Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Posted on January 1, 2011 by marylbrandt

I had already decided that I would propose a “resolution” every month this year for myself and anyone who follows this blog when I came across Cooking Light’s 12 healthy habits. Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines, so I’m going to take their idea and run with it!

It just makes sense to spend 30 days working on a single habit to change, rather than creating a long list of resolutions without an endpoint. If this idea works for you, take these habits (one at a time) and work on them for a month.

Here is January’s healthy habit:

Add at least 3 servings of vegetables and fruit to your daily diet

Here’s some suggestions for how to accomplish this goal. These are some of my ideas and other ideas compiled from suggestions on thedietchannel.com, nutrition.about.com, cancer.org, and health.harvard.edu

Take fresh fruit or veggies with you to work to eat as a morning and afternoon snack. The best fruit for your pocket are apples, clementines carrot and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes (in a Ziplock bag), and grapes (in a Ziplock bag).
Cut-up celery, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, etc and keep them front and center in your refrigerator for snacking. If you don’t like them plain, dip them in hummus or ranch dressing. They’ll be fresher if you do this yourself, but if you need to, buy them already cut up in the grocery store.
Add fruit like berries, a banana or a cut up peach to your cereal in the morning.
When you shop, buy the ingredients to make a mirepoix, chop them up and store them in the refrigerator. A classic mirepoix is carrots, celery and onion. The Cajun “trinity” is a variation – celery, onion and bell pepper. Pick anything that can be cooked (mushrooms, bell peppers, are a good addition), and chop them up when you get home. Grab a handful for stir-fries, salads, omelettes or soup.
Steaming vegetables is really easy and very fast. If you don’t have fresh vegetables (or don’t want to take the time to steam them), make sure you keep steam and serve frozen vegetables in your freezer as an easy way to add vegetables to your meals at home.
Keep frozen fruit in your freezer to throw in a blender with yogurt or milk to make smoothies.
Dried fruit is a good occasional substitute for fresh fruit, but beware – it’s very caloric!
If you are making a sandwich to take to work, pile on veggies – spinach, shredded carrots, cucumbers etc. Use avocado instead of mayonnaise.
Fruit or vegetable juice is not a great substitute, but will do in a pinch. Most fruit juices are high in calories. It’s always better to eat the fruit if you can so you get the fiber and other nutrients, but if there are no other options, juice is better than nothing!
Applesauce and canned fruit (in water) can be bought in single serving portions, or you can share larger portions!
If you are buying food for lunch in a cafeteria or fast food restaurant, look for vegetable soup or a salad bar than lets you pile on the veggies.
Sweet potatoes can be microwaved in 10-12 minutes and make a great meal when paired with a salad or some frozen veggies.
Choose desserts that are fruit based – and have as much fruit as possible. Chocolate dipped strawberries or a berry cobbler are better than cheesecake!

Clean Eating

Posted on December 30, 2010 by marylbrandt

If you want to lose weight, or just to eat “better” you might want to consider looking into the concept of “clean eating”.

Although eating clean works to lose weight, it’s not really a “diet” in the usual sense of the word. Clean eating is a lifestyle and way of eating that is medically very sound. It’s getting rid of the junk food, eating often enough to maintain your energy and “shopping the periphery” of the grocery store. (Think about it – the food being sold on the periphery of the grocery store is mostly non-processed.)

Everyone has had the (horrible) experience during a call day of not eating anything all day, having a big meal in the evening (often McDonald’s or an equivalent) and then being brain-dead from lethargy for 2-3 hours. In addition to helping you control your weight (and preventing weight gain during medical school and residency), “eating clean” will prevent the on-call lethargy you get from eating junk food and can give you sustained energy during long work days.

In a nutshell, here are the “rules” for eating clean (Revised from lists published on ehow.com and cleaneatingonline.com)

How to Eat Clean

1. Eat 5-6 small meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 snacks – and don’t skip meals! This means taking a cooler with you to work and/or having choices like meal replacement bars in your pocket. It’s important to eat every 3-4 hours to keep your insulin levels (and energy levels) from waxing and waning too much. It’s really important to never skip breakfast!

2. Eat a serving of complex carbohydrates at every meal (about the size of your fist). Grains should be unprocessed as much as possible (more fiber = more satiety) like brown rice or quinoa .

