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Eating Healthy On the Road: (4 Healthy Snacks for truck Drivers)

Healthy Snacks for Truck Drivers: (New Guide)

A balanced diet is a foreign concept to many truck drivers- and it’s not their fault. When you’re on the road, the options to eat healthily are rarely available, especially when your breaks are a few minutes long. Eating an unbalanced diet has many complications that follow soon, including obesity, high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and many more heart diseases. This blog is to give you ideas for healthy snacks for truck drivers!

Eating Healthy On the Road: (4 Healthy Snacks for truck Drivers)

1. Flavored yogurt

yogurt can quickly become your best friend, high in protein and packed with fruity flavors. If you’re looking for a snack that’s readily available no matter where you go, flavored yogurt is the end of your hunt. Yogurt is also enriched with calcium, which can help you fight against bad knees, backaches, and wrist pains. 

This snack is highly nutritious and will leave your hunger satiated!

Just watch for added sugar and yogurt with “added fruit” which usually means a lot more sugar. Greek yogurt is a great choice that will keep you full and healthy.

2. Salad

The salad makes for an excellent healthy snack for truck drivers. Salads can provide you with carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. This means you can avoid tummy troubles, acid reflux, and obesity while enjoying a delicious snack every time you’re hungry!

By salads, we mean the tasteful variations you can easily find in restaurant chains or carry with you from home! Chicken salad, turkey salad, Russian salad, and fruit salads are some easily prepared and available combinations you can enjoy.

Some of you say, “but Hope, I don’t like salad.” And the truth is, I don’t like many things, but I know it’s good for me. And I want to live the best life possible. Plus, the more you eat REAL food, your taste buds will change and like it too.

3. Fruits and berries

Fruits and berries are filled with antioxidants, natural sugar, and essential vitamins that our body needs to stay highly functioning and cognitive. Fruits like mangoes have high glucose levels and can energize you for long hours. 

Berries such as strawberries and blueberries are filled with antioxidants that keep you agile, whereas bananas have anti-stress properties. You can easily enjoy a fruit snack on the road, whether you store it in Tupperware or buy one from the local grocery stores!

Berries are also low in sugar and are so yummy as a quick snack. So eat up; no one ever gained weight by eating berries.

4. Smoothies

Smoothies are one of the most widely available options that are also the healthiest to choose from! With smoothies, you can be as creative as you want and enjoy an endless list of flavors, making it enjoyable every time you complete one. 

Smoothies hold the benefits of fruits and berries that we mentioned earlier and those of milk and yogurt. Rich in calcium, vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates, these drinks will be your best friend if you want flavor and health to go hand in hand. 

Some of the most common places to get smoothies are close to highways and other transporting routes, so make sure to stop there the next time you’re on the road!

Conclusion

In this blog, we wanted to explore some healthy options that truck drivers can enjoy as snacks without worrying about their impact on their health. The four healthy snacks for truck drivers mentioned in this blog have been curated with a balanced diet in mind, and with that, we wish you happy traveling!

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Mobile Meals Made Healthy: Shrimp and Grits

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Welcome to Mobile Meals Made Healthy!

Healthy trucker food doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or a figment of your imagination. Many drivers feel married to the truckstop food options, leaving them little to no wiggle room when it comes to variety and healthy eating. There are eight foods here at Mother Trucker Yoga that we think every driver should be carrying with them, and you can read about what they are inside Truckers Gear Guide.

But today is all about healthy trucker food you can make on the go. Cheryl Vickers is our featured foodie. She is a team driver with her husband and started working with Mother Trucker Yoga a year ago to help continue her health journey as a truck driver, and after looking for guidance on how to make that happen found Mother Trucker Yoga through the Driven to Be Healthy Challenge (You can join our second annual that starts August 30, 2021, HERE).

Cheryl has grown to love cooking on the truck, and after figuring out a little prep work and preparing before she leaves for the week making healthy meals from the truck has only gotten easier and more fun. And when she’s done cooking and enjoying delicious food, she is getting her Mother Trucker Yoga-approved moves in each day, she and her husband are down nearly 100 pounds combine and feeling better than they have in a long time.

