Any single people eating healthy?

Do you cook every day? I’m finding it really difficult to come up with dinner ideas. I wind up eating out most of the time. I really don’t enjoy cooking and kind of find it depressing to make a meal for one.
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Replies

  • sobkownj
    sobkownj Posts: 1 Member
    For sure. I do meal prep every Sunday. That way all you have to do for packing your lunch and cooking dinner is portion stuff out. Just make stuff you like and rotate, and you won't get tired of it.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    Stock up on pasta, rice and couscous. Then cook in bulk, eat one portion and freeze the rest in containers or bags, until you have some variety to choose from. I cook pasta or potatoes as needed, but much of what I'm eating comes out of the freezer and just needs to be reheated either in the oven or the microwave.

    Pre-Covid, I'd eat out at least twice a week. However, when lockdown started, I did a proper inventory of what was in my two freezers. Lots of bolognese, chilli con carne, lamb tagine, different curries, stirfries, fish pie, shepherd's pie, pasta bakes, stews, lentil raghu - all in portion-sized bags or containers - as well as chicken breasts, joints of meat, pork loin steaks, lamb leg steaks, salmon fillets, cod fillets, prawns, packs of minced beef and minced lamb. I also cook rice in bulk and had multiple portions of that too. I decided that it would be a good idea to start eating what I have. Almost four months later, I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking about what I'd like to restock my freezers with. I've roasted two of the joints (several sliced up portions went back in the freezer in bags), have made things with some of the ingredients and I've bought fresh veg and potatoes, but I haven't bought any meat or fish since March and I haven't eaten the same meal in any two week period.
  • ragnerokk88
    ragnerokk88 Posts: 1 Member
    I work 24 hour shifts 1-4 days at a time then I'm home for full days on my off time. I plan the menu for the week on Wednesday, check my pantry and figure out what I'll have left, then I update and tweak on Saturday.
    I base my meals based on my work schedule, off days I try to cook and make stuff I like each day. Then my work days are pretty simple: oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, sandwiches, and prepped leftovers. I shop on my way home from work usually on mondays or use a curbside pickup if I'm by a grocery store that offer it. I feel having a fixed plan and only buying what's on the menu helps keep me focused.
    For recipe ideas/meal planning/calorie allocation; I use a meal plan generator it gives some really good recipe ideas... and some not so good ones lol, but it's easy enough to put your own recipes in or swap whatever foods you like. I use one called eat this much but there's a bunch out there. It has a mobile app but for the bulk of my planning day I use my computer the websites a little more friendly.
  • magster4isu
    magster4isu Posts: 632 Member
    About every 2-3 months, I spend an entire weekend cooking. I wrap up individual servings of what I make and freeze them. Then all I have to do is pull something out the freezer and heat it up to have a single serving, home cooked meal.
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 644 Member
    I very rarely eat out, I always bring a packed lunch to work when we’re not WFH and will only go out for a meal for special occasions.

    Like others have said I tend to bulk cook. I don’t meal prep a whole week but any recipe I make I always do the full 4-5 servings and eat for the next few days. For food I’m reheating in my own home I’ll make fresh pasta/rice whatever.

    I have different recipes for lunch and dinner but don’t mind eating the same thing for a few days. YMMV - I also eat the same breakfast every day.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,931 Member
    I usually cook for two days, occasionally for more and a few portions go into the freezer. Sometimes I cook for one day only but that's rare. Well, it's more that freshly cooked tastes better in some cases, thus it's still two days the same. My cooking usually doesn't take longer than 30 minutes, thus it's not a lot of time spent in the kitchen.
  • thelastnightingale
    thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
    Eating healthier than before, not necessarily healthy. Getting there. I used to eat out all the time too - lockdown forced me to start cooking again. I don't enjoy cooking, I just enjoy eating, but it turns out I enjoy eating my own cooking, so I'm compromising with myself. ;) The freezer always has things in it I can heat up for when I really can't bear to cook, and I try to make something real a couple of times a week too.

    If I make a healthy meal from scratch, I work with a four-day calorie allowance, then portion it and freeze three portions. It only really works because I like what I've made. My advice is to think of something you actually really want to eat, the look at a way of making it in a healthier way, and cook at least two portions' worth of it.

    Pasta and soup freeze well and can be made in bulk easily. Soup can be exceedingly healthy (just keep an eye on the extra salt from certain stock) and pasta again can be healthy (watch your portion sizes, especially if using meat).

    Another tip is to learn to love eggs, assuming that's something you can eat. They're the original fast food for the lazy/reluctant cook. There's nothing quicker, easier or more adaptable than scrambled eggs.
  • GummiMundi
    GummiMundi Posts: 396 Member
    I'm single, and yes I do cook for myself most days (sometimes I cook twice the amount on purpose so that I can have leftovers for the following day). I eat out once a week, at most.

