Single life - cooking & meal ideas

[Silent1CB]

I'm going to be leading the single life much more than usual this year with DH gone for training a lot. And probably next year if he deploys.

I usually don't cook or eat well when he's gone and I would like for that to change.

Looking for meal ideas, shopping ideas or cooking tips for the single life. Thanks.

I've thought of making some meals and freezing them into single portions, but I only think of pasta ideas for that. Any others?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I eat alone most evenings (travel for work) and don't want to eat in restaurants.

I eat a lot of salads, with lean protien. Sometimes chicken, sometimes tuna, etc.

Steamed vegetables rounds out the meal.

Not too gourmet, and not always exciting, but fresh and pretty nutritious.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do you have a propane grill? If you do you can buy a single chicken breast, kabob, or other fancy thing in the butcher/fish section and grill it.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Most soups freeze really well and when you make them yourself you can replace all the bad stuff with low fat or fat free alternatives. When my DH is away I generally start a week off with a nice pot of Goya Lentil soup (cooked about 40 min so it's firm) which I eat cold as a salad or hot like a soup. Taste of Home some wonderful varieties of all kinds of soups, we like creamy ones made with flour, fat free milk or fat free 1/2 & 1/2 instead of real cream. The creamy tomato soup that starts with Cambells canned soups is good as both soup with a bit of bread and as a pasta sauce. I think soup added to a meal can be a good tool to add nutrients and bulk without fats and calories.

Other favorites include Jennie O Turkey burgers with light ranch dressing on Sandwich Thins. The Sandwich Thins double as English muffins for mini-pizza's with fat free mozzarella. Purdue perfect portions marinaded in Italian dressing are yummy when boiled in a frying pan then fried once the water evaporates and I eat them as both a sandwich (with a Sandwich thin, low fat ranch dressing and lettuce) and in my salad. Frozen fish fillets are easy to bake with some Old Bay, or fry them up after dipping in egg and bread crumb like a chicken cutlet. Of course, keeping plenty of yummy fruit around like watermelon & grapes is a good alternative for munchies. So are things like Lays Olestra Potato Chips and sugar free Peppermint Patties which are delicious in my opinion, but have a laxative effect that will force you to keep you portions in control. Also, keeping a few boiled eggs on hand to be added to a salad or made into deviled eggs or a quick egg salad help a great deal too.

I find that I get into the biggest trouble when I'm hungry and don't have the patience to take care of myself so a little effort ahead of time really pays off at the end of the day, at least in my case.

Good luck and YAY to you for trying!

 

[Silent1CB]

Do you have a propane grill? If you do you can buy a single chicken breast, kabob, or other fancy thing in the butcher/fish section and grill it.

Oh, thanks for reminding me. Yes, I need to learn how to light & use the grill. Grilling has always been his job.

 

[jsmith]

Hubby got home last week after a year and half of title 32 active duty in another state and a year of deployment-i took the opportunity to join weight watchers and loose a few lbs-but i agree with what others have said-i would make a crock pot full of soup or chili and freeze the left overs in single portions-easy to come home and zap one at the end of a long day-saved me from the McDonalds monster a lot of times. Also i eat a ton of salads-and i learned to use the grill-which is actually awesome for cooking for yourself. and i could get two meals out of one steak-cook it and eat half for dinner-make a salad with tomatoes, red onios and a little blue cheese the next.
Ive even done a pork loin in the grill-and sliced it into portions and frozen those so i would have them later. Now the challenge im having is learning to cook for him again-i eat alot of stuff he does not like-so we have to come to some agreements on meals.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

I buy up a lot of salad fixings and chop them, putting them into individual ziplocs. When I'm ready for dinner, I just go in there and fix one. My son and I will eat alone at least twice a week, so this is perfect for us. (I'll usually fix him an Easy Mac to go along with it.) I usually end up taking some for lunches at work as well.

 

[disykat]

I just ate a "pita pizza" for lunch. That would work well for you. If we have pizza or spaghetti I freeze little dabs of leftover sauce that I pull out to smear on a pita (I keep those in the freezer too) and top with whatever veggies and cheese I have handy. You could save leftover meat to put on it too. I bake it in a hot oven or put it under the broiler.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh, thanks for reminding me. Yes, I need to learn how to light & use the grill. Grilling has always been his job.

Absolutely! And if your grill is the pits, since you say you have to light it, get a new one that is friendly to you.

Let me tell you there is nothing like grilling all summer long with sides of fresh fruits, veggies, salads. At your butcher they probably have stuff all fancy ready to be thrown in the oven or on a grill.

Worth the investment and time to learn. Esp. if you are cooking challenged. Grilling is the way to go.

I am not a fan of the freeze it crowd but that is just me.

 

[Silent1CB]

I buy up a lot of salad fixings and chop them, putting them into individual ziplocs. When I'm ready for dinner, I just go in there and fix one. My son and I will eat alone at least twice a week, so this is perfect for us. (I'll usually fix him an Easy Mac to go along with it.) I usually end up taking some for lunches at work as well.

This might work for me. I like fresh salads. The bagged salad mixes actually make me ill & taste odd to me. I cannot eat them. But its a pain in the butt to take out all the veggies & lettuce each night to start from scratch for just 1 person. Not a fan of leftover salad either.

