Cooking For One? Tips, Tricks, & Meal Ideas - Ask a Nutritionist

Transcript:

Kara: Welcome to “Ask a Nutritionist”. This is our weekly mini episode of Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. My name is Kara Carper. I'm a Licensed Nutritionist and Certified Nutrition Specialist. Before we get started, I'd like to remind our listeners to join our Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook group.

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Now, let's get into today's topic, which is something that a lot of people quietly struggle with, and that is cooking for one person. Maybe you're cooking for one because you live alone. Maybe it's because your partner travels or your kids are grown and have left the nest.

Maybe you're in a season where you're home most nights by yourself, and you're just tired of asking yourself, what am I supposed to make that feels worthwhile to cook for one person?

Because let's be honest, cooking for one can feel like a lot of work. You still have to do the planning, the shopping, the prepping, the cooking, and the cleaning, but you're doing it for one plate, so sometimes it seems hard to justify going through all that trouble.

And that's often what makes takeout, processed foods or convenience foods or just random snacking feel a whole lot easier. But here's the good news. Cooking for one does not have to be complicated. It doesn't have to mean eating the same meal every night. It definitely doesn't mean spending an hour or more in the kitchen every evening.

Strategy #1: cook components that can become part of several different meals

Today I want to share some practical strategies that can make cooking for one feel more simple, more flexible, and honestly more enjoyable. One of the most helpful ideas is to cook components that can become part of several different meals. One day of the week, you could combine all the ingredients needed to make an egg bake and pop that in the oven.

Another weeknight, maybe you'll get the grill going and fill it with a variety of proteins like chicken, steak, or shrimp or all of the above. Roasting a sheet pan of vegetables can set you up to have vegetables for two or three or more meals. And using the crockpot or instant pot to cook up larger batches of shredded beef, shredded pork or chicken.

And we'll talk more about this, but you can be putting these things in the freezer, put the leftovers in the freezer, and it's so easy just to pull something out of the refrigerator or the freezer to reheat it. It removes a lot of that mental stress and that mental energy of constantly thinking what's for dinner?

So if you have things planned and prepped and ready to go, that is going to be huge. And it can be simple. You don't need to have a dozen different large recipes and be in the kitchen cooking all weekend long. But if you focus on simple things such as preparing one or more cooked protein options, one tray or sheet pan of vegetables, one breakfast option that might last you a few different breakfasts and one backup plan.

It's always good to have that emergency backup meal. So, for example, maybe you want to roast a sheet pan of broccoli and cauliflower along with a batch of chicken and make an egg bake or protein muffins for breakfast. Suddenly you have choices for your morning meal, your mid-afternoon meal, and your dinner, and you can throw in some snacks as well without having to cook from scratch each time.

Strategy #2: embrace leftovers

The second strategy is to embrace leftovers, but make them feel more intentional than random. A lot of people don't mind cooking once, but they do tend to get tired of eating the same thing several nights in a row. If you're fine with that, by all means go ahead and eat the same thing morning after morning or night after night.

I sometimes do that, but I know for others it gets a little monotonous. So instead of making one finished meal and repeating it, make food that can be repurposed. Let's say you have some cooked up chicken breast, you have some salad greens, some roasted vegetables, and a cooked grain; could be brown rice, could be quinoa.

Neither of those take that long. So the first night, you could combine some of those ingredients and make a bowl just like when you go to a restaurant. You have your greens, your protein, your grains. A nice healthy fat could be an oil and vinegar dressing.

A different night that week, you could combine some of those ingredients, but start with a broth and turn it into a soup. Some of those staple prepped and cooked ingredients can work for multiple different types of meals. The key is to be cooking in bulk every time you cook.

I always think about that, making extras, having leftovers, and the freezer really can be your best friend when you're cooking for one. This is so important. Double or triple what you're making, freeze the extra. It doesn't take much more time because when you are prepping and cooking, your kitchen is already messy.

Option: freeze individual portion sizes

All the ingredients are out, the dishes, the pots and pans are out. So it makes sense to make larger batches, and a good tip is to freeze individual portion sizes. Take the time to measure out a serving for dinner. Maybe that is four ounces of cooked protein, or maybe it's more of a one pot meal, like a soup or a chili.

And then you would want to make sure you have two cups for a meal, and that could be your individual serving, and then you're just pulling out the one serving that you want to thaw at a time. Investing in individual serving size glass Tupperware, it's perfect for that. It's great for batch cooking and portioning out individual meals.

Some foods that tend to freeze very well are soups, stews, chili, meatballs, shredded proteins. I had mentioned, beef, pork, or chicken in the crockpot or instant pot, protein muffins, egg bakes. Or you can even take the ingredients to make an egg bake and simply put it in a muffin tin, put it in muffin tins, and then you have 12 egg muffins.

In fact, just this morning I had two egg muffins and I had them in the refrigerator. They were ready to go. It took 60 seconds to heat them up, and it was the fastest breakfast I've eaten all week.

Keep frozen vegetables on hand

Now you have your own stash of convenience meals. Another great freezer tip is keep frozen vegetables on hand. Frozen vegetables work really well. You can sauté them for a stir fry. You can add them to omelets, and if you're someone who tends to buy fresh produce, only to see it go bad in the refrigerator, and then you have to throw it out, that can be frustrating. And we all have good intentions for that, but frozen vegetables are also very healthy. Find them organic if you are able, and they really can simplify cooking for one.

Use appliances that do the work for you

Here's another tip. Use appliances that do the work for you. I had mentioned using a slow cooker or an instant pot. That can make eating healthy feel doable on some of those busy or long days. It makes batch cooking simple. You can portion meals into leftovers or freeze the extras.

