Made some Venison hamburger steaks in a homemade gravy with mashed potatoes tonight for my co-driver and I. What do you guys use to cook on the go?
I have an air fryer, 2 burner electric stove, George Foreman grill and electric skillet. We’ve used the air fryer mostly.
Also need to come up with a better way of cleaning dishes on the truck. I’m thinking a big laundry detergent jug with a spout full of water with a little dawn dish soap in the future.
My hat is off to today’s drivers that feel they have to cook in the truck. During my career from 1968-2011 I never cooked in the truck as I didn’t want all the utensils, limited storage and the ability to clean everything.
I always had my meals in sit down style restaurants in the truck stops where I was parked, fueled, showered and slept. I know things are a lot different in today’s world so I can’t positively comment on cooking in the truck.
Cooking is a hobby of mine, something I love to do. So being able to do it on the truck helps me feel at home a bit. Other than that, I feel the money savings is a benefit and being able to make better food choices on the road. I’m grateful for the ability to cook on the go!
That all looks super delish Jay!!!
I cook all my meals at home during hometime, then put them in glass containers with sealed lids.
Microwaves are toxic to human health so I use a Hot Logic to heat the food. The hot logic only takes 40 watts, does not emit massive amounts of radiation and in about 90 minutes heats and maintains a hot and safe food temperature until you turn it off. I leave the containers in the fridge and wash them at home.
As far as silverware, invest in a good camping spork. Clean it with a napkin and alcohol spray.
Bon appetite! 
This is an interesting and practical topic.
Do you pre-cook and then basically re-heat? The reason I ask is because wouldn’t a frying grill or similar smoke the cab out? We had a small exhaust hood in our travel trailer and it barely managed to keep smoke and moisture from building up.
If you pre-cook, do you all freeze/store ready-to-go meals or just wing a combo?
Thumbs up on the venison and taters. That’s what I’d call good cold weather grub.
I’m also curious as to the best way to clean up. Seems like it’s easiest to just use paper plates but that still leaves the cookware/storage items.
FWIW, microwaves use low-energy non-ionizing radiation. It doesn’t cause damage or health issues just by it’s use and it doesn’t alter anything in the food or make it radioactive. The problem usually is the container, such as plastics, which can certainly leech nasty stuff. After my dance with cancer, we spent some time making sure my wife and I weren’t going to do anything that could help it wake up. Nowadays I’m more worried about getting blasted with high energy scans from medical machines or being out in the Texas sun too long. If able, I just suggest investing in multi-use glassware of some type for storing & cooking food. I’m also a fan of stainless steel or iron pans as opposed to non-stick ones. I’m not fussy about using anything with a ‘coating’!
I can’t speak on pre-cooking meals because I have not tried that method yet, but maybe something to look into. I know there are a lot of good foods that freeze well, so that may be something in the future I do.
As far as smoking out the cab while cooking it really didn’t get too smoky in here but we did roll the windows down. I guess the worst/Best of it was the truck smelled like hamburger steak for a day or two afterwards lol
This go around, I just used water and kind of simmered it in the pan then dumped it out and wiped it out good with paper towels. I did use a stainless electric skillet and it cleaned pretty easily. I have seen people take pots and utensils into the truck Stop bathrooms and wash them in the sink before, but that’s not something I really want to do. So I think I’m going to try the laundry detergent bottle washed out and add a little Dawn dish soap with water that I can easily store and use to clean dishes with outside the truck.
If I come up with anything better than that I will certainly let you know.
Thanks for sharing the information on the microwave because since that guy mentioned it it has been on my mind but as long as people have been using microwaves, I figured it would be more of an issue if it were putting out that sort of radiation. I think I will be more mindful though of heating things in plastic in the microwave and I may start to use this little hot lunch box that I have to heat some things.
Thanks again for your input
Regarding the cleaning, If you’re using a good metal pan (stainless or similar) that isn’t non-stick, there’s a product out called “Barkeepers Friend”. The stuff I have is a powder in a container. I also use it on any metal or glass surface, but you can’t use it on some precious metals or anodized aluminum. It’ll react with it and ruin it. I use it with a paper towel and put just enough warm water to make a paste with some of that powder and give it a good rub it onto the pan. You can then just rinse it off. I’ve used it on a pan I had on the grill for a while and it did a perfect job. No residue or anything weird. It just rinses off easy.
Another thing you can use (but it’s a bit more pricy) is called “PBW”, which is used for home brewing. Also an easy to store and use powder. I’ve had stuff burned on on pans or stains in glass (ex. old bottle of vanilla) or stained coffee & tea mugs and PBW 100% cleaned them. It’s a base cleaner (not an acid) similar to some dish soaps. If you had a 10” pan, you’d just fill the pan with hot water (the hotter the better) and perhaps a spoonful of PBW. Let it sit for 15 mintues and the crud dissolves. Same as with the other stuff, you just rinse it off. We use it all the time here and even put a couple of spoonfuls in the dishwasher to really get stuff clean.
The only reason I suggest those things is that they come in small-ish containers; one can last a long time, with no issues of leaking, freezing, separating, or just going bad.
My advice is not to cook in a truck. First of all, trucking is a demanding job. You have minimal free time to shower, talk to family, work out, and sleep. Cooking adds too much of a chore and it will probably burn you out when you combine it with everything else.
