Tips to Cook for One Person
Cooking is one of the most soothing activities one can get accustomed to. Cooking for pleasure and not just for feeding yourself can make you enjoy your meals ten times more, but when you live on your own and have to cook for one it’s sometimes harder to enjoy it. If you’re stuck with frozen dinners for one and a drawer filled with takeout menus, you seriously need to check out this article and learn the best tips to cook for one person successfully.
Plan your meals based on certain ingredients
When you live in a big house with a lot of people, it’s easier to buy a big assortment of vegetables and ingredients and they’re all likely to be eaten by someone before they go bad. When you live alone, however, you should shop your groceries based on a small amount of vegetables that could go great with several different recipes so you’re not stuck with the same meal all week.
Keep the basics always in stock
Even though your fruits and vegetables (and even your meats) will have to be purchased each week to keep them fresh, there are plenty of other ingredients that can be safely stored without them going bad. We’re talking about always having your pantry full with grains and beans. Not only are they very diverse and call for many recipes, they last years stored and they’re very filling ingredients for one person.
Buy your produce by piece
Big bags or boxes of bananas, potatoes and tomatoes are for big families and chefs. It’s time you head to the produce section and start buying your vegetables and fruits by piece. This way it’ll be easier for you to plan your meals if you can only purchase what’s needed. You won’t waste food and you’ll have the chance to try a wide range of veggies throughout the month.
Learn how to scale down recipes
You can find online or buy many conversion charts in order to learn how to scale down those mouth-watering recipes you find in cooking books or the internet. Just because you’re one person doesn’t mean you’re stuck with boring and basic recipes! With a conversion chart or a measuring tool such as a set of measuring spoons and cups and even a small cooking scale, you can turn big recipes into one-person feasts.
Cook for two then enjoy two days!
There are many people who have no problem repeating meals more than once in a week. If you’re one of these people then you’ll have no issue in cooking recipes for two people and enjoying the leftovers on a different day. All you’ll need is a good set of plastic containers and space in your freezer. You don’t even have to eat your leftovers the same week, they can be stored for weeks!
Get creative with leftovers
And speaking of leftovers, it’s time to learn how to apply “creative cooking” and fix up entire meals using all the wee-bit leftovers laying around in your fridge and freezer. Cooking for one sometimes means you have to get creative and use whatever you have at hand to feed yourself one day more before grocery shopping day comes!
Ready to make the best meals for you and just you?