Cooking/shopping for one?

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nettaj85
nettaj85 Posts: 2
in Recipes
I live alone and I have really hard time grocery shopping and cooking for just myself. I really only know how to cook a few things and so often it seems like most of the food in my refrigerator goes bad before I can use it.

A lot of the time I end up too tired after work to cook so I end up going the take-out route. This is not only bad for me, but also expensvie.

Any ideas or suggestions on cooking heathly meals that don't mess up the entire kitchen and grocery shopping for one person?

Thanks!

Replies

  • klynn22091
    klynn22091 Posts: 47 Member
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    I do alot of soups and things that I can freeze extras, so then i can eat it for two or three meals then freeze the rest for days when i have to work :-) just pull it out of the frieezer and micro wave :-)
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    I do alot of soups and things that I can freeze extras, so then i can eat it for two or three meals then freeze the rest for days when i have to work :-) just pull it out of the frieezer and micro wave :-)

    I do the same. I also like to bake chicken breast, slice and portion it and freeze for later.
  • KimmieBrie
    KimmieBrie Posts: 825 Member
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    When I lived alone I would get salad stuff and it would almost always spoil... I stopped getting that stuff.
    I'd get a garden salad and bring it home with me and add stuff - have salad that way, worked out better.
    I always had a carton of eggs - hard boiled eggs are easy to grab and go or snack on.

    I got a bunch of frozen veggies so they wouldn't spoil. Still very nutritious - maybe even more so than fresh in some cases.

    I would make something sunday for the week - like chicken breasts, steak tips, salmon, turkeyburger and pasta - stuff like that so
    I wouldn't have to cook it during the week. If you have a crockpot you could do a beef stew or something and have it all week.

    I froze my bread and had lots of canned tuna and other things that don't spoil quickly and I had a bunch of frozen lean cuisines to bring to work for lunch.

    I'd snack on microwave popcorn and crackers w/salsa or hummus.
  • sweetheart03622
    sweetheart03622 Posts: 928 Member
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    I do alot of soups and things that I can freeze extras, so then i can eat it for two or three meals then freeze the rest for days when i have to work :-) just pull it out of the frieezer and micro wave :-)

    I do the same. I also like to bake chicken breast, slice and portion it and freeze for later.

    Me too! I'll portion out raw chicken and freeze it (either in small chunks for a salad, whole breasts, cutlets, etc) that way, I take it out in the morning to thaw and then at night just need to cook it up.

    Soups and stews work well to freeze as well. I'll usually make a stew/soup on the weekends and then portion it out during the week along with a casserole that I just have to pull out of the fridge and bake when I get home. Then, use leftovers for lunches! Also, just buy less at the store. I go every weekend and don't have any problems with anything going bad in that week.
  • pakrat77
    pakrat77 Posts: 6 Member
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    It's amazing how many things will freeze.
    Some things freeze better if you do the individual parts separately . Like I would keep frozen chicken breasts and freeze the sauce in single serving containers. Then when I wanted that dish I'd combine it when I was ready to eat. It may take a little more time on the weekend, but you don't have to rush after work when you are hungry.
  • CaraBeara1
    CaraBeara1 Posts: 29
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    I do a lot of freezing, too. For stuff that doesn't freeze well, I will halve a recipe for 4. I eat on serving for dinner and pack the other serving for my lunch the next day. If it's something I really like, I will make the full recipe and get 2 dinners and 2 lunches. Sometimes cooking for 1 is easier because you can get away with cooking a dish every few days. :)
  • HadraPriestess
    HadraPriestess Posts: 58 Member
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    I too, live alone and found the biggest loser cookbook to have lots of ideas for recipes that you can "cut down" to one serving.(Even sweets!) I do cook almost every nite though I work 10-12 hour days. I am a vegetarian so freezing "meat" doesn't work for me but, lentils are great, for an easy meal and for the leftovers, if you cook in crockpot and add celery/carrots/onions w/ seasoning of your choice (I use yellow top Mrs. Dash)

    I roast veggies (eggplant/sweet potatoe/peppers/onion/broccoli/brussel sprouts/cabbage/rutabuga/turnips etc.) and plant them on a big bed of spring mix greens for supper and lunch the next day. Using a variety of dressings like balsamic/creamy three cheese reduced fat/honey mustard fatfree-- are good to add as well.

    For me it's all part of the process of LEARNING to take care of myself in a healthy way.

    Reading through some of the suggestions I found some helpful even for me. So, I appreciate your question and the responses it generated.

    Good luck. If you want to...you will.
  • nettaj85
    nettaj85 Posts: 2
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    Thanks for all the responses. It's great to have so many people to turn to. I will have to try freezing more meals and maybe look into getting a crock pot for soups this winter. Good luck to you all!
  • Fatbuster205
    Fatbuster205 Posts: 333 Member
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    I live alone (very happily!) and what I do is about once a month I cook and freeze. So I make batches of spaghetti sauce, chilli, stews, casseroles etc. I invested in a lot of plastic containers, but I also buy "catering" containers such as you get take outs in and use them. That way I get good healthy home cooked food and all I need to do is cook spuds, pasta, rice (depending on what I am having) and loads of veg. I do have two freezers - one in the garage but it is a cost effective way of eating. That said I have been buying frozen diet ready meals recently to learn portion control and next time I do a load of batch cooking I will be reducing the quantities! I tend to buy veg twice a week because it doesn't store long enough and I grow some in containers and beds so I can literally go out and harvest some carrots or whatever! It has taken a while to get this routine right but when I come in I can have a good meal on the table in 20 minutes so it is a worthwhile way of getting variety into your diet, controlling what you eat and eating economically. Hope that helps!
  • rvice2
    rvice2 Posts: 132 Member
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    I don't live alone, but my husband doesn't eat what I eat and he is a restaurant manager thus eats at work most of the time. Each Sunday, I cook for the entire week. I usually eat the same thing for lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then I will have a second option for Tue and Thur. I do the same thing for dinners. That way, I am cooking 4 meals all in the same day and I go ahead and portion them out in ziplock containers so I just have to grab it and heat it up. For instance, this M, W, and F I will have quinoa, grilled chicken, and black beans for lunch and I will have fajitas in a wrap for dinner. On T and Th I am having veggie wraps and almonds for dinner ( I cut up all of the veggies beforehand and premeasure the almonds) and for lunch I am having whole wheat pasta with marinara and grilled chicken. Once you get into the swing of things it goes by pretty quick because you learn to cook multiple things together. For instance, I grilled all of the chicken for my lunch at the same time even though I was eating it with different things. I also have a crockpot that has 2 seperate containers in one. I cooked the beans in one side of it and the quinoa in another so I didn't have to cook it on the stove. I even measure out a weeks worth of breakfast into containers. Each day when I come home it only takes me about 3 minutes to unload one lunch box and load the second up with breakfast, am snack, lunch, and pm snack. Then I heat up my dinner and it's done.

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