Truck Stop Food - When Options for Truck Drivers Are Few

There are very few healthy selections at truck stops and fast food restaurants. Most of you have to custom order to get close. Salads are loaded with preservatives to stay green. Lettuce on sandwiches comes out of a bag. The same with the buffet. And they are loaded with preservatives. Buffet items are processed foods loaded with fat and cholesterol.
Mayo, cheese, white bread, grilled items, deep fried, all bad for you. Subway always has their cooler doors open. The lunchmeats are loaded with sodium.
MSN had an article on the 10 unhealthiest placest to eat and Denny's was #1. I think Applebee's was #2. Fast food wasn't on that list.

Then if you are a diabetic like me, selections are even thinner. The only thing I buy out of a truck stop is unsweet tea. Luckily I have an APU and the works. I shop at Walmart for my food.

Most people in their 20's and 30's can eat that crap and burn it off. You hit 40, you better watch what you eat or you'll have all kinds illnesses. Then all the money you saved on the dollar menu, you'll be spending on doctors bills.

 

Trucks CAN park at walmart where those items are much less expensive.

 

I carry groceries in the truck and very seldom treat myself to a full meal in the TS restaurants. Prices really are not that bad, considering the convenience and locations, but just more than I want to spend. I never do buffets anymore. Nobody knows how long the food has been out, for one thing. But the main reason is the sanitation. Too often I have seen a guy that just came out of the rest room the same time I dd, after finishing his business in the little stall, not wash his hands, then trying to pick out which item he wants on the buffet. Yeah... I will take my chances from the menu!

 

Probably, but the defrost vent is so much handier... and on those particular trucks... gets the soup *plenty* hot for me.

 

I agree that the cost of doing business has gotten a lot higher in the last few years. You know its seems, to me that TS meals have been between $7-$15 with drinks and tips for many years.

They have not gone up that much in the last 6 years. Why do I use this time frame? 6 years ago was the last time I had a house to pay expenses for. As an example my electric bill ran about $100 a month at that time. Now my friends and family say that their electric alone runs $300 for a comparable house. I am sure that those of you with homes have noticed this as well. Can you imagine what a truck stop pays in large buildings with all the lights on 24/7? Then you have the other utilities which have also gone up, as well as everything mentioned earlier. Anyway I cannot see where the meals have increased that much in the last 6 years in proportion to everything their expenses.

Even so, I prefer to eat out of my cooler and lunch box stove because the meals are what I want, prepared better, healthier, and cheaper. We gotta save where we can to survive out here.

 

T A truckstops have a new policy in the last year. Gone are the buffets where the food sits out for who knows how long. Instead, the menu is all made to order and unlimited. They only ask that you don't abuse the policy and ask for seconds only to take them to go. I think it is a great idea and the prices seem reasonably. It would take quite an appetite to finish 2 meals but it is nice to know if you are really hungry they're willing to throw you a second helping. Also, you don't have to order a full meal the 2nd time, you could ask for a little more mashed potatoe or maybe an extra porkchop. The food is always hot and tasty and all entrees come with soup and salad bar. It's really a pretty good deal.

 

I'm far from perfect on the diet. Rarely eat out of the truck, and one decent meal a day in the truck stop is my normal life. Almost always salad instead of fries, the food itself varies from grilled chicken to country fried steak, but I learnt a valuable lesson when i did eat buffets. When your full STOP EATING!! All your doing by eating 10 lbs of food and sitting on your butt all day is lining yourself up to make your doctor a fortune. It bugs me when there out of country fried steak and no one in the place is under 400lbs (I weigh roughly 190 and am over 6 feet tall and need to lose a few pounds) we need more drivers who take pride in themselves for

 

Yeah, I can totally imagine how the bills must be going through the roof, but, they can lessen the energy consumption of the places by making a wise investment in solar, wind power depending on the orientation and availability of the sun and wind. Also, as for lights, I have an LED bulb that you can hardly tell the difference between an incandescent bulb or an LED. LEDs are extremely efficient and you wont have to change the bulbs for 10-15 years. They emit more light, in my opinion, than fluorescents and are easier on the eyes.
There are ways truck stops can offset their 24/7 operating costs significantly if only they took the initiative to do a cost benefit analysis of the situation and maybe tried it for a while on a select few truck stops.

-CZ