For those that live alone or with one other person...

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YourFriendBecky
YourFriendBecky Posts: 229
in Food and Nutrition
Just thought I'd open up a thread for any one with ideas to share about cooking for one or two people only.

I share a home with my 24-year-old daughter, who's in grad school. I never know when she's going to be home so it helps for us to have things we can prepare separately without too much fuss. Lately I've discovered that if I make up a pot of brown rice and keep it in the fridge, along with some homemade vegetable soup (I like it with curry powder), along with some tupperware full of cooked meat, chicken or shrimp... well, we've discovered all kinds of ways to make quick meals.

Tonight she made herself a "burrito bowl": into a bowl she put cooked rice, some canned beans, a handful of frozen roasted corn (Trader Joe's), some some shredded cheese and some black olives... topped with a little green salsa and cooked in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

I had some of the vegetable soup with some of the cooked rice and chicken thrown in. For lunch I threw some frozen shrimp into a little frying pan with some frozen stir-fry veggies and a little teriyaki sauce, and had it with some of the cooked rice. We keep twist-ties on frozen shrimp and veggies to be able to just use a little at a time.

We usually eat some kind of pasta dish once a week and make enough for leftovers.

Baked potatoes (white or sweet) are also quick to cook in the microwave, as are quesadillas (tortilla, cheese, plus meat or veggies if desired).

Egg or tuna sandwiches are also quick and easy.

And we've also been known to make a meal of cereal or French toast more than once. : )

As fresh fruits become less available in the fall, we can still have fruit smoothies (OJ, frozen banana, frozen strawberries) or frozen fruit mixed with yogurt. We also like protein smoothies with milk, frozen banana, and chocolate protein powder.

Anyone else have ideas for quick and easy food for one or two people?
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Replies

  • ThaiKaren
    ThaiKaren Posts: 341 Member
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    Thank you for all those great ideas :smile:
  • Julesaf
    Julesaf Posts: 36
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    I just cook a big meal on Sundays (or any other day of the week), and eat it for an entire week. I get sick of it sometimes, but some recipes are TOO good to get sick of!

    (Here's a link to one such recipe.)
    http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/08/guiltless-alfredo-sauce.html
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    Your diet(s) sound very similar to mine, with the exception of the pasta. I live with my mom, too, and we both make whole grain tortilla wraps/burritos a lot, too. Unfortunately, she's not interested in doing any kind of program with me. She's big on her workout routine, but she is definitely not trying to lose weight and has a pretty junk food-based diet. In fact, as of late, in between her compliments on my weight loss, she has been making some hurtful, disparaging remarks (called parts of me "flabby," as I've lost a lot of weight, but am far from toned). I know she is simply projecting her own insecurities on me and needs to grow up (such mature behavior, for a 55-year-old), but it is still very hurtful.
    I really envy your relationship, and wish I had someone I could trust so much to be my health partner. Your daughter should be very grateful to have such a great support system. I loved your photos, too.. she looks SO much like you! :)
  • haleighallen
    haleighallen Posts: 209 Member
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    BUMP!:flowerforyou:
  • YourFriendBecky
    YourFriendBecky Posts: 229
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    Julesaf, THANKS for sharing that alfredo sauce recipe... can't wait to try that with shrimp and pasta. That whole website looks pretty cool.
  • Hotbottom
    Hotbottom Posts: 168 Member
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    I have a big buy and wash day. I wash lettuce and put in Tupperware: ready at any time to rip up and make into a salad. I cut up jars of carrots and sticks of celery ( used to fill with nut butters). I use glass jars as I find if my kids cant see them: she wont take them. I fill other jars with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. I make a jar of salad dressing and jar of dip. Either humous or guacamole. Ill have wholegrain bread in the freezer, ready to toast at any time. i will make wholemeal of chickpea waffles in big batches and them freeze them. So they are ready to grab at any time.
    I find with all this, if she is hungry she will grab something healthy. For dinners and lunches, I will cook a pile at a time. Then there is always heaps in the fridge, to heat for a quick dinner, lunch or packed lunch.
    e.g. rice, a vegtable soup, chicken coated in cornflakes, steak ( minced in blender with onions, mixed herbs, salt peper) Can put these in freezer or fridge for quick healthy burgers, fritata, grilled salmon.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    bump
  • johnthefatman
    johnthefatman Posts: 205
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    One thing I like to keep on hand is some roasted root veg - I make a big box of them - carrots, parsnips and turnips - roasted with the lightest smear of olive oil some thyme and chilli flakes. I like them cold - great for snacking - they end up in the flat breads I make for my packed lunch and can be microwaved back to serve with fish or steak for my main meal.