Healthy Trucker Food: Shrimp and Grits

How to Make Trucker Approved Rice Grits

  • 1 cup of Rice Grits
  • 2 cups of Water
  • Pinch of Sea Salt
  • Garlic Powder

Healthy Trucker Food Shrimp and Grits Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Directions for Shrimp and Grits

STEP 1: Rince the rice is possible

STEP 2: Combine the above ingredients

STEP 3: Let cook for 30 minutes or let simmer during your driving for a couple of hours

Healthy Trucker Food Shrimp and Grits Mother Trucker Yoga Blog 3

There are several different ways you can get your meal prepped while driving. One is to prep in the morning and lets your food simmer all day. The second is to make your meal for tomorrow the night before, let it simmer or cook in your crockpot or RoadPro Lunch Box, and then all you have to do is heat it for dinner the next day. And third is to prepare the morning of and let it simmer for a couple of hours while driving.

How to Make The Healthy Trucker Shrimp

STEP 1: Thaw shrimp

STEP 2: Peel and deveined (another option is to buy peeled, deveined, and precooked shrimp (I love ALDI’s).

STEP 3: Cut up onion, tomatoes, and bell peppers

STEP 4: Spray shrimp with either avocado or olive oil

STEP 5: Mix a pinch of sea salt, black pepper, garlic salt (or just garlic powder), paprika, and Italian seasoning

STEP 6: Mix shrimp, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, and seasoning mixture together

STEP 7: Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes (or use RoadPro LunchBox or other means for cooking)

STEP 8: After rice grits are cooked, add cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is melted

Healthy Trucker Food Shrimp and Grits Mother Trucker Yoga blog 2

How to Make Healthy Trucker Salad

STEP 1: Use your favorite greens

STEP 2: Shredded carrots, chop cucumbers, and grape tomatoes

STEP 3: Toss with raspberry vinaigrette dressing

 

Now eat Shrimp and Grits and Salad and ENJOY!

Healthy Trucker Food Shrimp and Grits Mother Trucker Yoga Blog 4

 

Healthy Trucker Food Cost

The total investment for this delicious dinner for 2:

Shrimp 1/2 pound $6.62

Rice grits $1.00

Cheese $ .50

Salad $5.00

Veggies $1.00

Total Cost $14.12 ÷ 2 = $7.06 each prep-time 10 minutes, cook time 30 minutes, clean-up 10 minutes. total 50 minutes

You can eat healthy as a truck driver. This recipe may seem a bit intimidating, but try this: make one component of this meal at a time, to get more comfortable and then make them as a meal. The biggest reason we think we can’t do things in life is not because of resources. It is because we have already told ourselves we can’t. I believe you can be healthy as a truck driver. You are just one meal away from realizing you can do this! To join Cheryl and others for more great recipes and healthy trucker food ideas, join our FREE community- Accelerate Your Health with Mother Trucker Yoga.

 

Check out other Mobile Meals Made Healthy:

Mobile Meals Made Healthy: Easy Truckers Roasted Veggies & Country-Style Ribs

 

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4 Tips To Start Eating Healthy Today

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Eating healthy in today’s world seems to be similar to solving a complicated murder mystery with multiple conflicting witnesses.

The people over here say this.

The people over there say that.

The people up in front are saying no to both the above and claiming that simply thinking good thoughts about your food is good enough. (Insert humor here)

I like to think I am a simple person in that the more someone makes something complicated, the more I actually don’t want to follow their advice. Have you ever been there?

Coming from an eating disorder food was a HUGE DEAL. I mean we kinda need it to survive, it’s fuel, and we shouldn’t feel guilty for enjoying it. HOWEVER…too much of a good thing truly is too much of a good thing.

Today I want to encourage you, no matter where you are, to start small. Let’s not go and try to move the biggest most HUGE-NORMOUS moutnain in front of you today. Were just yesterday you were not even prepared to pack a bag for the big climb.

