Meal planning for one - do you bother?

Stephen_Leak

I live alone and I do. I find it saves waste, time and money. It also stops me having that takeaway, because I can't be bothered to make something for myself, which saves money and weight!

GEEGEE8

Strangely I am quite good on the takeaway.. I've been on my own for 1yr and 3 months and I've had 1 delivered takeaway

I keep thinking of ordering a pizza tho lol

Winged_one

When I did live alone (or rather - alone in rented accomodation with a bunch of others, or with my gran and effectively dealing for myself mostly) I did some planning but not all the time.

In rented, I never had a lot of storage space, so I wouldn't be able to keep a lot in and had to shop regularly during the week. But I would still plan a rough plan for the week and buy certain things to use the leftovers later in the week.

When I was living with gran, she was (and still is) very independent and didn't want to become used to depending on me cooking. So sometimes she'd share what I cooked, but often would do her own thing. So I'd plan one or 2 meals a week that I would persuade her to share and the rest that I would expect to eat alone.

I graduated then from chicken wings to chicken legs (so it wasn't too fiddley for gran) - I'd buy a pack of them and roast them along with a handful of spuds. And find some kind of veg to go with them. We'd eat what we wanted for that meal, and I would bone the rest of the meat for a stirfry dinner 2 days later (sweet'n'sour or somesuch) and a sambo for work. When renting, I used to use wings as they were cheaper and I didn't mind the work involved.

Also, I found that planning meant I could buy larger packs of certain things without worrying about not using them, even if it was only me. So if a bag of peppers was a lot cheaper per pepper than a single, I could buy the pack and have a stir fry, a macaroni cheese, a salad, and a roast chick dinner with roasted veg to use them all up within the week or 10 days. Or buy things like a smallish joint (say lamb shanks, or small bacon joints) and have a hot dinner and the leftovers for a specific other dish (lamb would often be a stew, or curry; bacon for mac'n'cheese, pasta and tomato sauce, or sliced with fried egg for example).

Nowadays we're three, but if I am lucky enough to be alone - I usually have the meals planned to include all the things that I don't eat when the others are around (like a whole fruit loaf cake, a particular dried pasta'n'sauce packet that DH loathes, sloppy dinners that seem like hassle etc.). Although, that can also be a chance to experiment - while I had weekends alone to study (I was doing a postgrad and DH used to bring DD for a weekend to visit the 4 grandparents once a month), I learned how to make a risotto which is now a favourite dish for DH! And a few other intersting things like that (some worked, some didn't).

marmiterulesok

Absolutely!
I do a lot of batch-cooking and often end up eating the same packed lunch all week,which fortuanately doesn't bother me.Often in the evening I'll come home to something else that I've batch cooked.Recently I've tried a few dishes that can be eaten hot or cold,for example cous cous with vegetables.

I suppose it's easier to do,when you're on your own.I never get a take-away,I just not something I consider an option.This is quite recent,but I prefer making meals from scratch,at least I know exactly what I'm eating!Mind you I'm not a very skilled cook,there's a lot of dishes that I couldn't make,but that could change.

hanb

I really wish I could do better with this. I've lived on my own for years (OH still has it easy at home so he is in no rush to move out). At first I was really good at taking things out of the freezer in the morning and planning ahead but now I just can't seem to stick to it. I'll find myself getting home and thinking "Nah I don't fancy that anymore" so I’ll trot off down to Sainos and find something I do fancy which is just a waste!

I always have things in the cupboards which is fine but I hate it that I have things in the fridge that I end up throwing out because I didn't fancy it when I had planned to eat it. I just need to be more disciplined with myself!

redlady_1

I have just started to. And I eat very well. All lunches are pasta/bulgar wheat based. I am trying to get my food bill down to £15 per week and for the first time actually flicked through some cook books for new ideas. I treated myself to a joint of beef last week. Sunday - roast beef and all the trimmings, Monday - ditto, Tuesday - stirfry, - Wed - bubble and squeak, Thus - cabbage, ham and mushrooms (very very yummy) and tonight I have no idea!

It is the discipline that is hard though. When its just you there is little point cooking - until you put on 2 stone like I did!!!!

Savannah02K

I started meal planning when I joined WeightWatchers but have to say was astounded when I realised how much money I'd saved on my monthly food bill. Now I'm a dedicated convert. I batch cook stuff I get on special offer or when I have free time, rather than a once a month set day. I can put up single portions of stuff that I'd prob not eat otherwise. I don't always batch cook from scratch, fr'instance, I'll cook some veggies (I'm not a big meat eater), then throw over a couple of jars of Homepride chilli sauce, have one serving with some rice and garlic bread and later batch up the leftovers, good for another few rice meals, having with cheese in fajitas or for topping baked pots. I usually get stuff out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge to defrost but if I don't want that when I get in, well, it will keep till next night. I've found it good for my weekend pudding treats, I don't like shop bought cakes or puds, at Christmas I made a double dish size of marmalade bread and butter pudding, will be eating the last one this Sat night!

Vaila

i tend to buy the same basic ingredients and different fruit n veg each week then make a variety of meals from then ie its usually tins of kidney beans and tomatoes which i can stretch to being bean salads, soups, stews and stir frys with a few added extras

savingforoz

I live on my own, and menu plan along with batch cooking. It has cut my grocery bill in half and I eat much better as a result. I try to ensure that I don't eat the same meal more than once a week.

I don't get why it wouldn't be worth doing it if you live on your own. It doesn't take long to do and saves lots of money. I'd recommend it to anyone. :T

Sexy_Legs

I have started making meals in my slow cooking and then dividing them into tubbleware pots and freeze, I make stews and chilli con carnes also if we have a roast at the weekend I will divide up the meat and divide that up as well. My husband is away during the week so this works well.

I also started preparing my lunches for work and this saves a fortune as I work in Central London.