[Closed] Single men of STW - help me with food!

Ta! I do eat posh ramen sometimes but really - is it a life of pot noodles for me?

For the time being treat yourself to meals out, you deserve to spoil yourself a bit and it’s one less thing to have on your mind for the moment. Once you get appetite back then can plan and prep your meals without leftovers or prepped meals going to waste. Maybe invest in a juicer/food mixer type thing so any left over fruit and veg can be made into smoothies or soups

Fajitas, chuck in whatever you fancy and have a filling meal ready to eat in ~10mins.

do the likes of Hello fresh etc cater for single portion meals (it's not going to be economical but be nice to add some variation to the standards)

I hear you TJ, its nearly 2 years since Carolyn died and I used to love cooking for us both and she said I was a much more adventurous cook than her!

I go through phases of cooking being enjoyable or a chore, forgive me for being blunt but Julie only died very recently and you shouldn't be troubling yourself overly about this right now, I know your a tough sod but trust me I did the being pragmatic and strong about it and it nearly caused another death 🙁

I will say that cooking something big on a Sunday (joint of meat if your not veggie) means you can make stuff out of it for a fair few days, and stir fry's use lots of veg and are quick.

Don't know why you don't like the freezer! Most things will happily stay frozen for three months allowing for rotation.

I tend to spend one or two days a month and make several dishes that contain 3-5 portions of fruit and veg and freezer, I then defrost a bag add a bulk carb and eat. Meat, veg and sauce all together tends to freeze well.

Cooking for one then having to wash up afterwards just seems more effort than its worth.

You don't have to wash up after every meal, or every day. Keep it in a neat pile in the sink, wash when there's a sink full.

Its also so tricky to use fresh stuff. One persons portion of broccoli is 1/4 or less of a head – the rest ends up rotting!

Broccoli, in fact pretty much all veg will keep a good week or so the fridge. It doesn't 'rot' for a very long time.

I have tried cooking 4 portions and freezing 3 but then I don’t want to eat the same thing again that week.

It's frozen, you don't have to eat it that week

I have got some frozen veg but its not as nice as fresh

See above, veg keeps fine in the fridge (although frozen peas need to be, you know, frozen)

any tips? any good ideas to help?

[tough love]There's just a touch of woe-is-me about this

You're in a rough place at the moment, totally, but this could be one of those areas where you give yourself a metaphorical slap in the face and tell yourself to just get on with it[/tough love]

Also **big hug**

what works for me is slow cooker for large batch cooking and keeping something in the freezer. I've also recently signed up to Gousto which I'm finding good. I get a box for two, three meals a week. I'm finding I'll cook the meal for lunch and this will do both my lunch and dinner, nothing gets thrown out and I'm eating quite a varied menu as a result

I'm a bit surprised your broccoli's rotting before you can eat it, I very rarely have to throw out veggies. If you buy them in good condition peppers, broccoli, all that sort of stuff will usually last a good couple of weeks in the fridge.

I have tried cooking 4 portions and freezing 3 but then I don’t want to eat the same thing again that week

Why eat it again that week if you've frozen it? Eat it next week or next month! Can't suggest anything about washing up though, that'll always be a PITA.

Or, at your age……

https://www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com/

They do softer foods that are easy to eat without your teeth in

Tried one of the recipe box things (Gousto, following some recommendations on here as probably being the best one) due to Covid. Was always very sceptical of them as I enjoy "proper" cooking, but actually it's been really good and we've kept it up (not every week though). You'll get 2 portions, so one for dinner & one for a lunch in the week, and you get to try 4 new recipes per week without having to actually think about it (definitely underestimated how big a deal that was!) or physically do the shopping/online ordering of ingredients. There are a lot of 1 pot meals too which saves on the washing up.

any tips? any good ideas to help?

