Cooking for One

BacktoSam

My husband is in the military, and he sometimes leaves for months at a time, and next week he will be leaving for awhile, so I'm on my own for dinner. Last time he was gone I ate a lot of frozen meals, but I don't want to do that this time...any ideas or recipes would be great! Thanks y'all !

MissingMinnesota

I will either grill something on the george forman grill and steam some vegetables or I will make chili or salsa chicken in the crock pot on saturday or sunday and freeze it in individual protions.

ShelleyBowman

Cook as you normally would if he were home. Freeze the "leftovers". Use the leftovers when you don't have time, interest or energy to cook. (But be sure to freeze in portions)

auntiebabs

I'm just me and used to love to cook, but have been able to make time or just not at interested as I used to be.

Trader Joe's opened by me a while ago and is much less expensive than regular grocery store in NYC. I started a blog on all the stuff I've made with Trader Joe's ingredients. Mostly to remind myself of meal idea's that I've enjoyed.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/auntiebabs

nkswans

I love to cook too and cooking for one can be difficult sometimes. I usually just make the recipe and eat it throughout the week. I made stuffed peppers so finishing them up tomorrow! lol Then I have dinner each night at least, although eating the same thing every night can get boring sometimes.

xomakaxo

I also suggest cooking dinner for two. Keep the second half for the next day's lunch.

Frozen meals aren't all that bad, as long as you switch it up and try different ones.

lucysmommy

hiya

i normally choose recipes that can be seperated and frozen in protions or reduce the ingredients

goodluck
x

kouzzzz

Stay away from processed foods (90% of foods in the shopping center), anything that's white (white flour, white bread, white rice, pasta, etc...), anything with corn or soy (70% are GMOs). Look at the ingredients, if you can't pronounce it, don't buy it.

Eat fresh vegetables (eat as much green leafy vegetables you want), fruit, legumes, lean meats, eggs, nuts, seeds, whole grain breads, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, any other whole grains, etc..

Limit your bad sugars. Stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup, aspartame and splenda (increases your appetite). Try Sun Crystals or Stevia (Sweet Leaf). Fiber is very important.

I lost 75 lbs on this diet. To this day, I am still on this diet.

fitbot

make a big batch of plain tomato sauce.
have it over pasta
have it over grilled or steamed veggies
add some meat to it and have it as a stew.
freeze the rest

tomato sauce just gets more and more delicious as days go by

Barelmy

I like my vegan chilli. ---> http://vegan20eleven.blogspot.com/2010/10/basic-chilli.html

It makes eight small portions, if you eat it with a baked potato like I do, or you could have two portions alone or with rice.

94 calories per portion, 13 carbs, 3 protein, 3 fat, 5 sodium, 2 fibre. I usually add some ground flaxseed too, but don't bother if you're not a vegan/vegetarian, you probably don't need it. It keeps in the fridge for about a week, or freezes really well.

CraftyGirl4

Sesame Shrimp and Noodles

2 ounces spaghetti
2 TBSP orange marmalade
1 TBSP soy sauce (low sodium)
1 TBSP toastes sesame oil
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
4-6 ounces shrimp
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4" strips
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced.

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. Whisk together marmalade, soy sauce, oil, vinegar and ginger. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add shrimp, bell pepper and scallions. Toss to combine.
3. Transfer to rimmbed baking sheet; spread in single layer.
4. Heat broiler (or toaster oven). Broil until shrimp are opaque throughout. Toss with pasta. Enjoy.

Another good 1 person meal is fish en papillote, which is just a fancy way of saying "fish cooked in parchment." Basically, you make a little pouch from parchment paper, you put in some sliced veggies, a piece of fish and top it with a little white wine, a small bit of butter (or margarine if that's your thing), and whatever herbs/spices you like and toss it in the oven. The fish kind of steams in the pouch. Everything gets cooked, and it's delicious. Plus, easy clean up!

hwentz

I feel your pain, cooking for one is boring!

Something I do frequently is chop up some veggies I have on hand, such as bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc and saute them in a little olive oil and minced garlic. I add some grilled chicken strips (either the precooked Tyson ones if I'm lazy, or ones I grilled beforehand) until they are heated through and put them over a small baked potato.

Another idea is making personal pizza's on whole wheat tortillas. Pizza gets such a bad rep, but if you go easy on the cheese and heavy on the veggies, it's not all bad.