Do you still have energy to cook after a 12 hour shift?

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Hi! I'm writing this as I wait to clock out from my 6:30 am to 7:00 pm shift. The one thing on my mind is FOOD. What am I going to eat?? Should I cook or buy something? I have to be up early tomorrow for clinical. I like my sleep but I feel like I'm just being lazy.

That led me to wondering, what does everyone else do??? Do you guys still have energy to cook after your 12 hour shift, whether it be a day or night shift??

I forgot to mention, Ruby Vee made a good point, that regardless meat you buy, if it's on the bone, it's going to fall apart juicy. I've seen some people take bbq and add things in the crock pot like Dr. Pepper or something like Coke because I guess it makes it flavorful. Why anyone would think a consumable that destroys teeth and cleans toilets would be considered flavorful is beyond me...

If you bought ribs and stuck them in the crock pot, the meat, when pulled with a fork, will fall apart with no difficulty. Kinda like Pho shops around here in Vegas. The Oxtail, which is considered top quality amongst the choices of meats, both pulls and falls apart off the bone if you play with it a little in the soup as long as it was cooked properly. I know from experience eating at Pho 87 on Jones and Twain.

....and unclogs PEG tubes.....

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Oh that's one of my favorite meals. Sometimes I get really classy and put the peanut butter on some bread!

Sometimes I get real, real fancy and add a European flair: I open a jar of peanut butter AND Nutella.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I think the type of meals I prepare could be called "semi-home-made". I use a great deal of

-canned beans, canned broths

-frozen veggies

-some fresh long storing veggies like carrots, onions, garlic, celery

-canned sauces e.g. Salsa, Marsala (Indian curry/tomato)

I keep many easy to prep foods on hand for my kid- eggs (he knows how to cook eggs in the microwave and I usually keep quite a few hard boiled on hand) Ramen, Greek yogurt, fresh carrots, bananas or oranges, and other frozen stuff

-vegan burgers- currently using black bean style

as I said previously, I enjoy cooking but don't do it much except on off days.

I'm off today and cooked a big batch of pasta e fagiole soup.

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I'm in nursing school and I don't even have the energy to cook half the time. The good news is that if your personal response to stress is to just not eat, it works out ;)

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No, I am tired after a shift to even cook all that much. Others mentioned previously, cooking on a day and eating the same food for 3 or 4 days is perfectly fine with me. It is what I do, cook on a day I am not working and leave it for 3 or 4 days so I don't have to worry about what to eat when I work. I work night shift so many times I do not even eat when I get home. I just go get washed, brush teeth and sleep. I would not feel bad for not wanting to cook after a long shift, but yes it is healthier to cook your meal, just not cooking everyday. You'll be so tired to do anything at all. TheAtomic Stig_702.. I love to knit and sew as well.

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I rarely work 3 shifts in a row, so the night before my next 1-2 shifts I cook enough to cover dinner for a few days.

Another option, I make a fruit smoothie in the morning (strawberry, peach, some milk, add spinach if you don't mind it looking like C.diff...something like that) with my nutribullet, throw in a scoop of protein powder. Around 17-1800 I start sipping on that, maybe eat a handful of nuts. When I get home at 1930+, I just eat a few cheese and crackers to finish my "dinner". It manages my 5pm hunger, and keeping my calories in check to lose 0.5 lbs per week :)

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Specializes in ICU; Telephone Triage Nurse.
Oh yes, after a 12 hr shift and long commute I come home to cook a 7 course meal for my family, and still have the energy to sew all our clothes, polish our silver, make handcrafted soap, then darn (handknitted) socks, plus homeschooled the kids, of course.

Will you adopt me? I'm hungry … and all my dishes and clothes are dirty. :(

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I cook on my off days, mostly. I love fresh foods, but we just usually eat frozen or out on days I work. (Usually frozen now that I work 12's.) I love making food, but homemade piroshkis and chicken soup is a tad unrealistic.

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When I know i'm getting ready to do 12 or 16 hr shift, I usually cook something that will last a while. Some examples I can give you is lasagna, meatloaf, ect.. You get the picture.

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I used to do a lot of crock pot stuff, like crock pot meatloaf or crock pot glazed chicken, but I bought a pressure cooker and now I am so freaking happy!!!! That thing is seriously quick. Like I just did a quick meal.......half a cup of water, a few beef bullion cubes, threw some meatballs on top, threw some frozen stuffed pasta on top of that with a can of tomato sauce and waited for it to get done and finished mixing in some jar of spaghetti sauce, and threw some garlic bread in the oven for five minutes and I was done honey. Usually meals take no longer than thirty minutes and I leave it on the counter on warm for kids and hubby before I go to work. Now cleaning, that's a whole 'nother story, and hopefully the family can pitch in before we end up on an episode of hoarders :)

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If I m not working the next day, I cook. Otherwise, the family just ea what is available

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New nurse here. Finding this hard since I moved out. Basically been eating out like a mad women not good :( gotta get into cooking

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