Meal planning 101

Depends on how involved you want to go... cooking on the truck is a very deep well...lol.

As you will be with a trainer and it'll be his truck, I'd ask what he allows. See if he has a fridge. Ask if he has an inverter (most likely yes as he has a microwave). Clear whatever you take with him out of courtesy.

If OTR and going to be out 2 weeks or more, AFTER you finish training and get your own truck:

If you're not particular on diet, get a freezer and buy frozen dinners.

If you're into hometime meal prep, any food that can be refrigerated or frozen after cooking will work. Pasta, soups, chicken pork etc. Keep in mind, if you only have a fridge, most prepped foods will only be good for a week or less.

After you've been there a while and are certain you gonna stick with the company and trucking as a full career, invest in a cheap REAL freezer such as Alpicool or BougeRV etc. A lot of different brands on Amazon to choose from.

I make all my own simple meals in the truck. I have a fridge, freezer and a NuWave induction cooktop that I do 99% of my meals on. Also have a microwave and I keep a box of canned soups for when I don't have time to prep a good dinner.

Just be careful, it gets very easy tp get wrapped up and end up buying a bunch of junk you won't use...lol. ask me how I know

 

Additionally, you can check this subforum out. Its not very active but there's some good info there

Food & Cooking in the Truck | Trucker Recipe Forum

 

Sounds like you got it right then simple meals are the best and easiest to prep.

Pasta like spaghetti in meat sauce is one of my favorite. Fill it with sautéed onions, bell peppers, fresh garlic. I like using Italian sausage as the protein. Cook it up, ziploc it, let it set a day or so in the fridge. The savory sausage flavor just works it's way into the pasta with the sauce. Simple, easy and just dump in a bowl and nuke it

Best of luck!

 

She cooks for me once a week. This is probably one of the big reasons I typically just run for a a few days at a time (4 days out average).

We are big on crock-pot meals and more and more these days we use an instant pot to make some things. This is at home before a trip, I mean.

We are big on things that can easily be made in a decent sized batch and heated in a microwave on the road, just like you are trying to do.

My go-to's are:
spaghetti
lasagna
beef stew
crock pot chicken & rice
breakfast casserole (something she makes with eggs/sausage and hash brown potatoes)
crock pot pork chops with rice
crock pot pork chops with potatoes and sometimes sauerkraut (yep, it's awesome)
mexican pie (easy corn bread batter based casserole kind of thing)
mexican soup (throw mexican food in a soup, meat, corn, beans, rice, rotel tomatoes)
potato soup
red beans and rice

I eat one of these 'bigger' meals for lunch and a much lighter easy meal when I get off the road at night, like a sandwich or something.
I have found that this really helps me keep my body in check. I ate a big meal late at night for years and suffered for it.

 

I’d make simple casseroles or cook meat and veggies while home on the weekend. I’d dish it up into small containers and just microwave it during the week in the truck. Being home on the weekends makes it pretty simple if you don’t mind eating the same thing a few days in a row.

 

Do you have freezer room? I just plain don't eat restaurant food much. Maybe once every two months.

I eat a lot of burgers. Make em at home, freeze em, throw em on the dash and eat when they thaw. Bacon and sausage can be done the same.

Hard boiled eggs last a long time in the fridge. Milk and cereal.

No fridge or freezer? Canned beans are good. Tortillas, canned chicken, peanut butter.

Lots of options out there

 

If you don't have a fridge in the truck, meal planning and cooking at home isn't going to do you much good unless what you prepare doesn't need refrigeration.