veg for lazy single people
tomatoey
Posts: 5,446 Member
What's the most time/energy-efficient way to get fresh veg in, if you're a single person? I'm fed up with washing veg/cutting/cooking & washing dishes. (FYI, I dislike frozen veg, and when I make double portions, e.g. of roasted or sauteed veg, about half of that winds up getting thrown out, because I'm not always home to eat it / life otherwise pulls me away from those leftovers )
So far I have:
- bagged salads
- keeping things simple - just one veg per meal, not too many ingredients
- throwing e.g. broccoli into the pasta water for the last 6 mins of cooking (this is a trick I picked up from an ex. I still think it's disgusting, but it does cut down on washing pots/pans)
- I've thought about doing the prep as soon as I come home from the grocery store, but can't seem to get into the groove
So far I have:
- bagged salads
- keeping things simple - just one veg per meal, not too many ingredients
- throwing e.g. broccoli into the pasta water for the last 6 mins of cooking (this is a trick I picked up from an ex. I still think it's disgusting, but it does cut down on washing pots/pans)
- I've thought about doing the prep as soon as I come home from the grocery store, but can't seem to get into the groove
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Replies
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Trader Joe's has lots of prepared veg.0
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I'm not sure what exactly you mean by this question...but, I'm single and hate cooking. I eat mostly squash/zucchini/red cabbage/tomato/mushroom. It takes two seconds to rinse them, 1 minute to chop, 5 to cook. I eat the same thing every night so I just rinse the pans and put them on the stove for the next night. I don't think it gets any easier than that.0
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Invest in Tupperware. Cook stuff in big batches, then freeze a bunch.
If you can't stand washing and cutting, but won't eat frozen, I guess canned is the way to go. Canned veggies will often leave a lot to be desired, though!0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »Trader Joe's has lots of prepared veg.
Ah, we don't have those here, sadly. Grocery stores do sometimes have fresh-ish stuff at the deli counter. I am trying to save a buck or two, though. Then again, I'm losing money when I throw out the food I made, so fair point!arditarose wrote: »I'm not sure what exactly you mean by this question...but, I'm single and hate cooking. I eat mostly squash/zucchini/red cabbage/tomato/mushroom. It takes two seconds to rinse them, 1 minute to chop, 5 to cook. I eat the same thing every night so I just rinse the pans and put them on the stove for the next night. I don't think it gets any easier than that.
I just mean that I'm fed up with washing and chopping things and dealing with dishes, lol
I do sometimes get caught up in the cooking per se part (except when I'm saving pots with broccoli in pasta), and tend to try different things out depending on what the veg is like. But limiting the menu to just a few things in rotation is an excellent idea, thanks!
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Invest in Tupperware. Cook stuff in big batches, then freeze a bunch.
If you can't stand washing and cutting, but won't eat frozen, I guess canned is the way to go. Canned veggies will often leave a lot to be desired, though!
Haha, yeah I agree. I'm both fussy and lazy. Guess you can't be both and happy lol0 -
Bleh. I wouldn't feel like freezing crap either. Defrosting...Sounds annoying.
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Put them in the oven to bake/ roast.
Or put them in the crock pot.0 -
Grocery stores do sometimes have fresh-ish stuff at the deli counter. I am trying to save a buck or two, though. Then again, I'm losing money when I throw out the food I made, so fair point!
When it comes to produce, you can have it easy or you can have it cheap—rarely both. My co-workers are horrified when I go to the bodega for a $7 bowl of fresh berries—raspberries, blueberries, blackberries & sliced strawberries. But they're delicious, nutritious, and they make me so happy. Totally worth it.
My grocery store has carrot sticks with ranch dip, sugar snap peas (yummy with hummus), sliced peppers & mushrooms, even sliced butternut squash.
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Invest in Tupperware. Cook stuff in big batches, then freeze a bunch.
If you can't stand washing and cutting, but won't eat frozen, I guess canned is the way to go. Canned veggies will often leave a lot to be desired, though!
