Great tips when cooking for one
Cooking for one doesn’t mean you have to miss out on delicious meals. With some of our simple tips you can be enjoying tasty lunches and dinners that take no time to prepare.
Your friend the freezer
Use your freezer to your advantage to cut down your wastage and cooking time. By preparing batches of your favourite meals and then freezing individual portions you can just heat and eat when you don’t feel like cooking from scratch. This works well with meals like soups, casseroles and curries, as well as hamburger patties or fishcakes. You can also keep things on hand such as frozen peas, breadcrumbs and pastry – these always come in handy.
Stock up the pantry
Always keep good quality tinned and jarred food on hand to prepare a simple supper. Think tuna, salmon, capers, tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, pasta sauce, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. You can use these to throw together a quick pasta or a fresh salad.
Keep eggs in the fridge
Eggs are a great standby to have for a quick omelette, a boiled egg to add to your salad, or for preparing a simple dish of scrambled eggs for dinner.
Slow cook and store
Your slow cooker is an invaluable tool in the kitchen. By preparing things like pulled pork or Bolognese, you can simply freeze individual portions to use for various meals later. Pop some on a jacket potato, add some cheese and make a toasted sandwich, or serve it on a wrap with some salad for a quick lunch.
Buy veggies that store well
Instead of buying salad leaves that can quickly go limp, get yourself an iceberg or cos lettuce instead. It stays firmer for longer and you can just pull off the outer leaves to use as needed. When buying herbs, use what you need and then chop and freeze the rest with a little water in an ice cube tray.
Keep an eye on the fruit bowl
If you see fruit on the turn, remember that many over ripe fruits can be frozen safely to use in a healthy smoothie or milkshake. Freeze banana, melon, pineapple, and even kiwi fruit to use at a later date. You can also freeze lemon or lime juice in an ice cube tray if you only need to use, say, half a lemon.
Here are some of our favourite recipes using some of the tips from our list:
- Chicken Parmigiana
- Cheesy Pea and Pesto Pasta
- Kiwi and Melon Smoothie
- Salmon Fishcakes
- Hearty Beef and Barley Stew
- Asparagus Soup
- Chickpea Curry
- Butter Chicken
Related links:
7 things you shouldn’t be storing in the fridge
How to get your house smelling amazing
7 tips for smarter cleaning that will surprise any domestic goddess