After 20+ years of feeding a family, I’m having quite the time - My eldest lives with me at the moment, but works 2nd shift and also declared that he would manage his own food expenses (no complaints, I’m glad he wants to “adult” as much as possible). My younger is now away at school. Over the years, I’ve had to adjust to cooking for 2 adults + 2 little kids, to me + 2 kids in their varying stages of appetite, to me + 1 vegetarian kid… but this “food for just me” thing is killer! Breakfast & lunch, no issues - the kids were responsible for getting their own breakfast from early on, and had to prep their own lunches beginning in middle school. I tend to just eat a brunch that includes some variety of egg. When it comes to dinner, however, I get lost… I get resentful spending as much time prepping/washing-up on a meal for one as I would on a meal for many, and don’t like just heating up leftovers all week. Don’t get me wrong, I love leftovers! But not the same ones over and over… I’m more likely to opt for a fresh grilled cheese than the delicious chicken soup I put together last weekend for the 3rd or 4th time. And then I think I should be eating something “better”…
Perhaps these feelings are a byproduct of the mostly empty nest and that’s why I’m having a hard time of it… But does anyone have favorite small meals, not egg-centric, that don’t take a lot of time/effort/dishes to produce, don’t leave much in terms of leftovers, and aren’t salads? I prefer minimally processed ingredients, and loosely watch overall calorie & processed-carb counts. Trying to pretend I’m a single, broke college student isn’t working (since I’m only single and broke!)!
TL/DR - dinner prep is family & love, and without it I’m a little lost. What do you make for an evening meal for one?
Can you freeze things you cook in one or two serving batches? I have some chicken & wild rice soup in my freezer now from last weekend (froze before the sour cream step).
I poach and freeze chicken breasts, too — easy to make a Caesar salad and cut one up to go on top. (Sorry, I see you said no salad — but I could make a chicken sandwich, too, or a quesadilla).
I’ve made black bean burgers from scratch and freeze in batches, then pull out a patty and cook it in my grill pan.
I’ve been known to eat breakfast food for dinner. And recently have discovered that avocado toast is a tasty, easy meal after work at the end of a long week.
I used some airline points that were about to expire and subscribed to Cooking Light. I try to cook a new recipe every couple of weeks. I have a crockpot black bean chicken chili to try next. Looks like it might freeze well.
I don’t like to get tied down cooking from scratch every night. I’m too busy with my empty nest life! Ballroom dance class, evening jogs in the Arboretum, walks at the nearby lake, game or movie nights with friends, etc.
If you like the meals you were cooking before you can still make them and just cut down your quantity. Make enough for one dinner and then one serving of leftovers which could be for a lunch or a dinner. You can also freeze a meal of something.
I am largely cooking for two but H is sometimes out of town for a couple days at at time. When he’s gone my favorite thing to do is cut one piece of bacon in small pieces, brown it, remove from the pan. Add whatever chopped veggies you have - at least a couple of cups worth. Beets, onion, peppers, sweet potato, cabbage - whatever sounds good that night. Add bacon bits back in and then sprinkle feta cheese or a very sharp cheddar on top till melted and crispy. Plate and drizzle generously with balsamic glaze. Yum.
Another great meal to me…one slice of really grainy bread toasted and buttered. Top with any combination of mashed avocado, sliced tomato, onion, peppers, bacon. Sometimes top with a poached egg. Sprinkle with “everything bagel seasoning” and fresh herbs.
“Dinner prep is family and love” - so true for many! So cook food you LOVE - be good to yourself so you’re good for family when they are around!
Tonight I’m having a bagel with light cream cheese and Nova lox, fruit, and mulled cider for dinner. You really have a lot of freedom now — you just need to get used to it.
A few years ago, my Christmas gift to myself was a Seal-a-Meal. I can cook favorites (and I love cooking) and once vacuum sealed, they last longer in the freezer.
Cook a lot of great tomato sauce, freeze in small batches. Any time you feel like it, cook pasta, plus a few veggies, combine with sauce and meat leftovers if you want.
Fish is incredibly fast to make. I also usually keep a bag of shrimp and other seafood in the freezer, cook them fast and combine with yellow rice, red peppers and green peas.
Somewhat egg-centric, but not quite - frittata with many various fillings.
I just make very simple things that take almost no time to make. I buy my meat in the butcher section so I can get just one of something. Here’s my menu for a few of my favorites . Some of it isn’t super cheap but it is super easy.
Whole Foods parnesean tilapia. In the fish section. Prepped but uncooked. I usually make some plain spinach with it.
Trader Joe’s culiflour gnocchi. I sauté some mushrooms in olive oil and then make these according to package directions and put over the gnocch. . Yum!
Chicken thighs and sliced sweet potato. I drizzle some olive oil on the very thin sliced potato. The I put on skia cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for about 20 min. The I take out and add the skinned boneless thigh in the middle. About another 20-25 min at 400 degrees and everything is cooked perfectly. I ussuakt season the chicken with Trader Joe’s lemon pepper spice.
Broiled salmon with honey soy glaze ( literally mix soy sauce and honey together and marinate the salmon for 10 min. Broil and it will carmelize on top. Serve with Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice which I sometimes “ liven up” with mushrooms or fresh lightly steamed peas.
