Meals For The Road

Let’s face it, the majority of people struggle with making healthy food choices on a consistent basis. For truck drivers, making healthy choices when it comes to food can be even more of a challenge and require a big commitment. If you’re ready to put the fast-food down and jump into meal prepping, we have a few tips to help you along your journey.

The advantages of meal prepping include, not only choosing healthier options but also staying with a budget. It’s time to stop throwing away money on fast food by making and packing meals ahead of time.

To keep things practical and simple, we’ve broken recommendations down into four categories; breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Here are some easy meal prep recipes that travel with you on the road!

Breakfast

Overnight Oats in a Jar- Use this no-bake recipe to have a healthy grab-n-go breakfast or snack the next day. Overnight oats are nutrient-dense, and a great source of fiber that helps you stay full.

What You Need- All you will need for this easy-to-make breakfast on the road are oats, milk, optional chia seeds, optional greek or vegan yogurt, vanilla extract, optional sweetener, and your choice of toppings!

How to Make It- To make this simple yet tasty breakfast recipe, add old-fashioned oats and chia seeds if you’re using them, to a mason jar or glass cup that can be sealed. Next, pour in your choice of yogurt and vanilla extract. Then, add your sweetener of choice, milk, and mix it all together until there are more clumps. Cover with a lid and let the oats chill in the refrigerator overnight or until ready to eat.

Why It’s a Winner- Make as little or as much as you want. With a 5 minute prep time and a five-day refrigerator life, you can have overnight oats all week! Change up your toppings each week to try different flavors. Add Nutella and bananas for a sweet, rich taste, or crushed peanuts, peanut butter, and strawberries for extra protein. There are plenty of options to make this 378 kcal healthy breakfast even more flavorful.

Find the full recipe here:https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/overnight-oats/

Lunch

Burrito Bowl- One of our favorite meal prep lunch go-to’s is a burrito bowl. Burrito bowls are easy to heat up in the microwave, packed with protein, grains, and plenty of vegetables. Choose your protein and choice of veggies and throw it into a Tupperware container to take with you on the road. Pack lunches for the entire week with this easy-to-make recipe for the road.

What You Need- In this recipe, the meat, rice, fajita veggies, and beans are loaded in one bowl that can quickly be warmed up in the microwave. The second bowl will contain cold ingredients such as guacamole, sour cream, cold salad, salsa, and cheese. This recipe will save you time and money while making you think that you just stopped at Chipotle.

How To Make It- Spend a total of one hour chopping up veggies, cooking the beans, chicken, and rice, and making your guacamole. Simply add your hot ingredients into meal prep containers and the cold ingredients into separate ones, this way you can easily heat up the warm ingredients when you are ready to eat.

Why It’s a Winner- The 335 kcal meal has a 30 min prep time and 30 minute cook time. In just one hour you can have lunch made for the entire week! To make it easier to drive and eat, throw in whole-grain tortillas to make burritos for the road. Enjoy!

Find the full recipe here: https://gimmedelicious.com/meal-prep-chicken-burrito-bowls/

Dinner

BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Bowl- We fell in love with this delicious, easy-to-make BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Bowl. This healthy dinner idea is full of veggies and lean protein. Adding sweet potatoes also adds a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals that you can feel great about. This meal holds up well if being reheated if you have leftovers and stores for the entire week.

What You Need- Sweet potatoes, yellow onion, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, chipotle or chili powder, broccoli, your favorite BBQ sauce, and chicken. That’s it!

How to Make It- Cook this entire meal on one cooking sheet in the oven, starting with sweet potatoes and onions for the first half and adding broccoli and the chicken breasts for an additional 15-20 minutes. When done, simply add your meal portions to a meal prep container and store them for later.

Why It’s a Winner- This 524 kcal meal is a hearty and healthy dinner option that is sure to leave you full for the rest of the evening without feeling stuffed. With a total cook time of only 45-minutes and being able to cook the entie meal on one cooking sheet, the simplicity makes this one a definite winner!

Grab the recipe here: https://www.thecreativebite.com/bbq-chicken-roasted-sweet-potato-bowls/

Healthy Snacks For The Road

Do you snack to stay awake or because you get bored? Or maybe it’s both?! Substitute the potato chips for healthier options to fuel you throughout your day. Snacking throughout the day can have significant health benefits if you eat the right things!

Avocado Hummus Snack Jar

If you’re a fan of dips, you’ll love this avocado hummus snack jar. This snack is high in fiber and good fats, replace the queso with this for a healthier dip option.

What You Need- You will need chickpeas, cashew butter, avocado, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and water to make the dip. Enjoy with celery, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, or if the fact that you’re dipping it in avocado and hummus is healthy enough, try it with organic tortilla chips, crisps, or sun chips.

How to Make It- Simply blend the chickpeas, avocado, lemon juice, garlic, water, cashew butter and add the mix into a jar to take with you on the road. Garnish how you would like, and through your antipasto in a baggie. Be sure to keep it refrigerated when you are not eating it to keep the avocado fresh. The dip will last up to one week if you store it correctly. And, if you make too much, throw it in the freezer to enjoy later.

Get the recipe here: https://thegirlonbloor.com/avocado-hummus-snack-jars/

Bento Box

For a minimal effort, high-protein snack, throw together your own bento box! Inspired by the Starbucks Protein Box, this no-bake, no reheat snack box is a great grab for the road. Mix and match how you want; the possibilities are endless.

What You Need- The Starbucks box usually contains a hard-boiled egg, grapes, carrots, apples, and cheese. The protein component in this box makes you feel more full for an extended period without feeling sluggish. This is an excellent source of fuel for your body throughout the day. Substitute the hard-boiled egg in a few of your boxes for tuna salad to have various protein options throughout the week.

How to Make It- This one is easy! With nothing to cook, simply add your snack items into a travel container and refrigerate for later. You get to choose your own items, so be sure to use the list of recommended snacks and alternatives to keep it healthy.

Find the recipe here: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/tuna-protein-box/

Peanut Butter Power Balls

Okay, the healthy stuff is fun, but now we want something sweet. We found this yummy recipe of Peanut Butter Power Balls that will satisfy any sweet tooth without going overboard. Who says healthy can’t also be delicious?

What You Need- For this simple five-ingredient recipe you will need honey, peanut butter, chocolate chips, oats, and optional coconut.

How to Make It- Spend 20 minutes on this no-bake recipe to treat yourself to a mix of simple and complex carbohydrates to give you an energy boost whenever you need it. Roll the honey, peanut butter, chocolate chips, oats, and optional coconut in balls and place them in the refrigerator until they harden.

The balls can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days and in the freezer for three months. Take them with you in a ziplock bag or container and enjoy this sweet treat on the road.

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/275207/peanut-butter-energy-balls/

Take care of yourself first, one meal at a time. It takes time to plan, but the benefits are priceless. We hope these meal prep suggestions aid your health journey and save some extra cash in your pocket while you hit the road.