Cooking For One

Too frequently I hear that people struggle to prepare a healthy meal for themselves "It's just me, why should I bother?" or "It's not worth the fuss" are responses I get when I ask why one might not prepare a meal for themselves. I also hear, "wait until you are alone at night and then you will understand". Well, I can tell you that I experienced this first hand this summer. Joe was out of the state for business all summer, it was just me and Zeke. Since Zeke's meals come from Petsmart, he was not much of a foodie companion. I did learn to empathize with individuals who are at home preparing meals for "just me", but I took this experience as a challenge. Why shouldn't we prepare a healthy meal for ourselves? I admit, there were some evenings where a bowl of cereal were all I had the energy for, but that happens whether Joe is home or not!

Here are some suggestions to those of you out there struggling to prepare a meal for yourself:

1. Take the pressure off of yourself. Meals (especially mid-work-week) do not need to be fussy. Chop a few veggies (or- if you have time when you return from the store, chop and prep then!) and add to a salad. Add some low-sodium deli meat, vinegar and olive oil and viola, you have a lovely salad.

2. Keep your recipes simple. Saute a chicken breast (or two, if you want leftovers) in a skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on each side. Remove from heat and keep warm. In the same skillet, add onion or shallot (whatever you have), dried thyme and garlic. Saute ~3 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 cup white wine and 1/2 cup chicken broth). Slide chicken back into skillet and allow to cook through and the sauce to reduce by half. Serve with steamed vegetables (steam in the bag can be a vegetable lifesaver!) and instant (or minute) brown rice.

3. Prepare your favorite recipes, sensibly. If you are preparing a meal for one, do not prepare a casserole or your favorite dish that serves 8-12. You will only overwhelm yourself and end up frustrated because of food waste. However, if your recipe freezes well, go ahead and prepare it in 4 serving vessels and freeze 3 of them!

4. When you are at the meat counter, ask your butcher to cut only what you need. They are more than willing to package whatever you need. Alternatively, you could buy a large amount of meat, wrap them individually in saran wrap when you return home from the store and freeze them in a freezer-proof ziploc (I do this for the two of us- I wrap two chicken breasts together and store them in the freezer, I also cut ground meats into 1/2 lb portions... it helps with portion control when we get around to preparing it!).

5. I am a HUGE fan of a "Sue's Skillet Sensational Supper" (I'm working on the title, ha!). Everything goes in one skillet and it goes right to the table. I usually start with aromatics- onions, garlic, leeks, whatever I have. Then I'll add potatoes (if I have them on hand) that I have chopped (the smaller they are, the faster they cook!) and allow them to brown. From there, I add veggies- broccoli, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, green beans, etc. Whatever I have in the fridge. Don't forget to season with salt and pepper along the way... It might be necessary to add a little white wine or chicken stock to deglaze the pan and add a little liquid to steam the veggies. Once they have cooked, I'll add in fresh herbs. Sometimes I serve this with steamed rice instead of potatoes. Also- if you add meat (a must if Joe is home), you can brown chunks of chicken, or frozen shrimp (de-frost in no time) or extra lean beef tenderloin (about 3 ounces for one, 6 ounces if you want leftovers) before you saute the onions and garlic. Just remove them when browned and keep warm. Return to skillet when you add in your herbs. When it was just me, I ate a lot of beans- I kept cooked beans in individual sized baggies frozen in my freezer. I'd put it in the fridge in the morning and have them ready to go by dinner time. I usually add the beans when I add the fresh veggies to the skillet.

Today's take home message: just because you are one person in the house at dinner time, does not mean you do not need to nourish your body. Keep it simple, but make it enjoyable. Try to sit down and eat! A lovely woman told me once that every night she set the table for herself. She set out a beautiful place setting, with her nice cloth napkins and lit a candle for herself. It was her quiet time to sit, reflect on her day, and enjoy a healthy meal. Plus- she told me, "I have service for 12, so I only had to wash my linens every other week!" There is always a silver lining!

Here is to a healthy day!