Meal Planning For One

[Ava]

Here's the situation;

I've been working very hard in improving my life during the last year or so.
Many things have been accomplished, with a lot still to go.
I've been cooking but I'm not organized about it. I tend to cook too much of one recipe and try to make it last, then I get bored and it spoils.
So this weekend I decided my next step in my life improvement plan is to come up with a meal plan.
The goal is to buy groceries, plan the meals and make sure I have everything for the week.
The situation is as follows;

I leave home at 7:30 AM, can carry breakfast with me and it it at work, to save time.
Lunch I have to eat it at work since it's an hour away from home. Will have to pack lunch with me. I generally bring a sandwich but I want to start eating a real meal for lunch.
Dinner; I go to school three nights a week, the other two nights I should be able to cook and make it last for the days I have school and arrive late.
Biggest challenge; I am hungry and tired when I get home. Start cooking a meal at 6 or 6:30, and waiting around an hour to eat is my downfall. I arrive home and want to eat right away. Besides that, I am hungry at 6; I eat lunch at around 12:30.
I am thinking the best solution would be a coffee and something light at 6, and then start dinner. But then I wouldn't be having dinner until 10, when it's time to go to bed. I don't know how to deal with that. 
All in all, I need to plan for 14 meals a week.
Help.

[motherto2]

Why not do the batch cooking, and then freeze some right away so that you don't get bored with it, and it doesn't spoil? After a few times of doing this, you would be able to rotate meals so you aren't eating the same thing every day/night, and it only takes a couple of minutes to reheat.

[justme]

I've taken to batch cooking. I cook big things of something, and then freeze them in individual portions. Like there's this potato dish I like - I freeze it in individual ceramic oven-proof bowls, pop them out after they're frozen and put them in a bag. So then I just pop it back into one of the dishes to defrost/cook. I've also done that for macaroni & cheese - works well for any side dish. I make a meat/vegetable tomato sauce and freeze it in a muffin tin and then pop it out and into a bag. The 1/2 cup portions are perfect to put on the stove with a bit of water and a cover while I wait for the water to boil to cook the pasta.

My biggest problem is that I would do a lot better if I had a separate freezer - with this method I have way more of a need for freezer space than fridge space. Keep debating whether or not to get one.

[Ava]

Not a bad idea, motherto2.
I also think I would cook two or three different dishes this Sunday, so I'll have variety right away. Eating the same thing more than two or three times bores me.
I'm not a fan of freezing, but I'm heading to Walmart later today, and I'm going to buy some freezer-friendly containers and several rolls of foil wrap.
Wish me good luck with my meal preparation!

[Ava]

Justzombies;

I think you also live alone, correct?
It has its perks but cooking for one is hard. I think I can get the handle of batch cooking. It seems kind of hard in the beginning because I'll have to do several dishes at once.
Then next week I'll dial back to one or two for the whole week.

[justme]

Yup, live alone. The cooking is the worst part, I love to cook but it's near impossible to cook just enough for one meal. I often fall back to just a few things that are easy or not eating "complete" meals (i.e. mostly meat, or mostly starch, or something - not always protein, starch, vegetable).

Need to get more into the habit, but I really like that my tomato sauce is packed with veggies and meat so I can tell myself it's a complete meal.

[chiver78]

I also live alone. I don't do batch cooking really, but when I am cooking something that I *know* freezes well, I will freeze half of it right away. I use takeout containers, maybe 1.5c size? anyway, I use them until they warp or crack, then I toss them.

I've also gotten in the habit of having my big meal of the day be lunch as often as possible. if you're short on time at night, that sounds like it's going to be the healthiest way for you to go too. if you have options in your freezer, you can take out a serving and while it's being heated, quickly toss a small salad to go with it for a nice light dinner.

in my freezer right now, I have (and will share recipes for, just ask )
black bean pulled chicken
black bean and kale "stew"
gazpacho
rotisserie chicken and turkey - in snack size bags, about enough to top an entree-size salad
chicken stock - made from rotisserie birds
homemade red sauce


oh, and when I buy a pork tenderloin, I will cut portions and freeze individually. this way, I don't have to cook the whole thing at once.

[Tiny]

The freezer is your friend as are recipes that make 4 servings.        I'd also recommend airtight as possible containers in SMALLER sizes - I like 2 cup and smaller sizes. I use a lot of Tupperware - mostly because I 'inherited' a lot of it.

