Eating out vs. Cooking in
Eating In the truck
This is by far the best and most economical option for living on the road. You can eat exactly what you want to eat depending on the equipment you have available. The only down side is that the start up costs can be expensive. You will most likely need to replace their alternator and get a pure sine wave inverter. You will also need access to and APU or generator which will provide you the energy that you need in order to have your cooking equipment function.
When it comes to choosing which equipment to use, the more you have available for storing and cooking your food in the truck the better.
Most drivers just have a microwave to reheat their food or to heat up canned food. A microwave only requires a regular inverter and alternator so it is very economical. Canned food and box dinners can be used to cook in the microwave. Recipes for microwave users.
When you add in a cooler or fridge, a whole world of healthy eating is opened up to you. With access to a fridge a driver can now make sandwiches, have a healthy breakfast, store better fluids for drinking and store left overs for longer. If the fridge has a freezer attached, the driver can then store TV dinners, frozen vegetables and meat for cooking in a crock pot. A fridge sucks up a lot of energy when it first starts the cooling process.
A toaster opens up a chance for toast, waffles and English muffins. This only needs a regular inverter and alternator.
A crock pot allows for stews which can be made with canned ingredients, frozen ingredients or refrigerated. This also only needs a regular alternator and inverter. However I would not recommend cooking pasta or rice in a crock pot with a lower level inverter, it doesn't cook fast enough and turns into a mush.
An convection oven allows for cooked meat, casseroles, roast veges, breads, cookies. They are heavy and take up a lot of space. A high powered sine wave inverter and alternator are a must. The oven sucks up a lot of energy when it starts up. Recipes for convection ovens.
There are also other devices and techniques that can be used for cooking in the truck. Click here for more information.
When it comes to choosing which equipment to use, the more you have available for storing and cooking your food in the truck the better.
Most drivers just have a microwave to reheat their food or to heat up canned food. A microwave only requires a regular inverter and alternator so it is very economical. Canned food and box dinners can be used to cook in the microwave. Recipes for microwave users.
When you add in a cooler or fridge, a whole world of healthy eating is opened up to you. With access to a fridge a driver can now make sandwiches, have a healthy breakfast, store better fluids for drinking and store left overs for longer. If the fridge has a freezer attached, the driver can then store TV dinners, frozen vegetables and meat for cooking in a crock pot. A fridge sucks up a lot of energy when it first starts the cooling process.
A toaster opens up a chance for toast, waffles and English muffins. This only needs a regular inverter and alternator.
A crock pot allows for stews which can be made with canned ingredients, frozen ingredients or refrigerated. This also only needs a regular alternator and inverter. However I would not recommend cooking pasta or rice in a crock pot with a lower level inverter, it doesn't cook fast enough and turns into a mush.
An convection oven allows for cooked meat, casseroles, roast veges, breads, cookies. They are heavy and take up a lot of space. A high powered sine wave inverter and alternator are a must. The oven sucks up a lot of energy when it starts up. Recipes for convection ovens.
There are also other devices and techniques that can be used for cooking in the truck. Click here for more information.
Eating out
Eating out while on the road can be expensive and unhealthy. America is well known for their large size portions and if you want anything better than fast food your going to pay for it. Here are some costs, these vary from state to state depending on sales tax.
Restaurant
"Portions in America are typically two per entree. In order to eat healthy in a restaurant you want to divide any entree in half and save the rest for a second meal."
This quote is from a morning show I watched one time. The had a nutritionist talk about eating while out on vacation. I think this philosophy can also be applied to truck drivers. If you order an entree, order a to go box and divide the meal in half as soon as it arrives so that you get two meals of smaller portions. Not only will this give you a healthier meal, but it will divide your restaurant food bill to $5-$7 per meal making it by far one of the cheapest options while out on the road.
Soup and salad bars are another healthy option, but many of the soups look like they are about to keel over and die and the salad bars are often poorly maintained. When it comes to this option you don't get what you pay for. I think they run about $6-$7 per person (correct me if I'm wrong) which I'm sure could be a lot cheaper, seeing as they give it away to people that purchase an entree.
