cooking in the truck

ta/petros have restraunts..prices are inline with regular restaraunts..usually these have buffets..
pilot and loves have mcds/burger king/arbys....prices are about the same..
fly j usually has dennys...same prices as non trk stops..
its in the truck stop stores/shops were they gouge you in prices..

 

The restraunts in the TA/Petros are really not that good. Not aweful but not good. Denny's is a freaking joke. Aside from their eggs everything is pre-cooked in packages from supplier, frozen, microwaved or a combination of the three. Absolutely nothing is made from scratch making it a fast food place but you pay sit down prices. While it is true that the fast food places in Loves and Pilot Flying J are in line with the rest of the franchises the ones at the TA are jacked up and lack the value "$1" menus. I will buy a package of steaks on high end $15 which has three in it. That is three meals. Add a can of corn for .68cents and half a package of Idohoan instant potatoes (makes two meals at a $1). That's dinner. I have been making hotdogs or tuna sandwiches for lunch and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. If I eat at the TS I can't seem to spend less than $8 a meal. 8x3x7=$168 a week. I spend about $150 every three weeks at the grocery store (walmart). That's $50 a week. I am saving over a $100 a week by cooking my own meals.

 

I keep an electric skillet, rice cooker, foreman grill, and a toaster oven on the truck.

 

I have been considering trying a toaster oven. Do you use an inverter or generater to power it? If inverter what size is it?

 

It's an "oster" brand toaster oven. I use an inverter but my inverter is smallish so I have to play green acres when I use it ( can only run certain appliances in conjunction with others but not all at same time.)

 

Wow we are new to this board but I love it. We have been cooking in our truck since day one. We have an APU and inverter We also have a reg truck size frig w/freezer but it cost us 600.00 to get it. We have in upper bunk tray, an igloo cooler for drinks and extra food storage. A 700 watt Microwave as well. We pack a regular 12 cup coffee maker and a regular 12qt crock pot. we have a Magic Bullet for making smoothies for breakfast. We have a convection hot plate and a quesadilla / sandwich maker. Under the bunk box contains a couple of pots and pans and cooking utensils. So pretty much a normal stocked truck kitchen. We have one large plastic serving bowl that doubles for salad, mixing stuff and doing dishes All that said, we can cook pretty much anything you can think up. We probably hit Wally World a couple of times a week because we prefer FRESH veggies and fruits. We can go for days without ever going into a truck stop or restaurant for food. I generally will make chili or soup so that we can have it for two days. There are times I will get a couple of roasted chickens from Walmart and debone them for quesadillas, chicken salad or chicken and rice casserole. We always have tuna on hand for tuna salad and snacking with cheese and crackers goin down the road. I often cut up veggies and put them in plastic storage bags to eat on the road with those single serving cups of ranch dressing.
Bottom line here is, we like my cooking better than anything in a truck stop and are always finding creative ways to make the truck more like home.
Our ideal is to be able to get a 120' condo that will obviously make life on the road much easier,because that is where we spend most of out time, but for now this is how we roll Anyone who has any questions..just ask.

 

@newbie there are tons of healthy options for cooking on the run. In fact this new crockpot that I received for Christmas is the bomb of all crockpots! http://ninjacooking.ninjakitchen.com

It comes with a recipe book and I've tried out some of them and they are really good. Especially the cheddar stuffed burgers. (You can always substitute ground beef for ground turkey for a healthy option) Also, it gives you the option of steam baking, stove top cooking, low and high slow cook. As for making healthy meals on the go, I recommend making up a meal plan for how ever long your out on the road. I know y'all prolly don't get home much but when you buy your groceries, divey them up into plastic baggies according to the recipe that way when your tired and hungry you can just dump the Baggie of all ingredients into the crockpot and let it cook.

Tips for grocery shopping, keep away from buying groceries in a tourist area. They up the price of groceries tenfold! Even Wallyworld is more expensive in a tourist hotspot. Food lion, Giant Eagle, Meijer, Aldi's and yes even Costco is a great place to get good deals on the east coast. Now if you don't have time to stop and grocery shop, while your sitting waiting to be unloaded get online, most grocery stores now a days offer online shopping were you can shop online and you can roll in and pick your grocery up for a small fee. Can't get online while on the road? McD's and Starbucks offer free internet and you don't have to buy anything, just get close enough to snatch their wifi.

 

Gotta love the Foreman.

 

I line mine with the non stick aluminum foil... Easy clean up, and non stick!!

 

See this is why I like this forum. Learn new tricks everyday