Healthy eating for one
Whether you are newly single, an empty nester or have been solo dining for a while now, cooking and eating for one has it’s pros and cons.
You can eat what, when and how you want to eat, without having to please anyone else, but it also has its challenges. Sometimes it can feel like too much effort to feed yourself well, especially if you have been used to cooking for others in the past. A little planning and some thought can make things a whole lot easier.
Shopping and cooking for one needs a slightly different twist, to avoid unnecessary food waste and spending more than you need to on your food budget.
1. Planning is essential
Get yourself organised and work out what you want to eat over the next few days. I’d suggest planning for 3-4 days, rather than a whole week. That way you won’t buy more than you need and you have a bit more flexibility later in the week.
Check what you’ve got in the cupboard, fridge and freezer and work your meal plan around this.
2. Be a savvy shopper
Bypass the 3 for 2 and BOGOF offers, unless it is on non-perishable items that you know you are going to use.
Starting with the vegetable aisle, pick some veggies that you can use in lots of different ways – in salads, stir-fries or your favourite one-pot wonders. Make your ingredients work hard for you.
Don’t buy too much. It’s better to shop for fresh ingredients a couple of times a week, so they don’t go to waste.
It’s worth checking the frozen food aisle for new and innovative products like wholegrains with roasted vegetables (Merchant Gourmet do a nice range of these) for a quick lunch or mid-week dinner. Just add some extra veg and your protein of choice.
Pick up some interesting frozen veg – maybe the ones with herbs, or roasted Mediterranean veg. These are great to roast in a batch and eat hot with dinner and cold in a wholemeal pitta with houmous and feta for lunch the next day.
Look out for packs of ready-to-eat lentils and beans. Some of them come flavoured and can be a really nice base with extra veg added. Try ready cooked puy lentils with a squeeze of lemon juice, some herbs (fresh or frozen), served with fish, chicken or halloumi. Nutritious, quick, and super tasty.
While you are in this aisle, check out those packs of curry sauces from The Spice Tailor. They have all natural ingredients and all you need to do is add your protein of choice (chicken, meat, prawns, fish, chickpeas) and some veg and serve on wholegrain rice. The steamed microwave rice is good – just make sure you choose the brown or wholegrain version to get your fibre in.
3. Cooking for one
Cook what you like to eat. Batch cooking a recipe for 4 people will give you dinner for tonight and tomorrow and a couple of portions for the freezer for another day when you don’t feel like cooking.
Cook up a couple of portions of protein to give you something to base lunch around tomorrow.
For a quick and handy dinner, how about an omelette (raid the fridge for what needs used up, call it a frittata and it feels more special than an omelette!).
Mix and match your ingredients. Most veg can be used in lots of different ways. Carrot, celery, peppers, broccoli, leeks… whatever you’ve got are perfect in stir-fries, curry, chilli, Bolognese.
4. Me-time Mealtimes
Don’t be tempted to slouch in front of the TV.
Instead, make your kitchen table somewhere you want to hang out. Clear the clutter, set the table and enjoy your meal. Get the tunes on or listen to a podcast rather than watching something TV.
5. Share your food
Team up with other single people and cook for each other once a week, or look out for supper clubs and neighbourhood dinners. It’s a lovely way to eat different food and share meals with others.