3. Minimize or (preferably) completely eliminate processed food, soft drinks and alcohol.

4. Eat fruits and/or vegetables at every meal.

5. Eat a serving (about the size of your palm) of lean meat, chicken or fish at (almost) every meal. Vegetarian options are fine, too (beans, tofu, etc).

6. Read labels. Try to avoid foods with white flour, sugar and sugar substitutes, saturated fats and trans-fats.

7. Take good snacks (like premeasured servings of nuts) with you to work so you don’t get tempted by vending machines and breakroom junk food.

8. Don’t beat yourself up if you cheat – in fact, you’ll probably need to have a cheat day (on purpose) every once in a while. But recognize it’s a cheat day and not a permanent change from your new way of eating.

9. Keep things interesting by checking out recipes and cooking for yourself. You can subscribe to Clean Eating Magazine or at least pick up an issue to check it out. The Diet Rebels Cookbook: Eating Clean and Green, Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You and Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Cookbook: Delicious Recipes That Will Burn Fat and Re-Shape Your Body! are cookbooks with good recipes for clean eating. Here’s some websites with recipes, too: cleaneatingonline, eatcleandiet, cleaneatingmag

Farmer’s Markets

Posted on October 9, 2010 by marylbrandt

I just got back from the farmer’s market and decided to add to my previous thoughts about buying your food locally.

Houston is a little bizarre when it comes to produce. Our growing season has a real lull in the summer when it gets so hot. As the weather cools in October, the plants perk up again and we start seeing great produce reappear.

I’ve become convinced that food bought from local farmers usually has less contaminants, more nutrients and just tastes better. It’s also clear that you are doing a good deed for the environment if you buy food that doesn’t have to be shipped to you. But there is another intangible benefit of shopping at the farmer’s market for people who spend their days in intense work – it’s a social event that is very grounding (no pun intended). It’s outside, it’s beautiful and – at least in Houston – there is good music, good coffee and a crowd of smiling people.

Take care of yourself by buying food that’s good for you. If you are trying to follow Michael Pollan’s advice on how to eat well (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” ) you can’t do better than buying your food at the farmer’s market.

Recipes for Medical Students and Residents

Posted on August 12, 2010 by marylbrandt

I love when I find new websites that provide great “pizza rule” recipes (recipes that take less time to prepare than it takes to order a pizza). I just discovered Keep Your Diet Real, a site run by Corrine E. Fischer, MS, RD, LDN. She’s not only a dietician, but she’s a professional food photographer, so the site is beautiful. Her recipes are healthy, straight-forward and are great for the busy life of docs, medical students and residents.

Ten Healthy Breakfasts in Ten Minutes or Less Spring Roll Soup Wheatberry and Edamame Salad

Recipes for Medical Students and Residents

Posted on July 28, 2010 by marylbrandt

In keeping with the “pizza rule” (everything we cook needs to take less time than it takes to order a pizza) and the hot weather…. Here’s some new recipes from a site I just discovered www.danispies.com.

Some of you don’t cook or, put more positively, are learning how to cook. Dani Spies not only has fabulous, healthy and easy recipes but has also posted “Cooking 101” videos like this one called Egg 101. These are a great resource if you are trying to learn the basics.

Here’s three recipes that meet the “pizza rule” and will make great dinners or on call lunches.

Chunky Greek Salad Topped with Sardines

Clean and Simple Asparagus Pasta

So, so Simple Shrimp Tacos

Salads

Posted on July 13, 2010 by marylbrandt

For medical students in basic sciences, a salad can be a great “energy” lunch that lets you stay alert in class. For students on rotations and residents, a fresh salad is a great lunch and an even better middle of the night meal when you are on call.

The concept couldn’t be easier – put lettuce, spinach, or the greens of your choice in a big container. Top with protein, cheese, veggies, nuts and/or fruit. If you don’t care what it looks like, it’s also really easy to dump it all in a big zip-lock bag. When it’s time to eat, pour the salad dressing in the bag with the salad, shake, and then serve yourself from the bag.

Protein: Beans from a can, beans you make yourself with a crockpot or pressure cooker (which saves money and avoid excess salt and additives), canned tuna, cooked chicken from the deli, prepackaged meats (look at the labels to make sure you aren’t getting a lot of additives you don’t want), shrimp, etc.