Instead, how about we take this one step at a time. Build momentum and ride the wave of little successes turning into big ones.

Here are my 4 Tips to Start Eating Healthy Today:

  1. S-L-O-W D-O-W-N. Yes, you heard me, just slow down. Studies show that your eating pace DOES play tribute to how much weight you will put on. Fast eaters are 115% more likely to be obese than slow eaters. – YIKES!
  2. Drink More Water. You have heard this 9 million, 700 thousand, 41 times already. But if you still aren’t drinking your adequate supply then it might be time to consider this to be the mountain to climb. People who consume adequate water each day consume 200 less calories per day than those who don’t. And you didn’t even have to “diet” to do that. Score! Not to mention that those who drink more water tend to burn more calories per day than those who don’t.
  3. Try At Least One New Healthy Recipe…each time you hit the road with your next haul. Yes, there is a little bit of preparation involved. But when you have some skin in the game you are more likely to follow through. Living on the road is complicated at times, but with a little preparation- YOU CAN DO THIS. We often choose unhealthy foods when we feel frustrated, lonely, and in a pinch. Diffuse the situation before it happens, and drive prepared. If you haven’t yet, try the InstaCart App and have groceries delivered to you even at the truck stop!
  4. Eat Your Greens First. Did you know that eating greens before your carbs has been shown to have a positive affect on your blood sugar levels? You can take that information right to your plate. Eating your greens is one simple step on the eating healthy train we all can take together.

I want to encourage you to not let your mind over complicate this. Weight-loss may be your goal. But you didn’t get to where you were overnight. This was a process that likely took years. So be kind to yourself and let’s create new habits that will last you the rest of your life. Truck driver or not, the food isn’t the problem, it’s our relationship with it. Let’s change how we look at food. Buy food. Prepare food. And put food into our bodies.

Mother Trucker Yoga believes in small simple changes. Those changes when done correctly can and will make a huge impact on the rest of your life. Mainly because you will be doing them for the rest of your life. Let your relationship with food be no different. Eating healthy does not need to be complicated. Make sure you aren’t the one complicating it.

 

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Egg in a Basket (Egg in an Avocado)

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Egg in a hole, egg in a basket, toad in a hole, hen in a nest, one-eyed Jack. Until recently I had never even heard of some of these crazy names for food. But no matter what, it doesn’t change the deliciousness of our dish we are sharing with you all today. 

Egg in a hole Mother Trucker Yoga

Call it what you want. Egg in a hole is about to go to a hole new level. Skip the bread slices today because we are changing up the recipe today and giving your taste buds a makeover. 

 

No need to bake this dish in the oven, you can throw it together and use RoadPro Family of Brands frying pan. And let it cook while you get your coffee and get ready for the road. This dish may just stop traffic!

 

It can be tough while living over the road to eat healthy. But most certainly not impossible! First things first, stop telling yourself you can’t eat healthy over the road. Second, stop telling yourself you can’t cook healthy over the road. 

 

This dish was featured at GATS 2019 in my presentation Fueling Your Rig, Fueling You- Eating Healthy Over The Road. And my new trucker friend Travis whipped (literally) this dish up in eight minutes. 

 

Why eight minutes? Because, that is the amount of time on stage I gave him. And heck, if he could really make a dish in 8 minutes. I want to share about it!

 

And alongside our other featured dishes: Mongolian Beef, Asian Salad, and Spring Rolls this was a huge hit!

 

Egg in a Basket (Egg in an Avocado Basket)

 

I didn’t know what that was (full disclosure). But I did know what Egg in a Hole was. And the parameters I gave Travis was no bread and must be healthy. 

 

Wow! His tweaks were out of this world HOME RUN! And I want to share that with you today!

 

This isn’t just a simple breakfast, this could be lunch or dinner. Anytime, anywhere, and yes, over the road, made in your truck! 

 

EGGS IN A BASKET

Like this recipe?

Please share this recipe out with all your over the road friends! 

