A couple of months back I saw this great television cooking show that challenged contestants to make a meal out of the gas station quick mart nearest to them. What ensued was pure creative cooking at its best. The gas station diet is not the ideal diet for someone trying to eat right, and have energy year round. That said, it's a nice compliment diet for someone that is visiting friends out of town, or is on a budget and only has access to a local quick mart. The best part of the gas station diet is that most everyone lives, or works near a quick mart, and thus it can generally be utilized by anyone who chooses to eat quick mart foods.

The best way to shop for gas station food is to buy things one meal at a time or two at most. The format of most quick marts is that of short term merchandise. There are not many bulk quantity items available for purchase; therefore it makes sense to shop for the now, rather then for the long term. Keep this attitude while shopping and it will help take away any anxiety of stocking up on goods that don't seem to be available at the gas station.

The second key ingredient to the gas station diet is a microwave oven. Don't worry if you don't have one available, most gas stations offer their own microwaves for the people who don't have one at home. You should be prepared to microwave about half of what you will buy from the gas station unless you want chips for dinner.

Once you've got the ground rules down start buying your foods. Grab some hotdogs from the hotdog warmer, and a few buns from underneath. Reach for a few hot pockets, and select your favorite kind of crackers. Grab some peanuts for a late night snack, and some chocolate bars for desert.