This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Most people who cook for one tell me how much they hate cooking and how they hate having to eat leftovers night after night after night. They usually think the solution to leftovers is single-serving recipes.
Single-serving recipes are great for anyone cooking for one. Making just one serving of anything means that you dont have to eat that same meal for four or more days (which can get boring pretty fast).
When I started cooking for myself, Id cook one or two recipes a week and eat those throughout the week. I quickly lost my appetite for food and dreaded eating. Of course, we all have different relationships with food, so this experience would be different for everyone, but as a food-loving, nutrition-student-turned-new-dietitian, that was a struggle. Deep down I loved food, but couldnt enjoy it.
I thought the solution to this problem was one-serving recipes. But throughout my 10-plus years of cooking for one, my experience working with nutrition clients who also cook for one and just talking to people, Ive realized that we need to look beyond single-serving recipes — although they completely have a place in cooking for one. We need to plan meals or cook in a way that fits in our lives.
Below are three types of meals you should know about when it comes to cooking for one. Planning meals for one and cooking for one is all about flexibility and adapting. Its not about following a program or a plan exactly or scheduling your life around food, but rather about making eating the stress-free decision you deserve.
And if you dont enjoy cooking, giving yourself permission to do whatever makes your life easier and tastier (even if thats grabbing takeout or making something that comes frozen). The best option is one that works within your life, not the one that society tells you is the healthiest.
You may have thought that this would be all about why single-serving meals are terrible. But theyre not. Theyre great when you cook for one, especially if youre someone who doesnt like eating leftovers. However, cooking just one serving means that you need to spend time cooking every night. If you have time most or all evenings and enjoy spending that time, definitely do this! Youll get lots of variety and lots of time in the kitchen. You can throw together a quick pantry meal if you just have a few minutes or didnt plan ahead on what to make.
Double-duty meals and batch cooking are often overlooked, but this is a method you can try that will give you the ease of cooking just once and the variety of eating single-serving meals. A double-duty meal is one that you can make and use a few of the ingredients in different meals. For example, this steak fajitas recipe is a double- (really triple-) duty meal. You can eat it as fajitas one night and then as a salad with the steak and veggies the next day. To make it even better, you can add quick-cooking shrimp if youre running out of the steak and have fajitas, salad or a burrito with the leftover dish.
Batch cooking is a great way to prepare ingredients without having to spend a whole weekend afternoon prepping ahead of time. Batch cooking means cooking extra servings of something youre already going to cook. Just as double duty recipes turn a dish into something else, batch cooking proteins, grains and/or vegetables gives you the basics that you can make into completely different meals for the week. For example, if you make pulled pork one night, try making four or more servings and have pulled pork in tacos one night, then over a salad another night and then slathered in barbecue sauce as a sandwich, or simmered in tomato sauce for a completely different flavor. You can also freeze individual servings to use later. Personally, I like to batch cook rice, beans, roasted vegetables and other foods that take some time to cook but are super basic. Dont add bold flavors while you cook them the first time, and store in the fridge or freezer for later.
These are the traditional meals that youll find in any cookbook or recipe website/blog and theyre probably what your caregiver or parent made for you when you were little. Cooking a meal with four or more servings means you only spend time cooking one or nights a week and get to have something homemade all week. For some, these meals can get boring quickly. This way of eating led me to lose my appetite for food. Eating the exact same thing day after day, regardless of how delicious it was to begin with, didnt work for me.
If youve cooked like this for a long time and dont know whether its helpful or not, try checking in with yourself before eating every night. Ask if youre excited about eating dinner or if youre dreading it? Acknowledge your feelings about eating. Thatll help you get an idea of whether this way of cooking works for you or not and you can adapt if necessary. Again, this isnt a bad way of eating. Its not something that I discourage, but this way of cooking tends to be the default for some people and I encourage you to see if its truly helpful for you.
Now that you know about these three cooking methods, you may be wondering how to determine which to use? I recommend writing down your schedule and planning meals/cooking around that. For example, if youre busy in the evening, dont plan on spending much, if any, time cooking that night. Youll just end up hungry, tired and hating it. You might even end up using all three of these methods. Find whatever combination of convenience, tastiness and ease works for you when planning and making yourself meals.
Budgets definitely need to play a role in deciding what to eat and satisfaction needs to play a role, but external diet talk does not. You deserve to enjoy food and feel satisfied with what youre eating.
About the Author: Rebecca ClydeRebecca is a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in helping women find happiness and feel comfortable in their skin by empowering them to nourish their minds and their bodies. She also works tirelessly to help people reject the unrealistic and dangerous expectations for women to look a certain way and enjoys helping women improve their body image. She runs a Salt Lake City-based
Editors Note: Anything in this article is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended, nor should it be interpreted, to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition; Any opinions, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of KSL. KSL does not endorse nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, information, or statement made in this article. KSL expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of this article.
43 Easy 3-Ingredient Recipes
FAQ
What are the three formats of recipes?
What are the 3 main parts of a recipe briefly explain?
What are the different types of recipe categories?
There are different types of recipe categories that you can use, depending on your needs and preferences. Meal types: categorize recipes by meals, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner Cuisine types: group recipes based on their country of origin, such as Italian, Mexican, or Chinese
What type of rice should I use?
The best rices to eat are whole-grain brown, red, black, or wild rice, as they are an excellent choice due to the amount of antioxidants and fiber they contain.
Why do you need a recipe category?
If so, then recipe categories can be the solution to your problems. A recipe category is a way of organizing recipes by a specific theme. It helps you quickly identify and locate recipes according to your preferences, needs, or dietary requirements.