Cooking for one conundrum.
Cooking solo used to be such a daunting task that left me eating the same leftovers for a week. Sound familiar? With a lot of practice, trial and error, I changed some kitchen habits and drastically cut back on my food waste, which has been great for the environment, my taste buds, and my budget. Here are some of the changes I learned along the way.
Meal Planning. This allows me to go to the grocery story with direction and a steadfast plan for the week that prevents shopping excess and gluttonous buys. It also helps keep me on track with my nutritional plan so that I am eating a well balanced diet meeting all my macronutrients and micronutrients so that my fitness regimen is also 100% effective.
Use grocery list. By shopping from a grocery list, I am less likely to buy things I don’t need, and the biggest perk, I am less likely to forget anything important. Make this list detailed as well. For example if I need one avocado, I buy one avocado, not the bag of six which a lot of times two or three will spoil or be brown by the time I get to using them. Cuts down on wastefulness.
Measure. Familiarize yourself with cups, ounces, and what not so if you’re in the grocery store and you know you need 5 cups of almond milk, you can easily convert it to 40 ounces. This allows you to buy the more appropriate amount for your needs.
Utilize Bulk Buying. At first this was really intimidating to me. I felt silly filling my little bags at Whole Foods with the scooper, but now I love it. I get exactly what I need. This has been such a save, because with travel nursing my assignment changes so often so my pantry isn’t over filled or I’m having to worry about space when packing.
Divide and Cook. If the recipe I want to make serves eight, I divide all the ingredients so that it either makes one meal or makes two, so I will have lunch for the next day. Don’t ever cook more than you know you can eat or plan to eat if you’re meal prepping for the week. Even if you’re making something as basic like rice, measure out exactly what you’ll need, so it doesn’t go to waste.
Figure out your Freezer. Learning how to freeze my foods has made a huge difference in the amount of food I waste. Label them with your own expiration date and make sure they are air tight in order to prevent freezer burn. I even break them down into single servings, whether its soup or a convenient morning smoothie bowl fruit, all ready to go!
Be frugal and resourceful. It isn’t always necessary to stick exactly to recipe ingredients. I won’t go out and buy a huge container of something I will only use once, instead I find something I like to use often and make a simple swap. Don’t let this stifle your adventurous culinary side, just try to find small amounts to reduce waste.
Leave no leftovers behind. One day a week, I like to make a point to try to use up all of the leftovers I’ve accumulated during the week before it all goes bad. This is where I get creative. Some of my best casseroles, soups, etc are made on these days.
