Environmental Nutrition's Tips fo Eating Solo
Linda Slota, Director

Plan Ahead

If you plan menus and shop ahead, you will be more likely to eat thoughtfully prepared meals instead of resorting to whatever isin the fridge that night.

Make Food Do Double Duty

Design meals that make use of one food in a variety of ways. For example, grill or sautee a double serving of chicken to top a salad one night and use in a stir-fry dish the next night. Getting the most out of a food saves money and time.

Shop For The Three "P's"

Concentrate your shopping time in those areas of the supermarket where you find the 3 "P's" - Protein, Produce and Pantry items. These 3 areas for a meal's framework and spending less time in other aisles means you will be less tempted by non-essentials.

Protein

Purchase small cuts of meat and fish or ask the butcher to cut chickens and roasts into meal-size portions for you. Freeze the extra. Go ahead and indulge in specialty seafood or meats once in a while, like lobster or lean lamb chops. A single portion is less likely to drain your wallet and it will feel like a special treat.

Produce

Select fruits and vegetables by the piece instead of choosing bags with more than you want amounts. Get small amounts of a variety of vegetables - like cauliflower and brocolli - at the grocery salad bar to make stir-fry or for a salad. Ask store staff to cut large produce like winter squash into smaller pieces. Keep frozen fruits and vegetables in bags on hand, to use as needed.

Pantry Items

Stock up on whole wheat pasta, brown rice, oatmeal and other whole grains. Go against convention and buy the small or medium size. Surprisingly, the biggest size is not always the best bargain any more. Often medium is; but even medium may be too large and not worth the few cents you save if it goes stale or spoils before you use it.  

Batch Cook and Freeze

Although most recipes can be reduced easily into single or double servings, it is often better to make the entire recipe, then divvy up into single servings and freeze. This is much more economical and nutritious than commercial frozen dinners which routinely have astronomically high and unhealthful sodium levels and environmentally unfriendly packaging. Moreover, baked goods often don't fare well when you try to make a smaller quantity. Try baking rolls instead of bread, and muffins instead of cake for easier freezing. Cookies freeze well too. Or pass extra goodies on to neighbors and friends to keep your social contacts alive. Remember to date anything you freeze. Use or throw out frozen foods after three months, unless they're in a deep freezer where they will keep for up to a year.

Share and Socialize

Often, dining with family and friends makes eating more pleasurable. You will also be less likely to overeat or skip meals. Make regular plans to meet friends for brown-bag lunch. Hold potluck dinners to try new recipes and benefit from your friends' efforts.

Cooking for One (or Two): Simple Steps for Healthful Meals

Solo living is on the rise. A growing trend since 1960, it is not just due to young singles waiting longer to get married. Increasing numbers of older Americans are now living alone. Statistics show that about one-quarter of Americans age 65 to 75 live on their own, as do 4 of 10 over 75 seniors. Living alone brings advantages - particulrly in the kitchen - that any generation can appreciate. You can cater to our own individual tastes and health needs. You save money. There are no turned-up noses at new recipes. And best of all you only have to pick up your own messy dishes.

However, cooking and dining for one or two can seem like too much trouble when you are new to it. it is a little tougher to muster the motivation to cook for just yourself and to be sure you are eating smart. Researchers in Sweden found that older women living alone see cooking and eating as a chore whereas senior women living with someone gain much more pleasure from both. That causes some people who live alone to eat out (or buy take out more often, use frozen meals and graze on snack foods in place of meals. That can translate into a less nutritious diet. The first step in scaled-down cooking is an attitude that your health is worth it, says Bettye Nowlin, MPH, RD., a Los Angeles area nutrition consultant and recent empty nester. Nowlin says this is the time to spread your culinary wings. Explore ethnic reipes. Cook with new varieties of vegetables. Raid the spice cabinet.