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Nutrition advice and snack ideas to help sustain you at work – even when you’re a long way from a kitchen
Managing to eat healthily during busy shifts can be difficult for overstretched nurses. This can mean heading to the vending machine or the sweet treats given by patients to get a quick energy fix.
Nursing Standard. 39, 6, 26-27. doi: 10.7748/ns.39.6.26.s10
Published: 05 June 2024
Dietitian Duane Mellor, senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, offers advice on how nurses can create a good-value, healthy meal plan for their working week, using limited equipment.
» Roast a mix of vegetables with some olive oil and herbs and add to couscous or bulgar wheat for a tasty salad, with some halloumi for protein
» Put leftover pasta bake into a lunchbox with some extra vegetables, cooked chicken and a dressing of pesto with extra olive oil
» Make a quick soup by simmering together red lentils, tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, mixed herbs and a stock cube. Take to work in a flask
» Leave oats to soak in milk or apple juice in a glass jar or small plastic tub for a few hours or overnight. Add fruit, yoghurt or nuts for a balanced breakfast
Source: Duane Mellor, dietitian and senior teaching fellow
Dr Mellor recommends porridge for breakfast or a mid-shift meal when hunger strikes.
‘Porridge can be made quickly in a microwave, is cheap and keeps you full,’ he says. ‘It is packed with slow-release energy to keep you going on a long shift, and you can add different dried and fresh fruit, nuts, seeds and spices like cinnamon for variety and extra vitamins and fibre. It is an easy option on night shift, when it can be hard to know what you want to eat.’
If there is only a kettle available, then instant oats, where hot water is added, are also not a bad option. While not as sustaining as traditional porridge because the energy is released more quickly, it is better than most other quick snacks, says Dr Mellor.
Reserving an extra portion of yesterday’s meal is a quick and cost-effective lunch or dinner. Cold pasta, even if it is reheated, releases its energy more slowly than when first cooked, making it a good option, says Dr Mellor.
‘Add some salad or other vegetables to the box too. Saving a portion also makes you less likely to overeat at the original meal.’
Investing in this simple piece of kit can transform meals, especially for community nurses out on the road who may not have access to a fridge or kettle.
Dr Mellor recommends making simple lentil soups, adding vegetables such as onions and tinned tomatoes, for good value meals packed with slow-burning energy, vitamins and minerals.
‘For hot spells, try cold vegetable soups, like gazpacho, made mainly from tomatoes, or a flask of tomato juice boosted with Worcestershire sauce, herbs and spices,’ he says. ‘These are refreshing, provide hydration as they have a high water content, and contain vitamins.’
He also recommends investing in multiuse portable cutlery, as nurses can struggle to find so much as a teaspoon in a communal kitchen, and keeping some jars of dried chillies, ginger or cinnamon in lockers or work bags, to pep up meals.
Investing in a wide-necked flask can transform meals for community nurses out on the road
Picture credit: iStock
Respiratory nurse Molly Stevens packs a picnic bag filled with meals and snacks for long shifts at the hospital where she works in Yorkshire.
Ms Stevens, who also works as a personal trainer, takes in sustaining meals based on slow-releasing carbohydrates such as oats, brown rice and leftover pasta. She shares her food diaries as videos on TikTok.
‘I take oats for porridge or overnight oats for breakfast, and find Greek yogurt and fruit in a box a good snack. Chopped carrots, peppers and cucumber, with hummus, or a vegetable soup can be a helpful way to get in lots of vegetables.’
For meals she sometimes saves a portion from the evening before, or packs a tin of tuna or mackerel for protein and healthy fats.
‘I like to get in a good amount of protein, and tinned fish is a good way to do that, or I take some cottage cheese, home-made egg mayo and rice cakes. I also take in a smoothie made with fruit.’
More choice on long shifts
The canteen is not always open, and taking her own food gives Ms Stevens more choice and control over what she has, and stops her heading for the vending machine.
‘With a night shift I definitely find I eat more, as you are up such a long time,’ she says.
‘I take lots of snacks and small meals as I don’t always want a big meal in the early hours of the morning, but I need something to keep going.’
She also packages up treats, like fizzy sweets or some dark chocolate. ‘Sometimes you want a sweet hit, and by weighing it before a shift, I don’t have too much,’she says.
Source: Molly Stevens on TikTok
Irregular eating patterns have been linked to a higher risk of excess fat around the middle and impaired glucose tolerance (when blood glucose level is too high), according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA). Missing meals, eating quickly and distracted eating or grazing can lead to overeating.
‘Avoid skipping meals and spread food intake more evenly throughout the waking period with a mix of light or heavy meals, snacks and drinks,’ the BDA advises.
Dehydration affects concentration and triggers fatigue, so maintaining your fluid intake during long shifts is essential, the RCN says.
A study of hydration levels of clinical staff at an NHS hospital found that 45% of participants were dehydrated at the end of their shift, and their cognition was significantly impaired.
Being active on a busy shift, and the warm temperatures often found in clinical settings, can increase the need for hydration. So drink plenty of liquid, preferably water, throughout a shift.
Nursing Standard podcast: practical advice on eating more healthily at work rcni.com/healthy-workplace-eating
