In our early years of marriage, Bob was paid once a month, and it took a lot of budgeting to be able to put a meal on the table by the time the end of the month arrived. This habit of planning meals has stuck with me to this day, and I very rarely go to the grocery store without a plan.
I use a grocery app on my phone to quickly jot down items that we run out of in the truck, and reference the app to see what we need once we get to the grocery store. My planning in the truck is much different from when we are at home; I plan much simpler meals. Our week will include both eating inside at the truck stops to support them and meals prepared when a kitchen is available that can be heated up in the truck later in the week.
Knowing our habits helps when planning meals. Personally, when I get done driving a full shift, the last thing I want to do is cook a meal, and that is where planning becomes essential. We try to go shopping every weekend while out on the road, and then I prepare our meals for the week while we are sitting. When we are running hard, neither one of us likes to take the time to go inside and eat, and we find that warming up a meal and relaxing in the truck rejuvenates us.
For example, a typical weekday looks like this for me when under a load and then when waiting for a load:
Running:
- Morning - Protein bar or shake
- Lunch - Salad or warmed up meal
- Dinner – Protein bar or shake
- Snack – Cheese stick with a protein
Sitting:
- Morning – Protein bar or shake
- Lunch – Eat inside truck stop
- Dinner – Protein bar or shake
- Snack – Mixed nuts
While we are running, our mealtimes are skewed since my dinner time is usually about four in the afternoon and Bob’s dinner time is usually about eight at night when he takes his half-hour break. Even when we are sitting, our meals are at odd times as I still go to bed very early and Bob goes to bed very late. What I consider dinner Bob usually considers lunch, but it all works out.
Planning meals and snacks keeps us from impulse buying inside the truck stop as we have what we need in the truck. Keeping the grocery app up to date helps when we have the ability to go to a grocery store and pick up supplies.
This year I plan to try out a new service called Shipt. A few other truck drivers I know have been using this paid for service where we can have groceries delivered right to our truck. I have heard excellent reviews from other drivers and I think I could get a little more carried away with my planning when I don’t have to spend as much time in the grocery store looking for stuff. Did I mention I really don’t like to shop?
For more ideas for eating on the road, here is a YouTube Video I did with Bob Perry about healthy snacks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjFwQildW9M