Healthy Eating for One

staffie1

Morning. Can you recommend any books for this subject. Single guy, very basic cooking skills, not much time, and need to start eating more healthily. I’ve looked through some of the sections on this forum, but it’s a trawl to cut through the general chit-chat and get to the heart of the matter!

Any advice appreciated for books focussing on recipes for one person - breakfasts, lunches, dinners.
Thanks.

Mr_Singleton

Learning to cook is just so important. You don’t need to start with anything complicated just work your way up slowly.

I have overnight oats for breakfast.... super duper heathy and no cooking required just add whatever takes your fancy.

Can’t recommend what to eat as that purely down to personal preference BUT whatever you do use ingredients NOT pre-prepared food. And of course DONT SNACK!

trailingspouse

The world is geared up for people who eat in groups of two, I find.

The freezer is your friend - buy meat/fish/whatever and divide it into single portions and freeze, then take out as required.
A very basic but tasty and healthy meal can be on the table in 20 minutes with minimal cooking skills - pork chop (grilled) with potatoes (if you buy the washed ones, they don't need peeling) and any veg of your choice (boiled). Yogurt and fresh fruit for afters.
Cookery books aimed at students might be a good place to start - I know I bought one for my son that included recipes, how to shop, basic kitchen hygiene, and instructions for things like making a white sauce or making pastry.

staffie1

That’s a really good point, thank you.

Mr_Singleton

trailingspouse wrote: »

The world is geared up for people who eat in groups of two, I find.

Only if you worship at the temple of the Supermarket. If you live in anything but the smallest of villages.....go explore your food landscape. Local butchers will not only have a much wider range especially of the cheaper (and more tasty) cuts* but will also will sell in amounts suitable for 1. Same goes for grocers and fishmongers. Supermarkets are only interested in selling the premium cuts with ‘added value’ processing and trendy packaging.

The Student cookbooks is a very good suggestion! Worth mentioning the need to stick with it.... you will have disaster’s etc but in the long run it will be worth it.

*had 2 slices of pan fried ox liver with mash potatoes and steamed greens for lunch yesterday and it was amazing. Trying getting liver in a supermarket that’s lass than 500g and hasn’t been hacked to bits (should be thinly & evenly sliced)

freyasmum

I can't recommend any specific books as I've never deliberately cooked for one, Student cookbooks may help you with making meals for one, if that's what you want to do.

However, what I used to do was make a bigger batch and freeze for later dinners. Or, take the leftovers for lunch the next day.

splishsplash

Breakfast: porridge (couple of minutes in the microwave). Give it life and variety with different toppings/mixes: peanut butter; berries; nuts; seeds; fruit, yogurt; granola etc.
Porridge takes a couple of minutes in the microwave, you can make it with water or milk.

Lunch: wraps; sandwiches; rice pots; soups; salads; leftover dinners.
Prep the evening before while your dinner cooks. If you make a pot of soup one evening or at the weekend, you could freeze individual portions.

Dinners can be as easy as you like. Sheet pan meals or dinners cooked 'en papillote' (in parchment paper) are probably the two easiest and quickest methods, and can be the healthiest.
Try Mealpreponfleek for sheet pan recipes.

Cooking chicken or fish dinners in parchment paper is simple - this video gives you the general idea. Just add whatever you want to eat and make a sealed envelope with baking paper (not waxed paper). I always add in spuds but you can cook rice or pasta separately if you prefer.
Main thing to remember is to season everything well or it can be a bit tasteless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjDDUC8QvH8

.

It's more difficult to recommend a cookbook - do you want it to focus more on techniques or recipes? What's your taste in food like? Budget? Have a look at 101 Square Meals - some nice recipes and information in there.

I would recommend using websites - step by step guides with video instruction makes the most difficult recipes simple.

BrassicWoman

Delia Smith - one is fun

wort

I can't recommend a cook book as I tend to make enough for two then eat the second portion the next day or freeze a portion depending on what I make.
If you have freezer room batch cooking something is good as it's easy to pull something out to warm through when you get home from work. So you don't snack on rubbish.
I agree most meals can be cooked in 20 mins. I put potato and veg in one pan , then add a foil wrapped piece of salmon/fish later and it all cooks together.
I've heard people mention jack Monroe cooking on a bootstrap, she cooks cheap meal but I think she's now vegan but look for earlier recipe these are available on Internet. :beer:

staffie1

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Only if you worship at the temple of the Supermarket. If you live in anything but the smallest of villages.....go explore your food landscape. Local butchers will not only have a much wider range especially of the cheaper (and more tasty) cuts* but will also will sell in amounts suitable for 1. Same goes for grocers and fishmongers. Supermarkets are only interested in selling the premium cuts with ‘added value’ processing and trendy packaging.

The Student cookbooks is a very good suggestion! Worth mentioning the need to stick with it.... you will have disaster’s etc but in the long run it will be worth it.

*had 2 slices of pan fried ox liver with mash potatoes and steamed greens for lunch yesterday and it was amazing. Trying getting liver in a supermarket that’s lass than 500g and hasn’t been hacked to bits (should be thinly & evenly sliced)

Now that does sound delicious- the kind of thing mum used to cook for us. I will definitely give that a go!
Agree with you about the supermarkets!

staffie1

freyasmum wrote: »

I can't recommend any specific books as I've never deliberately cooked for one, Student cookbooks may help you with making meals for one, if that's what you want to do.

However, what I used to do was make a bigger batch and freeze for later dinners. Or, take the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Yes I definitely need to make use of my freezer - not just use it for ice cubes (and ice cream!)
This has got to be a significant money-saver, too.