Cooking for one

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I am suddenly living alone. I have never in 35 years. What do I Cook. I have had toast mainly as it isn't worth cooking for one

Do you have a deep freeze of any size? Cook for four and then eat one portion, freeze two portions together in case you have anyone else round to see you and have the third fourth portion a couple of days later.

Omelettes/cheese pancakes
Jacket potatoes
One-pot chicken biryani www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pot-chicken-pilaf
Soup
Mug lasagne realfood.tesco.com/recipes/crispy-bacon-lasagne.html
Rice stir fry www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/kung-pao-cauliflower-prawn-stir-fry

I batch cook things like chilli con carne, curries, dhals, soups, etc. Have one helping that eve, one the next day and freeze the rest so I’ve always got home cooked meals to hand.

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It isn’t worth cooking for one

I feel like this sometimes but treat cooking as self-care. I deserve good and nutritious food and am worth cooking for

Batch Cook as others said.

Even if that’s just doing the spag Bol sauce one night for dinner, using some next night with fresh cheese sauce to make a lasagna a, and putting at least 1 portion. Of both o to freezer - not having to do all of the lasagna process in 1 day.

Similar for cottage pie - do something with boiled or mashed potatoes 1 day and do spare pots. Next day make meat sauce, assemble, enjoy for dinner and freeze a couple of portions.

I do a decent pot of mac’n’chesse with bacon and veggies in it, and freeze leftovers to make a pasta bake another time by just decanting to oven proof dish and scattering grated cheese over.

Do a roast for 1 using a part boned chicken breast or lamb shank, baby potatoes and some nice veg. Enjoy experimenting with flavours. Or do a larger roast and experiment with the leftovers as long as you don’t get it too big - I use thinly sliced roasted meats from freezer in Chinese stir fries for example, or just reheated in gravy with fresh cooked veg and potatoes.

And it absolutely is worth cooking for 1.

Whole o am often cooking for 3, I also have many many nights alone and some nights it’s convenience foods or just part baked rolls and. Cheese rarebit from the oven, but lots of pasta dishes are relatively simple for 1 too - use smaller onions, smaller amounts of veg wtc, I find a pack of bacon lardons can be great instead of “proper meat” at times, and either a small tin of tomatoes or a half a jar of sauce (and use the rest in a few days). Or make a sauce using some cream and an egg and maybe a glut of white wine.

Enjoy experimenting.

But get back into the habit of eating first, don’t just survive on toast.

A lamb shank, pork hock or ham hock is a good sized roast for one person. They can be braised and then lid off for the last half an hour to crisp up a bit.

A pair of poultry shears may be an investment as you can then halve a small chicken, bag and freeze half and roast the other half. Or joint and roast the thigh and stir fry the breast another day.

What size are your cooking/serving dishes? My dm's idea of downsizing was going shopping for a few dishes that suited two people instead of six. Eg shop.emilehenry.com/en/28-ovenware

Apple crumbles and the like are easy desserts as they are so often just thrown together without specific measurements. Just use a small measure but keep your proportions much the same.

This guy www.theskintfoodie.com/about.html does a lot of cooking for one as does cookingonabootstrap.com/category/recipes-food/

The supermarkets used to do fish ready prepared in an oven bag thing. They came with a flavoured butter. One of those in the oven with a baked potato or A grain and some veg is pretty easy and very little washing up. I’m assuming they still exist but as DH isn’t a fish fan unless it’s coated and deep fried I haven’t looked for them recently.

I used to do a lot of stir fry in my single days.

I much prefer cooking for just myself than for the rest of the family, I can have exactly what I want without catering for different tastes or the massive volume that my DH eats ( he is not overweight but very active and sporty). One downside of lockdown is all being together all the time, DH used to work away a lot & DS is now home from uni). And whilst they can of course both cook I tend to do most at the moment as I am furloughed and DH is WFH - plus I don’t really like the same sort of food as they do.
They are both out golfing tonight and I am looking forward to a delicious aubergine & lentil dish .

I cook all the things that I used to cook for three but freeze more. I buy the same large packs of chicken thighs but now split them out and freeze them separately on a baking sheet so I can take them out as I need them.

You have the rest of your life in front of you, it may not be the life you expected or the life you are used to but it can still be a good life. A simple meal is a lovely piece of fish or steak, salad and a jacket potato. There are lots of people out there cooking for one, if you can't be bothered then maybe scramble a couple of eggs to have with your toast because then you're getting some protein. Whatever you've been though, this is not the rest of your life and it will get better.

Agree with batch cooking and pasta for one is easy.

Also things like lamb chops with potatoes and steamed veg or steak with chips and salad. Bake 4 chicken thighs and you've got 2-3 meals right there. I used to eat a lot of this kind of thing when I lived alone. Tasty, easy, quick etc.

I would make one thing and it would last all week. So a lasagne or a beeef in beer, curry etc. Would mix up the carbs what french bread or rice or mash.

Then Would have snack the other days- nothing better than a pack of chocolate raisins. Plus I love toast and would live on it.

I did buy delia one is fun! From the 70s it was a pound or so on amazon.

I often cook for one - planning is the way forward! And I have leftovers for lunch

Easy stuff
Gnocchi with home made pestos
Bruschetta is hardly cooking
Tabouleh with some hummus and falafel/pitta
Dahl
Roasted med veg with hallumi
Cous cous salad
Risotto and other rice based dishes are super easy to make for one and as the rice keeps forever it’s super convenient.

It is absolutely worth cooking for one! What do you like? Middle Eastern? Indian? Thai? French?

I think the thing with cooking for one is that you have to buy 15 ingredients to cook one Thai meal for example, then you're left with a box of Kaffir lime leaves and a bottle of fish sauce for three years while you try cooking everything under the sun.

Think about what you like and build a larder around it. Stock up one the basics for the cuisine(s) you like and buy some associated cook books. Master some stuff you love, then adapt it.

Like others have said, it's easier to buy food to feed two so make double and have leftovers for lunch or for dinner the next day with a different side or accompaniment.

Of course omelettes and stuff are good for quick dinners, there is much solo joy to be found in cooking exactly what you want for yourself while sipping something you like and listening to great music