Crock Pot Solution: Eating Home Cooked Meals While on the Road

It’s no secret that eating frequently at truck stops can be a large expense. With meals costing anywhere between $10-15 at trucks stops, buying two hot meals can cost up to $30 in a day. Eating two meals a day for a week can end up costing you $200 weekly.

We were talking to Ed Goad, one of our driver trainers, about his frugal eating habits, and we found that Ed was spending only $35 a week to feed himself and his trainee home cooked meals for the entire week. He had come up with a cost effective solution by purchasing a portable Crock Pot that he keeps in his truck.

Ed says that with his Crock Pot he has been able to cook chicken, pork chops, baked potatoes, sausages, bratwursts and just about anything. Cooking meals this way has not only saved a huge amount of money, but also has allowed him to maintain healthier eating habits than he did while eating at truck stops.

"The trick," Ed says, "is to buy in bulk and freeze your food ahead of time. You can do this by purchasing a Thermal cooler for $100 which you can plug directly into your cigarette lighters to keep food frozen throughout the week. To power the Crock Pot you will need to purchase a 300-Watt Power inverter. The Crock Pot itself only costs $19 at Walmart.

Although it may seem expensive to purchase $175 worth of equipment from the start, it is a great investment. You will end up saving enough to cover those costs within the first week. You end up saving so much more in the long run, and you get to have home cooked meals whenever you want and stay healthier too.”

Thanks for the great idea, Ed!

For recipe ideas, Ed suggests to check out Big Truck Cooking on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bigtruckcooking/)

If anyone has any further tips about eating habits, be sure to send them in to our Marketing Specialist at dchung@marvinkeller.com. Remember, whenever we use your content in the Marvin Keller Weekly, you will receive a $25 bonus and credit for your work!