Haha, yeah I agree. I'm both fussy and lazy. Guess you can't be both and happy lol
I was so not implying you were lazy. I also wasn't implying fussy, but I guess that's apt...and kind of funny.
It's not easy to eat all your food if you're single! Even if you eat leftovers for every meal, you're still looking at like three days eating nothing but whatever you made. So, you end up throwing out because you got sick of it and quit eating it and now it's gone bad.
After many occasions of tossing food, you start to think, "Why even cook it? I'm just going to spend tons of time making the thing and I'll eat maybe 1/3 - 1/2 of it before I throw the rest out. Might as well get take-out! Same money and no work!"
I get it! Hence, the Tupperware suggestion. If it's frozen, you don't have to eat it ten times in row. You can eat it all (not wasteful!) and not have it eat it FOR EVERY MEAL, lol.
Still gotta cook it, though. 0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »Grocery stores do sometimes have fresh-ish stuff at the deli counter. I am trying to save a buck or two, though. Then again, I'm losing money when I throw out the food I made, so fair point!
When it comes to produce, you can have it easy or you can have it cheap—rarely both. My co-workers are horrified when I go to the bodega for a $7 bowl of fresh berries—raspberries, blueberries, blackberries & sliced strawberries. But they're delicious, nutritious, and they make me so happy. Totally worth it.
My grocery store has carrot sticks with ranch dip, sugar snap peas (yummy with hummus), sliced peppers & mushrooms, even sliced butternut squash.
you're right, it's one or the other.
that does sound deliciousInvest in Tupperware. Cook stuff in big batches, then freeze a bunch.
If you can't stand washing and cutting, but won't eat frozen, I guess canned is the way to go. Canned veggies will often leave a lot to be desired, though!
Haha, yeah I agree. I'm both fussy and lazy. Guess you can't be both and happy lol
I was so not implying you were lazy. I also wasn't implying fussy, but I guess that's apt...and kind of funny.
It's not easy to eat all your food if you're single! Even if you eat leftovers for every meal, you're still looking at like three days eating nothing but whatever you made. So, you end up throwing out because you got sick of it and quit eating it and now it's gone bad.
It's really not easy! Either you shop daily (or every other day), or you worry over using what you bought. I often find I have too much or not enough
and sometimes wind up with interesting dinners, lol.
I do actually try to freeze sometimes, though I have to plan for it (not my forte) (and I agree with arditarose that defrosting can be annoying, sorry). Still learning what works (bits of roasted chicken, to use in sandwiches etc; brothy soups with no rice, pasta or potatoes) and what doesn't (one-pot meals with rice in them). It's a good solution, though, for sure. Trying to do more of it, but still very used to "fresh" cooking.Put them in the oven to bake/ roast.
Or put them in the crock pot.
Haha, not a crockpot person Mostly a stovetop person Good ideas, though : )
Thanks!0 -
steamables- throw a bag in the microwave- slap a pad of butter on the top little S/P and you're good to go.It's not easy to eat all your food if you're single! Even if you eat leftovers for every meal, you're still looking at like three days eating nothing but whatever you made.
how is that a problem?
Two solutions- 1.) do that- sub out dinner with scrambled eggs. or 2.) cook one stove top- one oven- so you have two dishes you can rotate back and forth... actually 3rd solution is get over it - it's only 3 days before you rotate meals.
hashtagIeatthesamethingsforweeksonend0 -
Also- I can't be the only one who clicked on this not reading VEG for single people.
got my vowels a titbitmixed up.0 -
Raw, precut, prewashed. Done.0
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For the leftovers problem; make smaller portions.
I had that issue; I would throw stuff out because I was so sick of it by day 4, or it would go bad before I could eat it.
I bought a smaller baking dish that only fits 2-3 servings of something inside of it. Has made meal prep much more manageable, and I don't want to throw the fridge out of my apartment window because I'm sick of chili or day 7 of shepherd's pie.
I also just bite the bullet and pick a huge day to meal prep. I would go nuts having to do everything multiple times per week; getting it out of the way makes it easier! Plus, it will save you time, and leave only one day for those pesky dishes us singletons like to pile up.0 -
I precook lots of things on Sunday. I always cook for 3-4 portions, eat one and save the rest for lunch and dinner during the week. (I take my packed / portioned meals with me to work).
