Living In a Truck

TheCerealKiller

So the short version of my story is that I recently moved across the country, leaving my cushy office job for a position in the Alberta oil patch. I now spend 12 - 14 hrs a day living out of a truck. No microwave, no refrigerator, and only enough room for a small cooler bag. This lifestyle is a drastic change for me, and I am struggling with finding ways to eat a balanced healthy diet within these confines. Anyone else live their lives out of a truck and have some advice?

drmerc

your username is appropriate

cedarghost

pack a cooler, eat as healthy as you can,, just make sure to stay where you need to on calories.
Good luck!

TheCerealKiller

Thank you. I completely agree. Wait.. are you saying I should eat cereal in the truck? Milk storage is a bit of an issue, so is spillage.

rose313

Hard boiled eggs, lunch meat, celery, carrots, dip, apple slices with peanut butter.

mysugarbearrocks

Just because you have to eat on the go doesnt mean you cant eat healthy. There are protein shakes, bars for on the go pluse fruits and veggies, nuts. Stock up on sandwich size ziplock bags. Drink lots of water or poweraide zero. Cut out the sodas and other sugary drinks and snacks. You can do it you just have to get creative and stay positive, and stick to your goals. I have family that was long haul drivers and it is easy to stray from the hard path onto slippery slopes of fast and convenient. Never give up.

Mokey41

Hard boiled eggs, lunch meat, celery, carrots, dip, apple slices with peanut butter.

This. My hubby isn't dieting but he has a cooler with an ice pack in the lid. He packs cans of tuna, ham, hard boiled eggs, apples, carrot sticks, granola bars, fruit cups, and almonds. He's allergic to peanuts but peanut butter is great as well.

rose313

And trail mix, although it is high calorie, a small amount should fill you up. Make your own at home if you're worried about all the sodium in prepackaged trail mix. I like mini pretzels, almonds, raisins, and peanuts in mine, all unsalted.

bradwwood

almonds, dried fruits, regular fruits

penrbrown

How much longer are you going to be living out of your truck?

Do you have a cooler? It's pretty cold so it won't be too hard to keep your food cool BUT keeping it from freezing might be difficult.

I'm also in Alberta! You up north? Anyway. I've never had to live out of a vehicle so I don't know what advice to give you but I wish you all the best!

Ronngie

You can freeze bottles of water & put it in your cooler to keep cold items cold. Apples, Raisins, cut up veggies are all great lunch items. Best of luck to you!

haroon_awan

Hey man, work can suck sometimes. This summer, while all my friends were away on holiday and enjoying themselves, I spent 3 hours a day travelling (on a bus which was always lfull to the brim, smelly, hot and almost always late (eg 1 hour delay, 2 hour delays) to and from work because I was so broke. I left the house at 7am, got home at 8 or 9pm, workout out, showered, had dinner and went to sleep to do it all again.

No friends around (except for some people at my job), no family around, nothing. It sucked but I had to do it.

Please don't give up - just do your best and forget the rest. We all have to go through crap, some of us for a hell of a lot longer than what seems fair, but in the end and yes, it does end), it makes us stronger.

polarsjewel

Alberta in the winter - you won't have any problem keeping your milk cold! Just pack it in small enough containers that can get you through the day. Don't go packing 2l cartons! Good luck, and feel free to add a friend from the West Coast

Seajolly

Fresh fruits like apples and bananas, canned tuna, canned beans, nuts (unsalted), carrots, drink lots of water, salad with dressing you don't need to refrigerate like a mix of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, and pepper.

Bronx_Montgomery

Dude pre make all your meals. I know its rough since you work all the time but that is the only way. Do it on a sunday and pre make your meals for the week. Pack it in a cooler and your good.

jesswait

I've never lived in a truck, but I think you could apply 'camping' advice to your situation. Raw fruits, nuts and vegetables not idea for long term but they do sell canned meat like tuna and chicken you could eat. Since it's getting colder most things that normally require refrigeration could likely do okay left out.

TheCerealKiller

How much longer are you going to be living out of your truck?

Do you have a cooler? It's pretty cold so it won't be too hard to keep your food cool BUT keeping it from freezing might be difficult.

I'm also in Alberta! You up north? Anyway. I've never had to live out of a vehicle so I don't know what advice to give you but I wish you all the best!

Going to be doing this job for the foreseeable future. I'm north east ish in Lloydminster. Keeping stuff cold isn't really too hard. The other big problem I have is that my job is really dirty, even with gloves my hands get filthy with no way to wash them. So I have been resorting to prepackaged stuff, or sandwiches in Ziploc back. Anything I need to eat with my hands is sort of off the menu.

Pandorian

This is a great example of what the "powdered / freeze dried" stuff were "made" to help out... yeah you can't really "keep" milk directly but you can buy powdered milk and make up enough each night to cover your next days use (thinking NON-instant here)

Propane burner / appliances with the right adaptor can be connected to a 20lb tank... Either the pressure reducing hose or a distribution tree to run the "normally" used with 1lb canisters... at $5 per canister those add up especially when a 20lb refill is $20 (don't do the so-called "trade and save" at 30 and up for what may not be an entirely full canister. Having 2 canisters is helpful so you never have to fill up until the tank is truly "empty". Invest in a decent quality thermos etc.
Seen the "pasta cooker" things where you put the pasta in then add hot water? think along those lines for cooking... run the propane burner long enough to boil the water then put the water into the canister / thermos and add your other ingredients.. yeah it can take a bit longer to "cook" but it'll still cook and you didn't have to use fuel from raw to cooked, just to heat the water to boiling.