    In general I think living alone makes weightloss much easier - I could never do it when my kids were around.

    J
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
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    Thanks for all of these suggestions.. I also live with one other person, my boyfriend. I often cut recipes in half so we don't have too much food. We're having chili tonight made in my 2qt crockpot. Fresh foods are really hard to keep around at our house as I'm the only veggy eater they go bad before I can finish them.
  • leanmass24
    leanmass24 Posts: 304 Member
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    I like to make large meals in the crockpot and freeze them for future use. A couple of my favorites are boneless skinless chicken breasts with okra and tomatos. Porkloin with field peas and snap beans. You can add different seasonings to make them taste different every time you make it. I like to add hickory or some sort of smoked flavor when I make it and some cajun seasonings. It always comes out great. Just keep some brown rice on hand to mix with it or eat it plain for less calories. They are very filling and good. I also keep the usual on hand multigrain bread, wraps, milk, eggbeaters, cereal, some sort of fresh fruit, frozen veggies, cans of tuna, barilla plus multigrain pasta, protien bars and powder, frozen fruit, sugar free jello cups, and last but not least Healthy Choice frozen dinners. I love the healthy choice frozen dinners, the nutrition is good and the soduim isnt too bad. Kinda expensive, but worth it in my opinion. They have saved me many times from making a bad choice in food. They taste good too. Well I think that is about it. Hope this helps some if you.
  • Julesaf
    Julesaf Posts: 36
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    Julesaf, THANKS for sharing that alfredo sauce recipe... can't wait to try that with shrimp and pasta. That whole website looks pretty cool.

    You are VERY welcome. I currently am eating it for lunch and dinner because I made so much of it haha. It's amazing how delicious it is when it's just 1% milk, light cream cheese, and parmesan! I would never guess it was "light."
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,332 Member
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    I tend to make a lot of large recipes and then freeze them in individual portions for lunches and such. I eat a ton of salads and soup too so I keep those on hand for when I don't feel like cooking. I buy chicken and immediately put it into individual portions to freeze or use. Make a batch of brown rice or couscous to keep in the fridge all week to eat with fish and chicken. I keep lots of fruits and veggies on hand for snacking and lunches. Seems to work out okay. :happy:
  • PolkaDot88
    PolkaDot88 Posts: 71 Member
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    My biggest problem when I'm eating alone is that I over-indulge because my boyfriend isn't there to keep me distracted from food. I've started making meals ahead of time for when I know he won't be home so that I don't do that - I grill or roast one chicken breast and eat only that with spinach salad for dinner, and if there's leftover rice (we eat a lot of brown rice) I'll have a little of that too. For spinach salad we keep on hand canned mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, sliced almonds, and 2 kinds of homemade dressing so that we can mix it up every time and it doesn't get boring.

    I make sure that when I'm done eating I clean up the kitchen and put everything away, then I don't want to dirty anything new to make myself a snack. If I really feel like snacking I'll make something on the healthy side, like veggies and dip, fruit or popcorn with no butter, just a little salt.
  • orange_avocado
    orange_avocado Posts: 232
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    I live with my boyfriend, and we usually just make 4-person recipes and save half for lunch the next day. I also like to make things in the slow cooker and get 5 or 6 servings so that we have some 'back-up' meals or lunches. We usually keep fruit on hand, but just cut up veggies as we need them (neither of us really like snacking on carrots).

    My new favorite thing is to buy a whole roasting chicken when it goes on sale and cook it in the crock pot (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Slow-Cooker-Chicken/Detail.aspx). It makes a ton of chicken, so I use some in chicken enchiladas, save some for chicken tortilla soup, and then boil the bones and leftovers to make chicken stock, which I freeze until needed. Great way to get a lot of meals for a low price!
  • heidiberr
    heidiberr Posts: 643 Member
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    bump! My boyfriend and I are always looking for meal ideas!
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    I do the over-cook thing too. I'll make a vat of stuff and then freeze it. Like this weekend I'm going to make a vat of chili and a vat of beef stew with tons of veggies (I have a 16qt stock pot) and then freeze it into smaller bags so we can just pull it out when we need. I'm also going to make a bunch of applesauce.