Learn to eat on a minimalist lifestyle. Yes, eat at truck stops and restaurants once in a while. But usually you need something super quick to prepare that’s healthy, and cheap. I ate protein shakes and protein bars for years while OTR. I would supplement this with a handful of almonds, cashews, and maybe some leafy greens if I could get to a grocery store once in a while. I also took a multi-vitamin every day. None of this requires cooking.
Cooking takes too much time and it will burn you out. It will make your cab smell like your food, which for most people the smell is awful.
I will say something else. What you DO NOT consume is more important than what you do. For example, avoiding sugar, alcohol, and tobacco will increase your health more than eating lots of vegetables. Avoiding fast food (especially french fries) will improve your health more than cooking fancy dinners.
dead_node,
I agree with your take on cooking in the truck. My point is like yours in regards to the time spent cooking, eating and clean up afterwards. I always maxed my time starting in the beginning of my day with coffee and something light, maybe stopped mid-way thru my day for a drink and light lunch and ended my day with paperwork, shower, dinner and sleep.
It might not be the best for most drivers but it worked for me. I usually drove nights so I had less problems finding parking and showers than the average drivers. My trucks were either daycabs or mid roof single bunk trucks which left little room for cooking utensils or extras. If I was in a daycab I usually slept across the seats in the beginning of my career during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s or got a motel room at the Union 76 Truck Stops when they had the roomettes upstairs. They were simple and inexpensive and later the basic sleepers were only for sleeping at no room for anything else.
I always ate dinner in the truck stop sit down restaurants and it didn’t affect my health in any way that I know of even today being retired and 77 years old I get 6 month check ups with doctor and health and blood tests say everything is normal. Maybe I’m lucky or something. I’m not a good eater either as I still tend to be a meat, potatoes, gravy, bread and butter and 3 cups of coffee a day. I’m still 6’1" and 210lbs. and was they same when I graduated high school.
So 7 months OTR now I’ve changed a few things. Got rid of all the cooking appliances save for my little air fryer which I use to heat up my breakfast McMuffin and the occasional chicken party for a sandwich. Outside of that, I make a ham/cheese and a PB&J for my drive everyday and have nutri-grain bars, apples and my Greek yogurt with fruit and granola for snacks. I also keep pumpkin seeds all the time.
I found I very rarely used any of the cooking appliances so I put them all back in my garage cabinet by my 2nd trip home. Pretty much just keep it simple now.
Makes more sense than having all the extra cooking items and food on board.
I’m OTR and basically live in my truck for nine months out of the year. Never have cooked in the truck. When parked at a truck stop with a sit down restaurant I order from the breakfast menu and pass on the potatoes and bread. I substitute with sliced tomatoes and cottage cheese if available. I try and visit a Walmart or grocery store when available to purchase fresh fruit (avocados, apples, berries, etc), milk, prepared foods such as salmon, egg salad,… I enjoy Kimchee, sauerkraut, sardines, various types of cheese. While driving, I munch on peanuts, peanut butter, beef jerky and other low carb snacks. I have controlled type 2 diabetes, so my diet may be a bit strict for some folks. But, works for me and keeps my A1C below 6.5. Hope this information is useful for some body!
I, too, am one of those who check in. But just signing in doesn’t leave any marks.
Also, Trucking Truth have enough searchable information so that any truck/CDL question on search engines would put TT info right towards the top. We are quick to answer questions when they come, but that like blip of info won’t get noticed by Google.
They’re is s way to access the old TT stuff (see “Zombie edition” topic). We could resurrect some of that in an article here. As search engines pass by, they could pick it up
Unfortunately, it’s hopeless. That’s why I closed Trucking Truth and opened High Road Training. The new site has no forum, articles, or any of that.
No one goes to forums anymore. I check in here daily, and it died like I knew it would. If Trucking Truth couldn’t get any action in a forum anymore, no one will. We were the second-largest trucking site on the planet, and well-established since 2007, with heavy traffic. But once AI took over, that was the end of that era.
I do still have every last drop of data from Trucking Truth. I even built a tool that lets you ask AI questions about trucking, and then it searches the moderator’s posts from our old forum and gives you advice. Even though a lot of the advice still applies, most of it is many years old.
At this point, even I have no idea how I’ll make money now on the Web. I’m building products, mastering AI in everything I do, and seeking opportunities in this new AI-driven world. Thus far, it’s not clear how money will be made in the coming years, but it is clear that the old ways have died.
Even within trucking, no one seems to be recruiting hard right now, and they haven’t for a few years, even since they flooded the system with CDLs for immigrants.
So the combination of the political policies of the past few years and the advent of modern AI turned everyone’s world upside down, and no one more so than me, but that’s cool. That’s what technology does - it forces you to adapt continuously. I accept that. I guess I have no choice!
But the old days are gone now, and they ain’t coming back. Right now, we’re all in limbo because no one can really figure out how to use AI effectively in most scenarios. It’s just too unreliable. That will improve in the coming years, but no one knows how quickly.
So the rug got pulled out from under us. That’s how it goes sometimes. Hopefully, the future will be even better, but humans will not connect with each other directly as often as they used to. They’ll turn to AI instead. Ironically, many people will turn to the major social media platforms, not realizing more than half of the traffic is actually AI, not people.
Strange new world!
Brett,
I agree and disagree with your points of view. There are other trucking sites that are quite active daily with a variety of topics and are doing well. AI might be the way of the future but not necessarily for everyone or everything.
You can’t replace good human contact, a solid handshake or common sense. Humans still need to communicate directly and stop relying on machines to do it for them. I am one of the old dogs the use basic tools and do not rely on machines other than a phone or tv.