 

For many breakfast is their favorite meal. But one reason I love this dish is because it could be lunch or dinner. And if you are intermittent fasting, or focusing on getting healthy fats and protein, this dish is for you!

 

Busy? At home? Or on the road, you can make this dish.

This is a really healthy and filling breakfast, and take it from Travis, it only takes 8 minutes, and less than that to eat!

 

Ingredients for Eggs in a Basket 

3 ? Avocados 

3 crushed tomatoes or 1 jar of chunky marinara sauce 

1 bag of spinach 

1 onion chopped (don’t have onion tried dried onion flakes)

1 green pepper chopped 

1 tbsp minced garlic (no garlic, try dehydrated garlic)

1/2 cup of Parmesan 

1/2 cup of feta cheese 

Basil to taste/ garnish with diced tomatoes

1 carton of eggs 

Mother Trucker Yoga Egg in a Hole Blog

HOW TO MAKE EGGS IN A BASKET AVOCADO

 

  1. Make sure the griddle is hot in order to get the bread nice and crispy.
  2. Start with a ripe avocado, you can check how ripe it is by noticing if it is firm yet you can squeeze it a bit. And also notice if the belly button (where the stem used to be) is poking out. If it is, the avocado is ripe. 
  3. Slice lengthwise and pull the pit out. 
  4. Scoop out the fruit. And then cut the avocado into slices so there is a hole to put the egg into once in the pan. 
  5. You can choose your thickness depending on how many you want to make. 
  6. Pour the marinara in frying pan and add spices.
  7. Place avocado slices in the marinara.
  8. Crack eggs carefully and place eggs into the holes of the avocados.
  9. Use fresh eggs, preferably Organic eggs. Kwik Trip and Kwik Star Stores sell fresh eggs which is fantastic for this recipe. 
  10. Salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

HOW TO SERVE EGGS IN A BASKET?

Freshly cracked black pepper is enough, but you can also drizzle some sriracha on top while serving.

 

YUM! I prefer crispy bacon to go along with my meal. You can also serve it with our delicious Asian Salad

 

Tools used to make Eggs in a Basket

 

Griddle: We recommend Road Pro Family of brands frying pan.

You can often find them at participating TA-Petro Truck Stops. 

 

Now this portioning will easily feed you and your trucker friends. 

So feel free to reduce the quantity in half to meet your needs. 

 

This is a delicious way to still enjoy Eggs in a Basket without all the bread and empty calories. 

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Easy Mongolian Beef Made on the Truck

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Easy MONGOLIAN BEEF Made on the truck

This Easy Monogolian Beef is easier than you think. And best yet it’s ready in 45 minutes-all made on the truck thanks to RoadPro’s Lunch Box cooker.

Easy Mongolian Beef Made on the Truck

No longer do you need to complain that it’s too difficult to get great tasting food as a long-haul trucker. Not only has Road Pro made it easier than ever to cook on the truck. But here is a mouth-watering recipe brought to you by veteran trucker Robert Greene that tastes better than P.F. Chang’s!

The magic is in the super simple sauce (yes, we said simple) and convenient yet top chef worthy lunch box cooker. We made this recipe live at GATS this past month those in the audience went crazy. The delicious thick sauce and amazing flavor, all made in minutes with little utensils (we too were traveling and did not have the convenience of a kitchen).

The flavor is unreal.  And we know you are going to go crazy for this healthy steak recipe. Don’t open your truck door or you’ll be having guest for dinner.

cooking on the truck Mongolian Beef Blog

How do you make Mongolian beef?

  • Slice the flank steak into strips (we suggest 3” long).
  • In a 1-gallon Ziplock bag (or large container) put the beef and all the ingredients except the olive oil into the bag. Toss the beef to coat evenly.
  • You may want to pre-mix the cornstarch and water together to make sure it is thoroughly mixed in another container or in the Ziplock bag first to get the clumps out.
  • Let chill for up to 2 hours (we let our chill for 45 minutes).
  • Coat RoadPro 12-Volt Portable Stove  with remaining olive oil.
  • Heat up RoadPro Lunch Box so it is very hot.
  • Carefully place stake and other ingredients into lunch box and securely close.
  • Make sure lunch box is sitting securely on a flat surface.
  • Let steak cook inside the Portable Stove (Lunch Box) for 45 minutes to 1 hour (checking as needed, but be careful when you open the Portable Stove, to open it slowly not to burn yourself with the steam that will come out).