Cheese: Shredded cheddar, Monterey jack or Mexican cheese (reduced fat or regular), feta, goat cheese, thin slices of parmesan

Veggies: Any leftover in your refrigerator! Another good idea for this is to buy what you need for a mirepoix when you do your once a week shopping. A mirepoix is the basis of French cooking and is one part onions, one part carrots, and one part celery. The Cajun trinity is similar but substitutes green bell pepper for the carrots. If you buy the ingredients for a mirepox (or trinity) and chop it up on the weekend, you can use handfuls in salads, omelets, soups, etc all week. (You can add other things, too, like mushrooms, red bell pepper, etc – anything that can be eaten raw). If its a really busy week and you don’t have time to chop up vegetables, you can used canned green beans, corn, beets… whatever vegetables you like.

Nuts and/or fruits: Adding some dried fruits and nuts, sunflower seeds, etc, will add some extra nutrition. Fresh fruits like blueberries, strawberries, sliced peaches are delicious in salads. Canned fruits, especially mandarin oranges, are good, too.

Salad dressing. Don’t put the dressing on the salad until you are ready to eat. (The French say it “cooks” the salad… but the result in any language is soggy salad.) My favorite dressing is a homemade vinaigrette. Start with vinegar (red wine, white wine, sherry or balsalmic), a clove of diced (not crushed) garlic, a healthy teaspoon of good Dijon style mustard, salt and pepper. Stir these all together until the salt is dissolved and the mustard is blended with the vinegar. Add olive oil while you are stirring (or shake it up at the end.) The classic ratio is 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil, but you can add less oil to taste. I usually squeeze a little lemon juice in, too.

The easiest thing by far is bottled salad dressings. Be careful about calories (if you are watching your weight). If you take salads to work regularly, you may want to leave the bottle there (unless the food snatchers raid your refrigerator on a regular basis).

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Salad/Green-Salads/Top.aspx

http://hubpages.com/hub/Favorite-Salad-Toppings-Lessons-From-Restaurant-Salad-Bars

http://www.fitsugar.com/Nutritional-Information-Salad-Toppings-7598444

Recipes for Medical Students and Residents: Salsa for Beginners

Posted on June 28, 2010 by marylbrandt

I made a great dinner last night that took about 5 minutes to cook – absolutely within the “pizza rule” for medical students and residents (i.e. a recipe should take less time to cook than it takes to order a pizza). It’s the kind of recipe I wish I’d had when I was a student/resident, so I thought I’d share it. I know that many of you are not from Texas (or another state with a tradition that includes salsas), so here’s the basic concept.

1. Buy tortillas (I like corn the best, but flour or whole wheat flour tortillas are fine).

2. Choose a protein. I prefer fish or shrimp (because they are so fast) but any meat will work. An even easier alternative is to buy a roasted chicken (or cooked beef or pork). You can also use beans or tofu if you are vegetarian.

3. Make a fresh salsa (see below)

When it’s time to eat: Cook or heat up the meat (or alternate protein), heat up the tortillas (1 minute in the microwave). Put the meat (or alternate protein) into the tortillas and top with the salsa. These soft tacos can make a compete meal, but serve a side of vegetables if you want … it’s a great dinner (and lunch the next day at work).

Salsas are best when you make them yourself. You can buy good salsa in a jar but it’s never as good (or as healthy) as the ones you make. Leftover fresh salsa can be used as a dip for tortilla chips – as is (diced) or blended.

The salsa I made last night was easy: 1 mango, 1 green tomato, red onion, cilantro, a jalapeno pepper – all diced fine and then mixed with lime juice and seasoned with salt and pepper. All traditional fresh salsas are a variation on this same theme – tomato with or without fruit, cilantro, onion and peppers to taste. On of the best examples is “Pico de gallo” (shown below), which is one of the most classic salsas – red tomato, onion, cilantro and jalepeno with lime juice and salt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_de_gallo

You can be creative! Mix and match from this list or check out some of the recipe links below

Vegetables: tomato, tomatillo,bell peppers, corn, cucumber
Fruit: melon, watermelon, peach, pear, mango, nectarine, avocado
Onion: white onion, yellow onion, green onions, garlic
Chiles: jalepeno, serrano, chipotle
Spices: oregano, parsley, cilantro

Links to salsa recipes:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Appetizers-and-Snacks/Dips-and-Spreads/Salsa/Top.aspx

http://www.salsa-recipes.com/index.html

http://www.fresh-salsa-recipe.com/

Farmer’s Markets

Posted on May 22, 2010 by marylbrandt

I just got back from my weekly (when I’m not on call) trip to the farmer’s market. I’m going to try to convince you why buying food at a farmer’s market should be a regular habit for any medical student or resident (although I think it applies to everyone else, too).

