cooking for one?

[Tracy46545 6]

ok..I live alone (well..me and the three Bichons)

How many of you are cooking for one? Do you cook a meal for your family and then something different for you? (ie, lower cal, less carbs, low fat, high Protein etc).

Or...since we can eat such small amounts do you just eat what they eat in tiny portions?

and..for those of you that cook for one....how about sharing some ideas?

I find myself cooking something..and then eating it all week which leads to boredom and the craving to stop at a fast food joint and grab some variety.

Am I making any sense?

[Tiffykins 673]

Perfect sense. I cook for the 2 men in my house, and then I eat a smaller portion of whatever they are having. I don't have any fabulous ideas for cooking for one because it's always been me plus Caysen. Then, almost 2 years ago, I married John and cooking became much easier. I hope someone has some good ideas. I do cook significantly smaller quantities now since both John and I have changed our habits.

I also divide meat out and freezer bag it for Portion Control, and attempt to avoid leftovers.

[Chancie 65]

I'm cooking for one and it STINKS! lol

I have found that you can buy talipia (frozen) in a bag individually wrapped and 3-4 oz. each piece. I'll use my george forman grill to cook it, and then a frozen veg.

Thats not too bad, but most recipes are just tooo much for just me, so I havn't cooked lately.

Plus I have alot of "meals" already saved in my freezer... but get bored with them too.

Right now am going thru a bad spell... nothing taste good and I have been getting sick when I eat. and still not losing!!!:mad0:

[Jachut 487]

I'm cooking for a husband and 3 kids, 2 of whom are teenage boys. I just eat whatever I cook for the family - healthy food is healthy food and appropriate for everyone.

I hate cooking, lol, but I'm glad I have to do it. I think it always kept me somewhat in check. I would never feed my kids crap, would never let them eat take out regularly, or feed them 2 minute noodles, packet macaroni cheese, white bread and rubbish like that, so my base diet was always healthy, it was just all the crap I fed myself on top of it.

Cooking for one would be really hard, I even make too much salad for lunch!

[carolyn24seven 11]

try any of the recipe books on cooking for two.(check one out from your local library) Then divide the "left~overs". Then take one half of it to a neighbor. Seriously. It feels really good to do this. You are not wasting food ($) and it feels good to help someone. I have single neighbors around me, that I did not know I had until I started walking. I bought paper Kiddy plates that have the dividers built in. Works great, and I do not have to get the dish/bowl back. I am now know as the puppy~plate lady. lol They don't care as long as they get the food. They are happy and so is my tummy. They can add a salad or bread and make the meal bigger. I have made mexican meat loaf, chicken lasagne, even steak. Baked potatoes. Squash souffle. Soups. Chili. Cheeze dip. Peach cobbler. That is just some of the dishes I have made in "whole" portions and then divided up. It makes for really good tasting meals for Hubby and I and, it does not go to waste. I mean they may throw it out but I don't see it! hahah. I eat so very little now, but, I still want it tasty. I love to cook in the fall/winter. So, this is a good time for me.

[Malaika 50]

and if you don't know or like your neighbors, you could take the recipe for two and divide it in half - it will probably still be too much for you; however, it would probably only be enough for 2 meals, so you could eat it for dinner one night and lunch the next day and be done with it - not too repetitive.

Luckily, it takes more than 2 meals for me to get tired of something and Bearded is the same way, so whatever leftovers we have, we both eat for lunch the next day and if there is still something left after that, we'll have it for dinner that night. I've gotten pretty good at downsizing my recipes so generally leftovers only last 1 day. That's pretty good for me, since I come from a family of 9 and when I first got married, that was the only way I knew how to cook and my (ex)husband wouldn't eat leftovers!

[LAN2k 18]

I am living alone and I'm still going through trials and errors! Initially when I was supposedly ready to eat solid food, I would cook like for about 4 people as I been accustomed to (prior to surgery when I was raising a 14 year old boy and often feeding his friends). Actually I always cooked for more than just myself because I would eat much more than one normal portion, (let alone a 2 oz sleeve portion!) I then decided to go out and buy freezer bags and different sized containers in order to save the extra however I rarely ate my leftovers and eventually, (like this morning), they got dumped in the trash.

Here is what I have found helpful. Having a carton of eggs is good worse case scenario you throw out only half the egg, (but soon enough you will be able to eat an entire egg.) Also, at costco (and all other big chain markets), you can buy boxed or bagged frozen foods which are already in portion sizes, therefore you need only take out and prepare what you think you can eat. This goes for fish, shrimp, meatballs, cheese raviolis, and lot's of other high Protein foods as well as frozen vegetables. If you can't eat the pre portioned size for one you may refrigerate the bit you can't eat or simply get rid of it. I do find it sometimes helpful to just go to a deli and order 2 slices of turkey or roast beef and a slice or two of low salt cheeses, (I like Alpine Lace)...if the meat is lean enough (I like Boars Head) I make a roll of the meat and cheese and eat it ever so carefully. The whole thing takes some adjusting to and this morning I found so much stuff in my refrigerator I had to throw away. Also before the surgery I went out and bought lots of canned foods like turkey chilly, vegetarian chilly, various Soups, only to find that my tastes had radically changed and those same favorites were now sickening to me. I even bought a hoard of organic baby food and did not eat too many of them. I ended up bagging all the nonperishable food items I bought and donating them to a local food pantry. I find it's one big experiment. Someone here mentioned having those little puffy oyster crackers handy for eating soft cheeses and/or adding to soups, that worked for me. As for fruit I haven't eaten any yet since I'm so consumed with getting in enough Protein since I fill up so easily. But I found a Protein Drink from "Naked" juices which is tasty like a nectar with no added or artificial sugar and each 15oz bottle contains 30 grams protein, 1 banana, 1.5 apples, .5 orange and a bit of pineapple and coconut. If I find any other suggestions I will send them your way. Yes Cream of Wheat, WHOLE GRAIN it has 7 grams protein per packet. I can almost eat 3/4 of a packet. It goes down pretty easy.

