We all know what it’s like when we just can’t be bothered prepping, or even shopping, and we end up having a rather boring food week, eating whatever food we can find. (Hopefully you’ve rid your house of all the ‘temptation foods’!)
This tends to happen more often when you are ‘eating for one’. At least, I found this to be the case when I was living on my own and the kids were away for a few weeks with their dad. It was only me that I had to worry about, and sometimes, well, we just can’t be bothered. This can be boring, but at least it’s easy.
Some of us are home alone because we live alone; others might work from home and have kids who are in school all day, or partners who work away. There are many reasons you might be cooking for one. I’m home alone for most day-time meals since I work from home and my daughter Charli is in school all day. My partner works from home too, but both of us come and go at different times. I do find that if we are both here, I plan, cook and eat differently than if it’s just me!
Sometimes I like to snack, and sometimes I like to fast. Other times I like to eat a good soIid meal … it all depends on my mood really!
Most mornings I fast, but if I need something and the thought of bacon and eggs or quiche just isn’t doing it for me, I’ll whip up a Meal replacement drink like this one (or some variation of it!)
When it comes to snacking, here is a list of low-carb snacks that are handy to have lying around. Things like nuts & cheese, boiled eggs, cheese chips etc.
When I do cook, I often cook far more than I need for just one meal. If I ‘can’t be bothered’ I find it a real pain to have to mess up the whole kitchen for one meal for just me. So I make extra and end up with leftovers than I can create meals out of. The slow-cooker is great to whip up a week’s worth of beef stroganoff – and if you don’t want stroganoff for dinner every night, you can freeze it and pull it out whenever you like. Simples!
It’s not just ‘main meals’ like stroganoff that I make extra of – I tend to prep extra foods like devilled eggs, chicken salad, quiche, and other things I know I’ll eat through the week as well.
It just makes more sense to me to make extra so you don’t have to spend time cooking and cleaning each time you need food!
I find that a little preparation goes along way when it comes to avoiding temptation. There’s nothing worse than being hungry or getting a craving for something, and having nothing on hand! Almonds and cheese have come to my rescue many times 🙂 (Don’t overdo it on the almonds though – stick to about12. And make sure you are able to tolerate dairy before you make it a ‘staple snack’!)
Bacon and eggs often ends up on my plate if I feel like a hot meal and nothing is prepped! It tastes amazing for breakfast, lunch OR dinner!
I also make up a full batch of low carb bikkies like these (often with added extras like dark choc chips like pictured below, or with dollops of nut butter etc.) or one of my low carb bread recipes like this one or some Oopsie Bread.
A combination of leftovers and convenience foods is ideal for a single person on a low carb diet.
If you have a family to cook for, just cook more of the things you can eat so you have leftovers to work with. Add in convenience foods like packaged salads, pre-cooked meats (roast chicken, etc.), packaged cauliflower rice, etc. and you can put together a healthy meal pretty quickly.
Have a read of this blog post on food prep. It really does make a difference! http://www.mimfit.net/food-prep/
A sausage in a cheese taco? Perfect! Thanks Momo for the great idea 🙂
Bacon and eggs makes the perfect meal, anytime of the day!
Thank you for doing low carb for one