What the heck is a farmer’s market?

In general, farmer’s markets are open air markets where local farmers bring their food to sell. They usually take place once a week (often on Saturdays). If you want to know more about farmer’s markets, check out the website of Urban Harvest, which is responsible for the market I go to in Houston.

How do I find out where they are?

The best way is to search the internet for your city. Local harvest is a web site that covers most farmer’s markets, but there may be smaller (and possibly more convenient) markets in your city that aren’t listed here: http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/

If it doesn’t look like there is a farmer’s market near you, another option is to buy a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). If you buy into a CSA you will pick up a fairly large quantity (usually a good sized box) of whatever is being grown at the time – usually once a week. If you can find a group of friends to split this with, its a great option http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

What should I do to look cool if I’ve never been to a farmer’s market before?

Bring your own bags. This isn’t an absolute requirement, but it’s much cooler than relying on the vendors. They often have small paper or plastic bags, but it will be easier if you bring your own. In the big picture, you should do this no matter where you shop (good environmental karma!). Fortunately, the “give away” bags at medical meetings are perfect for this! A lot of grocery stores sell reusable shopping bags or you can find them on the internet.

Bring cash. Some vendors may take credit cards but don’t count on it.

Does it cost more?

Yes (but not a lot more). But don’t let that stop you! Value isn’t always measured by money – even if you are poor student or resident. It’s not going to be a lot more and it’s completely worth it. (see below)

If it costs more and it takes more time, why should I bother?

The food absolutely and unequivocally tastes better. The first time I bought potatoes at a farmer’s market was a revelation for me. I knew that tomatoes and peaches would be better, but I had no idea that a potato would be in the same category. The produce you buy at a farmer’s market was in the ground (usually) less than 24 hours ago. It is incredible how much better it tastes!

The food is probably better for you. Most farmer’s markets sell organic or near organic food. There’s good data that organic plants are higher in many nutrients and it’s intuitively obvious that avoiding pesticide residues on your food should be beneficial.

You’ll eat with the seasons. There are no data that this is better for you, but it really makes sense. If nothing else, it will taste better and you’ll be helping the environment by not eating things that traveled thousands of miles to get to you.

You’ll get to know the people growing your food. This sounds trivial, but it’s really cool. You can ask them about how they grow the food, and you’ll hear stories about what’s happening on their farms. One of my favorite vendors, Blue Heron Farm, pictures brings pictures (usually baby goats) which she also shares on Twitter and Facebook. There is also something intangible (but cool) in knowing that someone (not just a big corporation) cares enough to grow your food.

The farmer’s market is a once a week “sanity break”. You are outside, surrounded by beautiful food and happy people. At the market I usually go to, there is always some live music, too. It’s a great experience and, combined with the fact that you are doing something healthy for yourself, it’s a once a week mood changer!

Cooking for Yourself in Medical School and Residency

Posted on April 6, 2010 by marylbrandt

Most medical students and residents eat poorly. It’s not really a surprise – the days are packed with work from sun-up to sun-down. There are no planned meals because there can’t be. Food is a quick bite when it is available. It’s feast or famine. On the far end of the scale, the stereotypical diet of a resident is no breakfast (but usually coffee), a doughnut and coffee grabbed on the run once you get to work, some mid-day meal of fast food, and pizza on call. Food, particularly fast food, becomes solace. In the stressful world of residency, this kind of “comfort food” becomes a “reward” for the hard work and tribulations. It’s not rocket science. This kind of diet doesn’t give you the energy you need to function at your peak. It is also a diet that is very likely to lead to weight gain. In your 20s, your body can cope with this suboptimal fuel, but it’s not ideal. However, what “works” in your 20s won’t work as you get older and could even be responsible for a heart attack, diabetes, or other medical problems in your 40s and 50s. On a more philosophical level, you would never advise this kind of diet to one of your patients. None of us want to be hypocrites.

