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SPECIAL FEATURE – Are you an empty nest Maybe a student who lives alone? Perhaps you are a single parent of one or two children. Whatever your particular situation, preparing healthy meals for one or two people can seem a chore.
With the help of the Food Science department at Utah State University, we’ve put together some helpful tips to make mealtime a little easier – and hopefully easier on your wallet.
Cook more, not less
Preparing a few large meals in advance will save you time and money. You may have read our blog “Cook once, eat twice”. Some of these methods allow you to create something to freeze, use later in the week, and / or use as leftovers. This method will also save you money by removing some of the temptation to eat out.
Know what’s freezer-friendly and what’s not
While rice, soups, casseroles, and even bread products freeze well, avoid freezing things that may curdle when frozen and then thawed. This includes things like gravy, sour cream, yogurt, and mayonnaise when used as a dressing.
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Remember that the reason for not freezing is due to quality, not the possibility of “spoilage” or toxicity. Potatoes may not freeze well because when thawed they can get mushy and lose some of their taste / texture. To learn more about which foods freeze well, click here.
Food can be packaged for storage in many different ways
You can use freezer paper, storage bags, or glass containers with lids. The key is to keep air from reaching the product and to minimize moisture loss.
Tthere are numerous methods of thawing here
It just depends on how you store or freeze your food. Individual portions of soup that are kept in freezer bags can be thawed and warmed in a saucepan of boiling water. Food stored in a microwaveable container can be quickly defrosted / heated in a microwave oven. Make sure to stir soups or stews frequently to avoid hot spots.
Bread products are easy to freeze
Individual loaves of bread, muffins or biscuits can be frozen on a baking sheet and then stored together in a large bag. You can even pre-cook French toast and freeze individual slices to reheat them later in the toaster.
When it comes to cooking for one or two people, less isn’t always the best. Weekly preparation is also helpful. I like to take a few hours on Saturday or Sunday mornings to prepare a few vegetables, pre-cook chicken or ground beef, and put a few things in the fridge to defrost for the coming week. Regardless of whether there are four or two of us at the dining table, the extended meal preparation saves a lot of time at home.
One of my favorite dishes as part of my meal prep is shredded chicken. This is how I like to do it:
In the morning, place 4 pounds of thawed chicken breasts in a slow cooker with 2 (15 oz.) Cans of low-sodium chicken broth, 4 tsp. Onion powder, 2 tsp. Garlic powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on low heat for 6 hours. Chop with a fork. Spread on the storage container and refrigerate.
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If you’re cooking for one, 1/2 – 3/4 cup crushed in each storage container will do. If you are cooking with two people, add 1–1 1/2 cups of chicken to each container. There are a number of different ways you can use your chicken during the week. Each pound of chicken is roughly equivalent to 1 cup of cooked chicken. Typically, recipes call for 1/2 to 3/4 cups of chicken per person. If you cook 4 pounds of chicken you will have enough for 4-6 individual servings.
Depending on how many chicken recipes you plan to make for the week, you may want to increase or decrease the amount of chicken that you cook in your slow cooker. Cooked chicken can be left in the refrigerator for three to four days. You can also freeze extra for later use. Frozen chicken can stay in the freezer for up to six months before it loses quality.
For five easy recipes from Create Better Health, click here. The recipes have been adapted for two people. If you’re cooking for one, try cutting the recipe in half or saving the extra as leftovers.
Enjoy!
Written by CANDI MERRITT, Certified Nutrition Education Ambassador.
This article originally appeared on April 14, 2021 in the blog of the USU Extension Create Better Health.
Copyright © CreateBetterHealth.org, all rights reserved.
The Create Better Health blog is part of the Utah State University Extension and known nationwide as SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education). Create Better Health offers free nutrition and cooking classes across the state of Utah.
