Van Driver Meals

[Seales18]

I am a van driver for my job and I really struggle with food during the day I always turn to sandwiches etc.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or meal ideas that include rice meat and veg I'm rubbish with meals.

 

[DCUKMod]

How about a packed lunch of cooked chicken thighs or wings, or cooked, decent quality, high meat, sausages, cheese, olives, hard boiled eggs. A flask of soup. A flask of casserole or such like. Pork scratchings, cooked bacon (most supermarkets do that now, although M&S is the clear winner for me).

For things like the chicken thighs, they can be wrapped in foil, and partly unwrapped to be eaten, caveman styleeeeee, so no need for plates, or the upturned lid of a lunchbox can act as a picnic plate.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I am a van driver for my job and I really struggle with food during the day I always turn to sandwiches etc.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or meal ideas that include rice meat and veg I'm rubbish with meals.

First question: Why rice? It raises bloodsugars something awful, same as bread, spuds, pasta etc... You could easily get a burger without the bun someplace, just add extra bacon/lettuce/tomato or other veggies. I think there's some low carb wraps out there in the world, or you could do cheese/meat roll-ups, or use omelettes as a wrap. Eggs are excellent, boiled ones are easy to bring along. Salad in tupperware maybe? (Tuna, chicken, salmon or goat cheese based, with lettuce and whatever you like... Olives, mayo, vinaigrette, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, capers, bacon, parmezan....? just make sure there's something fat and protein rich in there so you feel full!).

And whenever I'm in a pinch, there's always a sausage somewhere to pick up.

 

[Listlad]

Some months ago I too drove a van for a well known online retailer. I never had time to break to eat and had to eat on the hoof. I made up a low carb lunchbox with cold meat, cheese, a peanut bar, from Aldi, pickled hard boiled egg, an apple and a bottle of sugar free squash. This enabled me to eat between deliveries. No bread. No rice.

 

[ringi]

Make more food the night before and have it cold for lunch.
Salads of all sorts.
Frittatas, you can make and freeze them, then take out the night before
Cooked meat/fish
Tinned fish


Or have a cooked breakfast and skip lunch.

 

[novorapidboi26]

get a big flask and put some home made soup in there.......full of veg and the carbs will be almost nothing....

 

[Listlad]

Make more food the night before and have it cold for lunch.
Salads of all sorts.
Frittatas, you can make and freeze them, then take out the night before
Cooked meat/fish
Tinned fish


Or have a cooked breakfast and skip lunch.

Yes tinned Tuna works. John West do a range of those.

 

[Seales18]

Make more food the night before and have it cold for lunch.
Salads of all sorts.
Frittatas, you can make and freeze them, then take out the night before
Cooked meat/fish
Tinned fish


Or have a cooked breakfast and skip lunch.

Love the idea of a cooked breakfast before but I don't have time before work to have breakfast. IV started having yogurts for breakfast I just want to start eating better and regular

 

[Seales18]

How about a packed lunch of cooked chicken thighs or wings, or cooked, decent quality, high meat, sausages, cheese, olives, hard boiled eggs. A flask of soup. A flask of casserole or such like. Pork scratchings, cooked bacon (most supermarkets do that now, although M&S is the clear winner for me).

For things like the chicken thighs, they can be wrapped in foil, and partly unwrapped to be eaten, caveman styleeeeee, so no need for plates, or the upturned lid of a lunchbox can act as a picnic plate.

This sounds a good idea I will see what I can sort eggs sausage bacon cheese pork scratchings are all good things I like

 

[Seales18]

get a big flask and put some home made soup in there.......full of veg and the carbs will be almost nothing....

Thanks I'm not much of a soup person though

 

[Seales18]

Some months ago I too drove a van for a well known online retailer. I never had time to break to eat and had to eat on the hoof. I made up a low carb lunchbox with cold meat, cheese, a peanut bar, from Aldi, pickled hard boiled egg, an apple and a bottle of sugar free squash. This enabled me to eat between deliveries. No bread. No rice.

