Truckers’ Health
Sometimes eating healthily can be a mission, especially when you work crazy and unpredictable hours, and spend a good part of your day behind the wheel of a truck. But never fear, I am here to help with a few tips and suggestions to create simple and healthy meals to take out on the road.
Breakfast
Depending on what time your day begins, your breakfast could be eaten scarily early, mid-morning, or just whenever you can stomach it. Whatever your breakfast time, here are options to line your tummy for the day.
Option 1
Rolled oats/Weetbix, yoghurt, blueberries and banana (you could add your favourite nuts and seeds to the mix too). If you use protein powder, you could also mix a few spoonfuls of protein powder into your oats. If you don’t have time to enjoy a bowl of oats, you can simply pop the ingredients into a blender and have a delicious smoothie instead.
Option 2
Omelette/scrambled eggs. Depending on how much time you have, you can throw in your favourite veggies such as mushrooms, capsicum, onion, tomato and spinach, with two or three eggs. If you are really time-poor, you can simply microwave your eggs rather than cooking them in a frying pan. They’re not quite as tasty, but it is a real time saver.
Lunch Option 1
Wrap or sandwich. Choose your favourite meat, or use leftover meat from dinner and add all the veggies you like – lettuce, tomato, cucumber – and add a small amount of your favourite spread like mayonnaise or aioli. There’s nothing wrong with using condiments as long as you keep the portion to a minimum (one or two teaspoons).
Option 2
Leftovers. Purposely cook a bit too much for dinner, it makes a great lunch for the next day and it’s ready to go.
Snacks
For all those times where you feel peckish but it’s too early for lunch or dinner. You need something small to tide you over and hopefully prevent you from pulling into that bakery for a pie or Chelsea bun.
Option 1
Boiled eggs. Boil up a few eggs in the morning or the night before. They’re an easy snack and high in protein, which will keep you full and tide you over to dinnertime.
Option 2
Nuts and fruit. Simple, easy, and wide in variety. The only thing to watch out for is to choose real fruit rather than dried or processed fruits because they are high in sugar. With the nuts, just keep it to a handful because they can cause a bit of a calorie blowout. An apple or a pear with a handful of cashews or Brazil nuts would be a great option.
Option 3
Corn thins/rice crackers. Let’s face it, corn thins and rice crackers are basically just edible plates. You can put an abundance of different toppings on them including tomato, cottage cheese, avocado, peanut butter, hummus, cheese, or tuna. They’re nice and light but a great source of carbohydrate because they shouldn’t leave you feeling overly full and lethargic like a pie or sausage roll might.
Dinner
Dinners don’t have to be overly complicated or gourmet. Personally, I am home late three nights a week so my dinners are literally just filling a gap rather than being a wondrous taste explosion. The concept and structure of dinner is very straightforward – protein and vegetables and a small amount of carbohydrates if you desire. Here are a few examples and ideas for you.
Option 1
Chicken stir fry. Use 200g of chicken breast and a good selection of your favourite vegetables. If you’re extra hungry, you could add half a cup of rice. Make sure you use seasoning, spices and a wee bit of a condiment like sweet chilli sauce or soy sauce to add flavour to the meal. Again, condiments are totally fine as long as you manage the amount you’re using and don’t drown every single meal in mayonnaise.
Option 2
Steak and homemade chips. Again, 200g of good-quality steak, two potatoes cut into wedges and baked in the oven with a bit of seasoning and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Steak and chips is a classic trucker’s meal, but it can be made so much more healthily at home with your own ingredients and without a deep-fryer. I would add some greens, which can be some broccoli, beans or peas, or a delicious combo of them all. It always feels better when you include greens in your dinners.
Give some of these meal options and ideas a go and see how you can simplify the way you prepare and eat meals out on the road. It doesn’t have to be complicated or up to Gordon Ramsay’s standards to be healthy. □