The Cardiologist's Wife

Cooking For One Or Two, Continued

[ Post by Lisa Tedder ][ Post on July 19, 2012 ][ In Diet Tips and Better Eating Ideas ]

As you know, I’m passionate about good food and the fact that home cooking should be your path to better health.  There are those who believe you can eat out more cheaply than you can cook but not me.  Unless you eat from the dollar menu every time, I believe you can cook for less dough at home.  If you watch for sales, use coupons and plan your meals for the week accordingly,  you can stock up on some basics and keep your food budget in line.  You might want to read some of my posts on my coupon challenge that I’ve been doing for the past year.  I’m not ready to star in my own TV show but you can have modest savings without too much work.

 

But what to cook?  I’ve put together a few more recipes from my recipe list plus some ideas to get you started.  Tuesday I mentioned that you can cook extra meat one day to use later in the week.  This is a time saver for anyone.  Grill or bake some chicken Sunday and enjoy it with a side salad or some vegetables.  Use the extra chicken in my Pantry Pasta recipe by cutting back on the amount of ingredients or make my BBQ sandwich, chicken salad or chicken quesadillas by Wednesday or Thursday.  You can split that pound of hamburger and use some of it to make enchiladas or tacos too.

 

Make my chicken strips recipe and use some of them in wraps, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes or add to a stir fry.  Fish cooks up really fast and is very healthy.  Make a fish sandwich, fish tacos (my favorite kind of taco!), or use cold, cooked salmon on a salad the next day.  My Italian fish recipe is great for one or two people and if you make your own pesto with my recipe, you can use the extra on pasta as a side dish.  Pesto can be used in so many ways and whips up in a few minutes, keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.  Add it to soup, spread it on a sandwich, chicken, pork or beef.  Buy some cooked shrimp, make pesto and toss it all with pasta and dinner is ready before you know it.

 

Stir frys are one of my favorite ways to use some leftover cooked meat.  Cook some rice, chop up a few vegetables and sauté them in a pan.  If you want fried rice instead of plain rice to go with your stir fry, heat some olive oil in a large skillet, add the rice and a beaten egg.  Cook and stir frequently until egg is set and browned slightly.  Serve with meat and stir fried vegetables.

 

If you have single friends who are interested, try trading dishes you’ve prepared once a week or so.  Agree on some basic rules so that everyone is cooking and receiving an equal amount of food.  For example, agree that one person will cook a pasta dish with ground meat while the other prepares a chicken dish.  Package the food in equal servings for each person participating with any reheating instructions attached.  Keep food allergies in mind.  You could also make this a fun social occasion by forming a rotating super club with the host serving a meal when everyone gathers to exchange dishes.

 

I hope these suggestions inspire my single readers or couples to cook more often.  Remember that cooking at home allows you to control the fat, salt, calorie and portion served.

Upadated on July 19, 2012