Cooking for One: Quick Tips to Become More Confident in the Kitchen
Whether you live alone, live with roommates, or even with a partner, it’s inevitable that you will have to cook for yourself at some point. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, most recipes online and in cookbooks are written for at minimum four people, making it hard to figure out just how much you should be cooking for yourself.
I’ve lived alone for almost three years now, which has given me a lot of time to experiment and nail down grocery and cooking styles that work best for me. I realized pretty early on that I’m not the biggest fan of meal prepping the same dish for the entire week because I get bored with meals very quickly. I had to find a way to grocery shop within my budget and at the same time get creative in the kitchen.
There’s no “one size fits all” for grocery shopping and cooking for yourself. It’s a learning curve for sure, especially with your own personal dietary restrictions and preferences, and particularly during uncertain times like the COVID-19 pandemic, when grocery stores are the last places you want to be spending you time. My biggest suggestion would be to allow yourself the space to mess up a handful of times. I don’t always stick to my grocery budget and I certainly have nights when I’m just not feeling what I was planning on cooking and resort to take out. Aside from nourishing yourself, cooking should be a fun and creative way to get to know yourself better, and it helps to have a handful of tips in your back pocket to make that easier!
Create a grocery budget
This first step is crucial! Now I may be a bit biased because I work full time in youth education and financial literacy, but I found it personally very difficult to begin meal planning without understanding my spending habits around food. I suggest keeping a financial diary and track your food expenses for (at minimum) 3 months to better understand how much you typically spend on groceries and/or dining out. This is a great exercise for life in general so you can take more control over your financial habits and work towards future financial goals!
However, I realize that for many, COVID-19 is creating a number of hardships, one of them being financial hardship. This guide is meant to encourage everyone to become more confident in the kitchen, not stress about money! Budgeting is particularly challenging in the midst of a pandemic because your spending habits are being forced to change. It’s always important to be financially responsible, but also cut yourself some slack if some areas of your budget are much higher than usual, or if you have to be more fiscally conservative with certain spending.
Stock your spice cabinet
If you are even the occasional cook, you probably have the common and essential spices like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes. The next step is to build your spice cabinet so you can make a variety of dishes from different cuisines. Some additional spices to add to your cabinet include: cumin, coriander, cayenne, chili powder, garam masala, za’atar, sumac, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried rosemary, turmeric, cardamom, and smoked paprika.
Have condiments on hand
Just like spices, I find it helpful to have a variety of condiments in my fridge and pantry. Condiments add flavor, work as binders in dressings and vinaigrettes, can be used as sauce thickeners, and in general, enhance many recipes. Good condiments to have on hand include: mustard, sriracha, chili oil, mayonnaise, greek yogurt, vinegars, miso paste, anchovies, nut butters, soy sauce, tomato paste, pickled veggies, citrus juices, harissa paste, and tahini.
Grocery shop for ingredients that can be used in a variety of dishes
When I grocery shop, I plan to cook 3 recipes a work week, Monday through Friday. I also plan to have all of those recipes make enough food for leftovers for 1-2 days. That typically leaves me with a day to eat out for lunch and a night to eat out for dinner. I personally don’t meal plan through the weekend, aside from making sure I have breakfast ingredients and a handful of shelf-stable pantry items to throw together a simple meal. I reserve my weekends for dining out with friends or hosting and attending potlucks, which are my personal favorite!
Below are some affordable, base ingredient grocery lists that make 3 different recipes. If you have a stocked spice cabinet and a number of condiments, these recipes will be fun to play around with!
Ingredients: canned diced tomatoes, eggs, pasta, garlic, parsley, tomato paste, onions, parmesan, heavy cream.
Dishes: Pasta in a tomato cream sauce, Shakshukah, and homemade tomato soup.
Ingredients: salmon, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, eggs, olives, green bell peppers, feta, cucumbers, dill.
Dishes: roasted dill salmon with blistered green beans and potatoes, Israeli salad with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, green bell peppers, feta and dill, and a salmon nicoise salad.
Ingredients: chicken breast, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, coconut milk, green curry paste, basmati rice, mushrooms, cream, parmesan, garlic.
Dishes: chicken kabobs with roasted onions, tomatoes and bell peppers over basmati rice, shrimp green coconut curry with bell peppers and mushrooms over basmati rice, and sautéed chicken in a mushroom parmesan cream sauce.
Get creative with one-pot meals
One of the best ways to get your bang for your buck is to cook dishes that naturally produce a lot of volume like soups, stews, curries & stir-fries. Recipes in these formats invite creativity and can be as simple or as complex as you’d like; i.e. a simple cauliflower pureed soup vs. a hearty chicken matzoh ball soup. They also tend to be freezer friendly for future enjoyment, making it easier to grocery shop and meal plan.
When making soups and stews, don’t forget to stock up on stock (pun certainly intended). Having vegetable and chicken and/or beef stock on hand is helpful when adding flavor to your dishes.
Befriend your freezer and the freezer aisle
Don’t get me wrong, buying fresh anything is unarguably tastier and better, but the truth of the matter is that it’s not always sustainable, financially possible, or accessible for everyone. I’ve become great friends with my freezer, especially with the amount of recipe testing done in my kitchen. If something can be frozen, I will absolutely pop it in my freezer & enjoy it at a later date. The key here is to understand what fruits, veggies, herbs, meats, and pre-made foods can last in the freezer and for how long. Check out this helpful Fine Cooking freezer chart for prepping and properly freezing fruits and vegetables, and this Home Store Solutions guideline for how long to store foods in the freezer!