Single and trying to cook for one (too hard)

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cphillips83
cphillips83 Posts: 7
in Recipes
Its easy to cook when you have multiple people eating it. But when you are single and your roommate is never there it makes it hard to cook for one and have leftovers for the rest of your life. Food only stays good for so long before you have to throw it out and I dont want to feel like I wasted all that food. You cant just eat the exact same thing every single night. Help! I need recipes for one person!
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  • laus_8882
    laus_8882 Posts: 217 Member
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    Do you have a freezer? Unless I'm cooking a stirfry or making a salad I freeze pretty much everything I make. Sure, I eat leftovers, but I can rotate my leftovers so that I get plenty of variety, especially if I mix up with my beloved stirfries and salads.
  • hauer01
    hauer01 Posts: 523 Member
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    Do you have access to a small freezer? I live alone and I get how hard it can be. I make things and then freeze a few portions and eat them in a week or two. These frozen meals come in handy when I am in a hurry and need a quick, heatly bite to eat.

    Also, when I grocery shop, I come up with multiple things that I can do with the same foods in a week (like veggies cuz they only last so long). So, if I pick up carrots, green beans and peas, I might think, I could do a stir fry one night, a soup the next. They taste completely different so it doesn't feel like I am eating the same foods over and over again.

    I know that it is hard, I have been cooking for one for years now and I struggled quite a bit at first. Now, it really doesn't faze me much, but the freezer is a big help.
  • hpack11
    hpack11 Posts: 14
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    I am with the others, cook and freeze. There are so many things that freeze well. It saves time and money too.
  • Robin1109
    Robin1109 Posts: 231 Member
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    I cook for one all the time. I usually just reduce a recipe by half and bring the other half to work with me the next day. Otherwise, I make quick dinners for 1. For example (I don't eat meat): I'll take 1 Veggie Patch "chicken" cutlet, put 1/2 c of tomato sauce of choice on it with a little part skim mozz cheese. The "chicken" cutlets have a light breading so it's like eating a real chicken parm for 1 (and it only take 8-10 min in the oven. Less if you use the microwave.) I'll sautee my choice of side veggies for the night or cook up some of the polenta you can find in the produce section. Pretty quick and really good for you. I urge even meat eaters to try Veggie Patch's chicken cutlets. With sauce (or without) you can't even tell they're fake.
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
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    We bought Mason 500ml jars with plastic lids and we freeze everything in there: pasta, stew, soup, pulled pork, stirfry etc.

    When we're in the mood for something we just thaw it in a pot of boiling water before zapping in the microwave, or stovetop.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    When I buy meat, I individually wrap them in to portions, and then freez them, when I need to cook, I just thaw what I need, and the they the sides are something that don't really go bad, or something that I can buy enough for the week. It is pretty easy, you just have to remember freezing is the key!
  • RealWomenLovePitbulls
    RealWomenLovePitbulls Posts: 729 Member
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    separate ur meats into ziploc bags (one portion per bag) before freezing them, and if u use canned veggies, buy the small cans or use frozen and just take out as much as u need, there are all kinds of side dishes now that come in single serve containers, but they can get expensive.
  • PSmillie
    PSmillie Posts: 26 Member
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    I make something generic, like chicken, that I can reheat in a lot of different ways: chicken salad, chicken tacos, chicken quesadillas, chicken fried rice, chicken chili, etc. That way, it's leftovers, but not quite the same.
  • Elen_Sia
    Elen_Sia Posts: 638 Member
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    When I buy meat, I individually wrap them in to portions, and then freez them, when I need to cook, I just thaw what I need, and the they the sides are something that don't really go bad, or something that I can buy enough for the week. It is pretty easy, you just have to remember freezing is the key!

    I do the same thing with meat.

    I buy perishables from Sam's Club because it's cheaper and I don't want to go to the store every week. I split the poultry into 8-oz portions and freeze them in individual baggies. You can also buy individual bags of steamable veggies from the frozen section of a store if you don't want to worry about fresh produce going bad.
  • LLRider
    LLRider Posts: 65
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    Go to the bookstore and look through the "Flat Belly Diet" by Liz Vaccariello. There are a lot of one person meal suggestions and all are around 400 calories on pages 118-131.
  • bsudano
    bsudano Posts: 13 Member
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    If you're looking for recipes, check out this website:

    http://cookingforone.ashleylojko.com/
  • TheNewDodge
    TheNewDodge Posts: 607 Member
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    Invest in calculator. Calculate ingredients from # of servings listed under recipe to just one. Adjust ingredients accordingly.
  • FatStoatLondon
    FatStoatLondon Posts: 197 Member
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    I live alone. The best solution I've come up with is to limit the types of food I eat, and it's supposed to be a good way of dieting too (we eat more when presented by a wide range of foods). If you just stick to a few tried and tested recipes, and freeze them like people have suggested, you should do fine. Also, don't feel you have to eat a full hot meal in the evenings.

    I also use ready meals, but I'm lucky enough to live in a country where you can easily get very tasty high protein low fat fresh ready meals.
  • Kimakazie
    Kimakazie Posts: 11 Member
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    I have the same problem, but I've found that freezing helps. Just last night I made a crockpot full of my favorite mexican chicken recipe and it serves 6. I went ahead and divided it between my dinner plate and 5 plastic containers. Popped two leftover containers in the fridge and put the others in the freezer.
  • lisalou23
    lisalou23 Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks for posting that website! I've already found a few recipes I want to try!

    Lisa
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Er, cook less?
  • susannahcooks
    susannahcooks Posts: 294 Member
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    I just eat the same thing every night *laugh* - if I didn't have such a crapastic apartment freezer, I'd be tempted to freeze more often, but I usually cook on Sundays. See? Check out my fridge:

    541607_3559397709426_641649746_n.jpg
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    I have a TON of 2-cup pyrex bowls. I will make a big soup pot full of veggie-rich soup or pasta-type dish (be it whole-grain pasta or quinoa) and freeze the rest in those pyrex bowls. One pot usually gets me 10-14 of them. If I make a couple different things, then I've got a freezer full of healthy, delicious meals that are perfect for carrying to/from work so I've got a good (healthy & cheap) alternative to going out for lunch.

    *edit* This weekend I made salsa and burritos (ground turkey, black beans, salsa, pepper jack). Now I've got 20 burritos in the freezer for whenever I want them, and I just brought the extra salsa in to work (no matter how I try, I just can't make a small batch of salsa!).
  • jdploki70
    jdploki70 Posts: 343
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    Rice dishes are awesome for this stuff. You can make a simple rice dish with some broccoli, chicken (half a chicken breast is plenty), a cup of rice, 2 cups of water, and some garlic and onion powder. If you like it a bit more flavorful, toss in a cube of chicken bouillon or use chicken broth and top off the last ounce with water. Alternate ingredients and you can build a whole menu around rice dishes. Couscous is just as versatile and you can cook really small portions with little hassle. Just stay away from the prepackaged stuff.
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    Oh, and try allrecipes.com -- they have a WONDERFUL feature that lets you customize the size, so you can make it much bigger or much smaller, and it'll change all the ingredient amounts for you. Genius!!!

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