Why does nobody talk about how night shifts mess up your grocery shopping?

I've been doing nights for about 8 months now and I finally figured out why my fridge is always full of junk. Last week a cashier at the 24-hour Safeway near me said 'you always buy the same five things' and I realized I just grab whatever is easy after a 12 hour shift. So I started meal prepping on my days off, like actually cooking 3 different dinners and putting them in containers. Now I spend about $60 less a week and I'm not eating frozen pizza at 7 AM anymore. Has anyone else had to totally rework their routine around weird hours?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthews2115d ago

See that snack drawer thing you mentioned, that's the part I keep tripping over. How do you keep yourself from just eating all the nuts and bars in the first two hours of your shift? I always tell myself I'll ration things out, but by hour four my self control is completely gone and I'm staring at an empty container wondering where it all went. Do you lock them up or something?

lindamartin1mo ago

Meal prepping is honestly the only way to survive night shifts without your diet completely falling apart. I started doing the same thing about a year in and it was a game changer. Before that I was just grabbing whatever was quick like microwave burritos and sad salads from the gas station. Now I block out Sunday afternoons to cook big batches of rice, grilled chicken, and roasted veggies. I also keep a snack drawer at work with nuts and protein bars so I'm not tempted to hit the vending machine at 3 AM. Those little prep days save so much money and brain power when you're running on no sleep.

riverreed1mo ago

You know, I used to think meal prep was overhyped but you might have just talked me into giving it a shot.