Ask a Dietitian
"Diana, just a quick heads up to let you know we are still using your cookbook and the guys will often be heard saying what would Diana say about this or that....really good feed back... I made your potato salad and the oriental coleslaw on Sat. for a family luncheon and had rave reviews so thanks again."
BC Hydro
Cooking for One
Whether you are a University student living alone or a older adult on your own again, cooking for one can be quite mundane. Finding inspiration is only part of the battle. It is also hard to justify going through all the effort of cooking if it is only for you. However, there are some tricks to make it more fun, more meaningful, easier to justify and worth the effort, besides, you’re worth it.
First, have a look at which nights you will be home for dinner in the upcoming week. You may only be home for 5 dinners. Then, think about inviting someone over for one of those nights so you can cook for someone other than just you. You may even want to create a cooking group and by in bulk and cook in bulk and freeze what you have made.
Write a list of the 5 dinners you will make and then do your grocery list. Try to shop only once a week so that you don’t need to spend extra time going back and forth to the store. If you are a student, have a look at what time of day would be best to cook. Perhaps after class before you sit down to study you may need a bit of a break and cooking can be just the thing. If you are older and run out of steam around dinner time, consider cooking the hot meal at noon or in the morning and re-heating it for dinner.
When cooking for one, you don’t need to cook only one portion. In fact you should be thinking about cooking for 3. Eat one right away, one tomorrow and freeze one portion. You can also consider cooking extra protein for another meal such as extra ground beef for a pasta sauce next week or extra chicken breasts for sandwiches another day. If you have all the vegetables out to cut for a stir fry, might as well cut extras for the meal you have planned for tomorrow too.
When shopping for one, try to find smaller packages so that foods don’t go bad. Even if it is cheaper to buy in bulk, you waste money when you throw out old food that has gone bad when you haven’t used it up in time. If you by meat in the family pack you can always re-package them in smaller portions to freeze. Buy casserole dishes that are the right size for you, smaller pots and easy to open storage containers. Make meal in one dishes to make clean up a snap and keep your eyes pealed for tasty recipes in the newspaper.
The Bottom Line:
You deserve more than tea and toast.