Roasted oven veggies?
Big pots of veggie soup? Easy, if you blend them, you can freeze them, without the change in consistency of frozen veggies
Steam them? I have a portable steamer. If I don't have alot of time to cook, I fill it with different veggies and then mix and match them to different meals with eggs, pasta, cheese, etc.
If you want fresh veggies, you're going to have to peel and cut. But prepping several meals at a time, will get you out of the kitchen faster on the other days.0 -
Winter squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti) are in season, inexpensive, and taste good. You don't even have to peel them. Preheat oven or toaster oven, cut one squash in quarters and remove seeds (wrap unused in plastic wrap and put in fridge - it will last for days), place on a piece of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or just microwave for 3-4 minutes until tender. I season with garlic powder and any flavor Mrs. Dash (I have to watch my sodium intake). Recycle aluminum foil.0
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I'd give frozen another chance. I suppose we all have our palate idiosyncrasies, but IMO, frozen vegetables, especially out of season, taste much more like fresh than a bagged salad does. I never had a bagged salad that doesn't have a bagged taste.0
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Steamer or steam them in the microwave, really quick. Or eat raw veggies!0
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Why don't you like frozen veggies? Just curious.0
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I put my veggies in the bowl I am going to eat them out of and into the microwave0
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Cherry tomatoes: 2 seconds to rinse, and then you can munch on them as finger food without prepping any further. Last time I (successfully) lost weight, I added fresh chopped spinach or grated carrot to pretty much anything. Especially the spinach doesn't taste like much, but it adds low-calorie bulk and vitamins to anything and doesn't take much to prepare: just rinse and chop straight into the pot with scissors. I've successfully added it to meatballs, marinara sauce, casseroles, omelettes etc.0
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Microwaving veggies is very fast. I have a setting on my microwave that automatically senses how long to cook things. I only cook what I'm going to eat for that meal. My issue is dishwashing. ;-/0
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As a truly lazy person, all these posts with the word "oven" in them make me laugh. No thanks.0
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I dont like regular frozen vegetables, but the "steamables" that you microwave come out awesome - even for a kitchen moron like me.... And you can eat the whole bag for about 100 calories... Thats most of my meal when I do it. They come in a 2 serving bag usually so I just eat both - no waste or reheating. And pretty cheap here - $1.50-$2.50 a bag depending on brand.0
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I dont like regular frozen vegetables, but the "steamables" that you microwave come out awesome - even for a kitchen moron like me.
And they cook right in the bag, so no dishes! I love these. My favorite 5-minute comfort food is rotisserie chicken + Green Giant Steamers Garden Vegetable Medley (roasted potatoes, sugar snap peas, red peppers & garden herbs). 140 calories for the whole bag (it says 2 servings, but why make leftovers?). And it's already seasoned with garlic & butter. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
Once I was in line behind a crazy lazy at the grocery store who would not stop telling any- and everyone who would listen about how much weight she'd lost eating those things. She was buying 10 of 'em on sale.
I'm a singleton who hates doing dishes (don't tell anyone, but I make my oatmeal in paper bowls)—and my diary's public. Maybe we should start a support group?
Edited to add that reading this makes me sound like "Bridget Jones's Food Diary"!0 -
Yeah I stock up on steam in the bag veggies when they are on sale at $1 and typically eat one bag once or twice a day. I like some of the Green Giant ones with sauce too (love the Garden Vegetable Medley as well), but try not to eat those as much as they have more calories, but they are nice from time to time.
My only gripe with them is you can't know exactly how much you are eating as the serving size calories is for frozen, and you steam them in the bag, but I guess worst case it's only 30 calories off...
Regular frozen veggies are a pain though, I can't seem to ever cook them right and then I have to fish them out because there's too much leftover liquid... bleh. So yeah I'll pay a bit more for the steam in the bag kind.
