Cooking for one

[Bacon-n-Limes 64]

Hi everyone,

The facts:

• I'm pre-sleeve.
• I am single and live alone.
• I don't enjoy cooking because I'm not very good at it and I don't tend to eat leftovers. When I throw them out I feel guilty about how much is wasted.

It's clear that it will be much easier for me to be successful if I can make my meals at home. But they'll be so very tiny.

So I've been giving my Magic Bullet a try with Protein shakes. This can work.

Eventually I'll be allowed to have solid food. And I expect I will probably want to have it regularly, so I just ordered an ANOVA Sous Vide Precision Cooker so I can cook small portions. Does anyone have experience with sous vide?

Also, since I'm not very clever in the kitchen, can you recommend a good cookbook/website? I'm looking for something that has real-people food featured -- the kind that calls for regular ingredients that I can find at a typical grocery store, and doesn't take hours to prepare.

Thanks in advance!

Catt

[BeagleLover 1,020]

Yes, there is a very good website (blog) dedicated to bariatric / high Protein cooking:

The World According to Eggface

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Found this by searching "Cooking for one" on Pinterest.

[tart 21]

I hate to cook, but I found I wanted something better than canned Soups. I have gotten several recipes from the world according to Eggface, as well as from searching on Pinterest. Since I am starting a new way of life, I might as well cook. And yes, I consider scrambling an egg is cooking to me!

[pippinleicester 78]

Yes the world according to eggface is very good and if you google bariatric cookery you will find many sites.A sous vide machine hey you realize how posh that is ?Good luck.Pippinleicester.

[Alex Brecher 10,502]

Sous vide is the only way to cook IMHO! Great choice!! It'll soften up your food without drying it up. You can always cook stuff and freeze it in freezer bags and just reheat in oven.

[Cherielit 6]

Rock's kitchen on Facebook also has lots of ideas! I also live alone and am finding food prep a bit of a pain because of the quantity that I can eat and I don't want leftovers that last forever!!!!

[Midtown girl 44]

I also cook for one and it really is not that difficult. I use Pintrest to find recipes (search low carb) and then I adjust the portion size. Now, I don't mind left overs- I cook things I really enjoy, so I don't mind having 2-4 meals out of them and then I switch it up. I also do eggs, cottage cheese, canned salmon and tuna, yogurt.... I do avoid processed foods like plague, they are full of good for nothings that will mess with your weight loss progress. .Good Luck, you never know, you may discover a new passion in cooking.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I also learned on this site that investing in a vacumn sealer is a great idea. I happen to like variety in my diet. The sealer allows you to portion and save your leftovers. You pop them in the freezer and then toss them into boiling Water to heat up. The Proteins stay nice and moist and your leftovers make a great meal for one if you don't feel like cooking.

[roundisashape 712]

One little thing I've found that helps is to pick a grocery store with a great salad bar, and get your fresh veggies from there. It's hard to find them not packed in portions we can't use up fast enough unless you go to a farmer's market or something otherwise.

[Alex Brecher 10,502]

This is a great topic, thanks!

I plan on addressing this in a magazine article in the near future.

[BloomingLotus 179]

I live alone as well, and work way too many hours - so cooking when I get home each night is the last thing on my mind. I am pre-op, but I have aways found that I'm much more successful losing weight when I have everything pre-made.

I spend a few hours each Sunday cooking different meals and portioning them out. I keep a couple of each in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. I wash and chop all of my veggies ahead of time too. In my opinion a few hours on a weekend day saves me a ton of frustration throughout the week.

I also use a crock pot now, because it's easy. I'm not sure how I will work that into my post-op life, but it has been a lifesaver in the past.

Good luck!

[Rovobay 920]

gotta eat your leftovers. I love cooking once and being done for the next several days. less clean up, saves time, etc. I'm going to google this Sous vide thing now....

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I live alone, have a small/limited kitchen and am learning to cook regularly for myself. I am trying to focus on the basics and clean eating. Following this post for ideas.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I'm a big believer in the freezer stash and food prep. It was one of the first things I learned when I began my journey to better health even before WLS.

Two things lead me to this.1) I am on a fixed income. I needed to save money. 2) I am a vegetarian with multiple food allergies. I needed an inexpensive way to eat healthy without feeling as if I was eating the same thing over and over every day.

On Sunday my food prep consist of:

• I boil 3 -6 eggs for grab to go meals and Snacks.
• Making a pot of a hearty grain. Usually quinoa or farro. Sometimes brown/red/black rice
• My meat eating friends bake or broil chicken breast and another Protein. Meals can be varied from adding seasonings and rubs to making salads to adding in a stir fry. I prep any tofu, tempeh or seitan I may use that week as well. Some people simple buy a rotisserie chicken and cut up. If you do this I advised saving the carcass to make homemade chicken stock.
• I make a few overnight oat meals. This is done by layering rolled oats with either greek yogurt or milk of choice with fresh fruit, nuts and seasonings including Protein Powder . The oats absorb the moisture overnight and can either be eaten cold or warmed in the microwave in the morning.
• Chopping up any fruit and veg that is in season: Some are put into freezer bags for the freezer stash, some are put in tupperware for snacking, salads and cooking. I never buy frozen fruit for smoothies Protein Shakes. I buy fruit from the farmer's market when in season. It's cheaper then. For example blueberries can be as cheap as $.99 a pint. I buy double, freeze half and have fresh fruit all winter long. Veg like onions can be bought sliced and diced then put into freezer bags for quick adds when cooking. In the summer when I tend to eat a lot of salads it helps to have all the fixings prepped and ready to go. You are more likely to eat salad that way.
• In the winter I make Soups and chili by the pot. I then freeze most of it in single serving portions. It means investing in a good set of freezer safe tupperware or lock and lock containers, but you not only save money, you avoid the the sodium and other additives you get with canned Soups.< /li>

Doing this means no meal takes more than 15 minutes to prepare and I don't end up spending money on take out that I don't have. My weekly prep now takes approximately 1 - 1½ hours every Sunday.