Cooking for one

moneyistooshorttomention

Still alternating to and fro a bit at the moment between "I SHOULD be able to eat fish - they shouldnt be chucking plastic into our oceans the blimmin' fish are probably ingesting" and "Better take account of what THEY are doing and boycott fish for however-long (probably rest of my life)"

- and so dinner tonight is a fresh tuna steak/some spicy potatoes and a bit of sauted brussel sprout greens.

Is probably gonna be the same again tomorrow - those singles blimmin' leftovers....:cool::(

PasturesNew

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Is probably gonna be the same again tomorrow - those singles blimmin' leftovers....:cool::(

Family weekly plan:
Monday: Pie
Tuesday: Casserole
Wednesday: Quiche
Thursday: Curry
Friday: Fish
Saturday: Takeaway blowout
Sunday: Big roast.

Single weekly plan:
Monday: Pie
Tuesday: Pie
Wednesday: Pie again
Thursday: Last of the pie
Friday: Fish
Saturday: Fish again
Sunday: Better use up that fish.

[Deleted User]

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Is probably gonna be the same again tomorrow - those singles blimmin' leftovers....:cool::(

You`re right. All the greens are in packages, even caulies are too big. One of the few things the right size is a tin of sardines

I`m going to do one of those blimmin rice meals tomorrow, at least I only get to use one pan and anyway it tastes nice (enough). Think I`ll put a piece of fish in and the ginger will disguise the bland taste of white fish, rice and caulie. Does anyone ever bother doing a proper nice sauce for one? I don`t, everything I make for myself these days is called `plain cooking`.

Its boring eating to live, I`m doing my best to eat well but it is BORING

caronc

Evening everyone,
I'm not usually a snacker but today....... I think it's because the fridge is full of tempting "ends" that do need used up:o

kittie - yes I do make "proper" sauce but make a batch and freeze in portions or the other thing I do is make a pan of plain white sauce and freeze it in portions so I can add bits to it depending on what I'm having. Life IMHO is too short to deprive myself of sauce just because I'm CFO:D

PasturesNew

kittie wrote: »

Does anyone ever bother doing a proper nice sauce for one?
I don`t, everything I make for myself these days is called `plain cooking`.

Its boring eating to live, I`m doing my best to eat well but it is BORING

I'm not really a sauce-making person.... they're OK. I only really make cheese sauce for mac/cheese to be honest.

Plain cooking is what I do - I haven't been exposed to new/unusual foods - and there's no way I'd be buying fancy new things just to try in case I put effort in and ended up with something nasty ...because then I'd be tired/hungry and have nothing to eat.

You have to really keep it plain because you can't have vast amounts of an assortment of foods sitting around waiting until you need just 1/2 a teaspoon of them...

For boring - that's why, in the main, I don't stick to "one brand". While I will eat, say, pies .... they're rarely the same sort of pie each time. I have a couple I like, but I do like to try new versions of things all the time.

Stuff like naan bread, that I often use as pizza bases .... or just nuke them and eat them plain .... I'll buy whatever shops have got, without looking at the brand name. So it's "the same", but has the potential to be different.

In the main though ... it's the same stuff, just a little bit different each time depending on what I've got/not. Things can't be "too different" because they mostly come from the same basic 20 items in the cupboards.

PasturesNew

B4lls..... I was just in the kitchen, waiting for my crumpets to toast so I could spread a cheese triangle on them - and I spotted the chocolate spread.... THAT is what I could've randomly picked up in A5da earlier today when I found myself in there! That was on my list of "get from there next time you're in"

I do try to try the occasional new item - and this year it was chocolate spread. I'd never had it before, but bought one at L1dl and liked it ... so tried the A5da one and decided I'd buy more of that one.

Also, the beefburgers I ate the other week (pack of 4)... liked them so much (not had burgers for YEARS) that I bought another box, but from a different shop. And fishcakes, not something I'd bought for years, but got them the other week, brilliant they are .... just the cheapo multipack bag from Iceland 12 for £1. Not posh ones

Crumpets are practically a staple in my house ... but only the 25p/pack type ones. Easy, quick, in the toaster, spread something on them, job done. I spread on them: jam, lemon curd, golden syrup, chocolate spread, cheese triangles, regular cheddar ... if it looks like it'll go on the top I'll try it!

