Intern Year Survival Guide: Meal Prep
Despite the moments in the early seasons of Grey's Anatomy when the interns seem to have time to throw crazy parties and go on ridiculous dates outside the hospital, the truth about intern year as a surgical resident is that there are days when the only thing there's time for is work and sleep.
On those days, there's nothing that can replace the joy of coming home to a homemade meal instead of microwaving a burrito.
I am a big fan of the cook once and eat for days strategy. If you're going to bother to pull out all the pots and pans, why not make 12 meals instead of just 1?
I've found that there are a lot of secrets to a good meal prep session that will get you through a whole week (or two) of crazy shifts. The good news is that with some practice and only a couple hours you can put together enough food to last you days and days.
WHAT YOU NEED
The key to any good meal prep is having lots of containers that fit single serving sizes. If you have to take the meals to work, the containers should be well-sealed.
I always use glass containers because I think that plastic often stains or collects weird smells. ALSO if you use glass containers, when I come home and want to just pop a dinner in the oven, I don't have to get anymore dishes dirty, I just throw the whole thing in the oven and then eat right out of it. Fewer things to clean = more time to sleep!
My meal prep requirements for packing
>> Lots of mason jars (I like the wide mouthed pint jars for salads and fruit and I use the mini sized mason jars for dressing, hummus, granola, etc).
>> Good quality single, serving size glass containers -- I'm using pyrex snapware containers at home. No spillage, easy to clean, highly recommend.
>> Ziplock bags for single serving snacks
>> Additional tupperware for meals prepped in large quantities that can be eaten at home.
THE MENU
The first step to any successful meal prep is the menu.
This may take some trial and error on your part to find recipes that easily can be made in advance. You'll find things you like that keep well and are easy to portion.
Some of my favorites
>> Quinoa salads -- excellent lunches, just toss quinoa with your favorite veggies and protein (my favorites: chickpeas, tofu, lentils) and make a bunch of dressing (or use store bought dressing) to package on the side
>> Pasta dishes -- lasagnas can be made in rolls, packaged individually and baked day of eating, meat or veggie pasta sauces can be made and pasta boiled separately and reheated day of
>> Tacos -- make all the taco filling and just reheat and toss in some taco shells the day of dinner
>> Premade salads -- just put the dressing on the side
>>Things cooked in sauce -- this is a really broad category I use for when you cook any protein in a sauce that you can reheat and toss on veggies or rice (like chickpeas cooked in curry sauce you toss on reheated rice!)
I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START
If you have no idea where to start on meal prep, try just making these things
> 1 or 2 grains premade (precook your quinoa and boil some pasta ahead of time)
> A big batch of sauteed or roasted vegetables (as a side for your main dish or tossed into a salad). Just pick whatever you like or is in season!
> Prepped proteins (bake your tofu, roast your chickpeas, boil your black beans, bake your chicken, etc).
> Chopped up fruit (perfect side dish for breakfasts)
> Fresh veggies cut in bags for snacks
> Small packages of nuts/dried fruit for snacks (alternately use granola bars, or your other favorite high protein snack)
WAIT... BUT HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE
Generally, I spend about 2-3 hours on a day off doing meal prep to get meals for a whole week (some of this time includes cleaning and baking so it's more downtime). I also use my meal prep time as my time to watch Netflix, make phone calls, or listen to podcasts. It's a relaxing part of my weekend (but I like cooking...).
I've been doing meal prep for some time so I have it down to a science, don't be surprised if the first time you do it takes you a little longer. You'll learn how to do multitasking that will make it end up going much quicker!
HOW DO I MAKE IT GO FASTER
Easy, do things that need to take the longest time first!
I toss the rice into my rice cooker first thing so it's cooking while I do other things. I work on the dish that needs an hour to bake first so it goes right in the oven.
If you're pressed for time, use short cuts!! If I know I'm really going to only have an hour or two to do meal prep, I buy precooked frozen quinoa from trader joes or will spend a little extra money to buy presliced veggies to save myself a couple extra minutes.
BUT... IS IT EXPENSIVE?
Up front, your grocery bill may seem a bit steep... but remember that if you don't end up picking up take out you save a bunch of money!
