Cooking for one

I buy frozen chicken breasts (or freeze fresh chicken breasts) for single serve dishes. I also make single serving soups and stews (or double and freeze leftovers for another weeks). I keep 1/2 servings of rice and quinoa in the freezer.

Quinoa Patties: 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, 1/2 red bell pepper chopped, 4 tsp. flaxseed, 1 large egg white, salt and pepper to taste. Mix together. pat into a 1 cup measure to form 2-3 patties. Place formed patties on a hot skillet, sprayed with cooking spray. Cook 2-3 min and flip each patty, cook additional 2-3 min Makes 1 serving.

Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond has many recipes geared toward one serving.

Something that helps me is to make basic ingredients that I can use in different wants throughout the week so I'm not eating the same thing over and over. Last week I used chicken for salads and mixed some with whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce. Later in the week I mixed the chicken and pasta with some veggies for a pasta salad. Leftover odds and ends can be great ingredients for mini pizzas, omelets, or quesadillas. When I can, I also throw leftovers in the freezer for days when I'm too tired or don't have time to cook.

On those giant packages of ground turkey, I brown it up and then separate it out into servings (I go with 1 lb because I'm not cooking for one) and then freeze so I can just pop it out and add what I need for whatever the meal is. Use a partial packet of taco seasoning and less meat so you aren't eating it for three days. Take that browned meat and turn it into spaghetti another night with a bit of tomato sauce and seasonings and mix it in with a bit of pasta and cheese for another.

Cook half at a time, freeze the rest.

I cook one piece of meat for a meal. If I cook ahead, like making a turkey meatloaf, then I cut slices and freeze them. I can always zap on in the microwave. I also buy prepared salads at Costco, like the spinach bistro salad. They sometimes sit in the frig for a week and are still good. I also buy meat, like pork chops and cook a few, then freeze the others so I can cook them when I feel like it. I buy frozen veggies and use them for salads and to go with the meat. I have also lived by myself so my ideas might be odd for others. Good luck, hopefully your apt mates give you emotional support. There are also recipes for one or two, and I haven't checked but there might be a website for it.

Cooking for 2 is a good magazine from the publisher of Taste of Home. The recipes aren't specifically low Cal/fat, but they are downsized and can be modified. I rely too heavily on convenience foods for the same reason; my roommate and I are on different schedules and have different tastes so I cook for only myself and hate eating leftovers all week.

I have found that preparing a marinade and marinating a couple types of meat in the fridge for the week is helpful. I have both steak and chicken in the fridge now so I can alternate. I also split up a large pack of meat into single serving, place in a freezer bag and add a different marinade to each one and freeze for later use. I do veggies in a large batch as well, roasted several (sliced) zucchini and yellow squash in the oven for 25 min at 425 with olive oil, garlic and some herbs and stored in the fridge so all I have to do is cook the meat (I prefer to cook the meat fresh each day rather than cooking once and reheating, personal preference) and choose and prepare a starch if I choose to have one. Many times, I'll do the starch ahead as well, quinoa, brown rice, pasta, but I like to do Yukon or sweet potatoes day of, only takes <10 min in microwave and they taste better fresh. I also make and freeze turkey chili in the crockpot...spaghetti sauce, and taco meat also freeze well.

ETA: I also found some inexpensive cooking for 1 or 2 books on Amazon (used) that were helpful. I can't recall the specific names or which ones were particularly good, but it may be worth a browse.

Always open to new ideas!