    I find it much easier to cook just for myself than if I had to cook for others and attend to their likes and dislikes. This way, I cook what I want, how I want, and when I want. Besides, I believe I'm worthy of cooking for myself.

    OP, there is nothing wrong with cooking simple food that you may enjoy. If you don't like cooking, don't make it more difficult than it needs to be. It doesn't have to be something time-consuming or "Instagramable".
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    I find it is easier to stay in shape when single. In Relationships, men tempt me with treats and like to eat richer foods.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,068 Member
    It varies for me, I usually make a batch of beans/legumes for my lunch salads in the Instant Pot and make salads each day and add them to it. Meals I usually make double servings. I try to do one new recipe a week, aside of that I do pretty easy stuff. Tonight I mixed soy sauce and honey Dijon mustard and brushed on salmon with herbs, then tossed potatoes and zucchini in the air fryer. If I have company I'll make something more complicated, otherwise it's pretty easy stuff. Last night was a tofu veggie scramble with potatoes (my farmer's market box has 10 potatoes in it a week, I love veggies but all these potatoes is nuts as a single person!).
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 644 Member
    edited July 2020
    Pasta and soup freeze well and can be made in bulk easily. Soup can be exceedingly healthy (just keep an eye on the extra salt from certain stock) and pasta again can be healthy (watch your portion sizes, especially if using meat).

    Another tip is to learn to love eggs, assuming that's something you can eat. They're the original fast food for the lazy/reluctant cook. There's nothing quicker, easier or more adaptable than scrambled eggs.

    I second the suggestion of soup! During fall winter I eat homemade soup for dinner almost every day. My favourite is Thai butternut squash which is easy to cook, low kcal and crazy full of vitamins.

    The immersion blender is my best friend since I don’t really like bits in my soup. On the other hand I love a topping like fried veggies, seeds or perhaps an egg.

    My go-to egg options are either boiled (usually on an avocado-rye sandwich) or as an omelette using whatever veg is available. Both are good when I need quick evening meal.
  • fastfoodietofitcutie
    fastfoodietofitcutie Posts: 523 Member
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?

    This is exactly how I feel! I haven’t been to Trader Joe’s in a long time, what’s good there?
  • asthesoapturns
    asthesoapturns Posts: 313 Member
    Generally speaking I eat healthy. I cook meals every few days, eating leftovers when I don't want to cook or I bring them to work. I don't mind cooking. I hate cleaning, especially dishes, so I see no reason to dirty a ton of dishes every day. It's no harder to make 4 servings if something than 1.
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
    edited July 2020
    Healthy is debatable since I do like my drinks, especially now that it's summer and I'm on vacation.

    I cook twice a week, once in the weekend and one weekday depending on my work schedule, make three days worth of dinner at a time leaving me with one "free" day to go out or cook something special (or order takeout if I'm feeling lazy and antisocial).

    Sandwiches (at work) or a few eggs with bread (at home) are fine for lunch and take ~5 minutes to prepare.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,931 Member
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?

    Isn't this massively expensive? Just curious as my dinners hardly ever cost more than 1.50 Euro. Cooking... today it took I don't even know how long. Peeled a big potato, cut into pieces, cooked, put half French smoked sausage into another pan, and did something else in the meantime. When nearly done I drained the water, smashed potatoes and added milk, sauerkraut and raisins. Put sausage on plate, mash into pan for a short moment, served. So I guess effective cooking was not even 10 minutes. Dishes go into dishwasher, which I'll put on when full.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Single people cooking and eating at home??? WTF?? Whats next?

    🤣

    Define healthy?🤔
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I cook for myself as a single person. Usually I keep it pretty simple. Eggs, salads, tacos, or sandwiches, or something similar that requires mostly assembling rather than cooking. I'll usually eat the same thing for dinner for a week, then change it up. Eating out is too expensive for me, and it's harder for me to control what's in the food. I can usually enjoy a similar food at home for less calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    Sort of, I guess. (Sort of healthy, sort of cook ;) . Definitely single.)

    Being a . . . ahem . . . seasoned and experienced person (OK, old), by this point I have quite a vocabulary of simple things I can cook without much fuss or agony. They're not really recipes, but more like patterns: Chili-like soups, veggie stews, tostadas, omelets or scrambled eggs, tacos, Mediterranean-esque pasta, big green salad with protein, wraps/sandwiches, pseudo-Asian noodle plus veggie stir-fry, etc. The details differ every time, but there are common variations, and they rely on pantry or freezer supplies I always keep in stock.