Sounds good to me I will have a look and see what I can sort thank you for the idea

 

[Seales18]

First question: Why rice? It raises bloodsugars something awful, same as bread, spuds, pasta etc... You could easily get a burger without the bun someplace, just add extra bacon/lettuce/tomato or other veggies. I think there's some low carb wraps out there in the world, or you could do cheese/meat roll-ups, or use omelettes as a wrap. Eggs are excellent, boiled ones are easy to bring along. Salad in tupperware maybe? (Tuna, chicken, salmon or goat cheese based, with lettuce and whatever you like... Olives, mayo, vinaigrette, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, capers, bacon, parmezan....? just make sure there's something fat and protein rich in there so you feel full!).

And whenever I'm in a pinch, there's always a sausage somewhere to pick up.

I just enjoy pasta and rice to be honest, I will look into the low carb wraps and I do like tuna and salad and also lots of meat I enjoy

 

[Resurgam]

Pasta and rice are so high in carbs I'd be worried about you getting drowsy after eating them.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I just enjoy pasta and rice to be honest, I will look into the low carb wraps and I do like tuna and salad and also lots of meat I enjoy

I rather like those too, haha. And spuds, every which way... My bloodsugars don't allow it though. Yours might, your meter'll tell you. (Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. If you go up more than 2.0 mmol/l the meal was too carby for you to properly process.) In the end it's a choice only you can make. If you're fine with certain foods bloodsugar-wise, you're all good. If not, it's either cut them out, or don't, and take more medication. Eventually it'll come down to whether something's worth it to you... I know I do better without certain foods, mentally and physically. Haven't had a never-ending inflammation in 3 years now, for instance. Do I steal the odd fry from my husband? Sure I do, once every blue moon or something. But that's about it. Rice and such I just steer clear of entirely. (Cauliflower rice is good, ever tried that?). But that's me. You do what works for you, as we're all different with different needs eh.

Good luck!
Jo, who's in the process of burning this evening's burgers

 

[TriciaWs]

I make eggy muffins for travelling - 2 eggs, with black pepper and a spoon of double cream. Whisk up. Put some grated cheese into 4/5 bun or muffin tin slots and pour over the egg, cook on 180 for 12-14 mins depending on size.
I make the mix while getting tea or coffee, then cook them while I'm in the shower.
You can make them the night before instead.
Also peanut butter balls, made with ground almonds, coconut flour and cocoa powder, with some stevia and a little vanilla - they keep at least 3 days in the fridge and travel well if you roll them in coconut flour.

 

[DCUKMod]

@Seales18 - do you take a rucksack or something like that to work with you?

When doing a lot of travelling, I have a pocket in my laptop backpack which contains my emergency rations. Depending on my preference of the time, and how cool it'll be, that pocket will contain one or more of the following things:

Pork scratchings
mini peperoni
pre cooked bacon
salted peanuts
salted cashews
mini babybells

Going back to my suggestion of chicken portions, sausages, cooked burgers or meatballs, they can all be prepared ahead of time, then frozen in portions then taken out of the freezer in the morning, defrosting by lunchtime.

That means a couple of hour with a tray of chicken, a couple of packages of sausages, meatballs or decent burgers, then later a short while with tin foil and freezer bags.

 

[angustia]

Love the idea of a cooked breakfast before but I don't have time before work to have breakfast. IV started having yogurts for breakfast I just want to start eating better and regular

Have a stash of raw nuts kept in your van at all times. They're great for emergencies - stave off hunger.
They're high on protein and good cholesterol.

Salad with greens and meats/or cheese (keep your dressing handy), and hard-boiled eggs on the side.

 

[sno0opy]

I have had scarbled eggs and beans ins thermas, was still hot hours later.

Scotch eggs, cooked chicken, soup in a thermas.

I like salad boxes so that helps

Baked eggs are good (crack an egg into a muffin tin with loads of toppings scattered on, very nice snacks or meals.

Houmous and things to dip with