You want to store the food that you are NOT freezeing in the smaller containers.  Air and not being kept cold is the enemy.  Sometimes it's better to store the parts of a 'meal' in separate containers and then combine them when you are going to heat them.    I do this with pasta/sauce/veggies/meat combos.  I will make two containers all mixed together for 2 days worth of lunches. But the rest of the 'fixings' I'll store separately.  This gives me some options on day 3 and 4.  I can make 2 more lunches of the same thing OR I will use the pasta with some canned broth/soup instead.  The veggies and meat I might add to scrambled eggs for a dinner (and not take it for lunch).   Jarred/canned pasta sauce can be frozen!   If the parts are separate they can become something else if I get 'bored' with the original intention.

You may also want to use the smaller containers for the freezer - a cup of frozen pasta sauce OR 2 cups of frozen homemade soup...  for example.

I also tend to store things separately because they seem to keep better for the week (5 days).  Opening and letting something get 'warm ish' and then putting it back in the fridge takes a toll by day 4. 

I have one last suggestion for your 'menu plan'  think of a couple of 'quick' dinners or lunches you can prepare with 'cupboard and fridge' staples and then make sure you have those staples on hand.   Even if it's a box of heat and eat "mac and cheese".     You just need to have a few of these 'quick' meals on hand (since you don't need alot of servings).  You can use these when you are tired of what you planned to eat OR if you can't stick to you original 'plan'.     I keep a can of fried beans ($1), diced tomatoes($1) in the cupboard and a pack of corn tortillas (.33) in the freezer.   I make 'tacos' with any other add ins I happen to have on hand (cheese? lettuce? sauted pepper/onion? whatever).    I also have a couple cans of soup on hand.   I keep a couple of frozen dinners on hand too.    Having a back up plan that's potentially just 'one meal' often keeps me from 'giving up' and eating out.

[Tiny]

Biggest challenge; I am hungry and tired when I get home. Start cooking a meal at 6 or 6:30, and waitingaround an hour to eat is my downfall. I arrive home and want to eat right away.

Yes, that's a problem. What you might need to do (or reconcile yourself to) is that you might be eating something you prepared a day or two before (by reheating in the microwave) while you are in the process of creating the next round of food for the future.

I often chat on the phone with a friend while I'm cooking (sometimes as late as 8:00pm) and she's like "You're going to eat dinner NOW!?! so late!!!!" and I'm like no - had dinner prepping for the rest of the week.

It's a mental paradigm shift. I usually cook on Sundays and then sometimes on Wednesday or Thursday night. It weird but it works.

[Ava]

Thanks for all the good advice.
Tiny Speck, I'm guessing you also live alone. It's a dilemma that only other people who have to cook for one understand.
I am going to purchase a good amount of single serve container.
Another excellent idea is to have something ready to eat right away, and cook future meals later.
I really want to sit down and eat right away when I get home.
As for having staples that I can assemble in minutes; yes!!! Great idea. I have already a couple of put-together dishes in mind; pasta and sauce, and hamburger and mashed potatoes (from the box). Walmart sells hamburgers that are already seasoned.
Very good ideas and thanks so much.
I was going to go out and buy ingredients and containers today, but it's snowing pretty bad right now. Tomorrow Sunday will be my day to try.
You see, I'm new to this cooking for one business. First I lived with my ex-husband, and then I worked for years at a cafeteria that provided me with breakfast and lunch. I had to worry about dinner only. Now that I work at a bank am on my own

[Cookies Galore]

Since you're so hungry when you get home and don't want to wait for dinner to cook, why don't you keep almonds in your car or purse? Five or so will satiate you enough to last you your drive home in the evening.

[cronewitch]

Find a few things you like and can have ready to eat in a few minutes like 10 minutes from home to hot meal. Rice for example means boiling water then waiting 20 minutes so you can't have that. So make a batch of rice at night in a rice cooker. Place rice in ziptop bags so they don't dry out. Next night microwave some rice and saute a few prawns or if you like rice into the prawns pan with a hand full of chopped veggies to make a fried rice. You can take a few minutes after dinner to cut veggies for the next day or use frozen veggies.

Leave a pot of water on the stove so when you walk in you turn it on before taking off your coat. Pasta takes 8 minutes a microwaved potato about 6, having boiling water means you can steam a veggie pretty quickly if you prechopped them or use frozen. Precooked chicken or small pieces of food like thin sliced beef can be fried quickly.

