[hamster-bamster]

cooking for oneself is a very big step towards self-love, self-care, self-respect, and compassion for self, but it is hard.

Would enough people be interested in having a thread to which we report how well we fed our own selves?

That would be me. I'm not much of a cook and haven't had any motivation to learn what to make because whenever I do cook, I end up eating the same thing five days in a row just to finish it. I eat a lot of cereal, which is not the best. Also, I don't like cooking meat, and vegetarian dishes just feel too time consuming to tackle. Right now, for me, it's too overwhelming. But I would follow along and read whatever anyone else wants to share.

Sounds like a good idea. I live alone and cook for myself. I try to have veggies daily. My diet is severely restricted due to several dietary intolerances.

I keep a lot of frozen veggies (not the boxes; the bags) in the freezer and add veggies to canned soups and sauces all the time. I also keep a bag of potatoes in the house and do the same with those. (I bake them in the microwave; they go great with eggs in the morning also.) Canned beans - rinsed and drained - go well in tomato sauce over pasta and in boxed / packaged rice mixes. There are a lot of shortcuts!

[MoxieDoxie]

I live alone right now. I do not have large food chose base. I use a lot of frozen veggies to just eat or make omelettes with. I use frozen blueberries a lot. Great for a healthy dessert and I put it in Greek yogurt. I do buy the whole cooked chicken from the grocery store. Lasts me for 3-4 meals. I have apples and almond butter for breakfast with eggs or a snack. Fully cooked chicken sausages from Alfresco are a easy protein source. I do buy lamb when it is on sale and just broil or pan sear it. That is just about as compicated as I get for cooking. Buying all salad stuff gets wasted because it rots by the time I can eat it all plus I get bored of salad everyday. My grocery store has a salad bar so I will go make one if I feel I am in the mood.

[hamster-bamster]

I stopped buying lettuce for the same reason - it would rot in the crisper... forget about it.

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

cooking for oneself is a very big step towards self-love, self-care, self-respect, and compassion for self, but it is hard.

Would enough people be interested in having a thread to which we report how well we fed our own selves?

I love this thread idea, Hamster. I'm a college student, living alone in a tiny single room and cooking for myself

[growlycat]

Yes, I live alone and cooking for 1 in a healthy way is a challenge. I'm also trying to add more fruits and veggies without having any waste at the end of the week. Stuff goes bad too quickly!

[-jimi-]

I think I'm missing something here. While I don't like complicated meals and I don't have a lot of money, I still cook for myself everyday, if not how would I eat?

I'm not trying to be dense here.

[growlycat]

I think it is too easy as a single person to rely on either frozen meals that are heavily processed or worse, fast food.

[Perna]

I like Health Valley Soups, Our healthy soups, bars and cereals | Health Valley they don't use water/aren't concentrated so I pour one into a mug, season it myself and nuke it.

[-jimi-]

Originally Posted by growlycat

I think it is too easy as a single person to rely on either frozen meals that are heavily processed or worse, fast food.

Ugh. That sounds horrid. Eating like that is not been within my financial means so it has never been an option. Also I think our food culture here is a little different. Eating junk food out is expensive and no one would do it on a regular basis, I have never heard of anyone doing that, like eating out every day. Most people here cook for themselves. There is even a kind of shaming people who don't cook much because here you are supposed to.

I'd rather eat a simple meal than processed food. I might take a bunch of potatoes and cut them in wedges, put on an oven tray, maybe with a cut up red onion and cook in the oven, it basically cooks itself. And serve with just some raw cucumber and tomato. If I make something with rice I make enough for the next day so I can make fried rice, just frying up some onions, bell pepper and mushrooms and add the rice and fry, maybe add an egg to fry in it and spices. Sometimes I just fry some hotdogs and heat up baked beans, still tastes better than frozen foods IMO. If I get a hold of a cheap cut of meat and I don't want to bother with more than one pan I just fry it up and serve with cottage cheese, some chopped red onion and a raw tomato or something like that.

[hamster-bamster]

potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes are my very frequent staples, too

[splitimage]

I live by stir fries. A bit of meat, around 4 oz, onions, garlic, ginger, and whatever veg I have on hand.

I put the rice on to boil, then while it's cooking I chop the meat, stir fry it in a wok for about 10 min with the garlic, ginger, and onions. Then add the veg, a bit of water so it doesn't stick and soy sauce, and Yum.

I buy value pack sizes of meats, and then freeze them in single serving portions. It's a lot more economical, and I just pull out whatever meat I feel like having in the morning and let it thaw.

Alternatively, I typically make one smallish roast (1-2 Kg) each Sun. It's easy, just put in a roasting pan, season and bake, and then I have dinner, and enough leftovers for a couple of dinners, a couple of sandwiches, and finally a stir fried rice. If you watch for meat on sale, it's not expensive.

splitimage

[hamster-bamster]

Jimi - we have decent fast food here. E.g. we have good quality Mexican food that is not very expensive, but still more expensive than making it at home.

[NWgirl2013]

I used to love to cook, pre-head injury. Now my go to, because I have to have a protein in the morning (damn drugs mess me up) and throughout the day, is to buy and roast a half turkey breast. It can't get much easier than that. Add a simple side of whatever I have around especially salad stuff & I am good to go. That and eggs. Has to be easy for me or it won't happen. This will cover me for a week. I don't eat much.

[hvert]

I think a freezer is a great tool when cooking for oneself. I find that I make large quantities, even if I am the only one eating the food, and can't or don't want to eat it all before it goes bad. Many things, like beans, freeze quite well.

I live with someone but I am a vegetarian and he hates veggies, so I cook a lot of separate meals.