Many people find themselves cooking and eating alone, whether by choice or circumstance. This guide provides strategies and meal prep ideas to make solo cooking more pleasurable, efficient, and enjoyable. Whether you're a seasoned solo cook or just starting out, these tips will help you save time, money, and energy while focusing on a healthy and satisfying lifestyle.
The Foundation: Planning and Preparation
1. Master Grocery List:
Creating a "True Weekly Groceries" list is the first step. This list should contain 10 baseline ingredients that you know you'll need to feed yourself. These might include:
- Sweet potatoes
- Onions
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Fresh chiles
- Greens (kale, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts)
- Yogurt
- Eggs
- Fresh fruit
- Tofu
These building blocks can be paired with pantry staples and occasional fresh fish or meat to create exciting meals. After securing these essentials, allow for novelty items like cheese, salami, or buttermilk. The goal is to be realistic about what you can and will eat in a week, supplementing with enjoyable extras.
2. Freezer as Temporary Storage:
Reimagine your freezer as short-term storage, almost like a second fridge. Instead of a place where food disappears, it becomes a resource for quick meal components. Store cooked farro for kimchi stir-fried grains, labeled pint containers of dashi for soups, a single sausage for a sandwich, or ground pork for broccoli bolognese. While thawing requires planning, the payoff is never stressing about using an entire package of anything. Consider keeping cookie dough balls in the freezer for single-serving treats.
3. Prep More to Cook Less:
Dedicate time each week to prepping ingredients. Wash spinach, chop herbs, scrub carrots, and break down broccoli into florets. This unglamorous work significantly reduces cooking time. Peeled garlic, scraped ginger, and sliced squash make cooking more appealing and faster throughout the week.
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Streamlining the Cooking Process
4. Solo-Sized Cookware:
Invest in cookware sized for single servings. A 1.5-quart saucepan, personal-sized donabe, small 6-inch skillets (stainless steel and nonstick), and an 8-inch cast iron skillet are versatile options. These tools are perfect for small batches of soup, frittatas, or a single piece of fish. Smaller cookware is also easier to wash. Consider smaller versions of appliances like a mini food processor or blender.
5. One Herb Rule:
Limit yourself to one herb (parsley or cilantro) and one bunch of scallions per week. While lush bunches of various herbs are tempting, focusing on one reduces waste and ensures you use what you buy.
6. Banish the Concept of “Leftovers”:
Instead of viewing leftovers as reheated dinners, consider them ingredients for new meals. As Judith Jones describes, home cooking is an ongoing process where one dish leads to another. Roast chicken and greens can become chicken salad or stock. Freeze the stock for future soups.
Meal Planning Strategies for One
1. Weekly Meal Plan:
Start by assessing your week. Consider social plans, office meals, or holidays to determine how much food you need. Avoid planning every single meal, as spontaneity is essential. Plan meals for Monday-Friday, when work or school keeps you busy. Count how many meals you need to prepare to determine servings and grocery needs. Less is more, so if you need 10 meals, prep 6 or 7.
2. Inventory Check:
Check your pantry and refrigerator before shopping to avoid buying duplicates and to use up existing ingredients. Create meals based on available items, combining protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates. Once you have recipes, plug them into your planner, create a grocery list, and stick to it at the store.
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3. Realistic Prep Time:
Assess how much time you have to prep and be realistic to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Remember, you'll be eating these meals all week.
Overcoming Meal Prep Challenges
1. Portion Control:
Avoid making too much food, which often leads to waste. Start with recipes that make four servings and halve the ingredients to create two portions. Eating the same meal four times a week can be repetitive, so aim for three servings. Consider freezer-friendly recipes to store excess portions. Freeze an extra serving or two immediately to prevent spoilage. SouperCubes can help organize freezer meals. If freezing meals, remember to plan to eat them.
2. Embrace Greens:
Don't hesitate to buy greens like spinach. They can be added to almost any meal, and remember that vegetables cook down.
3. Ease Into It:
Start small, even if you're an experienced cook. Begin with one meal prep recipe per week to build a reward system. Gradually increase to three recipes per session. Choose recipes that use the stove and oven simultaneously, or incorporate an air fryer. Expect meal prepping to take a few hours, and make it enjoyable by listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or watching TV.