Tonight I am cooking chicken katsu - very easy to make for one. The panko breadcrumbs can be bought if you don't want to make them, and they last for ages. The katsu sauce can be bought in inexpensive packets, or made and frozen. Miso ramen soup is also very quick, very easy and uses odd fresh ingredients you may have hanging around. I love omelettes as an easy meal, as well, normally with a good salad but occasionally with chips or crusty bread. Or all three! And stir fry - so many possible variations of this, and so easy for small portions.

Don’t know why you don’t like the freezer! Most things will happily stay frozen for three months allowing for rotation.

And this - I'd be making a family portion of curry/bolognese/chili/fish pie/whatever, something different next week, different again the following week, and eating the frozen portions over the next few months, not over a week.

Yeah cooking for one sucks a bit, but if you're determined to cook from scratch then resolve yourself to eating from the freezer pretty regularly.

I (used) to make much curries, soup and and rotation of stuff like that that I knew I could put up with if I had to eat the same thing twice in a week, I also relied on stuff like omlettes, stroganoff and so on that you can make cheaply and in smaller portions from ingredients that you can keep for longer and make in 2 mins when you're not feeling in the mood.

HOuns - I have been going out and having posh brunch in a posh cafe but I cannot face going into restaurants on my own right now as we used to go to all the local places together

Wheeliedirty - thats a good idea. My issue was I only did it twice and each time one dish so the next few days there was nothing I wanted to eat in the freezer. Your way I would have a choice

No problem with the bluntness mr overshoot. Its how I roll. Its a month now - I have lost significant weight ( mind you I had put a load on the previous month weirdly)

Edit

this post I was slow in writing so a few more appeared and Houns I am going to slap you 🙂

some good tips there folks thanks

I am struggling with decision making and seeing the wood from the trees and one thing I cherish this place for is the directness and diversity of answers and ability to call out nonsense in a way pals might not

I'm the same. Find it hard to be arsed some of the time at least.
I find having, or having in use, very little crockery and cutlery helps. Saves the washing up getting too out of hand.
I've not got a dishwasher though, would just let it stack up in there if I did.

Food wise, I do a lot of one pot meals. I use my wok a lot. And I eat a sandwich with lots of salad if I really can't be arsed. Or a tin of soup with some fresh veggies cut up really small in it.

Re food waste, I just try to use the same veg in different ways. And I try to make a dish with few fresh ingredients but just have more of it.
So a head of broccoli could be used for a stir fry with some noodles, garlic, ginger and tofu.
Steam some (and some extra) and eat it as part of a roast type meal.
Steam the left overs and fry it till it crisps and eat it with salad and some protein.
Chuck some in a bubble and squeak.
You can eat it with pasta (garlic, olive oil, steamed broccoli, lemon juice, pine nuts) or rice: cook the rice till about half done, drain, add ginger, garlic, coconut milk, tofu, chilli, soy sauce, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, let it simmer, add shredded raw broccoli, simmer for a couple more mins, add spring onion, lime juice and coriander and serve.
Tastes pretty good, one pot and the rice dish has a fair few ingredients but most of them are dry and won't go off.
Buy coriander (and other herbs) in pots to save them going off.
Hope that helps.

As above, frozen stuff will keep for ages, you don't have to have the same thing three days in a row, freeze a good variety and just eat what you fancy.
Also, treat yourself to a dishwasher

PS. Don't buy snacky treats, biscuits, chocolate etc, buy fruit instead. Easy to be disciplined in Tesco.
Then, when you are hungry and you have a melon but no hobnobs you will eat a melon. I find this works for me as a way of improving my diet.

Taking the thread title literally, you could keep cooking for two and we could have a rota to pop round and help you with the second portion?

I have tried cooking 4 portions and freezing 3 but then I don’t want to eat the same thing again that week.

Yeah, but do it for a week and you've got a month's worth of meals. That's the point of freezers over fridges.

Sorry for your change in circumstances, dude.

I mostly cook for myself as my wife eats what she likes and I eat what I like, we do eat togther but probably only at weekends. I prefer home cooked rather than ready meals but I also seem to have the capacity to eat the same thing across the course of several days, I'm not sure if this is something you can develop or maybe it's just I'm greedy and like eating anything as opposed to nothing!