Edited December 6, 2009 by LAN2k

[LAN2k 18]

I'm cooking for one and it STINKS! lol

I have found that you can buy talipia (frozen) in a bag individually wrapped and 3-4 oz. each piece. I'll use my george forman grill to cook it, and then a frozen veg.

Thats not too bad, but most recipes are just tooo much for just me, so I havn't cooked lately.

Plus I have alot of "meals" already saved in my freezer... but get bored with them too.

Right now am going thru a bad spell... nothing taste good and I have been getting sick when I eat. and still not losing!!!:thumbup:

Chancie, so sorry that your going through a "bad spell" I know the feeling in fact I've only a few days out of the week where I feel things are going well with the food. Hang in there, they say it's supposed to get better.

Edited December 6, 2009 by LAN2k

[stoongal 10]

I really hate to waste food! Having been brought up during war-time rationing and with parents who went thru the dirty-thirties will do that to you!

So I hear you! I freeze individual chicken breasts (buy them in a large container - but not the prefrozen seasoned ones pumped with water) and cut off enough to stir fry (perhaps 1/3 of the breast or less) and put the rest back in the freezer - it cuts not too bad frozen. Then I chop that up and stir fry it in a teflon pan and add some mixed frozen veggies til done and for a tasty sauce cut in half a baby bel cheese and stir til it melts. Really quite yummy.

Today I made some ground chicken chili, hope hubby eats some, if not will keep enough out for 4 meals or so and freeze the rest.

Bake some fish in your toaster oven along side some fresh veggies (eg. carrots, sweet potato, red pepper, sliced Tomato or any that you really like and spray with Pam olive oil and when cooked, sprinkle with lemon and salt and pepper for a nice meal. I like to buy thick slices of ham and can use that in many ways and it keeps all week in the meat compartment of the fridge. I love eggs now - have tham at least 3 or 4 times a week. Scramble them with diced ham and chopped green onion for a meal.

I made meatballs out of ground bison the other day, I just added sauteed onions, egg, a little bit of bread crumbs and seasoned salt and browned them up for a really nice lean meat meal - I ate them with left-over baked fresh veggies. I made a gravy for hubby and mashed potatoes as he is a meat and potatoes guy! Next time use the ground bison or Xtra lean ground beef to make a moist meat loaf with onion, oatmeal and V-8 juice and form the rest into patties and freeze individually to sautee in the future. Pork tenderloin is another great lean meat that cuts up into nice portions and freeze either uncooked or cooked (cooked can be taken to work for a meat snack!)

Hope this gives you some ideas for cooking for one.

Cheers,

Donna

[Tracy46545 6]

If I had more energy and limitless money and time I would just go to each of your houses every night and share dinner with you!!! lol Sort of a traveling supper club!

[learned2bskinny 81]

Tracy,

I'm in the same boat. I hate to cook, much less cook just for me. I end up eating ready made foods which always have too much sodium in them. I still have hypertension, even though I'm 15 lbs from my goal, so sodium isnt the best for me. Fast food, even though I can only eat a tiny bit, is also lousy nutrition wise, so if there was only someone who would cook for me.....

[Itstime 0]

Donna, can I please come to eat at your house? You are so resourcefull and it all sounds so good!!! Lets start your diary of what to eat at Donna's. YUMM

[stoongal 10]

You can come anytime and would be very welcomed! Don't forget that I have raised three kids and cooked many many meals with their health and my food budget in mind, and back in the day, we entertained our friends a lot over impromtu meals. We never had a lot of money, so had to be frugal and yet wise. Plus I used to be director of daycare centers and often cooked for them when our cooks were not there. I always planned the menus and did all the shopping for them. So my whole adult life has been a learning process with food and budget constraints.

Thank you for the compliments tho, they are few and far between these days. Different times, alone much of the time, cook mostly just for me. Hubby away a lot and cooks his own much of the time when he is here. I eat so differently now is the reason mainly. I notice that I want to eat a lot more when I am alone evenings tho, did it all the time before. Tonight I caved in and made popcorn and ate a LOT of it! Surprised myself how much went down! Yikes, better not do that often!

So come on over, I could use the company!

Cheers,

Donna

[Chancie 65]

Can I come tooo Donna????:biggrin0:

I have no shame do I??? lol

You are sooooooo resoursefull!! I am not a good cook.. my mothere wasn't a good cook either... so I really had no one to learn from.

When I moved to the south, my mother-in-law taught me how to cook.... but all this fattening, greasy food, and thats where the weight really started coming on.

Learned how to make a mean biscuit w/gravey Fried chicken, chicken and dumplins- she was a GREAT cook!! But not the healthiest!!

I still havn't tried your lentil Soup yet- it's on my "to do" list!!

Thanks for all your tips- you could probably start your own thread....." Donna's Recipes"

( hint-hint- hint )

HUGS!!!

[Itstime 0]

That's it, Donna's Recipes!! I'm surprised your husband doesn't eat all that good food. What's he eat? popcorn once in awhile has to be o.k.