Watch for sales on fresh veggie bags too - Acme here had 12oz bags on sale at $1 last week, I bought as much as I could, they steamed in the bag too and they were fantastic.0 -
Frozen veggies can be stir-fried with a protein and some sauce. They can also be cooked right in with quinoa or couscous. I buy peppers and cukes every time I go grocery shopping, it takes 10 minutes when I get home to wash them, cut them up, and put them in one container in the fridge. They can be used as a quick side dish for taking lunch to work, or for dinner, with some dressing. Or added to chilled pasta or chicken or whatever. Plus I'll pay a little extra for convenience veggies... baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli slaw. Veggies that you can eat raw or cooked give you more options.
Honestly I think stir-frying is the best way I have found to cook up a lot of veg quickly and yummily, fresh or frozen. Wash and slice, heat up some oil in my fry pan and throw 'em in. You can add soy sauce, teriyaki, barbecue, butter & garlic, spices, whatever.
Oh and I only go to the grocery once a week. I use the fresh veggies first and frozen towards the end of the week!0 -
I've just used a bunch of suggestions given upthread to make a pot of soup. I bought something labeled "soup greens" at the grocery store—an onion, piece of leek, carrot, celery stalk, parsnip, and turnip, plus fresh parsley & dill.
I chopped the entire package in front of the TV (way less boring) and cooked it with a $1 box of soup mix from the kosher section. It makes four huge servings: I'll eat one, put one in the fridge for later in the week, and freeze two in single-serving containers. (Blend it first if you don't like frozen veg.) If you don't like microwave defrosting, move a container from freezer to fridge two days before you want to eat it.
Next Sunday, I'm going to do it again with a different flavor of soup mix. Thanks everybody for the inspiration!0 -
I cook for just myself a bunch and actually find veggies the easiest part since most of them are so quick. The trick is just getting into a consistent pattern. I tend to buy my favorites regularly and cook them in a few simple ways. First, is that I have some for breakfast pretty much always--usually in an omelet, but if I'm not in the mood (like this morning) I just roast or panfry some as a side. Second is with dinner, and usually (especially after work) this means a simple preparation, again just roasted or pan-fried, since that's how I like them best. I make 1-3 kinds, depending on what's on hand and what else I'm eating, but nothing too elaborate for a routine dinner. I do usually make extras and pack them up for lunches, but this is to make lunch easier--it's not that hard to cook for just one or two meals, IME. (I actually think it's tons easier when dieting than cooking for a family.)
For me, I was helpful to stop trying to plan a meal and buy for that meal and instead just to force myself to use what's on hand. That's when I started using things up instead of letting them go bad. Basically, I approach cooking for the week by taking out or having ready to take out the meat I want from the freezer and making sure it's something that will cook quickly or that I have a plan for (i.e., the slow cooker or a Sunday prep in advance), and then have sufficient veggies on hand to make sides. With that I can make any meal super quickly. (I also use lots of veggies in fast olive oil-based pasta sauces and a slower meat sauce, but that is less common than just eating them on their own. I have salads and other raw preparations occasionally, but eat cooked veggies far more often.)0 -
Winter squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti) are in season, inexpensive, and taste good. You don't even have to peel them. Preheat oven or toaster oven, cut one squash in quarters and remove seeds (wrap unused in plastic wrap and put in fridge - it will last for days), place on a piece of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or just microwave for 3-4 minutes until tender. I season with garlic powder and any flavor Mrs. Dash (I have to watch my sodium intake). Recycle aluminum foil.
I thought this was funny, because I honestly don't get the difficulty with cooking veggies in general, but I always complain about winter squash being so much work. I have a ton of it right now--I get a CSA and have been having winter squash and root veggies provided in huge quantities--and the time it takes to cook them, plus the pain of having to cut them (I need better knives, granted) and clean out the seeds, while minor enough, makes chopping a cauliflower or tossing some spinach in a pan seem like nothing at all. Also, the fact that one does last forever is kind of a drawback if you are trying to make single servings, sometimes.
But my own perception of this aside, I agree that they are great and tasty and not nearly as much work as my mind sometimes likes to think they are.0
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