OKAY, I'M ON BOARD, BUT I NEED AN EXAMPLE
Right now, since Sweetheart isn't here, I'm just cooking for one person. That means I only cook about 3 meals a week and eat those three things for lunch and dinner and then have breakfasts.
Lunch and dinner (2 meals per day x 7 days a week = 14 meals = 3 meals with 4-5 servings per meal).
Simple?
So here's what I made last week as an example:
Disclaimer before I start -- I don't follow any specific diet plan/count calories/etc -- I just eat what makes me feel good. I use a lot of plant based protein sources with very little meat/dairy. It's just what I find to be easy, cheap, and stores well!
Breakfasts:
1) Homemade chia pudding with cooked fruit
--For the chia pudding: Mix 1 can of coconut milk with chia seeds and chill until thickened (total prep time 2 minutes)
--For the cooked fruit: open bags of frozen raspberries, strawberries, and cherries and cook with a small amount of water until a thin, jam type substance forms (total prep time 2 minutes, total cook time 30 minutes)
2) Coconut milk yogurts with fruit and granola: Package individual servings of granola and fruit (total prep time 5-10 minutes depending on whether or not your fruit requires cutting)
Lunches:
1) Quinoa salad: Cook quinoa, mix with a can of precooked lentils, chop scallions, zucchini, herbs, and dried cherries. Mix up homemade balsamic dressing. (total prep time 15 minutes, total cook time 45 minutes) -- start your quinoa at the beginning of the cook prep
2) Leftovers from dinners
Dinners:
1) Raw veggie panzanella: Slice up bread into cubes, toast with olive oil and salt, dice up fresh cherry tomatoes, corn, and cucumber. Roast chickpeas. (total prep time 20 minutes, total cook time 30 minutes). Add fresh mozarella balls if desired. Use the same dressing you used for the quinoa salad.
2) Veggie and black bean enchiladas: Saute up remainder of random vegetables in your fridge (zucchini, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc) and mix with canned black beans. Layer between corn tortillas with enchillada sauce and bake in large pan or layer or in individual dishes. (total prep time 30 minutes, total cook time 1 hour) -- make this first so it can bake while you make the rest of the meals
Snacks:
1) Packs of nuts
2) Bags with fresh snap peas
With some quick planning, you see how all this could be mixed up in a couple hours and baked off while packaging other meals or doing dishes.
WHAT ARE THE SECRETS?
1) Having a good plan before you go shopping -- figure out what you might need so you don't have to make 18 trips to the store
2) Reuse -- once I know I'm going to make a quick dressing for one meal, I'll plan two meals that can use the same salad dressing
3) Plan a couple of meals that can use precooked ingredients for speed (like yogurts for lunch or using a premade pasta sauce to go with the roasted veggie pasta).
4) Start the things that take the longest first -- the worst thing is to get to the end of your meal prep and realize that you haven't put in the dish that takes an hour to cook. Do those things first.
5) Practice. The first time you do a meal prep it will take you a little longer than you'd like. Don't give up, you'll get faster and faster every time you do this and the delayed gratification of having a meal to come home to every night is amazing!!
MASTER LEVEL PREP
If I have some extra time here are some fun things I like to add to my meal prep
1) Homemade iced tea packaged in single serving bottles to make my lunch more exciting
2) Something special for breakfast -- muffins/breakfast burritos/etc
3) Prep a special dessert for yourself -- add a batch of brownies or cookies to your prep
4) Do a "half-prep" -- prep all the ingredients for a sandwich and spend the additional 2 minutes in the morning to put it all together before you go to work. This can make your meals a little more exciting if you can't make something because it would get ruined by siting premade for 5-7 days.
Despite the work of doing all the cooking up front, I save so much time the rest of the week by just being able to grab my meals and walk out the door every day or toss something in the oven to reheat while I workout or take a quick shower after I get ready.
This meal prep can easily be adapted for more than one person. It might involve some extra time to make more than one meal or the same amount of time if you just make your meals in a larger batch. OR you can always include the other people eating your meals in the prep and make it go faster!!
Intern year is ridiculously hard, make it easier on yourself by having ready made meals for those nights when you're too tired to cook!
Happy eating!