Mongolian Beef Blog Post Mother Trucker Yoga

Ingredients list:

  • ¾ lb of Flank Steak
  • 2 tsp Garlic
  • 2 tsp Ginger
  • 4 Green Onions, sliced thin
  • 5 Dried Red Chillis
  • 3/8 cup Hoisen Sauce
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1/8 cup Cornstarch
  • ½ tsp Sesame Oil (or any oil except vegetable oil)
  • 5 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 ½ Tbsp Water
  • 1 can Sliced Water Chestnuts
  • 1 can Sliced Bamboo Shoots

Serve over rice, or Rice noodles or eat as the main dish!

Winner of RoadPro Portable Oven at GATS Blog Post

RoadPro’s Portable Oven winner at GATS 2019

What kind of beef should I use?

Most Mongolian beef recipes use flank steak. And that is what we are suggesting here. We suggest that you slice the beef about ¼ inch thick and about 3” long strips.

Tips and Tricks for making the perfect Mongolian beef:

  • When slicing your beef:  It is best to slice flank steak against the grain to create an easier cutting experience. We also advise you not cut the beef directly on any surface of the truck that may leave scratches.
  • Smaller batches:  Although the Lunch Box by RoadPro is large it is not meant to make a meal for an army. So, consider making smaller batches. This will also allow for room to stir without making a mess in the truck.
  • Adjusting the sauce:  Cornstarch is used to thicken a sauce. If you prefer a thinner sauce omit the cornstarch. But if you would like a thicker sauce just add ½ to 1 tsp more of cornstarch at a time. You can also add more cornstarch (and water mixture) during the sampling process if you want to see a thicker sauce.

 

What is Mongolian Beef best served with?

  • Mongolian beef is delicious with rice or rice noodles. However, my favorite is to stir-fry other veggies like snow peas, broccoli or even mushrooms. Or try it with our Asian Slaw Salad recipe. Delicious and super easy to make on the truck!

 

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Healthy and Simple Recipes for Truckers

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On the go: healthy and simple trucker food recipes. Anytime, anywhere.

I just trucked 18 hours home from GATS in Dallas, Texas back home to Hartford, Wisconsin. We team drove our RV and made it back safely.

Many of you came to see me (hey all, Hope here) at the Landstar Health Stage to learn more about how to live a healthy life over the road. And one of Saturday’s presentations was: Fueling Your Rig, Fueling You: Eating Healthy Over The Road Made Easy. Sponsored by RoadPro Family of Brands

GATS Fueling Your Rig Fueling You Presentation

Cooking at GATS 2019

The presentation was a hit! We had just enough food, and no one left hungry!

Everyone at the event loved what we not only talked about but ate.

  • I believe that you can eat healthier on your truck.
  • I believe it’s about small simple changes, not big huge leaps that will help you change your life’s current route to health.
  • I believe you can do this!

It’s not about getting up and doing a complete 180 (although no one is saying you can’t). But what I am suggesting is to start small.

If BIG HUGE DRASTIC changes worked so well, more than 8% of New Years resolutions wouldn’t fail!!!

Eating healthy on the truck and over the road starts with you saying to yourself, “I can do this”.

At GATS we discussed the notion of GOOD, BETTER, BEST. And with this idea we recognize the opportunities to improve in little ways, and when you do that consistently, it add up.

Instead of a soda with every meal, how about you eliminate one soda a day. Or better yet, just one soda, one day a week. I want you to make changes you can stick to. Not changes you give up on because you did too much too soon.

Why I’m so passionate about this approach is because I struggled with an eating disorder for YEARS. Almost half my life.

