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

coffee , okay what i did was go too doller store, bought a 110 volt hot pot they call it, just a tea kettle with a heating element in the bottom, too heat water and bought jar of instent coffee, but after while that gets old, so i just drag my old toughee percoleter with me and just buy small can off coffee, that dang coffee pot gone thru heck and still going, what i like about it is its waterproof, just toss it in a dishpan and go, i paid 50 cents for it brandnew at a garage sale 12 years ago, went too sears too get a new too replace it , its 75 bucks, but if at 12 years thats still cheap, i also have my campground coffee pot i can put on my 2 burner stove , just a percolater type , kinda fun too wacth the coffee go thru the glass top in the middel of the lid, but you really have too wacth it or too be strong coffee.

 

MRE mention reminds me of a scene in Tremors 2 Aftershocks.

Burt: "Here are some MREs for you to eat. They have (blah, blah, blah) and toilet paper."

Earl: "I tried some of it and it tasted like toilet paper."

Grady: "Earl, that WAS the toilet paper! (chuckle)"

 

If you have a Dollar store and or Walmart, a fridge and a micro, it's easy.

breakfast can be oatmeal and fruit, or cereal and fruit.

lunch can be a sandwich with soup, or chips, or fruit. You could also do hummus and veggies.

Make a casserole for dinner and it lasts for 3 days as lunch and dinner.

I bought a set of red "disposable" plates and bowls and a small set of picnic plasticware. I wash them and reuse them.

One set of our cabinets holds crackers, canned goods, bread, plates, bowls, and cooking gear. We stash sodas and water under the sleeper. We have a coffee maker, micro and a small fridge. If we get stuck on a construction, or crane site for days, we're good.

I keep a selection of low sodium soups, crackers, fruit, cheese, lunch meat, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned vegetables, Uncle Ben's boxed wild rice, some pasta, tomato paste, raisin bran/corn flakes/rice chex and dehydrated onion, on board. I buy apples, bananas, grapes, plums and melon that I incorporate. We also have a hibachi stashed under the sleeper. Our Walmart bill for food is about $45 for 2 people. I can stretch that for two weeks. That's less than $5 per day. You just have to be creative with your basics. A can of tuna can make sandwiches for days, or tuna casserole, for days. At $1.25 for a can of albacore, it's all good. Since I buy low sodium products, I think my truck cooking from cans, is still healthier than a truck stop. I don't have swelling from my own cooking.

Sometimes I slice up Kielbasa, cheese, green apples and grapes to be served with wheat thins, if we have a long day. We might do hummus with carrots/celery and pita(if I find some), or wheat thins.

The kielbasa can go into a casserole, or substitute in a hoagie with peppers, onions and marinara.

Wild Ben's rice, frozen broccoli and a little sausage makes a killer casserole. I like it with broccoli, or peas and no sausage. Add some salad and cantaloupe - beats any truckstop food.

Some Walmarts have a really good spinach dip that I've also added cheese and chicken over rice with some veggies, as dinner.

Sometimes we order stuff in the truck stop and I box up half, we pay for it with coupon points and I turn it into something else.

I always have spices and herbs so I can cook. I'm much more prone to cooking in the winter. I would rather make things from scratch at home, freeze it, and then take it on the truck; but we have a tiny freezer.

When we first started back on the road, I made $200 pay for our food and tolls for a month. If I had a sink, a bigger fridge, and a studio sleeper, we would always eat in the truck.

 

That's correct, WalMarts sell groceries and almost all kinds of food. I wish they would also sell dry brown rice and a few other things that only health food stores sell (eventually they may).
But every two to 3 months when I go to main terminal for a week off, I visit a health food store and pack on natural granola, brown rice and a couple other things.
Many WalMarts are listed on "2011 National Trucker's Service Directory" so, when I do my trip planning, I include a stop at WalMart if I need so. Or I may use my GPS to search for WalMarts nearby. Many are right off the road, very easy access and some have lots of truck parking.

 

I found a truckers website that has everything you could possibly image for appliances and electronics in 12volt pm me if you want to check it out. I dont know how they are on this forum about posting links to outside websites.

 

Might I suggest some of the survivalist/prepper/homesteader type freeze dried foods like Mountain House and such? They come in #10 cans (about the size of a 5lb coffee can), and if you can boil a cup of water at a time, you can have a hardy meal. There are usually 10-15 servings per can. You might think, bleh, freeze dried food, but let me tell you they taste awesome. I mean incredibly good! One serving is normally right around 200 calories and they fill you up right. They have breakfast stuff like hot cereals and eggs with bacon and such, too. Cans are about $25.00 each from retailers like Emergency Essentials in Utah (or online). I got a sampler pack of Chicken A' La King, Chicken and Rice and Chicken with Noodles from prepared.pro for under $100. That's 31 servings for about $3.25 per serving. My family loves 'em, too, and when I get in the truck next year after retiring from the AF, these cans are coming with me for sure.

 

my husband uses a mr coffee type pot. dont buy the same style in a truckstop. they take an hour or more to brew. i was just looking at the hamilton beach products. i thinnk we are going to upgrade to something like that so we can brew while he is driving.

 

my husband eats healthy and well on about $60 a wk. we have had the good fortune to be able to supply him with all the appliances he needs. he uses an ice chest to keep the cold stuff. meat lasts 3 days. even what i send out with him frozen thaws out quickly. when the meats hit the 3 day limit, he cooks it all up and then it will last longer. he has a microwave, so i cook extra at home then vacum seal it and toss it in the freezer. this gives him a nice selection when he comes home. i will but family packs of meats, what i dont cook goes into individual vacum sealed packs. the lunchbox cooker is wonderful. its the only cigarette lighter appliance that we have found that is worth every penny and lasts longer than a month. if you have an inverter, get a crockpot. a can of carrots, potatoes and some stewbeef tossed in the pot in the morning, dinner that night. and there will be leftovers too. he just has the $10 model from walmart. there are other appliances he has. it has been alot of trial and error to see what works for us. not everything can be bought all it once. that can be a large chunk out of the wallet. he has a ready set go, you know, the one from the tv. i had some time to run with him and we decided to try it to make pizza. it got kinda messy, but we not only had pizza, we made calzone too! all that from a chef boy r dee pizza mix. quite often there is leftovers, not enough to keep but enough to share. one driver was very happy to get some biscuits and gravy, others, scrambled eggs and fruit. it can be done!

 

your creativity is limited only by your own imigination!