The answer is to cook for yourself. Not everyone likes to cook, and not every one knows how. I’m going to make a case that you should learn. Trust me – if you can learn to take out an appendix, or diagnose a pneumonia, you can learn to cook. I’m going to assume that you are single for the sake of this description. But, if you have a significant other, it’s even more important to cook at home. He or she can participate in helping with the meal preparation, and, by doing this together and for each other, there is added benefit for your relationship. Having dinner at home with a significant other will become an “anchor” to your day that will become very important to you. As hard as it is to work around a busy schedule, if you can eat together, and have a real conversation, you will both benefit greatly.

Cooking is a wonderful therapy for the stress of medical school and residency. If you’ve never learned how to cook, this is a hard time to learn complicated techniques, but it’s not hard to learn simple techniques. There are several advantages of cooking for yourself that outweigh (on most days) the hassle of spending the time. The act of cooking for yourself can be a time of “decompressing” from work. Arranging vegetables, cutting them, smelling the odor of the food appeals to all your senses and is a moment in the day that you can intentionally slow down. It’s very important that the recipes you choose are simple and quickly prepared. No one wants to come home to a 2 hour task in the kitchen after a hard day. Cooking for yourself has other benefits as well. First, it is tangible evidence that you are taking care of yourself. This is not a trivial point. There are days during your training when it seems no one is taking care of you. Having concrete evidence that you are caring for yourself is an antidote to that feeling. Secondly, you will eat better. By cooking from fresh ingredients, you will decrease the amount of pre-packaged and fast food. Even without medical school, you know that this will result in better nutrition. Thirdly, you will eat cheaper. Other than the “free” pizza (ethically debatable, but financially clear), processed food is usually more expensive. And lastly, you can share. It isn’t any more work to make 4 or 6 portions of a dish than it is to make 2, and it usually isn’t that much more expensive, either. If you can convince one of your colleagues that this is a good idea, you can cook for each other on alternate days. Likewise, you can cook larger amounts and, using freezer ready containers, freeze portions for yourself for the future. Doesn’t homemade pasta with a side of fresh vegetables really sound better than the greasy middle of the night food that is available in most hospitals? It’s true that you can’t cook just anything with the kind of schedule you will have in medical school and your residency. But, there are few key rules that will make it possible for you to do this, enjoy it, and eat well.

Rule 1: Don’t cook anything that takes more than 30 minutes to prepare.

Let’s be realistic – you are not going to walk into your home at 8 o’clock at night, hungry, and spend an hour preparing something. But – there are very nutritious dinners that take less than 10 minutes, so getting home late is no excuse.

Rule 2: Plan ahead.

The first step in preparing dinner for most busy people is to open the refrigerator door and ask “What can I eat tonight?: If you are anything like I was in residency, the refrigerator had some cheese, some vegetables (often way past their prime), and maybe some leftovers. Not very appetizing. There is an easy way to prevent this from happening. On whatever day you have off and have time to shop, spend 30 minutes making a menu. Start by making a table for the week with what is happening.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Comments
Sun
Mon					On call – take Tues meals, too
Tues
Wed				Out	Out with friends after rounds
Thur
Fri					On call
Sat

Once you have an outline of your week, fill in the blanks with the meals. Now, most of us can handle “hamburgers” or “Raisin Bran” as a menu item… but it’s more fun, and healthier to branch out a bit. So, if you are not used to looking for new things to cook, how do you find recipes? Cookbooks can be fun, particularly if you are looking for a particular ethnic food or a style (e.g. low-fat) of cooking. If you like cookbooks, and bookstores, find the used book store nearest you and go to town! There are also web sites for recipes. Many of them also have “cooking lessons” on line. Most cooking shows have a web based recipe site as well. So, say you start by searching the web and find this recipe. (for this particular recipe, I’m assuming you have no concerns about calories) It looks easy, and like it would taste good. So you print it out.

