How to Cook for Just Yourself

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   Find your motivation. When it's just you eating, there's a greater tendency not to bother cooking because nobody is watching. Cooking for yourself, though, can help you save money and eat more healthful foods compared with eating restaurant or prepared foods. If you try, you can learn to prepare a variety of foods you like.
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   Plan ahead.
   • Time spent in the supermarket is not time spent cooking, so try not to go too often. If you have an idea of what you will make for a few days, you can save yourself several trips.
   • Keep a shopping list and take it with you. You will make better eating decisions in your kitchen than in the store, and you will be able to check whether you already have items.
   • Keep a master list of recipes you have tried and liked. Pull it out whenever you need ideas.
   • Aim for leftovers, but only for a meal or two. If you're cooking for yourself, it is always your turn to cook. Leftovers will give you a respite from cooking. Don't overdo it, though, or you could be eating the same thing all week. If you do make too much, share it with a friend or freeze some for later. You can even try once a month cooking.
   • Put it in your plan to try new recipes now and then.
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   Cook one main dish meal per day and keep the others simple. For breakfast, tryoatmeal, eggs, fruits, yogurt, and toasted bread or bagels. For lunch or dinner (whichever is the lighter meal), have sandwiches, soup, salad, cheese and crackers, a simple rice bowl, veggies and dip, and so on. None of these foods requires much preparation.
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   Maintain a pantry and keep supplies of non-perishable, staple foods on hand.When something runs out, put it on the shopping list and restock it on your next regular shopping trip. It will save you many trips out.
   • Your freezer is an extension of your pantry, though you must be careful of expiration dates.
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   Buy smaller packages. This is easier with some foods than with others, but it's also more necessary with some foods than with others. Rice, flour, peanut butter and oatmeal will all keep well on a shelf in a cool, dry place. Canned goods will last until you open the cans.
   • Buy fresh vegetables and fruit. They're good for you, and they're usually sold by the pound or the piece, so you can buy only one cob of corn at a time, if you prefer. You can easily microwave one cob of corn, a potato, or a single portion of veggies. The effect is similar to steaming.
   • Get creative. Does your store sell pre-formed burger patties? Do they cost much more than ground meat in bulk? Get a stack of them and use one or two, crumbled up, to start a skillet meal.
   • Make use of precooked, deli, and convenience foods if they help or inspire you to cook. Look around in your favorite markets for salad bars and pre-washed greens you can buy in moderate quantities. Buy a bag of pre-mixed, frozen stir-fry veggies and use only as much as you need for a meal. Choose frozen, boneless, skinless chicken pieces and use the microwave to defrost just the one or two you need for a meal. Use frozen ravioli or tortellini and prepare only as much as you plan to eat.
   • Big containers may cost less than little containers. The difference in quantity between a smaller and a larger package is often not proportional to the price. For example, if a half gallon of milk costs $2.50 and a gallon costs $3, it may be less costly simply to buy the larger size, use what you can, and dump any that spoils. A ten-pound bag of potatoes may even cost less than a five-pound bag. If the idea of wasting food bothers you, try to find a friend who will share larger containers, or plan to freeze the excess.
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   Split food with a friend, neighbor, or relative. If you do like to buy the larger sizes, see if there is someone who is willing to trade a bit of this for a bit of that.
   • If you find such a person, consider trading off the cooking itself or starting a freezer cooking group. Or invite each other to dinner now and then.
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   Prepare or buy mixes. If you love baked things, try making your own muffin mix or pancake mix. Put together just the dry ingredients. You don't need to mix and cook a big batch. You will add liquid ingredients when the time comes to cook with the mix. If you like, you can make yourself only enough muffins or pancakes for breakfast. Search the web for "homemade mixes" for lots of ideas.^[1]
   • You can make mixes of things like homemade granola and muesli. You can freeze portions of these if you wish.
   • Make your own seasoning mixes.
   • Make your own soup mixes. Divide up larger bags of beans and rice, barley, or pasta, and even add soup base packets or dried vegetables. Remember, though, that beans and pasta will need different cooking processes, so keep things separate if you need to.
   • Store most baking mixes in an airtight canister. Be sure to label your mixes, including instructions and quantities to use.
   • Homemade mixes make good gifts. Package a portion or two in a mason jar with a decorative tag or lid.
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   Freeze food in suitable portions.
   • Freeze uncooked food in one-person portions. Go ahead and buy the three-pound package of ground meat, but divide it into half-pound or smaller pouches before you freeze it.
   • Freeze cooked food for ingredient use. For example, you could sauté a quantity of ground or chopped meat with onions, garlic, and perhaps a seasoning of your choice. Drain off the excess liquid and let it cool for a few minutes; then pack it into containers or freezer bags for later use in all sorts of things. A mixture like this can form the basis for a whole variety of meals. Try it as a jumping-off point for omelets, spaghetti, jambalaya, sloppy joes, or whatever else you like.
   • Freeze ingredients with a sauce or marinade in a freezer bag. Try chicken breasts with pesto sauce or the salsa of your choice. Prepare several smaller bags at once. When it's time to cook, defrost one or two portions overnight in the fridge and let it marinate right there in the bag.
   • Freeze completed meals in portions. This is a great way to avoid eating many days' worth of leftovers at once, and it means you don't need to cook some other night when you're not feeling inspired. See our article on once a month cooking.
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   Try cooking sequences that reuse common bases. This very easy crockpot chicken starts life as soft tacos, but the leftover meat can be used in a variety of follow-up recipes. A roasted chicken can be eaten as straight chicken with side dishes (e.g. mashed potatoes and veggies) the first day, contribute to a chicken skillet, and wind up as the basis for soup. You can do similar things with just about any other meat or meat blend. You can either freeze the remaining portion or keep working through it.
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    Keep some backups on hand. There will probably be days when you don't feel like cooking or don't have time. These are the days to pop some frozen leftovers in the microwave, or to make something simple for your main meal. An omelet or tuna melt can be prepared quickly and with minimal effort.
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    Treat yourself. Try making your own one person chocolate cake in a mug. Make fresh bread or muffins for yourself now and then. You can freeze the dough or the finished baked goods, depending on what you are making.^[2] You can freeze cookie dough, too.
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    Make it special. Even if you're eating by yourself, eat at the dinner table. Get out the real dishes, the good ones, if you like. Light a candle. Settle in with a favorite book or some soft music, and really dine.
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    Keep up with the dishes. It's not very inspiring to enter a messy kitchen and have to clean up before you can cook. If you prefer, collect the dishes in a dish pan or the dishwasher until you have enough to wash them as a batch. However, pots and and pans are most easily cleaned while still warm. Save yourself a pile of dishes by making a habit of cleaning a pan as soon as you remove the food.