    I do prep some things, and stick them in the freezer, but it's mostly long-cook items like dried beans, so I can do a big batch, portion & freeze, then bring out when I want to use them to make something. Occasionally, I'll portion and freeze a batch of a finished food, like individual crustless quiche, enchiladas, lasagna, a more complicated soup, muffins or bread, etc., for times when I want something I can just pull out and heat.

    When we weren't doing this stay-at-home pandemic thing, I ate out more, maybe a couple of times a week or so. Now, I've cooked at home since March 13, except for one carryout pizza, and a food truck lunch today.

    Practice, and that idea of a vocabulary of easy things you can just make without much thought, is helpful, I think. It's harder at first, for sure, while you're figuring out what works best for you.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,931 Member
    Today: tofu and veggies braised in honey, soy and ginger with rice.
    Morning: cut appropriate amount of tofu and drain in. - 3 minutes
    Afternoon: pan-fry tofu cubes, cut veggies and make sauce, fill rice into cooker - 10 minutes
    now cooking - steam veggies, while I'm writing this - 2 minutes prep.
    finishing dish - probably another 10 minutes. Could do this with the veggies, but I only have one large pan and use it in turns.

    Thus that's 25 minutes of cooking.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,931 Member
    btw, I cooked it in very fragrant Szechuan pepper oil I made a while ago and served it with sesame seeds and spring onion greens (rest was part of veggies) and it was absolutely delicious!
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    I'm married now but last time I lost weight I was single. I basically never ate out unless it was for a special event (so much cheaper and healthier to eat my own cooking). Lots of cooking in bulk and eating leftovers. I actually think it's easier unless you have a partner who will cook for you and is prepared to track calories etc. You only have yourself to please.
    .

    ..and no one bringing junk food home that you have to resist. Ditto on cooking in bulk, + freezing what you'll be sick of after a few servings to cycle through at a later date.

    Also- lots of convenience foods these days.. If I don't feel like cooking, there's always pre-cooked-sliced frozen chicken I can nuke for 2 minutes (or thaw in hot water frozen-pre-cooked-shrimp, or tinned tuna, or..) and toss onto either frozen-steam-in-bag vegetables or pre-washed-ready-to-use-bagged salad greens.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?

    Isn't this massively expensive? Just curious as my dinners hardly ever cost more than 1.50 Euro. Cooking... today it took I don't even know how long. Peeled a big potato, cut into pieces, cooked, put half French smoked sausage into another pan, and did something else in the meantime. When nearly done I drained the water, smashed potatoes and added milk, sauerkraut and raisins. Put sausage on plate, mash into pan for a short moment, served. So I guess effective cooking was not even 10 minutes. Dishes go into dishwasher, which I'll put on when full.

    Likely more $$ than I would typically do too, but considering how many people spend $$$$ living almost completely on restaurant takeout these days, definitely a step up in frugality.

    With the money I figure I've saved the last few months on bar drinks, covers, dance events (COVID), I've been splurging a lot more on the readier-to-eat and/or tastier luxury foods that are healthy. (most particularly on salmon and other fish; some of the higher end vegetable blends;..).
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited July 2020
    As a latch key kid, I learned how to live alone & cook 4myself at a very early age, which I still do now at near 70.

    There is no junk food in my house and I cook almost everything from scratch. It's a habit. I also don't eat any fast food (haven't had a soda, pizza or burger in years) and seldom ate out (even b4cthe Covid-19 crisis).

    Whether I eat healthy or not is subject to opinion. I eat a lot of fruit/veggies but am not afraid of meat/fat but there is no doubt that I am healthy.

    My blood work always comes out w/in spec, my BMI is 23, my BF% has been as low as 8% and was last tested at 12% and I've got a 6 pack. Not bad for an old man.

    I just cooked a huge pot of Jacque Pepin's Puerto Rican Pork & Beans, which was delicious but was enough for 8 people. LOL!

    That's one of the problems of cooking only 4 one but I just store the excess in canning jars and eat the leftovers over time. The food keeps a very long time in the jars wc also make the best use of space in the fridg.

    So, it is certainly possible IMO for singles to cook gor themselves and eat healthy. You just have to develop the frame of mind, skill and habits to do so.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,931 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?

    Isn't this massively expensive? Just curious as my dinners hardly ever cost more than 1.50 Euro. Cooking... today it took I don't even know how long. Peeled a big potato, cut into pieces, cooked, put half French smoked sausage into another pan, and did something else in the meantime. When nearly done I drained the water, smashed potatoes and added milk, sauerkraut and raisins. Put sausage on plate, mash into pan for a short moment, served. So I guess effective cooking was not even 10 minutes. Dishes go into dishwasher, which I'll put on when full.