Every day I would wake up and say:

  • “Today I’m not going to over eat.”
  • “Today I’m not going to binge and purge”. 
  • “Today, I’m going to magically be changed”. 

And not even one hour into the day and I was back in the cycle of no return…

Sound familiar?

It wasn’t until out-patient treatment and their encouragement of one minute at a time. One hour at a time. And one day at a time, that inspired me to break down my changes into micro-changes.

And that (along with healthy movement and yoga) got me out of that deep dark hole of self-destruction.

During our Fueling Your Rig, Fueling You presentation, I wanted to show every driver out there that eating healthy on the road CAN and IS easy. And wanted to turn everyone on to healthy options and simple recipes that actually taste good, and are easy to make!

Men and women were nodding their heads in the audience as they munched away. Loving the food that was going into their mouths.

And everything we made for them we made there! That day! In less the time it takes to take a 30 minute break.

I want to share two of the recipes we made at GATS that were top on the request list. Which also happen to be cheap, easy to make, and healthy on-the-go food for truck drivers.

Recipe #1: Spring Rolls for on the Go!

  • Spring Roll Rice Paper
  • Lettuce or Cabbage leafs (cut into small pieces)
  • Shredded carrots (you can buy them pre-shredded too)
  • Cilantro or Mint
  • Shrimp (or any other meat or tofu)
  • Lime Juice (optional)
  • Sticky rice or rice noodles
  • Plate size dish & cutting board or flat surface to roll spring rolls up
  • 8 oz of water

Demonstration of how to make spring rolls recipes

Directions for Spring Rolls:

  1. Put water in plate size dish.
  2. Take out one rice paper sheet and place in water for 30 seconds or so.
  3. Until the entire sheet is soft.
  4. Take the rice paper and lay it on a dry flat area.
  5. Take lettuce leaves and lay in a line at the end closest to you.
  6. Lay shredded carrots inside lettuce
  7. Now put rice noodles or rice on top.
  8. Squeeze lime over shrimp before adding.
  9. Add shrimp and cilantro or mint.
  10. Using the end closest to you, begin to roll the contents one time.
  11. Now take the two sides and fold them in and over the contents sticking the rice sheet sides to the folded end.
  12. Keep rolling, making sure the sides stay tucked in.
  13. Roll all the way to the end and the rice paper will stick to itself, keeping the contents inside.
  14. For dipping sauce use Thai Peanut Sauce, Sweet & Sour Plum Sauce, or Chilli Sauce and enjoy!

Option:

I bought the lime cilantro shrimp in the deli at Costco pre-seasoned and ready to be served. I cut up the shrimp and then added it to my spring rolls. You could also squeeze the lime and mix the cilantro or mint with the shrimp and marinade before use as well.

Keep chilled. Will last for a few days.

Spring Rolls are a great alternative to sandwiches, and a whole lot healthier. Be creative and play with other ingredients. These two are simple recipes you can make anytime, anywhere while on the go. Let us know what you come up with!

Hope Demonstrating How to make Simple spring rolls recipe

Recipe #2: Asian Slaw Salad

  • 1-Packet Beef Ramen Noodles
  • 1-Bag Shredded Cabbage
  • Grapeseed Oil
  • Natural Sugar
  • 4 Green Onions-chopped
  • Sun flower seeds (unsalted), pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, crasins

Directions for Asian Slaw Salad

  1. Mix grapeseed oil, sugar, onions, and beef seasoning packet (see below for homemade seasoning) together.
  2. Break up noodles into small pieces.
  3. Mix noodles and seeds together. You can store them together for easy travel.
  4. When ready to eat take noodle mixture, cabbage slaw and liquid and mix together in a bowl (or container with a lid for easy storage afterwards.
  5. Once mixed, enjoy with a fork!
  6. The longer you let the ingredients sit together the noodles soften and you get a whole new crunch.
  7. Stores perfectly in a 12 cup container.
  8. Keep cool in cooler or frig.