    I think it comes down to being prepared and helping each other out. Like others who have posted, I live with my bf and he helps with dishes and cleaning veggies. Otherwise, it would be too much.

    This year we started buying local awesome produce and preserving it (check out the thread I started "Canning Club") so we can always have great quality foods. I just pop open a jar of veggie soup I made this summer and cook up some pasta or rice to toss into it and we're ready to go!
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
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    I have a big buy and wash day. I wash lettuce and put in Tupperware: ready at any time to rip up and make into a salad. I cut up jars of carrots and sticks of celery ( used to fill with nut butters). I use glass jars as I find if my kids cant see them: she wont take them. I fill other jars with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. I make a jar of salad dressing and jar of dip. Either humous or guacamole. Ill have wholegrain bread in the freezer, ready to toast at any time. i will make wholemeal of chickpea waffles in big batches and them freeze them. So they are ready to grab at any time.
    I find with all this, if she is hungry she will grab something healthy. For dinners and lunches, I will cook a pile at a time. Then there is always heaps in the fridge, to heat for a quick dinner, lunch or packed lunch.
    e.g. rice, a vegtable soup, chicken coated in cornflakes, steak ( minced in blender with onions, mixed herbs, salt peper) Can put these in freezer or fridge for quick healthy burgers, fritata, grilled salmon.

    I do the same buy & wash day. I also buy the snack sized ziploc baggies and divy everything into 1 serving size from fruits to carrots to nuts. I boil a dozen eggs and have them ready to go for the week. Makes my life a lot easier!
  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
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    I just cook a big meal on Sundays (or any other day of the week), and eat it for an entire week. I get sick of it sometimes, but some recipes are TOO good to get sick of!

    (Here's a link to one such recipe.)
    http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/08/guiltless-alfredo-sauce.html

    I cook a lot on Sundays too. I cook things that take a long time like wheat berries and brown rice and make quick soups and sauces. Then, I can freeze or refrigerate a lot of the stuff I make in order to eat it throughout the week.
  • Jenbabe402
    Jenbabe402 Posts: 36
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    I live with my boyfriend, and he usually eats pretty unhealthy, so it's up to me to find ways to make healthy meals that he'll actually eat. I like the method of making a larger batch of something that will last a few days- today I did chicken chop suey with tons of veg and a bit of boneless, skinless chicken breast, jasmine rice on the side (that way I can control my portions). I also made a large batch of healthy coleslaw since cabbage is in season and eating it raw is great for you, eating a small bowl of that first made me eat less of the chop suey and rice (see my recipe if you're interested!). Other than that, I usually do large batches of soup to keep in the fridge and whole wheat pastas. I also make my own bean burritos (flour tortillas) and freeze them in a ziploc bag for an easy heat-and-eat meal. They keep for about 3 months. With a tiny bit of shredded cheese and some hot sauce they taste great and are loaded with fiber.
  • Jenbabe402
    Jenbabe402 Posts: 36
    Options
    My biggest problem when I'm eating alone is that I over-indulge because my boyfriend isn't there to keep me distracted from food. I've started making meals ahead of time for when I know he won't be home so that I don't do that - I grill or roast one chicken breast and eat only that with spinach salad for dinner, and if there's leftover rice (we eat a lot of brown rice) I'll have a little of that too. For spinach salad we keep on hand canned mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, sliced almonds, and 2 kinds of homemade dressing so that we can mix it up every time and it doesn't get boring.

    I make sure that when I'm done eating I clean up the kitchen and put everything away, then I don't want to dirty anything new to make myself a snack. If I really feel like snacking I'll make something on the healthy side, like veggies and dip, fruit or popcorn with no butter, just a little salt.

    great salad ideas! I think I migh start doing that! I do the same thing with popcorn, only my bf won't eat it without butter so there's always a lot leftover- my pet mouse benefits from it!

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