Food, meals for one, grocery shopping, cooking, etc

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defygravity531
defygravity531 Posts: 289 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all,

I just put a security deposit down on the greatest little apartment and will be moving out completely on my own some time in May. I currently live with my parents and while I do a good job with controlling what passes my lips, I do find that I'm influenced by what my parents are eating or what they have in the house.

Moving out is my opportunity to leave my parents' eating habits behind.

So... I'm moving into a completely empty kitchen that I get to stock with whatever I want!! I want to be thoughtful about what I bring into my new space, what I surround myself with. That being said, I only have moderate cooking experience and am looking to learn how to cook healthfully for myself.

I would love suggestions for food, meals, grocery shopping, cooking, anything really. :) Thanks!!

Replies

  • rlmiller73190
    rlmiller73190 Posts: 342 Member
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    Fresh (and frozen) vegetables are always good to have around. Kraftrecipes.com (i think that's it) has a weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to and have simple recipes e-mailed to you! I have a lot of low fat snacks - pretzels, granola bars, etc. lying around. I ove hummus, laughing cow light cheese wedges, and ice cream (guilty pleasure, but I eat either skinny cow or double churned ice cream (less calories and fat!)). I'm a vegetarian so I drink light soy milk and lots of water. You'll find it's much easier to eat healthy on your own -- I did!
  • sdirbder
    sdirbder Posts: 159 Member
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    If you have a full size freezer my suggestion would be to make regular recipes and freeze leftovers. I do it all the time with protiens and soups. I love crockpot recipes, but they make large amounts of servings. There are articles online about how to do it properly and different recipes for that purpose. The reason I like doing it is first I get to cook what I want and dont have to eat the same thing for the whole week. But also I can pull somethng out of the freezer and it is ready when I want it. Hope that this helped.
  • froglegjack
    froglegjack Posts: 388 Member
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    allrecipes.com also has a feature that allows you to put the number of servings in and it calculates the math for you so you can adapt any of their recipes to make a nice dinner for one or two :)
    Also ond dish meals are great because you can get all of your veggies etc in and not have so much cleanup. Makes for a lot more variety than salad salad salad. Have a great time learning!
  • Christie422
    Christie422 Posts: 120 Member
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    How fun! I would spend some time doing some research and finding recipes for things you like...there are many great recipe websites like allrecipes.com, food. com, and skinnytaste.com. to name a few. Sometimes the recipes need to be tweaked a little bit, like omitting oil for sauteing (a good non-stick pan and a little cooking spray does the trick) or replacing ground beef for ground turkey or chicken. Make a list and get everything you will need and spend a day cooking and portioning serving sizes. You can keep some in the fridge and freeze the rest for later use. Most recipes make enough for 4 people but since you're living alone you won't need that much all at once. I find its much easier to stay on track if I have something ready to pop in the microwave. It saves money, calories and especially sodium over buying pre-packaged foods. Some things I like to keep on hand are soups, chili made with either turkey or lentils, stir-fry (watch the soy!) and cut up veggies and hummus for snacking in between.
  • suecq09
    suecq09 Posts: 36 Member
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    A few suggestions for you:

    1. Buy a steamer - you'll be amazed how well it works. You can do rice or veggies. Makes cleanup easy and gives you healthy food.

    2. Buy some leftover containers. Its really hard to cook for one - I know. I do it all the time. I make for say 4 servings. That way I can put some in containers and have for dinner later, lunches during the week, or put things in the freezer for a quick dinner later. For example, this morning - I sauteed chicken for my pesto pasta lunch, as well as some for tacos for dinner tonight with a salad. One set of items to clean up - 2 meals!

    3. One of the biggest tips I'll give anyone who is cooking for 1 - make things on one day. Spend your Sunday evening or Saturday morning cooking for the week. I prep all the veggies for my lunches, make a big salad, even grill up the proteins in advance. That way - I have a quick dinner that is good for me throughout the week. Most things will work for 7 days in the fridge. That way, I can just steam some rice or veggies and have a complete meal. I find it easier and quicker to just hit the drive through - but if I know I have a meal that will take me no more than say 10 minutes at home - I tend to opt for it!

    4. When you grocery shop - buy some things in bulk. You can portion them and store them in your freezer or pantry in containers. That will save you a ton of money - yet allow you to cook 1 or 2 portions. I try to set aside money each week for the staples - fresh fruit, veggies, bread. That way I have fresh items that I toss in with the frozen steamable veggies and fish/chicken/beef.

    5. Your biggest help would be meal planning. Each week - lay out what you plan on eating for each meal/snack of the day. That way - you shop and stock items that you will use, and can easily control your calories. Don't keep stuff around that you don't want to eat. Again - think about things you can make and freeze even - so you have things later. I made chili this fall and it made 6 meals. I portioned it and froze 4 for later lunches in the colder weather. I always try to keep some things on hand as well for a quick thrown together dinner that is healthy and tastes great too.

    I'm not sure what you enjoy eating - but if you want - you can send me a message and we can exchange some recipes.

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