So maybe if I just deal with breaking up lettuce each night, and have the other veggies already cut, that would prompt me to eat more salads.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[delaford321]

I tend to make more trips to the store, I eat alot of fresh foods, bowl of berries and cream, salad, squashes, etc. Veggies that I can eat alot of and feel full, but that will not have a ton left over. I have also learned to following the serving measurements on things like boxes of pastas etc. This helps me make less

 

[Maleficent Lives]

I am in single guy, save money mode right now, so I always buy things when they are BOGO. That said, the first thing that I do when I get home with meat is separate it into individual servings and put it in freezer bags. This decreases thaw time and makes it easier to make for one. Now for some meal suggestions:

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup of soy mixed with a clove of garlic and fresh rosemary makes a wonderful, juicy chicken breast.

Cous Cous is quite possibly the easiest side dish to make, and you can make as much as you need at the time.

I make a from-scratch chicken pot pie that is to die for. I eat one serving the night that I make it, then divide and freeze the rest and take it to work with me for lunch. It far exceeds any store bought frozen pot pie in quality, plus you can add whatever veggies you want to it.

Marinate a single steak in some good red wine overnight. The next day, grill the steak and drink the rest of the wine while you eat it. I prefer Coppola Malbec for this.

If you have the space, start a vegetable garden. This will give you fresher vegetables and something to do to take your mind off of DH's deployment. Plus, sometimes you get crazy amounts of something and have to get creative to keep it from going to waste.

Best wishes for you and your DH.

 

[FireDancer]

I am single and try to cook myself dinner every night. I get a lot of frozen fish and chicken breasts. Tonight for example I am making a Moroccan chicken I like. Thaw a chicken breast and place it in a ziplock bag with some olive oil (just enough to coat), star anise, cardamom, allspice, and cumin (very little). Get the breast coated with the oil and spices and grill until done. If you have a George Forman it will work on that one. I usually have a salad on the side but I am all out and not running out to get anything. I will make a smoothie of fruit and fruit juice as my beverage and side.

 

[dizneygurl007]

I have a couple of cookbooks that you may be interested in. One is called Off-to-College Cookbook. It has easy recipes that are either single serving or have smaller servings that can be frozen. It has everything from salads to pasta to veggies and meats. The next is called Betty Crocker's Easy Low-Fat Cooking. It may be low fat but the recipes are sooooo good. Some recipes are more involved than others. The last one is called Slow Cooker Recipe Collection. It has all sorts of recipes that can be done in a crockpot. Soups, stews, main dishes, veggies, and deserts are all included in this. The deserts are really yummy. I hope this helps. If you can't get your hands on the books, let me know what kinds of recipes you want and I can photo copy them and mail them to you.

 

[hesedshi]

I have a couple of cookbooks that you may be interested in. One is called Off-to-College Cookbook. It has easy recipes that are either single serving or have smaller servings that can be frozen. It has everything from salads to pasta to veggies and meats. The next is called Betty Crocker's Easy Low-Fat Cooking. It may be low fat but the recipes are sooooo good. Some recipes are more involved than others. The last one is called Slow Cooker Recipe Collection. It has all sorts of recipes that can be done in a crockpot. Soups, stews, main dishes, veggies, and deserts are all included in this. The deserts are really yummy. I hope this helps. If you can't get your hands on the books, let me know what kinds of recipes you want and I can photo copy them and mail them to you.

You are so knowledgeable on cooking and so kindhearted.

 

[hesedshi]

I'm going to be leading the single life much more than usual this year with DH gone for training a lot. And probably next year if he deploys.

I usually don't cook or eat well when he's gone and I would like for that to change.

Looking for meal ideas, shopping ideas or cooking tips for the single life. Thanks.

I've thought of making some meals and freezing them into single portions, but I only think of pasta ideas for that. Any others?

You can buy some fresh vegetables each day and make them cooked. It is very easy to do and very healthier. If you can not cook then buy a cookbook and learn to do it according the books.

 

[MickeySP]

I cook for just myself alot since my nest is now empty.

I do take one day every couple weeks to do a soup/stew/sauce. I then freeze it in individual portions. I can just add salad or veggies to round it out.

It does help with the budget & weight & cravings of fast food. All I have to do is microwave these on the nights I just don't feel like cooking from scratch.

 

[dizneygurl007]

Thanks hesedshi. I love cooking but don't get many chances to do it. If anybody wants recipes let me know.

 

[Silent1CB]

I have a couple of cookbooks that you may be interested in. One is called Off-to-College Cookbook. It has easy recipes that are either single serving or have smaller servings that can be frozen. It has everything from salads to pasta to veggies and meats. The next is called Betty Crocker's Easy Low-Fat Cooking. It may be low fat but the recipes are sooooo good. Some recipes are more involved than others. The last one is called Slow Cooker Recipe Collection. It has all sorts of recipes that can be done in a crockpot. Soups, stews, main dishes, veggies, and deserts are all included in this. The deserts are really yummy. I hope this helps. If you can't get your hands on the books, let me know what kinds of recipes you want and I can photo copy them and mail them to you.

I do have that Slow Cooker Recipe Collection or one like it. I really should dig out the cookbooks more. I'll check it out. Thanks.

Plan on going shopping and buying some foods I like since I won't have to please both of us. There may be some benefits to this afterall.

 

[dizneygurl007]

Your welcome. Have fun. Eat things you like but never get to eat. Make it a culinary adventure.