Good suggestions that sound really tasty - Thank you! It seems the trick is finding the right balance between how often I “need” to cook. how often often I want to wash dishes, and the variety of options that might be acceptable on a given night. And perhaps I just need to follow @intparent parent 's lead and get an empty-nest life!
It is a lifestyle change to no longer cook family meals. Regarding to have a meal for, say, four, on the table at the same time every evening- lose that thought. Be a lot more flexible. Over the years of empty nesting and retirement H and I have evolved our style. I like to cook but some dishes just aren’t worth the effort for one or two.
H and I often decide our foods individually. No need to have exactly the same thing. There are many Indian lentil type (dals) dishes I’m not as fond of so I will cook the four plus portion dish and freeze single sized portions for him. After several days my cooking binge can end for even weeks. The same time and labor to make several servings and he can choose which to eat at the time he wants to eat.
We also cook rice and pasta which spreads out in a freezer bag to be frozen and easily separated. We eat a lot of vegetables- those that require effort go before they would spoil.
The key is to divorce yourself from the daily supper task. Get your H involved in being responsible for figuring out his own supper. Nothing wrong with a pantry, refrigerator and freezer full of options in single serve portions. My H the noncook has learned rudimentary cooking, chopping and spicing skills. He often makes his own vegetable mix- too spicy for my tastes and with my won’t eat peas. He usually has enough for a second meal.
Even frozen dishes that serve four can be cooked and the remaining portion frozen. I freeze baked cookies, breads, biscuits and cakes et al. So much easier than just making a small batch. The microwave and toaster oven are your friend.
Bravo to your son for disengaging from the old family mealtime. Get your H to as well. No obligations. I shake my head at 70 plus year old ladies who still cook a daily fixed time full meal for their H’s.
I always have a chopped green salad in the fridge ready to add to each meal. During warmer months I nearly always throw chicken breast, steak, pork chop, etc. on the grill and add another veg, whatever fits my mood and I can pick up at a roadside stand on my way home. Love fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, summer squash, zucchini. That’s dinner in 15 minutes. Winter months I do more soups, chili, stirfrys. Soup takes a while but I make enough for four meals, two for that week and two to freeze. Chili and stirfrys 30 minutes tops. Broiled fish and veggie. I will sometimes make up a bowl of fried rice (made with cauli) as a side for a few meals that week. I also use purple-top turnips for everything from a sub for potatoes in my soup to home fries to steak fries. Everything I do is two pans max.
I do like an omelette occasionally for dinner. And sometimes on a Friday night I substitute a few glasses of wine with some cheese instead of a meal lol. That’s the easiest of all. Its just me, I eat what I want, when I want. My bad is eating too late, I like dinner at 8, nutritionists say eat by 6 if you can.
I’m going to suggest some small appliances that are easier clean-up than frying pans and big pots.
I have a Dash quesadilla maker (larger than their mini-grill) which doesn’t have sectioned parts like other quesadilla makers. It’s super quick to make eggs, hamburgers, sandwiches–most anything that you’d put in a frying pan. Even quesadillas! It heats fast and clean-up is a quick wipe down. Especially great for a quick hamburger.
I also have a small Presto multi-cooker that I use for boiling noodles and doing shrimp. It boils water very fast. Plus has an insert for draining. Love it. Again teflon coating.
A rice cooker. a small one. Put the rice in and forget about it. Dishwasher friendly.
You could make all these things on your stove of course but these particular appliances make clean-up super quick and preparation faster.
If you like boiled eggs get a Dash egg cooker. Perfect eggs every time. Super easy and quick without boiling a pot of water.
A panini press can also be used to grill meats or veggies. Like a George Foreman, but I like the PP better. What comes into play here is cooking healthy, not just spur of the moment. I make two days worth of veggies. Right now, it’s sweet pumpkin season and I’ll make soup to freeze in portions.
I love sheet pan dinners and make them all the time. Perfect for 1. I love that NYT recipe but every time I see that video I want to yell “put down some parchment paper for goodness sakes and you won’t have such a mess in your pan!”
Another thing H and I enjoy doing is dining out more often. If we want the same menu items, we may split the entre. If we want different things, we are fine with each boxing leftovers for another meal (or several).
We often eat one larger meal and one or more smaller meals or snacks in the course of the day as eating 3 large meals is not attractive to either of us and we don’t exercise or exert enough to burn the calories we would consume.
For the lighter meal, soup and fresh fruit, nuts and bread. For the beverage water, coconut water, almond or soy milk.
Single friends are fans of blue apron type ptograms. Each “cook” creates extra meals but the quantities are right and there’s variety. Personally, I prefer to do a little more cooking or prep on Sunday afternoon to have the fridge stocked for the week - or at least ready to go. A pork tenderloin with a rub cooked on the grill makes great sandwiches after the main meal. A steak makes a nice dinner salad for a second meal. Like you, I find that without being in the daily dinner prep groove, it feels like a hassle to cook so for me, the key is to do it, but less frequently and “innovate” with leftovers.
With the kids out of the nest and husband traveling tons, I love a comfort food like grilled cheese sandwich. I try to balance it by having lots of veggies/fruit throughout the day. Some evenings, I just need the ritual of chopping up food so I chop veggies which I stir fry or make into a soup. I do have a rice cooker and always cook a large batch of brown rice that I keep in the freezer. I also cook on Sunday and a favorite is pork tenderloin to use throughout the week.