    Likely more $$ than I would typically do too, but considering how many people spend $$$$ living almost completely on restaurant takeout these days, definitely a step up in frugality.

    With the money I figure I've saved the last few months on bar drinks, covers, dance events (COVID), I've been splurging a lot more on the readier-to-eat and/or tastier luxury foods that are healthy. (most particularly on salmon and other fish; some of the higher end vegetable blends;..).

    Fair enough. Ready-made meals here are of appalling quality, taste like drenched in maggie and super expensive, thus I don't know what options you have. Also being an introvert I don't have the urge to go out and socialize. This whole COVID *kitten* is perfect for me as I have all the nature areas just outside of town (4km cycling max from the centre) mostly for myself.
  • RockingWithLJ
    RockingWithLJ Posts: 243 Member
    Do you cook every day? I’m finding it really difficult to come up with dinner ideas. I wind up eating out most of the time. I really don’t enjoy cooking and kind of find it depressing to make a meal for one.

    Yes, every night. I make enough for the next day's lunch.
    Chicken or fish, rice or sweet potatoes (with flax seed if i do not consume fish), and a veggie.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    That's one of the problems of cooking only 4 one but I just store the excess in canning jars and eat the leftovers over time. The food keeps a very long time in the jars wc also make the best use of space in the fridg.
    .

    Yep..The right side of my freezer is primarily Mason Jars full of various soups/stews/chili. (Currently with bags of frozen fillets of fish on top of them).
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    I never cook anymore. I get all of my groceries from Trader Joe's, where I can buy a huge variety of things I just need to pop in the oven or maybe just throw a few things together. Discovering that store was a huge lifesaver for me. Honestly I don't know that I would have stuck to my weight loss goals this long without it.

    I know how to cook and I'm decent at it, but I always felt it was a waste of time as a single person- often spending an hour plus, and then cleanup, only to be done eating in 10-15 minutes. I often really liked what I made the first night I had it, but I hate leftovers. Nothing ever tastes the same the next day, and since it's just me if I made a "regular sized" recipe, it wasn't uncommon to end up with 6 servings of something. I definitely don't want to eat something 6 meals in a row! Freezing didn't work too well for me either. My food seemed to get freezer burn quickly and even if didn't, again the food just didn't taste the same reheated.

    With my Trader Joe's stuff I rarely end up with more than 2 servings of something. I enjoy everything I eat, I easily find things to fit into my calorie day, and I don't waste my time cooking and cleaning up cooking messes. It's also helped me cut way down on take out, since I know I can have something ready to eat pretty quickly after getting home from work, and I can't make excuses about getting take out because I'm too tired to cook.

    With the whole pandemic thing I wondered if I should try cooking again just for something to do, but I've found even with tons of extra time available I still don't want to spend my time on cooking :smile: . And I really like what I'm eating now and doing a good job of sticking to my calorie goal, so why mess with it?

    Isn't this massively expensive? Just curious as my dinners hardly ever cost more than 1.50 Euro. Cooking... today it took I don't even know how long. Peeled a big potato, cut into pieces, cooked, put half French smoked sausage into another pan, and did something else in the meantime. When nearly done I drained the water, smashed potatoes and added milk, sauerkraut and raisins. Put sausage on plate, mash into pan for a short moment, served. So I guess effective cooking was not even 10 minutes. Dishes go into dishwasher, which I'll put on when full.

    Likely more $$ than I would typically do too, but considering how many people spend $$$$ living almost completely on restaurant takeout these days, definitely a step up in frugality.

    With the money I figure I've saved the last few months on bar drinks, covers, dance events (COVID), I've been splurging a lot more on the readier-to-eat and/or tastier luxury foods that are healthy. (most particularly on salmon and other fish; some of the higher end vegetable blends;..).

    Fair enough. Ready-made meals here are of appalling quality, taste like drenched in maggie and super expensive, thus I don't know what options you have. Also being an introvert I don't have the urge to go out and socialize. This whole COVID *kitten* is perfect for me as I have all the nature areas just outside of town (4km cycling max from the centre) mostly for myself.

    For me, not so much full ready-made-meals.. but I have recently bought pre-cooked frozen chicken (rather than taking the time lately to cut up and cook a pack of raw chicken breasts)(~$5/cooked lb versus ~$2/bulk-size raw lb); pre-cut, washed, blended salad greens; occasionally a pre-made salad (Bistro/ready-pac brand pre-packaged are ~$3). And trying out some of the various pre-flavored oatmeal/grits packets instead of the usual tubs of plain ones.