How a Busy Physician Meal Plans Before A Week on Call

I was on call the last week and will be on next weekend, plus the following weekend and away for 4 days for a conference. It will be a tough stretch where there are many variables to account for. One thing to make things easier for me and my family is meal planning. This might sound strange to some people, but I really enjoy meal planning. Delicious nourishing food is a priority for our family and cooking is one way I like to unwind. For me, it is stress-relieving and gives me a sense of control. One less thing to worry about during the hectic week ahead.

We had just returned from vacation, so this batch of meals required a bit more planning. Entering a week of being on call affords me a lot less flexibility to food shop and cook during the week. If I don’t plan, my stress will increase exponentially. While there are weeks we definitely order food delivery, this year our goal is to cook most of our meals both to save money and to have a bit more control over our nutrition.

The challenge of using what is in our pantry and freezer provides a satisfying buzz similar to solving a brain teaser. I loathe food waste and love the creativity of dreaming up new meals. My mission for the Sunday we returned was to do a thorough inventory of our pantry, fridge and freezer, followed by a grocery list and then, let the planning begin!

How I Plan

The way I plan is in broad strokes, ensuring I have the raw ingredients for some of our go-to meals. I don’t freeze meals ahead of time. I don’t necessarily prep ingredients as much as I am prepping my mind. It is critical to have a clear sense of what is in my freezer, fridge and pantry, Then, I list out the general components/dishes I will make each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This takes away the decision-making I have to make in the moment when I return from a long day at work. I simply refer to the list I created on Sunday and start executing the food prep and cooking. I also minimize food waste because I have a constant eye on what might have a more sensitive shelf life.

Breakfast

For breakfast, we typically ensure that we have hot oatmeal, cold cereal, eggs and bread for the kids. I’ve written about some of our favorite breakfast for the kids in this post. I know we have a large stash of frozen waffles from a recent Costco run. On Sundays (or Mondays) husband prepares at least 3 to 4 overnight small containers of overnight oats to bring. We use 1 part rolled oats, 1 part milk, a scoop of Greek yogurt and sprinkling of chia seeds and flax seeds as a base. There is lots of inspiration available on the internet, but this is one of my favorite videos: Some of our favorite toppings are:

1. apples, maple syrup and cinnamon.
2. peanut butter, cinnamon and bananas
3. any berry, maple syrup or honey
4. dried coconut flakes, sliced almonds, honey
5. if we have mango, pineapple, kiwi or other fruits on hand, we will add those as well.

Lunch

For lunch, our girls have lunch supplied by their schools. We supply snacks which usually consist of at least one fresh fruit (berries, apples, clementines) or vegetable (baby carrots), with crackers, hummus, dried fruit or popcorn. Our food shop right before a busy week always prioritizes healthy snacks such as fruits, baby carrots, cheese and nuts so we are less tempted to gravitate toward easy but calorie-dense, nutrient-poor options.

My husband and I usually bring leftovers from dinner before. More recently, we have been enjoying homemade salads and grain bowls (bed of greens or quinoa). We add a variety of vegetables we have on hand such as avocado, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, beets, broccoli and cauliflower. We also like to sprinkle with beans, chickpeas, nuts or seeds and top with roasted sweet potatoes, squash or hard-boiled eggs.

We’ve been loving adding a poppy seed dressing as a new flavor. Our usual go-to’s are the Trader Joe’s Carrot Ginger Miso dressing, or olive oil and lemon, balsamic vinegar or a scoop of hummus.

Once you get used to the basic elements, and figure out the variations of toppings you enjoy, it becomes easy to throw together a salad that isn’t boring but rather full of flavor and actually satisfying to eat!

Dinner

For dinner, we had a ton of fresh fish and vegetables this week, but also chicken and pork belly in the freezer.

1. Steamed red snapper with ginger, garlic and scallion (similar to this), with rice, green beans, broccoli.
2. Pan fried monk fish with garlic lemon and butter (similar to this) with sauteed spinach
3. Taiwanese pork belly with Korean soy sauce eggs (both surprisingly easy to make and soo delicious). I’m really loving the recipes from Tiffy Cooks. She has tons of 15 to 20 minute meal ideas! We had a side of leftover green beans, broccoli and picked cucumbers
4. Curry chicken thighs, potatoes, carrots, onion and rice (similar to this) with broccoli and cauliflower

Some nights, we had leftovers from previous nights or combination of leftovers. I choose meals that I know how to make and meals that I know our family will enjoy. When my work schedule is busy, I tend not to experiment much since my brain has very little wiggle room to execute new skills.

I don’t typically follow a recipe (only the Taiwanese pork belly since I had never made it before) but linked similar recipes above in case anyone is interested. On Friday, my husband got out of work early so we decided to take the kids to a sushi dinner at a local favorite as a treat.

Top Tips

My top tips for meal planning any week, but especially before a week on call or before a work trip way from your family are these:

1. Know the lay of the land. Take an inventory of your fridge, freezer and pantry and know exactly what you have, what you need and what you need to use up.
2. Focus your grocery shopping on easy, healthy options for snacks and side dishes (tons of fruits and vegetables).
3. Take the guess work out of it! Make meals you know how to make well and that you know your family will enjoy.

Hope this helps de-escalate the stress the next time you realize you have to meal plan before a particularly busy week at work. Meal planning can be fun!