Free tool

Meal-prep planner for your run of shifts

Pick your run. You get when to eat around each shift, how many portions to cook and when, which days eat from the fridge and which from the freezer, and a shopping and prep checklist you can print.

Build your own (add one day at a time)
Letters: D day, E early, L late, N night, O off. Up to 21 days.
  1. Day 1: D
  2. Day 2: D
  3. Day 3: N
  4. Day 4: N
  5. Day 5: O
  6. Day 6: O
  7. Day 7: O
  8. Day 8: O
Adjust shift hours

8 days: 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off. 10 batch portions across 4 shifts, cooked on the day before the run: 6 from the fridge, 4 from the freezer.

Day by day

  1. The day before the run Cook day
    • Cook day: shop, cook 2 dishes (5 portions each), cool, box up, label and store.
    • Pack tomorrow’s bag: boxes, cutlery, water bottle.
  2. Day 1: Day shift 7am to 7pmFrom the fridge
    • 5:45amBreakfast before you leave [5]Something filling, even if small, so you are not running on empty until your first break.
    • 11amFirst break: packed mealPacked [5][6]On a long shift, eat about every 4 hours rather than one big meal. Keep a water bottle with you.
    • 3pmSecond break: light packed mealPacked [6]Smaller and lighter than the first so the last stretch of the shift does not feel heavy.
    • 8pmEvening meal at homeFrom the batch [6]From the batch: heat a portion through properly. Eating within an hour of getting home means you are not starving at bedtime.
    • Pack tomorrow’s bag: boxes, cutlery, water bottle.
  3. Day 2: Day shift 7am to 7pmFrom the fridge
    • 5:45amBreakfast before you leave [5]Something filling, even if small, so you are not running on empty until your first break.
    • 11amFirst break: packed mealPacked [5][6]On a long shift, eat about every 4 hours rather than one big meal. Keep a water bottle with you.
    • 3pmSecond break: light packed mealPacked [6]Smaller and lighter than the first so the last stretch of the shift does not feel heavy.
    • 8pmEvening meal at homeFrom the batch [6]From the batch: heat a portion through properly. Eating within an hour of getting home means you are not starving at bedtime.
    • Move tomorrow’s 2 portions from the freezer to the fridge tonight.
    • Pack tomorrow’s bag: boxes, cutlery, water bottle.
  4. Day 3: Night shift 7pm to 7amFrom the freezer
    • 8amBreakfast [1]A normal morning before your first night.
    • 12:30pmLunch [1]Keep the day pattern going; your long nap comes after this.
    • 4:30pmMain meal before you leaveFrom the batch [1][2]From the batch. This is the main meal of your night: a complete meal with protein and starchy or root vegetables.
    • 11:30pmLight packed meal before midnightPacked [1][3][4]Soup, a wholegrain sandwich, yoghurt and fruit. After midnight keep to water and something very small: the body handles food badly in the small hours.
    • 7:30am next morningSmall breakfast before bed [2][7]Something small with some protein, so hunger does not wake you. Not a big meal: that is for when you get up.
    • Move tomorrow’s 2 portions from the freezer to the fridge tonight.
    • Pack tomorrow’s bag: boxes, cutlery, water bottle.
  5. Day 4: Night shift 7pm to 7amFrom the freezer
    • 4:30pmMain meal before you leaveFrom the batch [1][2]From the batch. Breakfast and main meal in one after your day sleep: a complete meal with protein and starchy or root vegetables.
    • 11:30pmLight packed meal before midnightPacked [1][3][4]Soup, a wholegrain sandwich, yoghurt and fruit. After midnight keep to water and something very small: the body handles food badly in the small hours.
    • 7:30am next morningSmall breakfast before bed [2][7]Something small with some protein, so hunger does not wake you. Not a big meal: that is for when you get up.
  6. Day 5: Day off
    • 11:30amLate breakfast after a short sleep [6][8]After your last night, sleep about 3 hours, then get up and eat. Daylight and a proper meal reset the day.
    • 2:30pmMain meal [1]Back to a normal day pattern from here.
    • 6:30pmEvening meal [6]Then an early night: you will be ready for it.
  7. Day 6: Day off
    • 8amBreakfast [1]Three meals at normal times on days off keep your body clock steadier.
    • 1pmLunch [1]
    • 6:30pmEvening meal [1]
  8. Day 7: Day off
    • 8amBreakfast [1]Three meals at normal times on days off keep your body clock steadier.
    • 1pmLunch [1]
    • 6:30pmEvening meal [1]
  9. Day 8: Day off
    • 8amBreakfast [1]Three meals at normal times on days off keep your body clock steadier.
    • 1pmLunch [1]
    • 6:30pmEvening meal [1]

