Cooking For 1 Is Tricky

[Soph01]

I live on my own and find cooking a nightmare! I can cook and enjoy it but I find that I end up throwing away so much either because I will make up a batch of food and because I just cant eat it quick enough it goes off or fresh ingredientsjust doesn't keep long enough. Does anyone have any tips to shopping and cooking smart? I know the freezer is great but I often have to freeze foods when i buy them because otherwise they wont keep in the fridge.

Thanks

[ducksie]

You could try going to local retailers rather than the supermarkets, only buy as you need, don't bulk buy, get to know you're local butcher (if you're not a vegetarian) eventually they give good deals when they know you live alone, the green grocer and corner shop - only use supermarkets for cupboard staples such as sauces/cooking oils etc - that's just how I do it

[jourdain2]

I'd echo ducksie. I'm cooking for 2 - but freezing for the whole, productive garden (he's into veg.) and the splitting into portions and freezing bit can be a
real bind. This also applies to buying from supermarkets where the emphasis is on 4 chops etc..

[DaisyNonna]

Complete nightmare Soph. Difficult to buy small amounts. Freezer space limited, tiny kitchen, no larder. Nobody wants to eat exactly the same meal three or four days running. Have to shop every other day (loathe shopping and having to walk to the few uninspiring local shops or having to walk to a bus stop to travel to an expensive supermarket which seems to revel in offering food for two).
No local butcher or fishmonger, no deli, excellent greengrocer but am not a vegetarian, fruitarian or vegan.

[boxtops]

Just buy what you need, as you need it. Don't buy big packs of fruit or veg, just a couple of items. You can keep most food in the fridge for two or three days in a Tupperware pot quite safely before eating it again later in the week. There is not much which doesn't keep in the fridge - what sort o things are you having to freeze immediately you buy them? If there's too much, you need to stop buying so much of it!

I get the impression that perhaps you are only shopping once a week, so therefore buying stuff which goes off if you don't eat it. That can be wasteful (been there, done that).

Don't batch cook (that's what you say you do) or make it up into individual containers for freezing (eat 1, freeze 2), then you will find that some weeks you have enough in the freezer not to have to shop that week.

[Soph01]

The things i tend to freeze straight away is meat and frozen veg. I can only shop at the weekends due to work so have to buy in enough for the week for lunches etc- i would love to stop by the market and buy fresh and get to know the greengrocer etc - love that idea!

[DaisyNonna]

Market? Lucky you.

[ducksie]

It's better you're working Soph, I hope Boxtops suggestions come in handy for you

[boxtops]

I buy veg once a week, fresh not frozen, and it will keep in the fridge (or at the moment, the root veg etc are in a box outside the back door keeping cool). You don't need to buy frozen veg, fresh will keep! I can keep raw meet (sealed and packaged) in the fridge up to its use-by date, so only buy meat with a long use-by date if you aren't going to eat it straight away. Ham and stuff for sandwiches will keep at least a week before being opened, again buy long-dated stuff and keep in Tupperware as soon as it's opened. I can't bear throwing food away, so I eat up a lot of leftovers during the evenings when OH is working away.

[boxtops]

I've just looked in my veg box and the sprouts I bought (but not cooked!) before Christmas are still firm and fresh, as is the celery and peppers, even a salad is still good outside in the cold.

[FrogNog]

agree with Daisynonna. I go with good intentions but know I don't want to eat that red pepper 3 days running so end up with more expensive pre-prepared stuff.

[FrogNog]

I don't have a freezer to speak of, or a garden to store things, so if the fridge on't do, I'm done for.

[FrogNog]

*won't

[Old_Geezer]

I also sympathise. Even the supermarket offers are for large quantities only a large family can take advantage of. Either one has to find the time to shop every day (or even every meal) or one ends up eating the same thing just to get it out of the way before it goes up, a number of days running.

I should dig out my "One is Fun" cookery book from Delia. I'll bet there are meal suggestions there that take into account the quantity problem.

[Retrochic]

You've got a freezer?
Why not cook lasagnes,curries,bolognese, anything that will freeze and put them into individual cartons and freeze? You can make everything from scratch on a weekend then take a meal out before you go to work and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. All you then need to do is add a frozen veg (much healthier that fresh veg) or do pasta or rice.

[Old_Geezer]

How can one type 'off' and later see it has changed to 'up' ?

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/galleries/one-is-fun
Found this, but when it says things like ingredients half a pepper, it may need to be a case of freezing half still.

[mccfluff]

i do one online shop a month which consists of the store cupboard ingredients that i need to top up on (but mainly cat food/litter), then i shop weekly on a sundays & get meat that's reduced & freeze it + enough fruit & veg for the week.

at the moment i'm making chilli/curries/stews & soups for lunches at work. you can get the takeaway type plastic cartons from supermarkets etc, i got mine for asda 5 for a £1.

last night i had chicken & chorizo jambalaya & had the leftovers for lunch today.

if you like eggs, have plenty of them in, always handy for a quick & easy meal

stir frys are good for using odds and ends of veggies you have left & again quick and easy to do.

salads? I like them all year round but i know some people don't liek them in winter

Pizza bases, if you get some of these in or flatbreads, its dead easy to make toppings & heat under grill or in the oven

Im trying to think what dinners i've had in the last week but i've gone blank.....