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• Use appliances and gadgets to your advantage. Do you have a miniature or medium-sized crock pot or slow cooker? Do you have an electric grill or griddle? Do you have a rice cooker or bread machine? Let them do the work for you. At least start the pasta or rice cooking while you prepare whatever goes with it.
• Have someone over now and then to share your food. You'll have company during the meal, and you'll be more inspired to cook something a little fancy.
• You can save a lot of money cooking at home. Why not try to calculate what you save in a month of eating out only once a week and cooking for yourself or carrying your lunch to work the rest of the time? You might be able to finance a grand vacation on your savings!
• Notice how prices are structured. Many stores arrange price tags to encourage you to buy more, but not all require it. Something that says "buy one get one free" usually requires you to buy two to get the better price. Something with a price such as "3 for $6" should cost the same regardless of how many you purchase unless it is specifically noted that you must buy three.
• Label frozen foods with the contents and date, and keep a list of them if you have trouble remembering.
• Consider growing some of your own food if space and conditions permit. Even a few pots on the balcony or patio can provide some fresh veggies or fresh herbs on demand.
• It's okay to eat out or eat convenience foods now and then, but challenge yourself to cook for yourself most of the time. Perhaps you could plan one night every week or two to be lazy. Or, cook a bit extra and freeze it to make your own convenience foods.

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