You don't have to have well balanced meals as long as you get some of everything every day. So you might have just pasta then after that make some veggies for the next day and snack on raw veggies or eat a fruit while you are starting dinner with a piece of cheese. A grilled cheese sandwich or scrambled eggs can be dinner.

Carry an extra snack to work to eat on the way home like a fruit or some nuts so you don't walk in starved. A ziptop bag of almonds will keep a long time in a desk or coat pocket. I try to carry them when I am out all day so I don't have to eat food that is too expensive and unhealthy.

[Happy prose]

Do you have a toaster oven? I've been making little pizzas on a pita. I'm calling it pizza, but can have anything on it. I crumble a black bean burger, and top with salsa and cheddar. A few minutes is all it takes. My husband likes it with chicken pieces and swiss. And we all love mozz and tomatoes. You can do all veggies if you like.

[constanz22]

I live alone too and get really tired of trying to think of things to cook.  I usually will cook a largish meal on Sunday and eat leftovers most of the week.  I am usually hungry when I get home too, so, it's nice to be able to just pop something in the microwave for a few minutes and have dinner ready.  Freezing stuff does NOT work for me.  Anything that is prepared and goes into the freezer never sees the light of day again, plus I just don't like the taste/texture of most stuff that's been cooked and frozen and thawed.  Do you use a crock pot?  This can be a lifesaver.  Throw everything in in the morning and dinner is ready when you get home.  I have a few "go to" meals that don't take more than 10 minutes to make.  One is chicken or shrimp, sautéed, add a handful of frozen broccoli, some teriaki sauce, a splash of chicken stock and throw in some (already made) rice to heat through at the end.  I like to prep some stuff on Sunday.  I am on Weight Watchers and I make MUCH better choices if I have stuff prepped.  I will make a batch of veggie soup and have it several times during the week.  I prep stuff for salads.  I get out one or two types of meat and have somewhat of an idea what I will make.  I made a London broil this week.  I ate it with a baked potato and veggies the first night, sliced over salad the next day and made fajitas with it today and still have some left.  Also, dinner doesn't always have to be a big, home made meal.  Usually once a week I make grilled cheese and soup.

[Jake 48]

Its the dog and I, so I am always cooking for one, lot of stir fry chicken and veggies, will batch cook sauce and freeze individual servings for pasta, usually ready in 30 minutes. when I want something quick and easy, omelets with whatever I have on hand. there is always fruit in the house too. good luck

[NastyWoman]

And another cooking-for-one poster here. If I want something different I go to cookbooks/magazines for cooking for two. I'll either half those recipes or freeze one portion. For the regular things I follow Jake's approach and freeze sauzes in individual portions to be served with rice, pasta, or potatoes which are all really quick to fix. No eating the same thing for a week for me!

[Ava]

No, I've tried eating the same thing for a week and it doesn't work.
I need some variety.
See, some of the recipes you guys are mentioning don't work for me because I'm used to my ethnic food. I don't use a crock pot.
I have my shopping list ready and tomorrow morning I'm going on my weekly run to buy groceries.
I've been invited to a friend's house for lunch. But then I have all afternoon to cook for the week. I've already selected two recipes, and I want a third one. Then batch cook and take it from there.

[sarcasticgirl]

Do you have a friend that you can cook with and split the food? I do that occasionally. 

For breakfast, I keep a huge bag of frozen berries from costo in the freezer. Night before, I put a cup of berries in a container and put it in the fridge. in the morning, I add 1 cup of fage yogurt to the berries and take it to work. I like to add some nuts when I'm ready to eat. It's easy peasy and healthy. 

when you buy meat, portion it out into individual portions and freeze them. 

hit up a local spice store. Invest in some great spice blends. I have at least a dozen blends that are bread on chicken so all I have to do is pick one, throw it on a chicken breast and bake it. add in some veg and DONE. 

When I was single and wanted something that was typically a large meal... like lasagna or chili, I would make multiple individual lasagnas and freeze them and make a big pot of chili and freeze individual portions. 

[Deleted]

I have a Food Saver.  It is a vacuum sealer device.  You can save the precooked dinners inside a pouch and throw them into boiling water.  You can also save meat, etc. that you bought in a bigger lot while getting most of the air out.

There are two of us, not one, but I love my Food Saver.  I have meat, etc. that is a year old without freezer burn.

[justme]

Second SS on the Foodsaver. Everything goes into a Foodsaver in my freezer - either it's own individual bag or I have some resealable ones that I use for things like individual servings of sides/sauces. Saved sooo much money because sometimes I can go a while without being in the mood for something again. Also, it doesn't handle liquid things so well, but my freeze in a container works then vacuum pack works well - just did it for soup!