NEW ORLEANS PASTA

ESSENCE OF EMERIL (FOODTV) SHOW #EE123 – http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/pasta/11/rec1100.html

1 tablespoon olive oil

16 ounces chicken breast half, cut into strips (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup chopped chorizo sausage

2 tablespoons chopped green onions, plus extra for garnish

1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic

Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked al dente and tossed in oil to coat

Creole spice, salt and pepper

In a large saute pan heat oil, add chicken and sausage and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add green onions, garlic, 2 dashes each Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce or to taste, and cook for 1 minute. Add cream, cheese, shrimp and pasta. Cook, tossing, to heat through. Adjust seasoning to taste with Creole spice, salt and pepper. Serve garnished with green onions.

Yield: 2 servings

Now what? First, cut and paste the ingredient list to a shopping list. If you are compulsive, you can organize it into meat, dairy, produce, etc (it makes shopping easier, but it’s not essential). You’ll need to add a vegetable or salad to balance this out nutritionally. (I picked broccoli as an example) If you can afford the calories, add a desert. (Ice cream in this case) Then decide what night in your schedule this will work best. This recipe will take about 12 minutes total so it would be great for a night you are getting home late. You can either share the other portion with your significant other or you can take it with you the next day as lunch. You can double the recipe and have it more than one night. For example:

	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Comments
Sun
Mon					On call – take Tues meals, too
Tues
Wed				Out	Out with friends after roundsThaw shrimp for tomorrow
Thur				NEW ORLEANS PASTA (CHICKEN, CHORIZO)Steamed broccoliIce Cream	Freeze one portion for later
Fri				NEW ORLEANS PASTA (CHICKEN, CHORIZO)Steamed broccoli	On call
Sat		NEW NEW ORLEANS PASTA (CHICKEN, CHORIZO)Steamed broccoli

Shopping list:

2 lbs chicken breast (16 oz x 2)

1/2 cup chopped chorizo sausage

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

heavy cream (need 1 1/5 cup)

Parmesan cheese (need 1/2 cup grated)

Olive oil

Creole spice

green onions

garlic

broccoli (4 portions to steam)

One pound penne pasta

Ice cream

Rule 3: Cook (or prep) today today to eat tomorrow

As soon as you get home from the grocery store:

Freeze any meat that is for later in the week (and make a note to yourself to put in into the refrigerator to thaw a day or two before you are going to use it.)
Wash the vegetables, dry them and put them away
Wash lettuce for salads and dry completely (a spin dryer is the best). Store in a zip lock plastic bag with a paper towel in the bag (which absorbs any residual water). Make sure you squeeze out all the air you can before closing the bag.

Take advantage of days off to cook things that may take a little more time or effort. While you are watch the football game on Sunday, you can cook chili in a crock pot for Wednesday. If you know that your vegetable stir fry on Tuesday is going to be after a long day, go ahead and chop all the vegetables and meat a day or two before when you have the time and have them stored in the refrigerator. When Tuesday rolls around (and you are exhausted from work), you’ll have all the ingredients chopped and ready to throw in the pan.

Energy for Call

Posted on April 3, 2010 by marylbrandt

Food is fuel. It’s also solice if you are stressed, and face it – it’s fun to eat. Other professions that deal with stress and physical labor have learned the lesson about not paying attention to nutrition. The culture of medicine demands a “selflessness” that borders on the absurd. It is often a badge of honor that you can go all day without eating. But, when you consider the consequences of such behavior, it is really crazy. There is no benefit to the patients, and clear harm to the doctor.

Eat often and eat well

When you are physically and intellectually busy (an average day on call in the hospital) you need to plan to eat every 3-4 hours. In general, you will have one “meal” (i.e lunch) in the middle of the day and two snacks. It’s not always going to possible to stop for lunch at lunchtime, but you should be able to find 10 minutes at some point in between 11 and 4 to eat a meal. Different rotations have different demands, and you can certainly take this into account when planning your meals. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat requires no preparation, and no refrigeration (it can even go in the pocket of your white coat). Alternatively, buy a loaf of whole wheat bread every week, and put the bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly in your locker. It takes 2 minutes to make a sandwich to put into your pocket on the way to a conference or a brief break. Bring leftovers from the previous night’s dinner to reheat and have for lunch. You need to plan to include fruits and vegetables as part of every meal and your snacks. Buy a bag of apples once a week and put them in your locker.. and then make sure you eat the entire bag every week. The snacks don’t need to be elaborate, but you do need to watch the clock and eat them – even if you are not hungry!

Examples of easy snacks for the hospital