Homemade Beef Seasoning (I like Wilhelms Kitchen version):

Mix together and store in air tight jar. Use 1-2 TBSP per packet of beef seasoning. Simple Asian Slaw Salad Recipe for Truckers Mother Trucker Yoga

Beginning to eat healthy starts with one small simple change. Simple recipes you can make right on your truck. It doesn’t have to be extreme, fancy, or expensive. What if you simply make your own food once a week? Then one day a week? Then two days a week, and so on. This does not have to happen over night. But my hope is you begin to see that YOU CAN DO THIS!

I believe in you. And I believe you can stay healthier over the road one move at a time. One meal at a time.

Please try out these simple recipes and comment below telling us what you think!

Share your photos of your food creations on our Facebook Page – Mother Trucker Yoga

Join our family here at Mother Trucker Yoga!

Mother Trucker Yoga and Backshield

Mother Trucker Yoga and Backshield

 

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The Best Healthy Trucker Travel Lunch Recipe

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Are you in need of better travel lunch ideas? Here’s our best healthy trucker travel lunch recipe.

Because I know you know you need to make healthy changes. You know you have to head out on the road. And you know you need to eat. But yet how do you make changes? Where do you start? What do you make? What do you eat?

It’s all so confusing at times I know. The moment I want to change something in my own life my old self would get instantly overwhelmed and see a mountain. All I would notice are obstacles, and talk myself out of the simple solutions right in front of me because I was programmed to only see the struggle.

And when it comes to food, health, and changes I know many can relate.

I like to approach anything one step at a time. One box checked on my checklist at a time. For some, it works to just bulldoze down their old life, habits, and choices and replace them with new ones. However, I caution you to this only because without the necessary insight as to why you ended up there in the first place you could find yourself faced with more unnecessary struggle.

O.K. now let’s talk healthy trucker food.

As a truck driver, I get it, you are on the road, limited resources, limited time, and plenty of unhealthy food options. In a recent conversation with TA-Petro, they shared with me that their StayFit meals are of the lowest bought food items in their stores.

So that means one of two things: one, you aren’t buying them because you don’t like them; two, you aren’t buying them because you are cooking on your truck.

And quite possibly there is a third, fourth and tenth reason, but that is not the point. The point is. We need to change that. And since truck stops aren’t going to be changing anytime soon. That means you need to make the change. And that means you have to supply yourself with healthy, fueling, delicious food options so you don’t walk into the truck stops hungry and hangry.

Quinoa is a Great Healthy Trucker Food

Quinoa is one of my FAVORITE healthy food options. It tastes good, it’s super easy to make, it’s filling, and fueling because it’s packed with nutrients.

But don’t take my word for it. The Medical News Today posted an article talking about the health benefits and nutritional components of quinoa and it is amazing!

They stated that:

“Quinoa is naturally gluten-free. One cup of cooked quinoa, weighing 185 grams (g), contains:

  • 222 calories
  • 8.14 g of protein
  • 5.2 g of fiber
  • 3.55 g of fat, of which 0.42 g is saturated
  • 39.4 g of carbohydrate
  • Magnesium – 30 percent recommended daily allowance (RDA)
  • Manganese – 30 percent RDA
  • Folate – 19 percent RDA
  • Phosphorous – 28 percent RDA
  • Copper – 18 percent RDA
  • Iron – 15 percent RDA
  • Zinc – 13 percent RDA
  • Potassium – 9 percent RDA
  • One cup also contains more than 10 percent of the RDA of the vitamins B-1, B-2, and B-6, and traces of vitamin E, B3, and calcium.
  • Additionally, quinoa contains a healthy dose of fatty acids”

And that is just it! You need fuel. REAL fuel to supercharge that temple of a body of yours. And sugary snacks, energy drinks, and potato wedges just aren’t going to cut it.

So to help make your life a little bit easier here is a SUPER EASY and QUICK recipe you can make at home and travel with while out on the road!

Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

Pair the quinoa with grilled chicken breast, or lean turkey, or even salmon and you are on your way to a delicious meal.

