food to glow

Fact or fiction for you: munching out of a box of cereal on the sofa; curled up with the cat; the latest Netflix series glowing before you; ice cream/wine/bag of sweets on standby {delete as applicable}. Sound familiar? Even if only once in a blue moon?

This may seem like a harassed mother’s idea of bliss. All that time to yourself. The TV remote in YOUR hand. No incessant, “mummy, look at this!” Just you, your show, your cereal and a disinterested cat.

But for singletons, students, those whose partners are frequently away, or whose children go to an ex-partner for the weekend, the lure of the no-cook meal gets old. And fast. One or three Lean Cuisines in and you can fall either way: searching out real food but that’s quick and for one; or the other way: processed foods and takeaways.

Katie Schmidt of the wonderful whole food blog, Whole Nourishment, has invited me and a few other whole food bloggers to contribute to her week-long series, Cooking For One. It ‘s only a guess but I don’t think that cereal features very highly. 

Why Cooking For One? We recognise that, regardless of personal circumstance, the chances are that we all need to fend for ourselves occasionally. And why not make it a meal that nourishes as well as hits all the cooking for one buttons: easy, quick, minimal clean up, uses few ingredients, tastes good, can be eaten on a sofa…

Why Bother? Some of us may feel that cooking properly for ourselves just isn’t worth the time, effort, mess and mental energy needed to produce something nutritious and delicious. Just for ourselves. But how ridiculous does that sound? Are we only worth a greasy takeaway? A box pinged in the microwave? Of course not. Sure, we all will resort to such easy offerings occasionally. But how much nicer to have ideas that are short, sweet (well, not actually sweet) and on the table in a few minutes flat? And that truly nourish, rather than merely quell a growling tummy.

Don’t get me wrong. I am no cooking for one saint. I sometimes will eat beans on toast, or heat up some boxed soup. I have been known to put cheese and salsa covered tortilla chips under the grill and call it dinner. But when we do these things it should ideally be because it is a conscious decision. That we actually fancy those beans on toast {which is a really good meal, btw}. Not because we don’t have any other options.

Over my many {many} years of cooking I have had countless occasions where I am cooking just for myself. I have actually come to enjoy it as a kind of me-time. I get to eat what I want, when I want, clear up when I want. And that’s sometimes quite appealing. Although, I must say that my family are very easy to please and I tend to get my own way!

Katie says in her introductory post to this series, “it’s really a mindset shift.” I couldn’t agree more. Cooking for one can be a gift to yourself: a time to replenish and nourish in a way most appropriate to you. I think it was Nigella Lawson who dubbed eating for one “Templefood”: the idea of looking after oneself, and one’s self alone, with food that is easy, nourishing and – this being Nigella’s idea – slightly decadent.

I think Miss Lawson might approve of my own “temple food’ recipe.

To spur your own ideas of how you can get creative with cooking for one, each day the bloggers in the series will be sharing not only a recipe but also a few tips to make healthy cooking for one that much more do-able. Here are mine:

Don’t always think for one. This seems counter to what I have been going on about, but making more than you need, especially of things that taste better second and third time round, is helpful. Think soups, casseroles, stews, dips, bakes. All of these can be popped into individual pots for freezing and pulling out when time really is tight and your tummy can be heard in the next postcode.

Related to the above is, kill two culinary birds with one stone. What I mean is don’t just make enough grains, fish, beans, whatever for one serving. It takes no more effort to make a big pot of beans or grains than a wee pot. Cool the extras, bag, label, freeze or keep in the fridge for healthy meals that week. I can’t count how many times just looking in my freezer with its labelled bags of grains and beans has inspired me to make something quick for family or just myself. Healthy eating doesn’t happen by accident, so thinking and making ahead with staple items makes sense.

Make meal plans. Eating healthily on your own or in a family/shared setting requires a bit of planning. It helps ensure you have the right things on hand when you want to cook them, and also factors in leftovers that will be useful throughout the week. We don’t suggest that everyone needs to cook everything from scratch everyday, but cooking even a few meals at home each week can improve your health and reduce the amount of money you spend on food.

Make it fun. Or even make it sexy. Sway to your favourite music, don a sassy {or even just clean!} apron, pour yourself some wine or make a delicious mocktail, listen to that podcast you have been meaning to listen to. Any and all of the above. If your loved one is away, Skype them while cooking….

Keep your kitchen stocked with some basics, including healthy convenience foods like quick-cook whole grains, low-salt soy sauce and stock powder/cubes, frozen fish {if you eat fish}, passata, etc. My page, Store-Cupboard Staples for the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, can be adapted to your likes and needs. As for fresh foods, when you can it is often more economical and less wasteful to shop at food cooperatives, farmer’s markets or similar as you can get the amounts you need and no more. Chatting to the stall owners you can also get cooking and recipe tips from people who are just as interested in food and health as you are.

Think about making your main protein once a week. If you are an omnivore this might mean roasting an organic or high-welfare chicken to use in different ways throughout the week {interspersing with animal-free days}. If a vegetarian, a big pot of black or other beans will give inspiration for tacos, chilli, soup, pasta and more. Being a solo cook gives you freedom to be as creative as you wish, without the fear or disappointment of getting the thumbs down from others. Add as much darn chill as you like!

Now that is is getting chillier in the Northern hemisphere, get out that slow cooker and use it. If you have recently down-sized, sell your large slow cooker on Gumtree and get yourself a smaller one. Slow cookers are everyone’s friends, not just those with big families and no time. Make up a full-sized recipe if you like, then parcel up and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. Small slow cookers often come with cookbooks for serving one-two.

Occasionally make it an occasion. Lay the table, get some flowers, present it all nicely and eat with knife and fork.

Aim for simple and satisfying. Adjusting from the mindset of cooking family or larger meals is a bit daunting. But also freeing. You can have an omelet for supper. You can have a quick stir fry or soup for breakfast. You can have those enticing leftovers whenever you like. Don’t feel that if you don’t have time for a full on meal that it isn’t worth bothering with. It is. A simple meal of {reheated} soup, nice bread, some good cheese and a humble plate of salad is always worth it. You are worth it.

Here is a good article I found that goes into much more detail about eating for one on a longer term basis. Sensible stuff  about how to cope with a poorly equipped kitchen, a list of whole foods that last, some very simple {but not very exciting} meal/menu ideas – that kind of thing.

And to compete with the lure of munching cereal on the sofa, I give you a revved up grilled cheese. A ‘kimcheese’. So easy, great for digestion and just that little bit different. And it is just for you. No sharing.

Other kimchi recipes from Food To Glow: 

Kimchi and Carrot Pancakes {easily made for one or two}

Kimchi and Avocado Lunch Wraps {for one or two}

Veggie Toasties from Others: 

Toasted Potato and Beet Sandwich – Tinned Tomatoes

Garlicky Mushroom Melt – Tinned Tomatoes

The Cooking For One Week line-up