4. Meal Prep Styles:
Consider buffet-style meal prep, where ingredients are kept separate and assembled into plates as needed. Alternatively, assemble full meals in meal prep containers. Remember, you don't have to prep every meal. Allow for takeout, Trader Joe's meals, staple dishes, and spontaneous cooking.
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Single-Recipe Meal Prep Ideas
Single-recipe meal preps store and reheat well and provide a balanced meal in one recipe. Some examples include:
- One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta: This simple pasta reheats well and is packed with flavors and textures.
- Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils: This recipe cooks itself in the slow cooker.
- Garden Vegetable Lasagna Soup: A hearty soup that can be a full meal.
- Pastalaya: Spicy smoked sausage with vegetables in a creamy sauce.
- Southwest Chicken Skillet: Combine rotisserie chicken with rice, beans, salsa, and cheese.
- Chicken and Dumplings with Vegetables: Comfort food that reheats well.
- Soy Marinated Tofu Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce: Flavorful tofu with rice and peanut sauce.
- Coconut Jerk Peas with Pineapple Salsa: A vegan meal prep option.
- Sweet Potato Grain Bowls with Green Tahini Sauce: A mix of textures, flavors, and nutrients.
- Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken: Easy sheet pan meal.
- BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowls: Simple bowl meal with rotisserie chicken.
- Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls: Stir fry that holds up well in the fridge.
- Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens: A simple and easy pasta dish.
- Chicken Yakisoba: Veggie-packed noodles with a bit of crunch.
Healthy Meal Prep Ideas for Breakfast
- Overnight Oats: Prepare the night before for a quick morning meal.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: Keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Chia Seed Pudding: Packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
- Breakfast Cookies: Store at room temperature or freeze for later.
- Vegan Breakfast Burritos: Filled with tofu scramble and freezer-friendly.
Salad and Bowl Meal Prep Recipes
- Roasted Tomato and Olive Salad: Hearty salad with complex flavors.
- Kale Salad with Nutty Dressing: Kale holds up well once dressed.
- Turmeric-Tahini Veggie Bowl: Veggie and brown rice bowl with a sunny sauce.
Packable Sandwiches, Wraps, and Rolls
Prepare fillings in advance:
- Egg Salad: Keeps well for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Zingy Wraps: Flavorful and easy to assemble.
- Spring Rolls: Can be assembled entirely in advance.
Soups and Stews
- Smoky Chili: A perfect one-pot meal packed with protein and veggies.
- Curry: Adaptable to use any vegetables on hand.
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup: Creamy broth and rich curry flavor.
- Cornbread: Pairs perfectly with soup and freezes well.
Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Recipes
- Lasagna Casserole: Assemble and freeze before baking.
- Falafel Balls: Freeze after baking and reheat in the oven.
- Stuffed Shells: Stuffed with roasted veggies and freeze well.
Component Meal Prep
Prepare individual ingredients to use in various ways throughout the week.
- Cooked Grains: Rice, quinoa, farro.
- Baked Tofu: Seasoned and ready to eat.
- Roasted Vegetables: Versatile for bowls, salads, tacos, and more.
- Flavorful Sauces: Lemon Vinaigrette, Peanut Sauce, Tahini Dressing.
More Healthy Meal Prep Ideas
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad: Combine quinoa, roasted tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, olives, onion, and pine nuts.
One-Pan Dinners
- Bruschetta Chicken and Potatoes: Top potatoes and chicken with bruschetta.
- Ginger-Soy Tempeh and Veggies: Serve over rice or quinoa.
- Sausage and Veggie Bake: Swap sausage for tempeh, tofu, or chicken.
- Shakshuka: Poach eggs in a tomato and onion mixture.
- Sweet Potato and Chickpea Roast: Customize with seasonal vegetables.
- Stuffed Enchilada Meatballs: Top with rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
- Chicken Teriyaki Fried Rice: A takeout favorite made in one pan.
- Vegan Lentil Minestrone: Freezer-friendly and customizable.
- Sheet Pan Meatloaf and Potatoes: Roast potatoes, green beans, and meatloaf on one pan.
- Broccoli and Quinoa Mac and Cheese: A pantry-friendly meal.
- Sandwiches and Wraps: Prepare fillings in advance.