As a travel nurse, you likely work various shifts and may need to take call, which makes preparing balanced meals for yourself and your family difficult. There are ways to circumvent this problem, but preparing slow cooker meals at home in the morning will help save money while providing balanced, delicious meals each evening.
There are a number of recipe books, websites and other resources that provide tips on which crock pots are the best and what foods to prepare. Understanding which is best for you will require reviewing these resources carefully before beginning each cooking project.
Time management
Not every travel nurse will have the ability to start a meal every evening, but some may also feel it is too difficult to get ready for work and start dinner before they leave the house in the morning. Getting things ready the night before can help expedite the process and help travel nurses keep track of their progress so they don't fall behind schedule.
Crock-Pot Online offers products, reviews and recipes that can assist healthcare staff in understanding how to use a slow cooker and the best kinds of methods for keeping preparation time short. For instance, defrosting meat the night before and pre-chopping vegetables will allow easy assembly in the morning before work. Also, when they get home in the evening, travel nurses should try to avoid lifting the lid to check on contents, as this can make the cooking process take much longer.
What to make
As mentioned, there are a multitude of websites available that offer tips and recipes on how to prepare tasty, healthy food while you're at work. Much of what goes into the pot comes down to personal taste.
CBS News wrote that one of the biggest considerations in choosing ingredients is the heat and duration of cooking time. Buying cheaper cuts like stew meat and bone-in chicken will make for more flavorful dishes and reduce weekly grocery bills. Potatoes, onions and carrots are also ideal for crock pots and can be bought fresh, chopped and used for a variety of dishes. The Seattle Times wrote that, for those who work nights, preparing oatmeal in a slow cooker is also ideal and adds a lot of flavor to the final product.