Single Person Meals!

IRISHCHRIS58
IRISHCHRIS58 Posts: 6 Member
in Recipes
Hello everyone...
I'm Chris... And I'm a Single guy. ANd as most of you know we aren't the best at cooking or planing meals.
So I'm looking for some ideas.
This is just help for me or others guys.. BUT every single person out there!
How do we make meals in our portions?? HOW????

So I'm ALL the single People out there please Help with what ever you got!
Whatever you like to eat.
Whats your Favorite meal and recipe you like to make?

Please Help Single Guy
Chris.
«1

Replies

  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    I eat a lot of salad and sandwiches tbh... most of the ingredients work for both and I can easily throw it together. When I do actually cook I end up doing a meal for 2-4 and then eating the leftovers. Sometimes this means I have leftovers 3 nights (or lunches) in a row but I don't have the same thing every week so I'm usually ok with it.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    If you are making something that is unreasonable to make for one person, spaghetti sauce is the first thing that comes to mind, then portion it out and freeze it so you don't have to eat the same thing three or four times in a week.
  • cheekym7
    cheekym7 Posts: 570 Member
    BBQ!
  • StephyA86
    StephyA86 Posts: 68 Member
    I keep it simple most nights. I'll do a protein (like chicken breast, salmon, pork loin chop, shrimp, etc), season it however I want and cook a veggie to pair with it. Sometimes I'll pick up some turkey kielbasa and saute that up with a bag of pre-seasoned veggies (like from green giant).
  • focused4health
    focused4health Posts: 154 Member
    Cook for 4 and freeze three portions in seperate containers. This means dividing the meal when it is completed cooking into four equal portions. You can then have the same mealat the same time for three weeks. Do this for a week and you cut down your cooking time immensely. More time for excercise loving and the occassional very occassional:drinker: Guiness
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 517 Member
    I live alone as well, and am a big fan of "batch cooking". I cook up a recipe of anything I like; soups, Indian food, burrito fillings (refried beans and lean ground sirloin), baked chicken cutlets, whatever... and I parcel it into labelled ziptop bags and freeze. Then when I'm hungry, I just grab a preportioned bag and zap it in the microwave for home-cooked pre-measured "frozen dinners" without the salt and chemicals of normal frozen meals.

    I also parcel out and weigh my meat as soon as I get home from the shop, tossing into the freezer, so I can take out just "one" steak, pork chop, or other meat portion at a time to cook.

    I keep a big bag of salad greens and a range of lite dressings in the fridge to bulk out any meal without adding many calories.

    I put in my recipes into the MFP recipe calculator, and it tells me exactly how many calories are in each portion, and I save the recipes so I can choose them in the future without having to input all of the ingredients.

    Looking forward to hearing the ideas of others.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    exactly what i do.

    I get a chicken breast or lean hamburger patty. season that baby up and fry IT. with a couple sides of different veggies. my favorites at the moment are spaghetti squash and this brussel sprout heaven i make. Its shaved brussel sprouts sauteed with bacon and mushrooms. MMMMMMMMMM thats whats for dinner.

    i do the same thing with my meats. as soon as i get home from the store i meaure them into 4 ounce servings and put them in the freezer, so i can just pull one out each morning and put it in the fridge.
  • JesChernosky
    JesChernosky Posts: 37 Member
    I try to make brothy soups the slow cooker, then place them in vacuum seal bags. They are good to freeze.

    Also, separate your meats into individual vacuum seal bags when raw. I find vacuum seal bags best for portion control. I like to cook my meats on the foreman grill, especially when cooking just for myself or for me and my husband.

    When it comes to veggies I prefer my veggies raw. When I make my husband's we like to buy the steamer bags. I steam and put half of one of the bags in a Tupperware container for him to eat for with lunch the next day, almost always with the grilled meat.

    Whenever you get home from the store separate all your purchases immediately. It's so easy to just eat that "extra" chicken breast, or trail mix, or nuts rather than stick to the portion you have allotted for.

