Healthy meals for one?

jessicagrieshaber

Cooking for one is SO HARD! I always just fall back to the same turkey sandwich or baked chicken breast because they're easy and don't make eight servings. What are some good, healthy recipes or ideas that I can try that don't make a TON of leftovers?

Thanks!!

kcmcd

I'm not sure what you mean. The only dinners that leave me with substantial leftovers are casseroles and soups, and we don't eat those very often. When that happens, leftovers can be frozen or packed for lunch... But if you're tired of chicken, you can cook up a pork chop or a steak or anything as easily as you can a chicken breast.

Also, I believe AllRecipes.com lets you adjust the servings, and will recalculate the recipe for you to reflect what you need.

segovm

Might not be what you are looking for but I tend to cook some stuff in bulk so I can just have quick meals whenever I want. Plain chicken breast is pretty boring but I'll do a couple pounds of chicken breast that I shred and then mix with an equal amount of well chopped stir fry peppers (red peppers, yellow peppers and onions) to which I add a packet of low sodium taco seasoning.

I just put that in some plasticware and heat up a portion to toss on small corn tortillas with some cheese and hot sauce or put it in a bowl with some green peas for a quick protein / carb fix.

The specifics might not be appealing but the idea is if you can do a little food prep one night you can use that as a quick fix for the rest of the week. Obviously, it needs to be something that you wouldn't mind eating all week, I'm a sucker for chicken soft tacos from Taco Bell and so this is a cheap fix for that addiction.

aeb09

I make a lot of salads with a sauteed chicken breast (cut up in pieces before cooking) or sausage stir fries with only a single-serving amount of ingredients. I cut down casserole recipes as best I can, but I agree it can be tough. Also, slow cooker chicken (2-3 chicken breasts) can be made into a variety of recipes after that just by adding different sauces/ingredients: shredded chicken tacos or burritos, buffalo chicken sandwich, chicken caesar salad, etc.

CynthiaT60

I'm not sure what you mean. The only dinners that leave me with substantial leftovers are casseroles and soups, and we don't eat those very often. When that happens, leftovers can be frozen or packed for lunch... But if you're tired of chicken, you can cook up a pork chop or a steak or anything as easily as you can a chicken breast.

Agree. What would be a normal meal for you? Just adjust the quantities. If you're a meat-veg-potato person, cook the appropriate amounts. If you're a stir-fry-with-tofu person, same thing. Just don't buy so much produce at once that it goes bad.

knra_grl

You could always plan your meals out for two weeks or a month in advance and freeze your prepared and portioned meals. This makes it easy for lunches and dinners for your busy work week. It would also save you money as you would have your meals prepared ahead and you would just have to buy your fresh food items.

This would also make logging really easy as you would have your servings for each meal figured out.

ponycyndi

You could always plan your meals out for two weeks or a month in advance and freeze your prepared and portioned meals. This makes it easy for lunches and dinners for your busy work week. It would also save you money as you would have your meals prepared ahead and you would just have to buy your fresh food items.

This would also make logging really easy as you would have your servings for each meal figured out.

I do this. If I have a recipe for 4 servings, then I eat one, save one for later, and freeze two. If my hubby and I are both eating, then that's dinner and lunch for the next day. I love to cook. I just need more help to eat it all!

DeboraW_55

Any kind of veggies roasted, talapia, salmon.

Francl27

I typically grill 2-3 pieces of chicken and have that during the week. Same for chicken sausages, fish, ground beef etc. Just buy 2-3 different kinds and alternate during the week. I typically cook everything plain then just add spices as I figure out how I'm going to have them (in pasta, in salads, in tacos etc). I bought a 12oz baking dish to make smaller portions of casseroles (although it takes a bit of guessing).

I do cook for 4 in the evening though, but cook for myself at lunch all week. I make a lot of omelets too.