Lunches for the dawktor

[SoonerTexan]

We've covered kiddo lunches, but what do your husbands eat? We're clamping down on the budget and trying to avoid eating out...DH too. Depending on the rotation, it is sometimes hard to find time to heat up leftovers or even eat, so what are your quick and easy suggestions?

[Pollyanna]

Hmmm, Dh typically has coffee for lunch 70% of the time. Other than that he will eat if food is provided at a lunch conference or he will pack a protein bar or a peanut butter sandwich. During residency there really wasn't time to eat either, then he'd grab a yogurt or some peanut butter from the resident lounge. I can't imagine that he would ever bring something to heat up because it would just be more trouble than it's worth.

[corn poffi]

They have bagels at conferences, so he'll steal those. Otherwise, he'll grab a granola bar from home. Anything that can't be discreetly shoved into a pocket is a no-go. The residents get meal cards, so he usually eats hospital food. Although, on many rotations, there's no time to eat, so he's on the coffee diet.

ETA: if a resident would bring something to heat up, they'd be laughed out of the hospital. Some of the girls manage to smuggle a packed lunch (sandwich or salad) into their bags, but most of the guys are too lazy for that. Haha

[SoonerTexan]

I guess I need to buy more clif bars

[scrub-jay]

Exactly what everyone has said. It is totally dependent on the rotation, there is usually no time to heat something up and no place to stuff a bagged lunch if he did take one. DH gets a pass at the cafeteria or coffee stand, he doesn't go overboard and who knows, getting coffee on the go between patients with an attending/resident in the hospital helps them remember you if you end up interviewing there.

[Phoebe]

DH doesn't usually eat all day and comes home hypoglycemic and moody. Ugh. Sometimes he takes fruit, a power bar or eats a late breakfast in the cafeteria. He has to pay out-of-pocket though.

[moonlight]

I think when DH was a med student he always bought his lunch unless the hospital was providing a lunch at a meeting. It also seems like he would figure out the best and cheapest eats at all the different locations.

Its easier now because he is given money each month for meals on a lunch card that he can use at the hospital cafeteria. He is also attends all the lunch and morning conferences with good food. I know some programs have a better meal benefit than others. See if you can find out if he will get free meals if he stays there for training.

[ladymoreta]

I really don't remember what DH did for lunch when he was there, but I seem to remember him getting free Starbucks coffee. Now he usually just takes a protein bar to eat if it looks like he won't get a chance to grab something from the cafeteria.

[Thirteen]

Hospital provided food services to residents.
Drug rep lunches cover a lot in attendinghood.
Med school I think he did without, or packed non-perishables, stock piling them in his suburban/in his white coat pockets.


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[diggitydot]

Cliff bars, protein bars, etc. are always good to keep in their bags or pockets for those crazy days when they can't get to real food.

[ides]

Dh ate a lot of bars in residency. In fellowship he brought sandwiches made the night before wrapped in foil in his bag. He still isn't on a set schedule right now so sometimes he's home, there is a Dr lounge at work that is stocked with food & he brings bars in his bag.

[niener]

In med school, I think it was mostly nothing -- sometimes a bag of chips from the vending machine or a protein bar if he remembered to pack it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how he survived those 2 years... I wouldn't have.

Now he normally takes a lunch and sticks it in the little fridge in their lounge. The have a microwave in there too and it's rare that he can't find 10 minutes to heat something up and eat it (it may not be until 3:00 and he's probably checking labs on the computer while he's eating, but still). Most of the other residents bring their lunches too I think.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

DH (or often I) make 5 PB&J sandwiches on Sunday night. Those are frozen and pulled out the night before one by one. We also cut bags of veggies and portion them into bags on Sunday night so they are ready to go. Same goes for small portions of pita chips.

Each night he assembles, a PB&J, a veggie bag, a pita chip bag, a piece of whole fruit (apple or banana), dried fruit/trail mix (from TJs pre-packaged bags), clif bar, and a drink (usually a diet soda). He eats his sandwich by 9 or 10 AM and then eats the rest of the things during the day.

He almost never buys food. He eats what he brings or steals food from conferences/the floor (chocolate milk mostly) as he goes. We can't afford for him to be buying stuff and it's unhealthy cafeteria food anyway.

[SuzySunshine]

I don't remember what DH did in med school, probably ate in the cafeteria and I'm sure we paid for that. In residency he had a meal card but it was really only supposed to be used when you are there for non "normal" hours (yay, right!) but once it was gone for the year it was gone and you were SOL. I always knew when his was gone because his lunches would start showing up on our debit card around April. In fellowship he ate at a cafeteria and again we paid. Honestly I don't complain much about it because I'm thrilled when he has time to really eat. It sucked in trainging when we had to pay for it but we made it work.

Now the hospital takes it directly out of his check when he eats at the cafeteria but its still not often. He takes these "power bars" http://www.marathonbars.com/ by the box and keeps then in his desk or locker so that he can slip one in his white coat pocket. I've only been able to find them on amazon. Many many days a week he still comes home at 6:30 or later and says he hasn't had anything to eat since he grabbed a bagel or muffin for breakfast.

[SoonerTexan]

I made some wraps last night. Turkey, pesto, provolone, and spinach on one of those Flat out wraps. Those were pretty easy and portable. There are a lot of days he just doesn't eat, I'm mainly trying to avoid the days he has time and goes to Sonny Bryans! (damn you Sonny Bryans for your near campus location).