Got any friendly neighbours you could cook for or swap meals with?

Happy to help TJ 🙂

have tried cooking 4 portions and freezing 3 but then I don’t want to eat the same thing again that week

^ Poncense is yr enemy.

Am away on tod for 7 days straight so I’m cooking and freezing 8 portions of dal fry for next week.

- Porridge for breakfasts. ‘instant’ ie boiling water, oats, salt, sweetener, chopped apple. Soak 5 mins, stir, eat. Nuts and or blueberries on alternate days

- Finn Crisp, cheeses, cucumber, pickles and toms for lunches.

- Prepped brown rice and dal for microwaved/reheated dinners.

- Beer and/or cider is from local pub via bike, so no washing up there.
Instant hot choc and/or dark choc square for evening snack. Or chilli nuts. Or bag of space raiders.

Productivity is not going to be slowed by cooking.

Back in the day, Delia's One is Fun book - I still cook out of it sometimes, the recipes are all single portion.

Don't treat every day or every meal as something that  you have to cook. Sometimes beans on toast, a salad, a ready meal are fine.

Got any friendly neighbours you could cook for or swap meals with?

Not really and I am being careful about asking friends - as they cooked for me for the weeks Julie was ill - hence I put on weight and I need to find a sustainable solution

dishwasher is on the list

Batch cooking and a menu plan, then you only need to shop for the menu plan ingredients. Less waste and after the first big batch cook it's just topping up. Washing up, get a dishwasher ,use when full.
Back up plan --->>> Tefal Optigrill ..they are Totzamazbalz 🙂

If you want a bit of variety without too much hassle then Jamie Oliver 5 ingredients and 7 ingredients books are very simple, quick and very tasty. Might provide some inspiration.

Also if you batch cook a Bolognese sauce then you could have it with spaghetti, lasagne, tacos. One base with many options

Treat yourself to a good wok, learn a simple stir fry sauce. I had a very limp head of broccoli to use up last week, easily chopped up in florets, cut some strips of pepper, sauce comprising soy sauce, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, sunflower oil, and gave it all what-for in the wok for not very long at all. Healthy, cheap, tasty etc (think I had it in a wholemeal pitta rather than faff about cooking wholegrain brown rice for a week and a half...).

Salads for the win as well, toss through cooked pasta, warm boiled eggs, chopped sausages from the Foreman grill etc. etc. eat out of one big bowl. Minimum dishes, still reasonably healthy but can be eaten from lap in front of TV 😉

Oh, and for batch cooking goodness, try the BBC Good Food three bean chilli. It's delicious and goes so well with all the usual chilli acoutrements like guac, salsa, sour cream, coriander etc. but can also be used on top of an omelette as a sort of bastardised huevos rancheros, on top of baked potatoes, in a pitta bread etc. etc.

Is vege but works so well with a chorizo chopped through it also

Some very good advice up there - also start to rethink how you cook. Find recipes that use fewer fresh ingredients and more cupboard staples such as chick peas, lentils, chilli flakes, herbs etc so they don't go off before you can use them.

And you mention broccoli - it is a very versatile vegetable and can be used as an ingredient in anything from a traditional Sunday lunch through to a cheesy pasta bake, stir-fried in an oriental dish, thrown into a pho or even in a Spanish omelette/frittata. I think it would be easy to make enough variety in meals to eat a whole one before it rots.

I usually find the BBC Good Food site very good for recipe ideas and they have this section on 'Five ingredients or less' recipes.

I haven't been through what you have, although I was single for a long time. Perhaps it's not the cooking that's the problem? I was always happy to cook for myself but I doubt I would be.

