing.

We are a family of 4 here so the plan for us will be Sunday grill up chicken (boneless skinless), some type of beef and salmon then do some hardboiled eggs. Cut it into chunks or strips and place into a baggie or a to go container. Then have premade salads, fresh veggies, and fruit done up in baggies or to gos. Also I will be precooking some veggies that the kids like better cooked and cooled. Mix and match to form a meal. We eat cheese and yogurt as well so there will be portioned off parts for that as well. The girls can pick lunches and snacks for school, hubby and I can pick for school and work. Wham bam!

We also have premade nuts and dried fruit ready for quick snacks and larabars. The trick I think is to not have any junk in the house and plenty of healthy snacks to fuel us!

Planning to do some freezer crock pot meals, it is pretty easy to "paleotize" many of these meals.

freezer crockpot cooking (round 2)- more recipes, more organization | kojodesigns

Really interested to hear how everyone else does this!

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The book "Well Fed" by Melissa Joulwan has so many amazing ideas. ... She has a blog as well, The Clothes make the Girl. Also the blog Nom Nom Paleo is amazing.

I LOVE Mel Joulan!! Thanks for reminding me about this cookbook, I loaned out my copy and haven't seen it since... :cry: This reminds me I should buy another and revisit her ideas!! Her Mayo is my fave!

That link you posted is AWESOME thanks for sharing!!

And CONGRATS on your acceptance!!!

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I absolutely cannot cook. Cannot even boil and egg lol. So, these ideas are from someone who uses her stove as extra counter space :)

I always have a fresh apple and banana around, as well as some peanut butter in one of those little, plastic souffle cups

Tons of Kashi granola bars

Crackers of all kinds

Cheese

Frozen meals that can be microwaved

Hot Pockets

Jello cups (a mild addition of mine)

Grapes

Sliced veggies (I always have carrots and broccoli ready to go with a little ranch)

Soups that can be microwaved

Pre-cooked veggie burgers (can be microwaved)

Bread and butter for toast

Cereal and milk

A bucket of chopped fruit (about 10 different types made into a giant fruit salad)

Coffee and espresso (you will need this more than food lol)

Wine (again, probably needed more than food for intense study sessions and it is made from grapes, so I justify it as being a fruit)

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Take muffin pan, line with muffin papers. Fry finely chopped onions, bell peppers broccoli in a frying pan until aldente, mix in beaten eggs, poor mixture in muffin pans and bake until eggs are solid. Take one or two in your lunch bag, cool de remainder for the next day or day after. I did not try to freeze them, but that may work too. If that works, you can make ahead of time and have lunch to grab. a combine with some fresh fruit and you are good to go. The protein helps prevent dipping blood glucose levels.

Clivia

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Wine (again, probably needed more than food for intense study sessions and it is made from grapes, so I justify it as being a fruit)

Nice!! :roflmao: I'll probably buy a case before starting lol!

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Is fruit part of paleo? I'm a pescatarian, so I have issues too and will be starting an accelerated bsn this summer, so have been thinking about this too.

I find that when I don't have time I eat a lot of fruit and veggies (raw or steamed). Also a lot of eggs - a boiled egg with salt can be a great afternoon boost. This sounds vaguely eating disordered, but instead of trying to fit in time to cook elaborate meals, I try to enjoy the simple meals that I have time to make (steamed greens with salt or cheese (bok choi is a favorite), eggs, (usually fried) fish, quinoa, fruit and peanut butter, soups made over the weekend/frozen, cheese and crackers, yogurts and hummus. But I also try to change how I approach food - when I run out of time I just try to think of it as something necessary to sustain me and less about enjoyment (which would mean tasty, but unhealthy/chemical laden frozen dinners). Then I save the enjoyment for end of the week mac & cheese or dinner out.

But also, these muffins are AWESOME and they freeze well: http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/muffins/r/appsaucemuffins.htm

I add walnuts and replace the canola with coconut oil and they're super filling, super tasty and long lasting.

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Specializes in ltc dd/mr.

Chocolate Graham crackers with pb for snacks, the protein keeps you going!

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I've been getting some great ideas here and wanted to throw out a tech suggestion. I use zip list on my iPhone - they have an app and a website. You can use the recipe "clipper" kind of like you use the pin it function on Pinterest. I like that it saves my recipes all in 1 spot and it gives you the option to send the ingredients to your grocery list. I have not carried a paper list to the store since I started using this. I love it!!

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