Beans, nuts, jerky and similar items... dried fruit, dried veggies, they're all shelf stable and take up "little" space for what you get from them..

For cleaning up your hands...
http://www.amazon.ca/Wypall-Waterless-Hand-Wipes-Bucket/dp/B002K2JTG2/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1354060291&sr=8-10
or similar "hand wipe" products will assist with the "no running water" issue.
Is your truck on-site at the job or is it where you are spending your off hours? That'll partially change what you're looking for for gear including food and prep methods. As in things like the deli meat suggestions are one thing if you're near the grocer on a 2 or 3 times a week basis and can buy fresh without worrying about the refrigeration but if you are on a remote site for 2 weeks at a time not able to get to the grocer frequently you' may want more of the dried stuff that will be good without refrigeration

Dragonldy69

My hubby is a Truck driver and is out on the road for two weeks and then home for 2-3 days.. He has a Ice chest that plugs into a cig. lighter .. He bought a pan that plugs into a cig. lighter and carries soups with him.. I try to send snack food with him like trail mixes,cheese sticks,yougart and nuts. he drinks a big 42oz glass of water and his coffee.. When I was out there with him we carried all these things and sandwich food as well. Made sandwiches and had soups for dinner.. Bought a power inverter and took our crockpot with us.. We also carried a portable stove that uses propane bottles ..During the summer we carried a small BBQ and cooked outside also,,
Hope this helps :drinker:

SofaKingRad_

Getting healthy is always important. I would get a camping stove and camping grill and make grilled chicken and steaks.

brainfreeze72

My husband and I love garden salads. He puts everything in there. Romaine, spinach, 3 different colors of bell peppers, onions, cucumber, tomato, hot banana peppers, even sunflower seeds and dried cranberries. He will cut up a piece of meat from dinner leftovers (chicken, fish, pork roast, roast beef) or mix some tuna salad or chicken salad to top off his salad with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and whatever dressing flavor of the week. If you put croutons on you've got all your food groups. I top mine with cottage cheese since I'm a sodium addict in recovery. Freezing bottles of water to keep in your bag in the summer works great, it will melt as the day goes on and you can drink the water (or Gatorade or whatever).

mhaight85

I feel for you, I don't work out of a truck but I do work 11hr shifts with no microwave or refrigerator. I pack a lunch bag with ice pack, I'm big on salads with protein (hard boiled egg, meat) to help make them more filling. Sandwiches are a great option though, with whole wheat bread and no mayo. There are lots of options with sandwiches! Sometimes I make a quesadilla in the frying pan with whole wheat tortilla, black beans and/or chicken, salsa & shredded cheese.... they are better warm but not bad cold.

My husband thinks meal replacements bars/shakes are kind of a joke because they don't keep him full but if you had a sandwich or salad or something and washed it down with a meal replacement shake that might work.

Apples and bananas are great, and pretty low maintenance to eat. I second the vote on hard boiled eggs, if you peel it at home and toss it in a bag it's easier to eat at work. Best wishes to you!

BritneysStuntDouble

beef stick

slkehl

Trail mix, peanut butter and apples, bananas, canned veggies, oatmeal, tomatoes, whole wheat crackers make good snacks. You can get a converter that plugs into your cigarette lighter that you can plug any two or three pronged plug into. You could invest in a crock-pot. That would fit easily in your car. Not sure how much power that would drain though.

Although it's not recommended by food safety agencies, I've heard that eggs can last a whole week at room temperature. And I've heard cheese can last for a good 24 hours outside the fridge, especially hard cheeses like parmesan

nanainkent

Hands? use baby wipes....the cheap generic ones...no soap? use sanitizer gels....hot food..think survival gear, camping gear, sterno flames for outside the truck. I was homeless for a while and used the kind of cans that have the lids like the tops of paint cans and put my food inside it sealed it up tight and stuck it on top of the car engine, closed the hood and whala..oven. Ways to keep things cold? Again, think of survival gear, hiking gear, hunting gear, camping gear. Go to the 7-11 and see if the guy will let you use the microwave.

http://www.survivalcampingstore.com/Stoves-Outdoors-Emergency-Camping

http://www.rei.com/search?query=cooking

But hey, what do I know I am just a clown.:laugh:

Oh wait, did you just mean living out your truck as an expression for spending all your time in your truck..if so, make a nice warm meal, put it in a glass cassarole dish with a lid and tie it closed, put a wet towel in the microwave heat it up hot, mean while wrap the dish in tin foil, (use gloves or hot pad to take out the hot towel) wrap the moist hot towel around the glass container then wrap a dry towel around that and finally a child size throw blanket. Put it in your truck. It will stay warm till lunch time. This is an old Russian trick.