I forgot one thing that I used a lot when I was in school - I'd take a roasted chicken from the store and eat it for a meal or two, and then shred the rest and freeze (laid out on a sheet to freeze individually but then put in a bag) and then my go-to was to take a handful out and throw it in a tortilla with cheese for a filling quesadilla. So fix your own things you like in a quesadilla and do that. (I'm now going to either buy or roast a chicken soon!)

Another thing is some veggies can be stored in the fridge in water after you've cut them up. Potatoes don't work, but carrots do. So I can cut them up on the weekend and just throw em in a pot during the week. It's cheaper than buying them pre-cut. I'm sure some other veggies work that way too. 

[moneymaven]

I'd add a few things to your plan:

Add some snacks. I keep snack size carrots and snack packs of hummus in the house and throw them in my lunch bag each day. I always take a piece of fruit or two (usually an apple and banana) and keep a jar of peanut butter at the office along with an apple slicer. Get some almonds and dry fruit (dry cranberries or dry blueberries are my favorites) in a small snack bag. Perfect for a quick snack to help carry you over between meals. I usually eat my apple at the office and the banana in the car on the way home.

I'd also invest in a crock pot. I make so much in my crock pot because I just don't have time to make hot meals during the week. I prep them the night before and then drop them in, set the time and head to work. I've done all sorts of things: buffalo chicken (for sandwiches, salads, etc), beef ribs, leg of lamb, pot roast, rosemary and lemon chicken, corned beef, and so on. There are tons of recipes online to choose from and try.

If you want a meal without a lot of time, I also keep Pillsbury croissants at home with some hot dogs for pigs in a blanket. I also make some quick taco meat with onion and cheese wrapped in the croissant dough and bake for a taco wrap, and add a salad to the side. No boil lasagne and fix ins can be thrown together quickly in a small batch and done in 20 min.

And honestly, some premade frozen foods help us out often. I keep teriyaki chicken breasts, sweet potatoes fries and dumplings in the freezer. It's perfect because I only have to pull out what I need and it's done in 10-20 min.

You're doing a great job making a plan for this!

[Shooby]

My family and I are not fond of leftovers. And I don't really like to freeze meals. So I generally try to prepare smaller fresh meals.
I think the main thing is to have some ingredients on hand. Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts are your friend. You can quickly defrost then dice and skillet cook for a variety of meals . Keep some sauces handy like teriaki and serve over rice. Or make a small batch of pasta and add the chicken with mozzarella and sauce and you have chick parmesan. Another night cook a small steak and slice and put over a salad for steak salad. Think about what you really like to eat and plan some easy menus in advance.

[marvholly]

I have been cooking for 1 since DH passed away 10+ years ago.

I have gotten in the habit of doing a 'batch cook' 1x/week - Usually Sun while watching the Bears or Cubs play. This week several of my local markets have chicken leg quarters on sale so I'll make a pan: 2 will be oven fried, 2 w/BBQ sauced and 2 w/terryaki sauce. I will eat chicken 2x this week & freeze the others for use over the next several weeks.

Last week I made a BIG pot of chili-good for lunch or dinner. 4 servings went into the freezer.

Several weeks ago I made meat1oaf-cooked in single serve portions in a muffin tin. A 9 x 13 pan of lasagne is 6 servings, so 4-5 into the freezer.

I live in metro Chicago so VERY cold again this week. Going to make a pot of black bean soup from dry beans. I'll soak the beans today, cook them Mon & make soup Tue.

I have a basic menu plan that I get specific on weekly:
Breakfast
cereal & fruit 3x
yogurt & fruit 2x
egg 1x
Lunch
cottage cheese & fruit or veg 3x
egg 2x
deli meat 1x
junk food (hot dog, italian sausage, pizza)1x
Dinner
Fish 2x (rotate the $$ stuff w/tuna salad biweekly)
Chicken 2-3x (includes stir fry, fajitas, stroganoff....)
red meat 1x
Veggie 1-2x (often a pasta, soup or salad plate)
Ground meat 1x

[tskeeter]

Ava, one of the things that might help make your life easier is to focus on eating your big meal at lunch time and eating a lighter (easier and more quickly prepared) in the evening.  Basically eat dinner at lunch time and eat lunch at dinner time.

