Cooking for one

My fiancé works shifts so he's not usually around for dinner. When he's working I seem to use fallback meals like ready meals (usually ww ones) or Super Noodlea., if I actually bother to eat at all. Does anyone else have this problem, or overcome it?

Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I batch cook on the weekends and pre-portion everything into individual containers. I have five or six different choices currently in my freezer. I thaw what I feel like eating.
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    I cook for one but I am a faddy eater so I can happily eat the same meal 3 days in a row. I collect the little plastic cartons takeaways come in so I can pre portion up my food and either fridge or freeze it.

    my current obsession is quorn balls in tomato and tabasco sauce because for a main meal I can have pasta and for a lunch I can have a subway roll.
    I also love curry so I tend to make a batch and split it into one plate and as many containers as is appropriate.
    good meal for singletons (and those who eat like them) is omlette because it's single serving and you can make it as calorific as your plan requires.
    I read a freezer food cook book for advice about freezing foods which helped. I think planning helps but my brain and lifestyle don't work well with that.
  • I am in mainly for suggestions...

    I have the same problem - but mine is more because of time. I work full time and my husband feeds himself and the kids before I get home most nights. I am obsessive about the prep of my meals (weighing, scanning, etc) so I don't usually eat his leftovers :)

    I do find that I use the pre-breaded frozen chicken often. They are easy to pair with rice or noodles, etc...

    :)
  • rorae
    rorae Posts: 34 Member
    in for suggestions also...it's just me , to do all the planning, shopping and cooking. This is actually a goal of mine this week - to prepare more of my own and stop depending on the weird random selection work cafeteria provides...
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I don't feel like cooking for one is that different from cooking for two, or four. I have been cooking the same way for more than a decade even though during that time I have been married, single, in a relationship where my boyfriend lived apart from me 4 days of the week, and in a marriage where we had 1-2 guests for dinner every night. I just cooked enough for two, and had leftovers for the next day if I ate alone. If there would be more than two dining or if I purposely wanted leftovers, I'd double the usual amount for two.

    Honestly I think it's just laziness when people say it is too hard to cook for one or two people. It is very easy to adapt to. I do understand that some people who are maybe empty nesters and used to cook for a family of five would find it an adjustment...but that's about it, and it would be an easy adjustment.

    Just cook the same stuff you would anyway. In smaller portions.
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    Stir fry is very easy--a bunch of your favorite vegetables, a protein, and a bit of oil. Salads are great. So many combos! Omelets too.

    I always have a batch of either homemade vegetable soup or a bean soup or vegetarian chili--something low in calories and high in nutrition--in my fridge. That way I've ALWAYS got something to build a meal around. I'll often just add a half sandwich--something on good bread with quality deli meat so I feel like I'm at a cafe ;) and a glass of cold whole milk.
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    The words 'cook from frozen' are like music to my ears (or eyes because I am reading.. you know what I mean)

    this coming week is half term which worried me because we will be packed lunches (hopefully, if the weather holds) and picnics. Sunday night I will order a tandoori mixed grill as my treat and the leftovers can be chopped up on salads for the beginning of the week. feels decadent but is actually just chicken salad mostly
  • 86tigger
    86tigger Posts: 31 Member
    I cook for one and while sometimes i dont feel like cooking most of the time it's not too bad. I do tend to batch cook food and freeze in it portions a fair bit as otherwise I find I wont eat as well as I should do. Just have a day a week where you cook up extra portions and freeze them. Its so easy to take it out in the morning ready for the night.
  • StephF3692
    StephF3692 Posts: 27 Member
    i cook for one too; like others have stated, i often batch cook on sunday and portion it out into individual servings. for example, last sunday i made a batch of lentil soup to use as a base for meals this week -- so i would brown up some ground turkey, or add in some white fiber pasta, and then toss a salad and dinner is ready in about 5 minutes. this sunday i'm making a batch of curried cauliflower i'll use as a base for meals this week. planning ahead is really the key -- i also already have a variety of different proteins portioned out so i just need to thaw and cook them.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
    I cook every meal just for myself. I mostly cook single-serve stir fries for dinner (sausage or chicken, spinach, green beans, broccoli and mushrooms in butter and avocado oil) but there are times when I want to follow a recipe. Last night, for example, I made 4 crab cakes and ate 2 for dinner and will have the other 2 for lunch today. I'll do that during the week and bring my leftovers to work for lunch. I find a recipe I like and either halve it or figure out how many servings/meals I want out of it and then just make that much of it.

    Before eating healthy I cooked on Sundays and then packaged it up for the week. I'd make something in the slow cooker, like salsa chicken, that I could use to make burritos or wraps or to top a salad plus some baked chicken patties that I could put over pasta or turn into a chicken burger. It worked well, for the most part.

    I find I'm now eating healthier, fresher, more tasty meals now that I cook everything right before I eat it. I work full time as well and enjoy coming home and cooking. Whatever suits your needs is good; don't be afraid to try a few different systems.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I cook every meal just for myself. I mostly cook single-serve stir fries for dinner (sausage or chicken, spinach, green beans, broccoli and mushrooms in butter and avocado oil) but there are times when I want to follow a recipe. Last night, for example, I made 4 crab cakes and ate 2 for dinner and will have the other 2 for lunch today. I'll do that during the week and bring my leftovers to work for lunch. I find a recipe I like and either halve it or figure out how many servings/meals I want out of it and then just make that much of it.

    Before eating healthy I cooked on Sundays and then packaged it up for the week. I'd make something in the slow cooker, like salsa chicken, that I could use to make burritos or wraps or to top a salad plus some baked chicken patties that I could put over pasta or turn into a chicken burger. It worked well, for the most part.

    I find I'm now eating healthier, fresher, more tasty meals now that I cook everything right before I eat it. I work full time as well and enjoy coming home and cooking. Whatever suits your needs is good; don't be afraid to try a few different systems.

    I think this is all good advice!! Sounds tasty too :-)

    Really whatever you get used to is "easy". I don't think packaged foods are evil or anything but for me it is cheaper and just as easy to make a big veggie omelet with sauteed mushrooms, spinach & onions and sprinkle some feta on top and make up 2 TBSP of homemade tzatziki to go with it, and then berries or something for dessert...than nuking a Lean Cuisine and opening a 100 cal pack of whatever cookie/treat for dessert.
  • achione
    achione Posts: 5 Member
    I cook for one as well. I have roommates but we pretty much all do our own thing where food is concerned. I agree that batch cooking is super handy, even if its not a whole recipe it's good to have parts ready like quinoa or brown rice. I always boil a ton of eggs on the weekend so they are there to grab for a quick breakfast or to add to a salad. A recent discovery of mine is using the slow cooker. I got one for free and have been using it a ton. Its great for one person because you can just throw everything in there in the morning and poof its ready when you get home with enough leftovers for the next day and there are TONS of good healthy recipes for slow cooking on the internet.