Anyway, I eat half a broccoli at a time, so it only has to last two goes. I've also found that frozen broccoli used to be awful but it's improved a bit lately, the last brand we bought was ok. Also more expensive brands are a bit better. Frozen beans and peas though, they work well. How cold is your fridge? Broccoli goes softer for me in the fridge and it starts to yellow slightly, but it works. Also try cooking hot food for lunch as well as dinner, you go through it faster and you end up eating a lot more veg and being healthier. Doesn't need to be a big meal either, just some meat and veg with something saucy or spicy. But then it comes down to personal menu preferences. Also remember whilst it'll keep for a week in the fridge, if you cook it it'll keep for another week. I often cook double veg at dinner and eat the leftovers with some sausages or leftover ham chopped up with something on.

Use frozen instead of fresh? We'd never use peppers before they went off so now buy frozen which works fine for us, sure I've seen frozen broccoli in the freezer section.

I can live very happily on very simple food - if I've got frozen peas and sweetcorn and a tin of tuna, that and some noodles are a meal for me, if I CBA to do anything more interesting. 🙂

I have bought a bag of frozen peppers and mixed frozen broccoli and cauli

Ta folks - some good stuff in there which will help. I was just in the " this doesn't work for me and I don't know what else to do" sort of state but this gives me a road out

I'm not in your shoes so not sure if this will be helpful. I find if I'm home alone its hard to get excited about cooking - which is odd because I love cooking for other people.

Are you still planning a big bikepacking trip? What food are you going to take there? Would test / practice runs for that food help? I've got a dehydrator and there are crazy American prepper types dehydrating backpacking food... I could probably get far more motivated around experimenting with that and preparing food for the road (and tonight's tea at the same time)...

Oh, and frozen onions! They were a revelation - if you are cooking in quantities that won't justify a whole onion. Ready chopped (albeit quite big). If you aren't getting through garlic, chilli and ginger at sensible rates then "lazy" chilli and garlic (jarred) and ginger paste (tube) last for ages in the fridge and make quick cooking easy.

Hey TJ I think I have a free go fresh box to send to someone.

Gives you some inspiration for smaller meals etc. Nothing taxing but if you pick we'll you do get some genuinely refreshing ideas.

Bigger freezer. Portion up, you don’t have to eat it again that week, it will keep for months. I do large quantities and save in double portions for my wife and I. I have some stuff left over from last year I think. A nice surprise when I find it!

Also, feel free to treat yourself. Leftover takeaway is always good 🙂

Do you like Indian food and is there a local Indian community near you? There's usually a few houses that do batch cooking and deliver. They do this in Filton near where I work. I had no idea this was even here until I hired an Indian intern and she introduced me to the community. It's cheap, tasty and fresh every day.

You don’t have to wash up after every meal, or every day. Keep it in a neat pile in the sink, wash when there’s a sink full.

Avoid this.

Cooking for one can be challenging, being a slop is a non debatable life choice.

mixed frozen broccoli and cauli

If you can, see if you can buy these separately next time. I don't know how often you eat broccoli and cauliflower together, but I know I don't, and I'm not sure why supermarkets are keen to throw them together like this really. invariably I end up just picking one of them out of the bag... But generally speaking frozen veg is actually pretty good these days, and at least as good as fresh.

On a dishwasher practical note, make sure all your cooking equipment is dishwasher safe. There's nothing better than throwing it all in the 'magic cupboard' during the day and taking clean stuff out later or the next morning.

Another vote for HelloFresh - I get 3 meals a week which feed 2 people each meal. Cook them together and have the second one for lunch the next day or freeze for another week. Loads of options and can pause/change each week as I need.

I've got a free box code if you want to try it - PM me if you do

I seem to eat a lot of steak. Got a great butcher down the road. Quick, minimum washing up. Add an egg, some oven chips. Also keep brown rice in so I'll sometimes have strips of steak with rice and frozen veg. I keep a lot of frozen basics, mixed veg, chips, kievs etc. Then sometimes mix it up with something random from the supermarket, a decent lasagne for example. Or a takeaway, (rarely these days as I'm trying to be good). I could do better but I'm much better than I used to be, pizza every night.

Tbh, I eat much better when I'm single. When I'm shacked up the boozing always gets out of control, plus the treats, crisps and chocolate, ice cream etc. Takeaways every bloody night etc...