Here are some things that you could easily cook up in a slow cooker or an instant pot: a small roast, shredded meat, soup, chili, hard-boiled eggs, stuffed peppers, baked sweet potatoes. You can make your own bone broth. Let the appliance work while you are working or while you're at home, even if you are doing housework or you know, transporting your kids to and from, let the appliance do the work for you. These are set it forget it tools that don't require frequent monitoring.

That's exactly the kind of thinking that makes cooking for one more sustainable. That, and you're not trying to be in the kitchen all evening. It should make your life easier.

“Ready-to-go” food options from the store

It's also okay to use ready to go foods from the store. Especially if you find yourself without anything to eat for dinner. You don't have anything that you can grab from the freezer. Nothing is prepped. There are options for pre-cooked proteins. I'm sure many of you have bought a rotisserie chicken at your local grocery store.

Make sure you read the label. Try to keep ingredients to a minimum, and that means avoiding natural flavors. Or MSG or extra oils. Sometimes you are not able to avoid those, but if you are just look for chicken and spices and herbs. You can take that chicken or other protein, put it over a pre-made pre-mixed, pre-washed bag of salad.

Use your own olive oil and vinegar dressing. Usually the dressings that come in those salad kits are less than a healthy option. They're often loaded with sugar, vegetable oils, and other chemicals in hidden ingredients.

Another great option is to buy minimally processed meatballs that are already, they're definitely pre-made. Sometimes they're even pre-cooked and you just have to heat them up. Sausages like chicken sausage with no added nitrates, those are usually pre-cooked and those can quickly be heated up.

If you purchase a bag of coleslaw mix and stir in, again, we want to be using our own dressings. You can buy a good avocado mayonnaise and then put that on some rotisserie chicken. That's a really easy chicken salad. Eggs can be boiled ahead of time. You can also incorporate canned fish, some canned tuna fish or canned salmon. Those are all great and quick and easy protein options. So not every meal requires a lot of time or even cooking.

If you're worried about simple foods tasting boring, there are ways to enhance flavor where you're not adding sugar or questionable ingredients. Examples are salsa, tahini, fresh citrus. You might like some fresh squeezed lemon or lime, pesto made with olive oil, liquid aminos, coconut aminos;

That's just a soy sauce alternative for those that aren't able to tolerate soy or gluten. Visit a local spice shop and try out some new seasoning blends. They really make a big difference in adding flavor, and you can still keep your meals clean and healthy.

You know, a lot of those typical marinades and dressings, they are loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils. You'll often see canola, soybean, sunflower, all of those processed, refined oils. And there can either be other things like artificial food coloring and I talked about MSG, monosodium glutamate, so please be looking at lists of ingredients and avoiding those things.

There are some bottled salad dressings and marinades that are pre-made that you can find at the store, and they're predominantly made with olive oil or avocado oil, but you just have to really be a detective and be turning that bottle over, reading the back, and looking through the ingredients. Making your own salad dressing is very easy as well.

Takes just a couple minutes to whip up and you can keep that in the refrigerator. I actually have a homemade one that I've had in my refrigerator for about two weeks, and it was very simple and basic with balsamic vinegarette and some nice avocado oil, and I just added a few different herbs and spices and some salt and pepper. So, and it's great and it's, I know what's in it and I'm avoiding all the unhealthy ingredients.

Keep your meals balanced

Another thing to remember is to try to keep your meals balanced. Even a simple meal should really be balanced with protein, vegetable carbohydrates, healthy fats, and you can add some starchy carbohydrates as well. And so that is how we stay satiated. We aren't getting hungry, we don't have cravings, and we have good moods, good focus, and good energy.

And so that really matters when you're cooking for one. It's very easy for some of those solo meals to turn into a bunch of snacks. You know, back to that way of thinking where it's, is it really worth it to mess up the kitchen and cook for just myself?

Having balanced real foods can be simple. It doesn't have to be complicated. Here's some other examples. Eggs cooked in butter, sauté some spinach, and have a half cup of berries on the side. That takes about five minutes. A lunch could be chicken salad, assuming that you have that chicken pre-made and cooked, and you could put that on some greens and add half of an avocado and one of your homemade dressings.

Salmon filet or chicken thighs are great protein options. Pair that with some roasted vegetables and half a cup of sweet potato or half cup of red potato. All of that can actually be baked on the same sheet pan. Here's a snack idea: half a cup of full fat cottage cheese with some berries and some almonds. That's a very quick, easy and balanced snack.

So if I could just leave you with one final thought, it would be this: instead of thinking about being in the kitchen and spending a lot of time and a lot of effort, it's really just about putting together smarter systems, and that usually means starting small, especially if you don't have all of the groceries and the ingredients.

Start small this week. Perhaps you prep just one protein. Next week, you can focus on roasting a tray of vegetables. Start gathering some recipes, keeping your grocery list updated, and you will continue to stock your cabinet, your freezer, and your refrigerator, and it will just get easier and easier.

Choose one crockpot recipe and that's a really good time to make a large batch and freeze those leftovers into individual single serving meals. You'll be so pleased that you did that when you open up your freezer and you have something ready to go that you just need to heat up. So try some of these ideas, see how it feels to get into a routine that's going to work best for you.

In wrapping up today's discussion, cooking for one can absolutely be nourishing, practical, and even enjoyable. We're not looking for perfection, just some reliable strategies that make eating real food easier.

Thanks so much for listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. If you know someone who's in a season where they're cooking for one and feeling a little stuck, please share this episode with them. If you need meal ideas, simple recipes, or more support, visit our website, weightandwellness.com and make sure you join our private Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook group. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

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