Living out of a truck is vastly different due to the lack of creature comforts you have at home. Think of it as a “efficiency apartment” or one of those capsule hotel rooms.
Some of us even called it our prison cell, due to the cramped quarters provided in most trucks. And having a supply of food readily available to keep morale up is important. A full stomach is a happy stomach.
Meal prepping for truckers
Meal prepping for truckers is a bit different than those working from home. You have a small amount of space for refrigerated or frozen food, if any. Most of your cooking is done using “hot boxes” – 12-volt powered skillets. If you’re lucky enough to have a 120-volt inverter, then you can have a small microwave, air fryer, or rice cooker.
Most of your meal planning will be limited by space to about a week or two for fresh meals. There’s plenty of space for non-perishables, but any driver can do that. Steak and potatoes is what I mean.
I used one of those budget mini-fridges from the truck stops, the kind that blows the fuse and kills all the 12-volt plug-ins on your truck. That cost me about $200 until I learned my lesson and bought a purpose-built cooler that was made to work in a truck.
Buying some meats, fish, and snacks in bulk from the various Sam’s Clubs I was able to park at helped save money. The 300% markup at truck stops can flatten a wallet like an industrial hydraulic press.
What does a Rooster eat over the road?
My breakfast usually consisted of some scrambled eggs from a carton, link sausages, and toast. I snacked on jerky or some trail mix during the day.
Dinner usually consisted of a beef roast I’d slow cook in the Crockpot or Aroma cooker. Some nights, I’d get one of those one-use Kingsford grills and fix some fish or steak.
My favorite was the bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breasts from the Quik-Trips up north. I’d buy two of each variety and would be set for a cross-country trip.
The worst thing a driver can do is get “food boredom” while out on the road. Getting low morale because your food is bland and dull makes the days seem longer and you have one less thing to look forward to at the end of a haul.
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