Food shopping for one?

morethanthis0

I find it hard to shop for food for only me. No one else in my house eats the foods that I want to eat to help me lose weight seeing as no one else needs to lose weight. Buying produce, meats, and other perishbles feels like a waste of money because I can't eat it fast enough and things go bad but I know I need to include more veggies and fruits in my diet to lose weight. Anyone have tips on shopping for one?

MetalFatigue

Hello,

Fresh food are better than manufactured. Try to buy in shops that sell by the weight, that way you can buy small amounts as needed. I'm talking about vegetables, fruit and stuff like that. You'll have to go to the groceries more times, but I think it is the only way. For veggies, some, you can cook (boil) a lot of them right after you buy them and freeze them in Tupperware boxes. I do that when my parents give me a lot of stuff from their garden.

For Meat, fish and other perishables can, mostly, be frozen. Just arrange them in small quantities (1 person portions) in various plastic bags before you freeze them. This way you only unfreeze what you need when you want to cook it, because you never want to unfreeze and freeze multiple times.

Frozen food can go for months before spoiling.

Hope this helps

MyaPapaya75

I buy for one....what I do is freeze when I can and go to the store more often when I cant..its the only option...I make a lot of soups for freezing..which uses the veggies I happen to get on sale etc ..I buy tortillas instead of bread they freeze easier and separate much better...when all else fails I do buy can goods and frozen veggies its a lot better than how I was eating prior...

bound4beauty

I shop for one and very rarely throw out anything. I get a box of organic fruit and veggies every other week from a buyers co-op. The first thing I do when I get it home is clean and prep everything. I love roasted veggies so I usually make a couple of pans and roast them right away. Then I have veggies to eat all week. Frozen veggies make the most sense if you still find that you're not eating the fresh stuff quickly enough.

Cook ahead and portion out things. When I make spaghetti sauce or a stir fry, I always portion it all out in containers and put it in the freezer.

You just have to be organized and have a plan. Figure out your meals for the week before you go shopping and then you shouldn't have any problems.

ValerieMartini2Olives

I cook for one and I have very little waste.
Instead of shopping once a week, you will probably have to shop 2 or 3 times a week or more.
Buy products that can last more than one or two days once opened, like cheese, nut butters, tortillas, etc.
Plan out your meals and only buy what you can eat within 2 or 3 days.

Francl27

I find it hard to shop for food for only me. No one else in my house eats the foods that I want to eat to help me lose weight seeing as no one else needs to lose weight. Buying produce, meats, and other perishbles feels like a waste of money because I can't eat it fast enough and things go bad but I know I need to include more veggies and fruits in my diet to lose weight. Anyone have tips on shopping for one?

You could make extra of everything and freeze individual portions for later. Or just buy frozen veggies - you can just microwave one serving at a time.

morethanthis0

Once school starts I will be incredibly busy so I might just have to freeze a lot because going to the store a few times a week might not really fit in. What about salad? I do like salad and would pack for lunch but I have the same fear if I buy all the ingredients to make the salad, some things may go bad before I can eat them and the already made salads are nice but can get pricey. Also, do you have any favorite meals you freeze?

Minnie2361

I shop for one all the time. The key is planning. I think of what I am going to eat the next day and buy it the day before, II shop at the butchers where I can buy smaller portions of meat and fish. I buy my fruit and veggies in small portions so I can use them up in 3 days and replace them with fresh produce.
I have learned to cook one day and reheat the next.
For example I bought 1/2 pound of salmon the other day which I baked with lemon and tzatziki on top. I also cooked a cup of wild rice. I only used half the salmon and wild rice {which I top with a tablespoon of tzatziki} last night then wrapped the other half to reheat tonight,

The Pasta comes in packages I cook it all up at once then put the rest in Tupperware which I reheat for lunch.
I have substituted hummus in place of meat for a source of protein.
I use two tablespoons of hummus added to a cup of cooked butternut squash or whole wheat pasta instead of using the traditional sauces. I get both my protein and carbohydrates at the same time. Each meal I always make a fresh salad. I buy broccoli slaws or cole slaws prewashed fresh kale. arugula, red orange yellow peppers and prepare them in the morning so I have go into the Tupperware . At the moment I am researching recipes for homemade Ranch. Honey Dijon, French dressings. By doing this I want to reduce the sugars that I am getting the store bought varieties.

Hope this helps.

spaingirl2011

I agree with the freezing techniques suggested above. I free individual portions of ground turkey, already prepared meals, shrimp I can just defrost under running water and add to food, cooking one spaghetti squash (which I shred and put into plastic containers in the fridge) that I can bring for lunch. One of my (budget-maintaining) solutions to fresh food is to plan meals a week in advance. It takes maybe an hour on Sunday. I plan all of my meals and go shopping only for what I'll need that week. If I buy a bag of baby arugula, I make sure that I have salads for lunch, a side salad for dinner--basically include it in my weekly plan so that I eat all of it. This is totally do-able, it just needs an hour of your time and some good planning and you can buy only what you need for the week.

spaingirl2011

Once school starts I will be incredibly busy so I might just have to freeze a lot because going to the store a few times a week might not really fit in. What about salad? I do like salad and would pack for lunch but I have the same fear if I buy all the ingredients to make the salad, some things may go bad before I can eat them and the already made salads are nice but can get pricey. Also, do you have any favorite meals you freeze?