I picked up a pack from A1di the other day, "ready for Easter" so to speak, so I knew I had SOMETHING to eat.... only I've not got round to them, and they're BB today, so I just toasted two and tossed the other four into the freezer.

I can't eat "meals" as I find them overwhelming and I fall asleep after eating, so I do have to "graze". When you get older, too, your appetite wanes - and being small the quantities I need to make are often just not worth "making a meal" for. Ready meals hit the occasional spot to mix things up a bit, never costing more than £1 though. Just something that I buy, reheat, eat and it's done and I don't have leftovers to pop away and then get round to using up.

moneyistooshorttomention

Appetite waning as one gets older.....

Now there's a thought. Can't say it's happened to me yet as far as I can see.....:(

I could do with it happening mind you...

Still trying to be more "aware" when I eat and ask myself after every mouthful if I'm sure that I want another mouthful and hoping the answer will be "No I don't...".

greenbee

caronc wrote: »

Life IMHO is too short to deprive myself of sauce just because I'm CFO:D

Agreed. And that goes for other things.

I do have a LOT of freezer space, but am currently using approx 1.5 drawers of my inside freezer. The rest are currently empty as I'm running down stocks prior to the kitchen being redone. However, that's enough space (if well organised) for me to have frozen peas, sweetcorn, edamame, avocado, smoothie fruit, a piece of steak, a piece of chicken, a pheasant, a couple of pieces of smoked haddock, some hm chick stock, half a can of coconut milk (the other half used for curry a couple of weeks ago), some bulk-cooked and frozen (in portions) chickpeas, rice, bulghar wheat, spelt and lentils, some hm lentil soup and a couple of UFO hm ready meals that appear to have black-eyed beans in.

I either cook in single portions, or make 'family' recipes as batch cooking. I get a veg box (which sometimes includes eggs if I haven't been given any, milk if I need it, and yogurt if I've had to have a break from making it) on Thursdays. I also get a recipe box every couple of weeks with 3 x 2 portion meals. So this week's menu plan has been:

Monday b'fast: porridge & fruit; lunch: cheese and salad sandwich (I was travelling); supper: couscous with stir-fried veg, salad (left over from weekend) and cold lamb
Tuesday b'fast: rice crispies and milk; lunch: salad, chickpeas, couscous & lamb; supper: chicken noodle soup (defrosted chicken stock with some chopped cooked chicken leg, a finely chopped chilli, a nest of wholewheat noodles and half a spring cabbage shredded into it)
Wednesday b'fast: porridge (rice milk, oatmeal, chopped figs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds); lunch: goats cheese salad with bulghar wheat, chickpeas, hm coleslaw, avocado; supper: salmon baked with harissa, rice, purple sprouting broccoli, carrots and courgette.
Thursday b'fast: smoothie; lunch: courgette salad with parmesan and sunflower seeds; supper: chicken curry with rice (have a friend over - will make enough for 2 and that's it) and something interesting from the veg box.
Friday b'fast: pain au raisin (from freezer); lunch: chicken with spelt, radishes, tomatoes, carrot & beetroot salad; supper: aubergine curry, rice, tzatziki, steamed green veg.
Saturday b'fast: roast veg (broccoli, pepper, tomato, mushrooms, asparagus if there is some) with a poached egg & smoothie; lunch; tuna, olive and pasta salad; supper: moussaka
Sunday b'fast: yogurt & granola; lunch: quinoa superfood salad; supper: pasta with bacon and tomato.

Careful shopping and planning, and use of the freezer (and I'm working on limited freezer space at the moment, plus making myself use stuff up) means CFO doesn't have to be about boring meals. And bear in mind I don't live near shops and work full time from home so don't pass shops to get to and from work. I manage with a weekly veg delivery (which means I don't always know what I'm getting), a recipe box (not cheap, but helps with creativity and avoids waste - this is where most of my meat/fish is sourced) and the odd bulk delivery when I need more loo paper...

I do keep stock of ingredients, particularly spice, pulses, grains and tins, but these are being run down, which will limit my options somewhat as stuff is used up. However, so far I seem to be doing OK

caronc

greenbee wrote: »

Agreed. And that goes for other things.