Grab and Go
Many of the truck stops have a hot box of one kind or another. The Flying J's and Pilots have these running for around 24 hours a day, TA has heated sandwiches - but only during the day and most of them seem to be a little on the stale side. The trucks stops often offer deals on their Hot Box Grab and Go food, so keep an eye out. These are often not healthy, but they are an economical option.
One of the best options for Grab and Go food are the pizzas at flying j. It is not a healthy option, but definitely an economical one. The pizzas are $10 and if you make the serving size 3 pieces (about 1/3 of the pizza), you get three meals for $10 - or one meal for $3.33.
Fast Food
Fast food is pretty good. It's fresh and these day they often have healthy options if you can resist to a burger back with bacon, onions and mystery sauce. The best option that I have found for fast food is to order just a sandwich and then get a drink from truck stop store.
Alternatively, if there is a dollar menu this can also be used.
Dollar menu's allow you to purchase three burgers equivalent to the size of the one in the meal for half the price. This makes it more economical than the combos.
Or if your in a hurry, get yourself a combo.
Rewards points
If you are new to driving, make sure you get yourself set up with rewards points. One driver described these as the food stamps for drivers. Whenever you fuel, you build up points in an account per gallon. These can be traded for food, showers, gifts, etc. The card will also give you discounts on many items in store. Some drivers use these points to eat on a regular basis, while others save them for an emergency or use them at Christmas time.
- Fast food $7-$9 per meal with drink per person.
- Grab and go food $5-$9 per meal with drink per person.
- Restaurant $10-$15 per meal with drink per person.
Restaurant
"Portions in America are typically two per entree. In order to eat healthy in a restaurant you want to divide any entree in half and save the rest for a second meal."
This quote is from a morning show I watched one time. The had a nutritionist talk about eating while out on vacation. I think this philosophy can also be applied to truck drivers. If you order an entree, order a to go box and divide the meal in half as soon as it arrives so that you get two meals of smaller portions. Not only will this give you a healthier meal, but it will divide your restaurant food bill to $5-$7 per meal making it by far one of the cheapest options while out on the road.
Soup and salad bars are another healthy option, but many of the soups look like they are about to keel over and die and the salad bars are often poorly maintained. When it comes to this option you don't get what you pay for. I think they run about $6-$7 per person (correct me if I'm wrong) which I'm sure could be a lot cheaper, seeing as they give it away to people that purchase an entree.
Grab and Go
Many of the truck stops have a hot box of one kind or another. The Flying J's and Pilots have these running for around 24 hours a day, TA has heated sandwiches - but only during the day and most of them seem to be a little on the stale side. The trucks stops often offer deals on their Hot Box Grab and Go food, so keep an eye out. These are often not healthy, but they are an economical option.
One of the best options for Grab and Go food are the pizzas at flying j. It is not a healthy option, but definitely an economical one. The pizzas are $10 and if you make the serving size 3 pieces (about 1/3 of the pizza), you get three meals for $10 - or one meal for $3.33.
Fast Food
Fast food is pretty good. It's fresh and these day they often have healthy options if you can resist to a burger back with bacon, onions and mystery sauce. The best option that I have found for fast food is to order just a sandwich and then get a drink from truck stop store.
Alternatively, if there is a dollar menu this can also be used.
Dollar menu's allow you to purchase three burgers equivalent to the size of the one in the meal for half the price. This makes it more economical than the combos.
Or if your in a hurry, get yourself a combo.
Rewards points
If you are new to driving, make sure you get yourself set up with rewards points. One driver described these as the food stamps for drivers. Whenever you fuel, you build up points in an account per gallon. These can be traded for food, showers, gifts, etc. The card will also give you discounts on many items in store. Some drivers use these points to eat on a regular basis, while others save them for an emergency or use them at Christmas time.