Cooking while on the road - meal ideas for truck drivers

26 August 2024

Cooking on the road

First things first - As a truck driver, you have several options for nutrition:

1. You can cook in or around the truck at a parking or stop
2. You can prepare food at home in advance (or ask your partner to do so)
3. You can eat in restaurants or pubs you pass along your route

Read the article further and get to know each of these better.

How to cook in a car park?

If you intend to cook while your truck is parked at a rest, it is worth equipping yourself with items such as:

• Tourist cooker / portable microwave, frying pan or air fryer
• Gas bottle (if you plan to use a gas stove)
• Kitchen utensils (spatula, tongs, spoon, knife etc.)
• Cutting board (preferably large - will increase cooking space)
• Paper towels
• Disposable or reusable crockery and cutlery
• Containers for unused ingredients
• Waste bags
• Travel fridge

Cleaning must also be thought of. For this you’ll need:

• Cloths
• A container of water (necessary for washing reusable crockery and cutlery if your trailer is not equipped with a water tank)
• Disposable wipes (useful for wiping down surfaces that have been cooked on)

What to cook on the road in a car park? Meal ideas for drivers

Once you have the right equipment with you, you can prepare whatever you fancy!

You can easily grill burgers in an electric frying pan or grill, cook pasta with tomato sauce or Mexican soup in a travel cooker, and reheat leftover Indian-style beef in a portable microwave oven.

You are only limited by recipes that require the use of home appliances. On the road, you will not prepare dishes that require baking, such as cakes, casseroles or roast meat.

Other than that, you have a lot of freedom in your choice of dishes - you can cook, fry, grill and reheat using the portable equipment you have with you.

It's also a good idea to have spices with you to add variety to your dish. They will give even simple meals a special touch and allow you to enjoy a variety of flavours wherever you are.

There will be evenings when you don't feel like preparing complicated dishes. In an emergency, instant meals such as ‘Chinese soups’, canned soups or ready-made meals that only need to be heated up will come in handy. With these, you can quickly prepare a cheap and simple meal without too much effort.

How do you keep your truck clean?

1. Always wash your hands and surfaces thoroughly after contact with raw meat.
2. Have disinfectant with you - either in a spray with a cloth or in wipe form.
3. Use disposable plates and cutlery to make cleaning up easier.
4. Clean reusable dishes with disinfectant wipes. Wash them thoroughly at the stopping point.

Jar meal ideas for truck drivers

If you have the option of heating food in the truck but don't want to cook on the road, it's a good idea to prepare jarred food in advance for the trip.

Home-wrapped jars will stay fresh for several weeks and the food does not lose much vitamin and nutritional value.

To ensure that your driver's jar meals can be stored outside of the fridge, curing should be combined with additional pasteurisation (instructions on how to do this are provided below). You can then store your homemade jars this way outside the fridge for up to 3-4 weeks!

Here are our ideas for driver's jar dishes:

• Goulash soup
• Meatballs in tomato sauce
• Stuffed cabbage rolls made with minced meat
• Baked beans
• Bigos
• Vegetable broth
• Carbonara (white sauce with bacon for pasta)
• Sauerkraut with mushrooms in a fry-up
• Cream of cauliflower soup

How do you pasteurise a dish and what is curing?

Curing involves tightly sealing a homemade jar of food and then heating it in water or the oven to kill bacteria. Thanks to curing, the jar closes hermetically (the lid adheres so that the food does not have access to air) The easiest way to cure foods that contain a lot of liquid, such as soups and dishes in sauce.

Pasteurising, on the other hand, involves heating the food twice to 100°C (not more). Hot food for the trip jar is placed in a thoroughly washed and tightly sealed container, heated and left to cool, preferably overnight.

What meals to eat on the road? Local gastronomy

Although eating at local eateries en route is convenient and the food is tasty - regularly eating meals saturated with flavour enhancers, salt or sugar is not healthy in the long run and can make you feel unwell.

There is also always the risk of ending up with something stale, and this can already be extremely problematic, especially on the road when you don't have easy access to a toilet.

Before visiting an establishment, it is always a good idea to check the ratings of the establishment, for example on google maps. You will then know what quality of food is served and even what is worth ordering by reading recommendations and reviews from previous customers.

More advice for truck drivers?

Take care of your health! Read these articles: https://www.247drive.com/blog/30/the-role-of-healthy-sleep-for-professional-drivers or https://www.247drive.com/blog/61/weekly-wellness-plan-for-a-professional-an-example 

Ensure proper preparation for your job interview! Read more here https://www.247drive.com/blog/26/how-to-prepare-for-your-job-interview-as-a-driver 

Are you looking for a job as a truck driver?

Check out our job vacancies at https://www.247drive.com/vacancies 

Why 24/7 drive?

☑ 24/7 drive team support 

We seamlessly guide you through the recruitment processes. Our experts help with contracts, payroll and necessary permits. We feel responsible for everyone who works at 24/7 drive and want everyone to feel valued when they work for and with us. Guided by this idea, we also help you find suitable housing near your new workplace.

☑ Rapid recruitment 

The recruitment process is easy and fast, so you waste less time waiting. You don't have to worry about its progress, our experts will take care of you.

☑ Guarantee of security

100% of the hires we complete are absolutely compliant with current legislation. 

Contact your personal account manager: https://www.247drive.com/contact.