Cook day: step by step

  1. Shop, then start the base
    Get the base on first (rice, pasta or potatoes): it cooks while you prepare the rest. You need 10 portions in total.
  2. Cook 2 dishes [2]
    One pan each: protein, onions and garlic, a tin of tomatoes or stock, then plenty of vegetables. 5 portions per dish. Make them different so day 3 does not taste like day 1.
  3. Cool quickly, within 1 to 2 hours [9]
    Spread the food out in shallow dishes or split it into portions straight away: small portions cool faster. Do not put hot food in the fridge.
  4. Box, label, store [9]
    Label every box with the dish and the date. 6 portions for the next 2 days go in the fridge (0 to 5°C). 4 go in the freezer (about -18°C) as soon as they are cool.
  5. Each evening: defrost tomorrow [9]
    Move the next day’s frozen portions into the fridge the night before. Defrost in the fridge, never on the side, and eat within 24 hours of thawing.
  6. At work: heat it through [9]
    Reheat until piping hot all the way through. Food that was frozen after cooking is reheated once, then it is done.

Shopping and kit checklist

Quantities are portion counts, so they work with your own recipes. Nothing branded, nothing sweet.

Base: enough for 10 portions

Protein: enough for 10 portions

Vegetables: a good amount in every portion

Light meals, breakfasts and the small meal before bed

Flavour and cupboard

Kit

Numbers in brackets point to the sources below. For sleep around the same shifts, use the sleep-timing calculator. For recipes and storage ideas, see Food & meal prep.

How the planner decides

Each rule below says where it comes from; the numbers match the sources list.

Nights: main meal before, light before midnight, little after
NIOSH advice for night workers is to avoid eating, or eat less, between midnight and 6am and to keep to a normal day-and-night meal pattern with three meals in each 24 hours [1]. So the main meal is at home before you leave, the packed meal is light and before 11:30pm, and after midnight it is water and something very small. A small, controlled study found that eating a meal at 1:30am during simulated night shifts worsened glucose handling compared with not eating at night [3]; a review of eating and shift work links irregular meal timing with the metabolic problems shift workers get more of [4].
Before sleep: small, not big
No large meal in the 1 to 2 hours before your main sleep, and for night workers a small breakfast before day sleep so hunger does not wake you [2]. Do not go to bed hungry, but keep it light [6].
Long shifts: eat about every 4 hours
The NHS suggests regular meals every 3 to 4 hours rather than one large meal [5], and the HSE says regular light meals are less likely to make you drowsy than a single heavy one [6]. On a shift of 10 hours or more the planner gives two eating stops, the second lighter.
Days off: back to normal times
Three meals at normal times [1]. After the last night, a short sleep then up, so the day pattern restarts and you can sleep that evening [6, 7, 8].
Fridge for 2 days, freezer after that
Cooked food goes in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours of cooking and is eaten within 48 hours or frozen. Frozen portions are defrosted in the fridge and eaten within 24 hours of thawing [9]. So the planner puts the first two days after cooking in the fridge, freezes the rest, and reminds you the evening before each freezer day to move the next day's portions down.
What goes in the portions
Complete meals: protein with starchy or root vegetables, or beans with rice or pasta, plus plenty of vegetables; on shift, soups, wholegrain sandwiches, yoghurt, fruit, cheese, eggs and nuts rather than sugary, low-fibre food, and no heavy, fatty or spicy meals that make you drowsy [1, 2, 6]. Quantities are portion counts so they fit your own recipes.
Runs of nights
The planner warns when a run has more than three 12-hour nights in a row, because UK guidance suggests limiting 12-hour nights to 2 or 3 consecutive shifts [10].

