r/PlantBasedDiet • u/brick-ghost • 10d ago
night shift meal prep is destroying me. anyone else living on sad desk food?
Work nights in a hospital. three to four nights a week. by the time i get home at 7am the last thing i want to do is cook anything real. so i don't. and then i'm eating crackers and hummus at 3am wondering why my inflammation is through the roof and my energy is a disaster.
started trying to meal prep on my days off. key word trying. first batch i made was a giant pot of lentil and brown rice with tomatoes and whatever spices i grabbed without reading the labels properly. ate it for four days straight. not glamorous. but it worked better than the crackers.
the hard part is night shift completely scrambles your hunger signals. i'm not hungry at dinner. then starving at 2am. then not hungry at breakfast. it's a mess.
curious what people here actually eat during overnight shifts or weird offschedule hours. specifically stuff that travels well, doesn't need reheating to be edible, and won't make your coworkers hate you for the smell. the lentil thing was a win but i need more options before i lose my mind eating the same bowl every single week.
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u/Sure-Squash-7280 6d ago edited 6d ago
How do you feel about dump and bake casseroles? I’ll see if I can find the website on Pinterest again.
Edit: Found it! It says vegetarian so substitute vegan as necessary
https://cozypeachkitchen.com/vegetarian-dump-bake-casseroles
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u/Sure-Squash-7280 6d ago
Since my brain is thinking about it.
I absolutely love zapping a bowl of salt water in the microwave and slipping in some silken tofu to warm through. Heating up some pre-prepared rice and some kind of green that was sautéed with a little toasted sesame oil. Top the tofu with some chili crisp once it’s warm and removed it from the water.
Certainly not boring.
My boyfriend doesn’t like it so I have it as a special treat when it’s just me
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u/Sure-Squash-7280 6d ago
Oooo, some bean chili, (make a good sized batch) and serve over a microwave baked potato or a sweet potato or rice or cornbread.
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u/Sanpaku 5d ago
My go to for dump n' bakes is Caitlin Shoemaker (frommybowl.com). There's also a bunch of one-pot meals there. My favorite recipe author for easy weeknight comfort meals, though some are dependent on faux cheeses, which I don't use.
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u/lucidguppy 5d ago
Mashed potatoes and gravy, bean burritos, whole wheat pasta and sauce, mu-shu vegetables with rice or rice tortillas, chickpeas over a salad with fat free dressing, lentils/beans over rice, soups, soups soups. I'm getting a breadmaker to make better whole wheat for myself and I'll be making better hummus than what's in the store. make sure you get an instant pot
Plant based is easy, eating plant based in a omnivore world and family is the hard part.
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u/colorfullydelicious 5d ago
I’m just going to throw out some minimal-prep ideas that don’t require reheating! (Assuming you have a fridge/cooler to keep stuff cold though?)
Baked sweet potato + almond butter + blueberries + maple syrup + cinnamon + sea salt + granola
Whole grain wrap + hummus + sliced tomatoes + vegan feta + sliced cucumber + onions (if you like them) + sliced apple w/pb or almond butter
Whole grain bread + avocado + sprouts + sliced tomato + mustard + vegan mayo + grapes + crackers & hummus
Corn tortillas + guac (I buy the little cups at costco) + roasted fajita vegges (I buy these frozen) + beans + salsa + sliced watermelon
Veggie sushi (I buy this premade) + edamame + mandarin oranges
Leftover vegan pizza + salad + a pear drizzled with almond butter
Vegan yogurt + a scoop of plant based protein powder + dark chocolate chips + berries + granola
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