Food Advice for Poor Brand New Trucker ?

If you have a frig, cook your meals for the week before you go out. I have done that for years and I can make it the way I like. Shop where you want, and I'm pretty sure your company will not care if you need to feed yourself providing you have some sense about yourself.

But until you can get yourself established in the truck and figure out what is expected of you, I would keep it simple and cheap for a little while. There are plenty of recipe/cooking sites online that I use all the time to find different ideas of what to make.

 

There's some threads on here about "cooking in the truck" and a crockpot is very popular. The crockpot meal cooks while you're driving.
Crockpot and a George Foreman Grill.
Drivers on here can give you advice as to which crockpot is best for the truck.

 

don't forget the trusty old lunch box cooker.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RoadPro-...MIr83z19fj6QIVla_ICh2X4gkSEAQYAiABEgL6tfD_BwE

used one for yrs.

get some small foil pans and your good to go.

 

Having a fridge is almost a necessity if cooking on the road. Even for cold cuts and condiments.

Do you have a means of keeping things cold?

You can get by with non perishables, ppj, canned tuna, etc. but that gets old, quick.

 

Box of Cheerios - $4.00
Bag of Apples - $2.50
Bananas $2.00
Lg Jar of Peanut butter $5.00
Loaf of Bread $1.50
2 Roaster Chickens per week $10.00
Bag Salad $2.00
Case of water $3.00
Total $30.00

 

I base my meals around a few staples that require no refrigeration. For breakfast I make some combination of (dry) rolled oats, dried fruit, and nuts. Sometimes I will use powdered milk though to make muesli. For dinner I prepare various meals based around either root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, garlic, etc.) or dried beans & rice, using an electric pressure cooker (e.g. the Instant Pot), which to me is much better than any microwave. I supplement my diet with fruits like apples that keep for a long time and canned seafood like sardines.

I really like this arrangement because I don't need to depend on a fridge, and I'm never in any rush to shop for groceries since these foods don't expire so quickly.

 

I went with a toaster oven instead of a microwave, I try to cook food for the coming week on Sundays (I’m lucky, I do my resets at home every weekend), portion them out in plastic containers, and then heat them up in the toaster oven (I make aluminum foil dishes to hold the food while cooking, and if the food in question needs longer to cook, I’ll cover it with another sheet of foil.

I cook things like chili, chicken and rice, frozen pizza.

I also buy bags of prepared salads.

I also have a hot water kettle that I use in the morning to make hot water for instant oatmeal (I use a big bowl) and coffee (I use a French press).

 

Cook at home, freeze in quart bags laid flat. Can get three or four in the freezer section, five or six more under in the fridge. Micro what's thawing, then start pulling the frozen. Good for about two, three weeks. Supplement with fresh greens, fruit, and lunch meat as available.

I do spaghetti, dirty rice, etc. Don't forget bbq. currently working through a brisket, ribs, and teriyaki chicken thighs too.