Questions people ask

When should I eat on a night shift?
Have your main meal before you leave, a light meal before midnight, and nothing substantial between midnight and 6am: water and something very small if you need it. Then a small breakfast before you sleep so hunger does not wake you. The body handles food badly in the small hours; in a controlled study, eating at 1:30am during simulated night shifts worsened glucose handling.
How many meals should I prep for a 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off pattern?
With 12-hour shifts and a half-hour journey the planner counts 10 batch portions: two packed meals for each day shift, one light packed meal for each night, and a cooked meal at home around each shift. Cook two dishes of five portions the day before: six go in the fridge for the first two days, four in the freezer.
How long does batch-cooked food keep?
Cool it and get it into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours, then eat it within 48 hours or freeze it. Keep the fridge between 0 and 5°C and the freezer at about -18°C. Defrost in the fridge, never on the side, and eat within 24 hours of thawing. That is why the planner puts days 1 and 2 after cooking in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.
What should I pack for a 12-hour day shift?
Two eating stops about 4 hours apart: a proper packed meal at the first break and a lighter one at the second, plus a water bottle. Eating every 3 to 4 hours keeps energy steadier than one big meal, and a lighter second meal stops the last stretch feeling heavy.
What should I eat on days off between shifts?
Three meals at normal times. After your last night, sleep about 3 hours, then a late breakfast, a main meal in the afternoon and an early evening meal, so you are ready for an early night.
Can I use my own recipes?
Yes. The shopping list is generic on purpose: it tells you how many portions of base, protein and vegetables you need and leaves the dishes to you. Stews, curries, chilli, pasta bakes and grain bowls all freeze well.

Sources

  1. Training for nurses on shift work and long work hours, module 9: diet suggestions for night-shift nurses. NIOSH, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. Avoid eating, or eat less, between midnight and 6am. Keep to a normal day-and-night meal pattern as much as you can, with three meals in each 24 hours. Choose vegetables, soups, fruit, wholegrain sandwiches, yoghurt, cheese, eggs and nuts over sugary, low-fibre food.
  2. Training for nurses on shift work and long work hours, module 9: diet suggestions (continued). NIOSH, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. Avoid large meals in the 1 to 2 hours before your main sleep. Night workers should eat a small breakfast before day sleep so hunger does not wake them. Eat complete meals (protein with starchy or root vegetables, beans with rice or pasta) and avoid heavy, fatty or spicy food on shift.
  3. Grant CL et al. Timing of food intake during simulated night shift impacts glucose metabolism: a controlled study. 2017;34(8):1003–1013. Chronobiology International, 2017. In a small controlled study, people who ate a meal at 1:30am during simulated night shifts handled glucose worse afterwards than those who did not eat at night.
  4. Lowden A, Moreno C, Holmbäck U, Lennernäs M, Tucker P. Eating and shift work: effects on habits, metabolism and performance. 2010;36(2):150–162. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2010. Shift workers have higher rates of metabolic problems, partly linked to irregular meal timing. The review ends with dietary guidelines for shift workers that the NIOSH diet pages draw on.
  5. Self-help tips to fight tiredness. NHS (UK), 2023. The effects of caffeine can last up to 7 hours. Go to bed and get up at the same times. Eat regular meals every 3 to 4 hours rather than one large meal, and drink water, as mild dehydration makes you tired.
  6. Hints and tips for shift workers. Health and Safety Executive (UK), 2024. Adults need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day. Have a short sleep before your first night, and nap briefly then go to bed earlier when you come off nights. Avoid caffeine for a few hours before bed. Keep the light bright at work and the bedroom dark, quiet and cool. Regular light meals are better than one heavy meal, and do not go to bed hungry. If you feel sleepy driving, stop.
  7. Training for nurses on shift work and long work hours, module 9: sleep after a night shift. NIOSH, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. Go straight to bed when you get home from a night shift and sleep as long as you can; the more sleep you get before 2pm the better. Do not use the early morning for chores. Nap before going back to work if you can.
  8. Training for nurses on shift work and long work hours, module 9: days off and the last night. NIOSH, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. Keep some sleep hours the same in every 24 hours. After your last night shift, do not stay up all day and then go to bed at night: you would be awake far too long.
  9. How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely. Food Standards Agency (UK), 2024. Keep the fridge between 0 and 5°C and the freezer at about -18°C. Cool cooked food and put it in the fridge within 1 to 2 hours; small portions cool faster. Eat leftovers within 48 hours or freeze them. Defrost in the fridge and use within 24 hours.
  10. Managing shift work: health and safety guidance (HSG256). Health and Safety Executive (UK), 2006. Forward-rotating patterns (early, then late, then night) are easier on the body clock than backward-rotating ones. Keep shifts to 12 hours at most, limit 12-hour nights to 2 or 3 in a row, and avoid starts before 7am where possible. Under UK working time rules the minimum rest between shifts is 11 hours.