    Check on www.skinnytaste.com. Many of her meals can be frozen and have great taste. As a single person the freezing of meals can be your best friend. If you take a frozen meal out every night and put it in the fridge you'll have dinner when you get home.
  • jasonrashaad
    jasonrashaad Posts: 8 Member
    I make four serving recipes from Allrecipes.com...chili, beans and rice, chicken and vegetables, things like that. Cook it on a Sunday and you have three servings of lunch/dinner throughout the week. Great timesaver also.
  • ThePinkPanda
    ThePinkPanda Posts: 208 Member
    Cook for 4 and freeze three portions in seperate containers. This means dividing the meal when it is completed cooking into four equal portions.

    this. i'm not single but i cook for myself and it helps greatly. another option is simply to take an existing recipe, and do some math to break it down to one or two servings (this can get difficult depending on the ingredients). the biggest thing is making sure you've evenly portioned out the amount of servings you made. i use a scale for this
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    Take a look at some of the Hungry Girl cookbooks. I'm not a fan of many of her recipes as they are written (too much fat free this or sugar free that) but the books have a lot of simple single serve recipes that with some simple modifications are decent. I just plug them into the recipe calculator on this site using better ingredients and go from there.
  • kittykat1994
    kittykat1994 Posts: 149 Member
    I freeze a lot of meat and defrost it in the fridge on the morning that I want to use it.

    I find a lot of recipes can be halved etc into a one person portion. Also I make banana pancakes for breakfast a lot (http://agirlcalledjack.com/2014/01/30/banana-pancakes/) and I cook the whole recipe in one day, eat half and refrigerate the rest as I can't really split an egg in half.
  • csontos
    csontos Posts: 76 Member
    Some people will probably complain that I'm saying this, but whatever. I eat Lean Cuisines sometimes. They take like 3 minutes to microwave, taste pretty good, clean up takes 5 seconds, aren't full of sodium, and I can't binge on them because it takes effort to open up another one. Plus my local Target had them BOGO free, so they only cost $1.25 each. /shrug
  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
    Mini pizzas! Get whole grain English muffins and the pizza sauce you can get in a squirt bottle. It's super easy and you can keep the toppings simple or make it as complex as you want. I live alone and I'm having that for dinner tonight. :)
  • tehboxingkitteh
    tehboxingkitteh Posts: 1,574 Member
    I do what a few others have suggested and freeze portions for future use.

    Meatloaf burgers and loaded smashed potatoes are my favorite. But I go all out when I cook.
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
    I eat a lot of sandwiches, salads, wraps. I buy the frozen chicken breast tenders & frozen single serve tilapia & will grill one of those with a little bit of lemon pepper seasoning & have that with a baked potato that I cooked in the microwave. I like canned food too, actually. Probably not the best, but a can of chicken noodle soup & a grilled cheese sandwich is under 500 calories, & there are no leftovers to deal with or tempt me. I sometimes buy frozen chicken nuggets & sweet potato fries & that makes a quick meal [I also have some random veggies - sweet peppers, cucumber sticks, sugar snap peas, etc. on the side] that isn't too high calorie if you eat the proper serving sizes.

    Once in awhile I'll make larger homemade meals [most recently: artichoke pizza, potato soup, & stuffed peppers] & will just put the leftovers in the fridge for the rest of the week. I'm a pretty boring eater & can eat the same thing for 5 days in a row without getting bored, which can be a blessing as a single person with leftovers!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I've struggled a bit with this, but I actually find it easier to cook for myself than rely on ready meals, that neither has the taste nor the nutrients that I want. I buy separately frozen salmon filets, pork chops and chicken wings and thighs. Fresh pork chops and ground beef/pork/lamb and divide it into portions and freeze that too. I usually cook for two days when I use ground beef (pasta, chili). Creamed soups and smoothies are easy to make if you have a blender. I eat a lot of rice, oatmeal and barley. Frozen vegetables like peas and green beans. Canned beans and tomatoes. Eggs, almost every day. Nuts. Nut butters. Potatoes and vegetables like carrots, cauliflower and broccoli keep fresh for longer than lettuce and cucumber. Crisp bread instead of ordinary bread for the same reason. Some of my favorite snacks are fruit and cheese (brie).

    (Sorry if sounds strange or anything, English isn't my first language, and some things just get a bit difficult for me to write about.)
  • CarlieeBear
    CarlieeBear Posts: 325 Member
    Some people will probably complain that I'm saying this, but whatever. I eat Lean Cuisines sometimes. They take like 3 minutes to microwave, taste pretty good, clean up takes 5 seconds, aren't full of sodium, and I can't binge on them because it takes effort to open up another one. Plus my local Target had them BOGO free, so they only cost $1.25 each. /shrug

    I had their Asian salad today...it was amazing. I take these to work a lot. LC and Healthy Choice are the only frozen dinners I like at all that are low enough in calories for me.
  • CarlieeBear
    CarlieeBear Posts: 325 Member
    Cook extra and freeze leftovers. It's a good idea to pack up the leftovers before you start eating, so you don't go back for too much more!