For freezable meals, I like stew in individual containers (I make the stew in a crockpot as it is, so it's pretty hands-off), stuffed meat and spinach pasta shells, frozen quinoa patties that I can put into sandwiches, turkey lasagna, shredded bbq chicken or shredded salsa fajita chicken (that you just need to heat up, put in a tortilla with some chopped tomatoes, avocado and lettuce), etc. I make a big batch of whole wheat pancakes that I freeze and heat up throughout the week.

Edit: I'm a doctoral student so I totally know what you're going through. I gained 30lbs my first two-three year of my program because I felt like I didn't have time to take care of myself. You should feel proud that you're doing something so early in your program. You can do this, it just takes some preparation. If you don't have seminars until the evening, that's a good time to batch-cook (especially if you need to take a break from reading!) so that you always have something on-hand in the freezer and don't end up eating half a tub of brownies while freaking out over your next paper (I did that).

Hang in there and feel free to ask more questions if you need to. Btw, I noticed that you're in my neighborhood (so to speak)!

TwoPointZero

WRT throwing food away: With all due respect, get over it. In the US, we are way past the time of food scarcity. Indeed, I am in the same situation as you, and I just had to accept that eating fresh food meant that I would end up throwing a reasonable amount of it away.

WRT time to shopping multiple times a week: You have my sympathy on this one. When I was a grad student, a good friend of mine told me "When you are in grad school, no one tells you that along with your degree you get one free major medical problem . . .". It's just one of the sacrifices I chose to accept to go back to school.

Good luck!

morethanthis0

WRT throwing food away: With all due respect, get over it. In the US, we are way past the time of food scarcity. Indeed, I am in the same situation as you, and I just had to accept that eating fresh food meant that I would end up throwing a reasonable amount of it away.

WRT time to shopping multiple times a week: You have my sympathy on this one. When I was a grad student, a good friend of mine told me "When you are in grad school, no one tells you that along with your degree you get one free major medical problem . . .". It's just one of the sacrifices I chose to accept to go back to school.

Good luck!

well I wasn't too concerned with the actual throwing out of the food, I am just a frugal person and hate wasting money. So if I can avoid wasting money, I try.

School definitely makes you sacrifice a lot though, I like what your friend told you. It's sad but true. I work full-time and go to school full time as a double major. I start my fieldwork this upcoming semester and also will be teaching a couple classes for an organization I'm involved with. 7 days a week I'll be completely busy with no life, so hopefully I can find ways to keep eating healthy and not waste time or money

jayjay12345654321

It's just me, too. I'm vegan and eat mostly raw, so freshness is important. I find myself going to the grocery store 2 or 3 times a week, but since I'm only getting a few days worth and never leave the produce department, it's usually not more than 10 minutes each time, so it doesn't require planning around like it used to when I needed an hour or two to shop for everyone when the kids were here.

writergeek313

I live on my own and work as a college professor. I put on a lot of weight in the last few years because I made excuses about being too busy to go to the gym and often relied on packaged junk or takeout when I was too tired to cook. I didn't make taking care of myself a priority, and I was miserable because of it. My health has been my #1 priority all summer, but I start back at work this week and am a little nervous I may get really busy and fall back into my old unhealthy routines.

To help me avoid that, I'm trying to stock the freezer with plenty of healthy options. Usually once every two or three months I spend a whole day cooking and stocking the freezer (spaghetti sauce and turkey meatballs, stir fries, soups, mini meatloaves, curries, individual portions of grilled chicken, etc.). That way, on a busy night all I'll need to do is toss a homemade TV dinner in the microwave and make a salad or some veggies. A big thing that also helps is keeping chopped fruits and veggies in the fridge and other healthy snacks ready to eat. I also put my workouts in my schedule so I can't make excuses that I don't have time.

I usually only shop once a week. I do my best to plan ahead so I'll buy just what I need, and I also try hard to buy foods that will last. For instance, instead of packaged lettuce blends, I get a head of lettuce, then wash it, spin it, and put it in a container with paper towels to ensure it will last. It takes a little more time, but it takes a lot less time than having to go back to the store later in the week.

I know it's tough to plan, shop for, and cook healthy meals when you're busy, but remember that that's the fuel that will help keep you going!

morethanthis0

Thanks everyone for the tips

@writergeek313, thanks for the ideas. It's nice to know someone else is just as nervous as me starting up with an even busier schedule soon. Good luck with keeping up with everything once work starts!

stefjc

What they said plus

I found a website with salad in a jar, 5 jars, 5 salads, made on Sunday for the rest of the week. Very little wasted, at the moment.

If I remember I'll let you know how well it works by Friday

morethanthis0

What they said plus

I found a website with salad in a jar, 5 jars, 5 salads, made on Sunday for the rest of the week. Very little wasted, at the moment.

If I remember I'll let you know how well it works by Friday

Oh that would be awesome! Please let me know