I do have a LOT of freezer space, but am currently using approx 1.5 drawers of my inside freezer. The rest are currently empty as I'm running down stocks prior to the kitchen being redone. However, that's enough space (if well organised) for me to have frozen peas, sweetcorn, edamame, avocado, smoothie fruit, a piece of steak, a piece of chicken, a pheasant, a couple of pieces of smoked haddock, some hm chick stock, half a can of coconut milk (the other half used for curry a couple of weeks ago), some bulk-cooked and frozen (in portions) chickpeas, rice, bulghar wheat, spelt and lentils, some hm lentil soup and a couple of UFO hm ready meals that appear to have black-eyed beans in.

I either cook in single portions, or make 'family' recipes as batch cooking. I get a veg box (which sometimes includes eggs if I haven't been given any, milk if I need it, and yogurt if I've had to have a break from making it) on Thursdays. I also get a recipe box every couple of weeks with 3 x 2 portion meals. So this week's menu plan has been:

Monday b'fast: porridge & fruit; lunch: cheese and salad sandwich (I was travelling); supper: couscous with stir-fried veg, salad (left over from weekend) and cold lamb
Tuesday b'fast: rice crispies and milk; lunch: salad, chickpeas, couscous & lamb; supper: chicken noodle soup (defrosted chicken stock with some chopped cooked chicken leg, a finely chopped chilli, a nest of wholewheat noodles and half a spring cabbage shredded into it)
Wednesday b'fast: porridge (rice milk, oatmeal, chopped figs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds); lunch: goats cheese salad with bulghar wheat, chickpeas, hm coleslaw, avocado; supper: salmon baked with harissa, rice, purple sprouting broccoli, carrots and courgette.
Thursday b'fast: smoothie; lunch: courgette salad with parmesan and sunflower seeds; supper: chicken curry with rice (have a friend over - will make enough for 2 and that's it) and something interesting from the veg box.
Friday b'fast: pain au raisin (from freezer); lunch: chicken with spelt, radishes, tomatoes, carrot & beetroot salad; supper: aubergine curry, rice, tzatziki, steamed green veg.
Saturday b'fast: roast veg (broccoli, pepper, tomato, mushrooms, asparagus if there is some) with a poached egg & smoothie; lunch; tuna, olive and pasta salad; supper: moussaka
Sunday b'fast: yogurt & granola; lunch: quinoa superfood salad; supper: pasta with bacon and tomato.

Careful shopping and planning, and use of the freezer (and I'm working on limited freezer space at the moment, plus making myself use stuff up) means CFO doesn't have to be about boring meals. And bear in mind I don't live near shops and work full time from home so don't pass shops to get to and from work. I manage with a weekly veg delivery (which means I don't always know what I'm getting), a recipe box (not cheap, but helps with creativity and avoids waste - this is where most of my meat/fish is sourced) and the odd bulk delivery when I need more loo paper...

I do keep stock of ingredients, particularly spice, pulses, grains and tins, but these are being run down, which will limit my options somewhat as stuff is used up. However, so far I seem to be doing OK

You seem to have found a way that works for you and your budget , I love that folk have so many ways of addressing CFO all are valid and helping me to make the transition from family cooking :cool:

PasturesNew

Jelly takes longer to set than you'd think/like. 5.5 hours and it's still not "solid" ... but I made the custard to go on it about 3 hours ago, so an hour ago I took the 1/4 pint of "leftover" jelly (that wouldn't fit in the 3 small lidded pots I was making up) - and I took the cold custard and tipped the custard onto the jelly, still in the glass jug .... and scoffed it with a big spoon. I'll make more custard tomorrow to top the three pots.

While I had the fridge door open, at some point I also grabbed a boiled egg.... 3 down, just 1 to go now.

Still got half the tomatoes I bought too many of last week.... 3 big salad tomatoes and half a tub of cherry tomatoes.

Today started well ... then went into scoff-fest.

2x toast, 1x scrambled egg, 1/2 tin beans, some cocktail sausages; one crust of toast and 1/3 tin beans; 2 crumpets and one cheese triangle; jelly/custard; 1 boiled egg.

I think that's it .... although it is easy to forget something you ate.

Things that will need using up before they go off include: 750grams salad potatoes; 2Kg small potatoes; 2 lots of tomatoes; 1 boiled egg; 1 dry/manky swede; 2 "ripen to eat if you can wait 3 months for the bugg4hs" plums.

Everything else either keeps (packets/tins) or is frozen.

I'm completely out of bread, eggs, cheese - but I'm waiting for the L1dl cheese offer later this week and I'll get two packs. Then I'll have enough cheese for 3 months.