Meals for one

[Teawithfrenchtoast]

I have 2 young adult children and find that I’m cooking family meals less and less as they have their own plans, DH works away a few weeks at a time. I am a bit of a lazy cook, I really don’t enjoy it so I tend not to make meals or eat nutritious food when I am just cooking for myself. I need to start making proper meals for myself. What would your go to meals for one be?

I used to do stir frys, with noodles or rice. Lots of chopped vegetables and spices, ginger and soy sauce.

Sometimes when I had time I’d batch cook and freeze some vegetables (+ eg fish/egg/tofu/meat) in sauces to have with pasta or rice in the microwave.

And a lot of the time … beans on toast. I used to be knackered most of the time tbh.

Stir frys as per PP.

Batch cook things like stew, curries, chilli etc and freeze in portions you can take out and reheat.

Slow cookers are great.

Salads.

If I don’t have something batch-cooked in the freezer, these are my go-to meals when it’s just me.

Sardines on toast
Greek baked beans and feta on toast
Omelette
Eggs florentine
Buddha bowl
Filling soup with a bread roll
Falafel salad
Jacket potato with tuna mayo and sweetcorn (sweet potatoes are delicious with tuna)

If I find it’s not filling enough, I’ll finish with some fruit and yogurt.

As above, I tend more towards batch cooking and freezing in portions.

However, one that I used to make regularly was to season a butterflied chicken breast and chuck it on the george foreman, cous cous (literally just boil the kettle and add stock) and then a chopped salad. All done in the 10 or so mins it took for the chicken to cook.

Or beans on toast.

But I was also known to eat a multiplack of squares crisps if it was just me there 🙈😂

Fried rice is my go to.
Roasted tomatoes, onion and garlic (in airfryer) with couscous/pasta and feta cheese
Gyoza in a miso broth with some additional greens and noodles (if required)

If it's just me, I also like to treat myself to things like a steak/chop with some new potatoes and salad or I might make some hummus and a flatbread or something. Ditto a piece of salmon with some steamed greens and potatoes.

When I was younger and lived alone I ate a lot of pasta with simple tomato/cream based sauces. Or I'd do pasta, pesto, avocado.

I also quite like a sort of platter type thing that works for one - I do this for lunch fairly often - something like some avocado, maybe some hummus or dip , some tomatoes/cucumbers and then perhaps some ham or other precooked meat, all just with a pita bread or similar.

Today for lunch I've had some smoked cheese, some grapes, some proscuitto plus raspberries and blueberries

Yesterday I had a pitta with taramasalata on one half and creme fraiche and caviar on the other, both with salt, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice (the caviar was left over from blinis last weekend, and we only have it a couple of times a year, I wouldn't normally have it for lunch!)

I often have a pitta, split open, spread with Marmite and then topped with grated cheese, and microwaved so the cheese melts. It's a bit like Starbucks cheese and Marmite ciabatta

Thank you for all the suggestions! I am going to try to find some motivation to eat properly when it’s just me rather than a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar 😬