Single Money Saver living on my own

Kay.Samuels

I live with my son but he has a very limited diet due to sensory issues so I cook different meals for the two of us.

To save money and time I
- batch cook, put into portions (eat one, fridge one, freeze one or two)
- buy, chop and freeze (e.g. mushrooms, onions, peppers, spring onions)
- make sure I have salad or veg with every evening meal (helps me look after myself and means less food going to waste)
- buy whoopsie items to save money - bread and meats especially, which I then freeze
- invite people for tea (my mum, my nan, and my best friend live alone too) as I enjoy cooking more for two than one, and then delightedly accept their dinner invites too :-D

I only have a small freezer, half size of fridge, but it's susprising what I fit in it. :-)

cat4772

Although I'm now a family of 3 (soon to be 4) I still like having more veggie meals than my husband and find the cook once eat twice method is still great but one of my favourites is rubber veggie mince...1 pack of quorn and 2-3 chopped onions fried off and stored into single serving portions (it works with Turkey mince and probably normal beef or pork mince)!

2 portions add chili & tomatoes; Mix pepper into 1 and serve with rice for chilli and rice, add more tomatoes with the second and serve with pasta for spicy pasta
1 portion add tomatoes, mushrooms and herbs and service with spaghetti for spag bol.
1 portion add peas, carrots and tomato sauce and top with mashed potato for shepherdess pie
1 portion add beans and chopped potato for a 'hash'.
sometimes there'd be a bit left over but not enough for a portion, which I'dd add to HM pizza base, tomato puree and some veggies (mushroom, pepper etc) and grated cheese for a HM meatless pizza.

I survived for a couple of years with only the ice-box on a fridge to cope with and found that I could keep a fair amount of food in there.

Cat.xx

Kittendreich

When I was single & sharing a house I used to batch cook & freeze (or split large pack of meat etc) and was a bit unpopular with my flatmates as a result (even freezing things in boxes and then transferring into bags I was still taking up a bit much space!)...Could you buy (2nd hand / freecycle etc) a small tabletop freezer to keep your stuff in (put it in your bedroom if there isn't enough space in the kitchen) - then you can freeze as much a physically possible without annoying others!

mindy45

rosie383 wrote: »

I would welcome any tips that don't involve batch cooking or anything too complicated. My Daddy is on his own now after my Mummy died last year. He had never cooked in his life, but at least my Mum was able to teach him slowly before she died. It was a long process as she had MND so she would start by asking him to hand her things she needed in the kitchen, then get him to cut things, then eventually, she would sit in the kitchen and tell him how to make things.
He is diabetic and is very good and eats pretty well but he doesn't do anything that involves what i would call 'proper' cooking. He will get fish fingers or breaded fish or maybe a wee pork chop and do them on the pan with some frozen peas or something, but if anyone has ideas that are very easy, then I can write to him with some easy ideas. My sister does cook him a stew or soup to portion up in the freezer, but he could do with more help. He is a NornIron man, so it's really meat/ fish veg and spuds for him.

It sounds like he knows how to cook but maybe lacks the confidence/inspiration to try new things? If that's the case then just take baby steps with him to start with.

Stews are really very easy to make - have you thought about buying him a slow cooker then giving him a few lessons yourself showing him recipies he can do?

Seakay

When my step Dad was widowed he loved the Delia books, and One is Fun has some good ideas.

One thing that I did for him and that he enjoyed and continued, as a change from frozen peas I bought packets of prepared fresh baby veg from the supermarket - French beans, carrot sticks, baby sweetcorn, -weighed them into 2oz portions in freezer bags (both singly and mixed) sucked the air out with a straw and tied them or clipped them and then there was a variety of veg in one person portions that could be cooked from frozen in boiling wateer in the same way as peas (2-3 minutes or to taste). Not really worth doing tenderstem broccoli as the florets come off in the freezer.

gizmo111

We are a family of 3 but all eat differently. I buy fresh veg, green beans carrots, mashed swede, sprouts and broccoli and cook and freeze, roast potatoes, jacket pots, mash all freeze well. I chip and par boil for a couple of mins then freeze so have HM oven chips to hand. Use left over mash and make some croquettes and freeze Cook lots of thngs that can be frozen and reheated - lasagne, bolognese, chilli etc. Batch bake quiche, sausage rolls and pasties - some chese some meat for lunches, as well as muffins etc. I use the BM to make rolls and freeze them so they are ready for lunch. French sticks and make garlic bread and freeze in foil ready to pop in oven. Bulk buy chicken breasts and freeze some in singles some in duos so it could feed some or all of us. Freeze gravy and stuffing when doing a roast etc, slice up left over meat and freeze so basically have to nothng more than assemble dinner and reheat.
Not only does it make the most of what you buy but it makes it easier in the week when time is limited to have a decent HM meal.
Salad doesn't last too long, usually gone by Tuesday so tend to buy that weekly.
A large freezer is worthwhile investment.

taj

As i live alone and have limited money, If i see whoopsie's- bread,tea cakes, meat, fish, cakes or anything else, (if its a bargain) even if I dont need them that day, I divide them into single portions and freeze. When I cook a meal i see how many portions i can get out of it and eat, fridge and freeze them. Also make HM soups (different types) and do the same with those, my freezers starting to look quite full since i started to think ahead. I also take advantage of offers in bigger pack's or BoGoF and divide and its amazing what can be frozen ie cheese, milk and butter. Hope this helps...i love this site its given me so many idea's since i'm on my own and retired now.

Farway

I do much same as Taj, buy the reduced stuff, divi up if required & freeze. I do this with meat as well, just cut the steak etc in half, eat some and freeze rest. Likewise whole chicken, I roast it then freeze legs etc separately [have one defrosting for dinner now actually], carcass into soup which lasts ages in fridge

Butter on offer I freeze, then cut half to use leave other half frozen

I also keep eye open for any prepared "meals for one" that are RFQS and freeze or eat depending how I feel, which should I not feel like cooking is handy to just nuke in the microwave now and again

sKiTz-0

Gotta say I agree with all the above sentiments - the freezer is your best friend. Never waste anything or throw it away.

Since learning those 2 things a couple of years ago I have reduced my food bill massively

pineapple

I don't know about anyone else but I think that singles often lose out in deals - ie family size value packs etc. Also it can be so expensive to run a household if you are single.
So I thought it might be useful to list cost cutting methods.
My own so far is to blanch fresh veg and freeze in portions, also to cook in batches or do one pot meals. Anyone else?