While traveling it’s tempting to make eating choices out of sheer convenience, but there are a number of ways to eat healthy while driving for a living.
It’s not easy for professional drivers to keep eating healthy when they live a large part of their life driving across North America. Even something as simple as preparing meals can be a difficult chore if you’ve never had to do it. Out of sheer convenience, it’s often easier to simply pick up fast food. However, it’s important to keep a healthy frame of mind, as well as a healthy body when undertaking any form of long-haul trucking—and that begins with a balanced diet.
At Musket Transport, our Corporate Communications Officer, Sophia, undertook a passion project to work with nutritionist Nicole Benson and formulated a useful guide for Musket drivers to use while traveling. You can download the full guide by clicking HERE. But here are some of the highlights on how to maintain a healthy and balanced meal plan while on the road:
It’s All About Balance
Every meal should include the four main and essential food groups: Greens, Protein, Fibre, and Healthy Fats. Too much of a single food group isn’t good. For example, if you eat a lot of fruit, you really should add some healthy fat to balance out the natural sugars. Keeping that balance is beneficial to your overall health, particularly emotional health which is important if you’re spending a lot of solo time on the road.
Shop on a Budget
While traveling, you don’t want to break the bank by constantly eating out. There are lots of meals that can be prepped beforehand or while on the road. Regardless, it’s better to shop smart and efficiently. Get your food at places like Walmart, Farmer’s Markets, Fruit and Vegetable Stands, Bulk Barn, and be sure to check out flyers to find the best deals.
Be Prepared
There are lots of handy items you can take on the road to make meal and food prep easier. A cooler is essential to keep your food fresh and a large water container means you’ll have to stop less. A smoothie shaker cup is great for on-the-go shakes that can be loaded with healthy delicious ingredients covering all 4 food groups, and a portable blender means you can prepare them fresh while traveling. Mason jars are great for storage and it’s smart to keep kitchen essentials like reusable plates, cutlery, and a cutting board and knife handy.
Healthy Fast Food
If you absolutely have to hit up the fast-food restaurant to save time or as a matter of convenience, there are a few things you should try and avoid. Try to stay away from deep-fried foods and anything that has high sugar or sodium content. This means choosing your meals wisely—selecting salads or wraps over fried chicken strips, or grabbing a rice bowl or a sandwich instead of a burger and fries.
Just like your truck needs gas, food is fuel for your body and you want to make sure you’re feeding it all the right things to keep it operating at peak efficiency. By making healthy eating choices and making sure you’re prepping or pre-packing food to take with you on each trip, you can maintain a healthier balanced lifestyle. Sometimes it’s all a matter of proper planning. Refer to our ‘Food is Fuel’ guide for great tips and for some amazing recipes, including three favorite recipes from one of our Musket Transport drivers, Rain De Caries.
Get the full guide by clicking HERE.
