How cheap can you eat healthy on the road (trk w/ rm 4 fridge/microwave) vs (trk w/o)

Here is a my sample menu sort a speak when I am stocking up... Breakfast / fruit bars, Mixed fruit cups, Beef Jerky, Almonds, Tuna packets, Pretzels, Crackers, Slimfast / Protien shakes, Hormel Turkey Chilli, Soup and salad or Subway for dinner.. Averages out too about 10 to 12 bucks a day

 

Yall have time to eat??? ive lost 25lbs this month. I just make a few lbs of jerky every week and live off that and water and tuna salad

 

Been fixing most of my meals on the road except when I have enough points and want to use them for food. I spend about $5 a day on food. Buy most of it at Wally World. I eat good and healthy. Have been able to keep weight within 5 pounds plus or minus of my recommended healthy weight.

 

When I started out,my trainer stopped by this truckstop and he helped my pick out everything I would need when I left his truck for my own. One of the items was one of those lunch boxes that heat up to like 300 degrees. When I would go home for a few days, I would do some food shopping and pick up those meals (can't think of the brand name) like beef stew,pot roast, meatloaf etc. I would get them 2 for $4.00. Then I would go to the dollar store and get those metal trays for chili or soup. Stock up on crackers and chips and I was basically set. I did lose 20 lbs my first year but honestly it was all weight I should have lost. There is no reason you need to eat a prime rib at the Petro every night.

 

I plan on doing an omelette for breakfast on my electric skillet- 4 eggs, 2 slices of cheese and some salsa, and a banana with coffee, A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread and a banana for lunch with coffee, and for dinner, microwavable meals and a small salad, or salad with chicken or tuna. Almonds or a protein shake for a snack, and a couple of times a week, some peanut m&m's!

I ate this everyday while in cdl training except for once a week I would go out for a meal. This, and a case of walmart diet cola and a case of water set me back about 40 bucks a week.

 

Um, I spend $65/week on food for 3 (at home). Admittedly, I raise my own beef. But guess what, I still gotta buy meat.

Buy stuff when it's on sale if you can. Go into the store WITH a list. It's cheaper to buy 6 chicken breasts, and cook them all, put what you aren't going to eat right away in the fridge or freezer. The crock pot is also your friend. I've been known to cook up a chili for $30 or so, and it feeds us dinner all week.

Buy generic when you can. Everyone has a few products they refuse to use anything other than the Name Brand they prefer. For me, that's paper towels. But I don't use paper towels much, so...that point is a bit moot.

1. Oatmeal. Cook it with milk or water, your choice. It's cheap, it's filling, and fairly nutritious, especially if you use the "Old Fashioned" kind. Toss in some raisins, other dried fruit, coconut, whatever. If I use dried coconut and fruit, I find I don't need to add sugar.

2. Lunch. Sandwiches are doable. But they will get old fairly quickly. Fruit. When it's cold, you'll want something like a stew or soup. Again, this is where cooking it yourself gives you control of what goes in there. For about $15 you can make yourself something with FRESH ingredients that will last you several days or all week.

3. Dinner. Bulk cooking enough chili or stew will keep you eating well all week. However, if you don't have a fridge in your rig, get a cooler, put individual servings in the cooler, make sure you get ice daily, and that should keep things safe for a few days. Get a container of organic greens. (And for the love of all things decent, and your health, please buy only ORGANIC carrots. Carrots have been shown to hold the most pesticide of any vegetable with in their cells.) Eat the salad as a way of extending your food. It's good for you. Go easy on the dressing.

In the summer, chicken cooked and cut small, mixed w/ a little mayo and seasonings over the greens with some sliced fruit is an awesome dinner.

YMMV on all of the above. But I've been feeding my family of four for
less than $80/week for many years. It used to be less, but the cost of food has gone way up. It makes sense, and stems from the increased cost of fuel to get the food to the store, but wages haven't gone up to compensate. Where I used to pay $30, I now pay $80....

 

I buy a loaf of bread,sandwich stuff,some fruit and those Hormel complete dinners that are about 2 bucks each.
I will have fruit in the morning,a sandwich for lunch if i take time to stop and microwave one of the dinners when i stop for the night.
Keeping some crackers and stuff in the truck helps too.
I probably average 30 bucks a week.About once every couple weeks i will grab something from a truck stop just for something different.

 

When i was the road, what i did was stock up at wally mart, next i would scoop out the farmer foods stands, twice as cheap as truck stop and very fresh , as you pick your own strawberrys, course it helps , cause i was in reffer divison, and would go out too the feilds and load from the feild house and toss a extra sack of oranges at me for helping load, i got a workout and sack of healthy food too boot, next clip all the sunday coupons, they ad up fast , and there like cash, i just did this here, my grocery bill was bill was $59 , and soon as the register stop'ed i payed a whopping bill of $22.00 dollers, i seen the show on tv , called extreme couponing, and it does work.