    Brown and season meat ahead and freeze it in a bag. I flatten the bags out to make it easier to get just enough for one or two, but you could freeze it on a lined baking sheet. I always drain sauteed ground beef. I like to have bags of Mexican, and salt & pepper seasoned ground beef and chicken for fajitas or salads. I also freeze bags of fajita veggies.
  • thegoodsister2
    thegoodsister2 Posts: 1
    I cook by "serving size" marked on the package. If the serving size for pasta is 1 cup (or 3/4 cup) that's how much I make. If a serving size for Chicken is 3 oz, that's how much I make. I don't cook more, if I do, I eat it. I just started back again so hopefully my "recipe" works this time. I made baked fish and just enough pasta to fill me up - then I added spinach and mushrooms to my pasta for more filler. It takes time getting used to cooking this way but I'm working on it.
  • Brett_Mason
    Brett_Mason Posts: 16 Member
    I have a local restaurant that makes amazing side. Greens, beans, corn, cabbage, carrots etc etc. And you can buy them by the pint, quart or whatever. So I buy the sides I like and freeze them and just cook my meat fresh. Easy to do a chicken breast or whatever, pop the veggies in the microwave....walla! healthy quick meal for one
  • IRISHCHRIS58
    IRISHCHRIS58 Posts: 6 Member
    WOW !! Everyone Thanks :wink:
  • IRISHCHRIS58
    IRISHCHRIS58 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks !!
  • Mygsds
    Mygsds Posts: 1,564 Member
    Great ideas here. Another one www.allrecipes.com. Type in cooking for one and there are tons of recipes. Good luck..
  • tattsb4u
    tattsb4u Posts: 30
    My hubby works out of town all week and I have a 15 year old daughter who is the pickiest person alive so I basically cook for myself all week. The main thing I have started to do is buy a large pack of fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts and bake them on Sunday night. I season the heck out of them with salt free seasoning. Chop all the chicken up and throw it into the fridge. I eat off of that for most of the week.

    I absolutely LOVE chicken salad....so I tried this

    Chicken
    Oikos Fat Free French Onion Dip (25 calories for two tablespoons) - seriously rocks!
    Onions
    Celery
    1/2 whole wheat pita

    I mix all the ingredients together and stick it in the pita with lettuce and tomato.

    Fresh cut up chicken in my fridge is my salvation. I can never say I don't have anything to eat....

    Just a few thoughts :smile:
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    I make four serving recipes from Allrecipes.com...chili, beans and rice, chicken and vegetables, things like that. Cook it on a Sunday and you have three servings of lunch/dinner throughout the week. Great timesaver also.

    I like this ... My son does not eat leftovers like he used to so tossing food has become an issue for me - I tend to just plan a couple days ahead now and try to keep the wasted food to a minimum.
  • supermysza
    supermysza Posts: 167 Member
    Cook enough for two people and have the other portion for lunch or dinner the next day or freeze it for when you're too lazy to cook.
  • realtrueblue
    realtrueblue Posts: 12 Member
    Such great ideas - thank you all! I do what many people here suggest - cook in bulk and then freeze so you don't get bored by eating the same thing for a week! One of my go to standards though is to get a pack of chicken thighs from Cosco. They come in six packs of four thighs which are freezer ready. I take one pack of the thighs, remove the skin and cut off any fat remaining. Smother them in smooth Dijon mustard (which you can also get from Costco to have a large supply at hand) and then season liberally. Besides pepper I put garlic and herb salt free seasoning, and spicy pepper flakes. Shove it in the oven (I put it in the toaster oven) at 375 for 45 minutes and serve two of those thighs with whatever veggies my heart desires. It is a delicious meal and you have two thighs left for the next day - which are equally delicious eater cold.

    Grace and strength to all on the downward journey!
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    I season and bake a few chicken breasts during meal prep.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    Your Freezer and Tupperware should become your new best friends. Make a 4 portion (or however many) recipe - save one for later in the week and freeze two!

    Even cooking for a family I make things this way - we make a HUGE lasagna and freeze 1/2 (or make two pans and freeze one). Spaghetti sauce, casseroles, meat loaf, soups, chili, etc. Sometimes it's easier to only make the mess once!

    As a single guy you can even do that with sides. Make a pasta salad or and use it for lunch during the week (sometimes I add protein to it for a main dish - tuna, chicken, etc.)

    Make a small steak and baked potato with veggies and salad.

    Make 4 burgers and grill them and then freeze them after they are cooked - they reheat fine in the microwave and you don't have to light the grill every night!

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