I can identify with what you are experiencing.  I spent decades leaving the house before 6 AM and getting home after 7 PM.  And then working one or more days most weekends.  Starting trying to prepare meals at 7:00 or 8:00 when you are worn out and starving is a real burden.  (You can tell your life has degenerated to this point when you know the hours of every fast food joint between work and home, you have the number for the pizza place close to home taped in an easy to see spot on the dash of the car (so your hot pizza arrives 5 minutes after you get home), and the person taking your pizza order says "You order that a lot, don't you.".)

[tskeeter]

Ava, one of the things that might help make your life easier is to focus on eating your big meal at lunch time and eating a lighter (easier and more quickly prepared) in the evening.  Basically eat dinner at lunch time and eat lunch at dinner time.

I can identify with what you are experiencing.  I spent decades leaving the house before 6 AM and getting home after 7 PM.  And then working one or more days most weekends.  Starting trying to prepare meals at 7:00 or 8:00 when you are worn out and starving is a real burden.  (You can tell your life has degenerated to this point when you know what time you have to leave work to get to the last fast food joint on your way home before it closes, you have the number for the pizza place close to home taped in an easy to see spot on the dash of the car (so your hot pizza arrives 5 minutes after you get home), and the person taking your pizza order says "You order that a lot, don't you.".)

[jinksd1]

You mentioned waiting an hour to eat after getting home, but it really shouldn't normally take that long to make a simple and tasty meal.  Most of my meals take 15-30 minutes to make.  A single piece of meat (steak, hamburger patty, boneless chicken breast, pork chop, piece of fish, etc.) takes somewhere around 10 minutes or less to pan fry, grill/indoor grill, or broil.  Add a simple starch (minute rice, microwaved baked potato, pasta with jarred sauce, boxed mac and cheese, boxed stuffing, etc.) and a vegetable (frozen, canned, or raw) for a complete meal in very short order.  Take just a few more minutes and you could have even more tasty choices like sauteed onions and mushrooms with your steak, or fried rice with some veggies thrown in with your fish, or a homemade sauce or gravy made with the meat drippings in the same skillet you used for the meat.  And if you make two pieces of meat and double the sides, you'll have one more meal out of it, which will save you time the next day but won't be so much that you get sick of eating the same thing for days.  Or just cook extra of the sides and change the meat the next day, or vice-versa.

Breakfast for dinner is also extremely fast to prepare.  Eggs only take a few minutes, as do breakfast meats, an omelet with quickly diced up veggies to add to it, hashbrowns or diced potatoes fried in a skillet, French toast, pancakes, or biscuits and gravy (bake Pillsbury canned biscuits while you make the gravy).

I've mentioned this before on other threads, but I sometimes cook and freeze meats so that they're easy to pull out and use in a quick meal.  For example, when browning hamburger for a meal, I'll cook extra and freeze portions for individual meals, then pull out the pre-cooked browned burger and use it in chili, spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc. Or I'll cook a ham or a whole chicken and shred or cube it to use in soups, casseroles, stir-frys, etc. It cuts down on prep time for a meal by a lot.

[qofcc]

I've been living alone for 18 mos now & I don't like to spend time cooking unless there's someone to eat with but I still buy frozen food in bulk at Sams club. They have precooked frozen sliced chicken breast, shrimp, scallops & angus burgers. All go from the freezer to the microwave on a plate with a bit of water sprinkled on top to the table in under 5 minutes. I get the bulk lettuce/spinach mix, a bag of shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, a can of olives, vinegrette dressing & a box of croutons and have a big salad with the chicken or seafood on top some days and other days have frozen vegetables with instant potatoes mixed with french onion dip. I bring groceries to keep at work - instant oatmeal, yogurt, single serving cottage cheese, mandarin oranges & applesauce and fresh bananas. Instead of having a big breakfast or lunch I'll have one of those items at 8, 10, 12, 2 & 4. I found out when dieting I consume fewer calories & I'm not as hungry if I have a 100-150 calorie snack every 2 hrs instead of full meals during the day.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using proboards

[Ava]

Thanks for all the good advice and the good wishes.
I have now everything I need and food ready for Monday.
I have to get on board on this. I don't like to buy prepared food. I love home cooked meals.
So, hopefully, I'll get there.
I know is going to take some trial and error, but I hope to be a pro at this by March.
Then, of course, my mom comes to spend the summer with me, cooks everyday, and spoils me silly

[Ava]

I need to get some snacks too, for the nights I come home late after school.