Healthy Trucker Food Lunch Quinoa Recipe Mother Trucker Yoga

Cool Quinoa Salad Recipe for a Great Travel Lunch:

This is a simple recipe great for healthy trucker food on the go.

  • 1-2 cups leftover or cooked quinoa
  • corn
  • peas
  • chopped broccoli (steamed lightly if desired)
  • tea seed oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • fresh, diced garlic
  • salt (to taste)
  • black pepper (to taste)
  • non-fortified nutritional yeast (if desired, I love this it’s like a cheese topping)
  • optional: shredded carrots, chopped peppers, greens, or fresh fruit or onions, cumin, turmeric

Mix all ingredients together and pre-pack serving size containers for travel lunch success.

Healthy Trucker Food is Easy

That’s it!

Super easy and super simple healthy truckers lunch for on-the-go healthy eating!

And remember, anything new can be scary, hard, and confusing. But Mother Trucker Yoga has your back (literally). Take it one day, one meal at a time and before you know it you will be ready to go with the right fuel and right focus because you are what you eat. Or better yet, you are what you digest.

For more recipes like this checkout Karen Urbanek’s Rawality Recipe Book

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Meals on Wheels: Truckers Best Breakfast

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I think you and I both know that stopping at a truck stop on any given day, you won’t always find the best breakfast. You might not ever find the best breakfast.

This is a struggle many truckers feel on a daily basis. Yet most are almost forced to choose what their overnight accommodations have to offer. And we aren’t talking the Super 8.

High sugar, high fat, high carb options fill the aisles and hot cases, alongside the attached quick grab-and-go restaurant. Although these options are a quick grab, the quick surprise is the pounds, blood sugar levels and crashes that go with these unhealthy food options.

Now don’t get me wrong, a sweet treat once in a while won’t kill anyone. But when this is your wake-up-and-go breakfast every single morning, you may find yourself in a situation that far surpasses an I-80 traffic jam.

So what’s a mother truckin’ roadmaster to do for breakfast?

Well on my latest show: A Daily Dose of Hope on Chrome and Steel Radio, I had Naturopathic Doctor Jeff Essen of Whole Life Clinic on. We discussed diabetes, the struggle of eating healthy while on the road, and what drivers could do to make a shift in the right direction. It all starts with breakfast.

His suggestion was simple, yet powerful – change what you eat for breakfast.

And what should you, the driver eat for breakfast?

The Italian Flag

I had never heard this methodology in all my years learning about the body, wellness, and my own food journey. Eating the Italian Flag for breakfast was a new approach to breakfast on the go.

He laid it out simply: Breakfast can be simple and easy, and yes, even done up while on the road in an eighteen-wheeler.

Italian Flag Truckers’ Breakfast Shake:

  1.  WHITE – Pea Protein (1 scoop)
  2.  GREEN – Powdered Greens (1 scoop)
  3.  RED – Powdered Reds (1 scoop)
  4.  Mix with Water
  5.  Optional – Ice

Truckers Breakfast: Italian Flag Smoothie

 

The key is to not overthink what you should eat. And if you can simplify things, what’s not to love?

But WHY eat the Italian flag?

Well, as Dr. Essen put it, giving your body a great kick start to the day is essential. Get a good source of protein (he suggests pea protein, but if you decided otherwise, know its source). Many people simply do not get enough greens in their diet, which aid in digestion and boost energy levels. The reds serve as a boost for your antioxidant levels. Unless you have superpowers to fight disease and boost your immune system, reds are essential.

I know changing your breakfast might feel overwhelming. Before you make any change it can be helpful to know where you are starting from. Keeping a food journal can be helpful to figure all of that out. Check out 5 Reasons Truckers Need to Keep a Food and Fitness Journal to help.

And when you are ready to make a change, the only thing you have to lose is the weight, stress, and disease your body is currently feeling. Plus, with a simple shaker bottle, you can travel with everything you need for a great meal on the go.

Here’s to a great breakfast on the go.

 

 

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