Eating for One

You’ve heard of the expression ‘eating for two’, but what about ‘eating for one’? Single-person households have been on the rise since as long ago as the 1950s, and particularly in cities, there’s no sign of the trend reversing. When you’re not living with people you can share cooking duties with, the challenge of eating a healthy diet is significantly greater than it is for those living with friends, a partner, or family.

If you're on your own and wanting to lose weight it couldn't be easier with this great Healthy Urban Kitchen full of ideas and how to's from the shop to the table.

This great book can be adapted for one person and will give you the ideas and help you need when thinking about "what do I have for dinner?".

Get Yourself A Copy Of This Healthy Cookbook

The truth about eating for one

Our ancestors may have been cooking food and eating it together as long as 1.8 million years ago, and this could explain why cooking and eating with others is such a satisfying thing to do.

Cooking and eating by yourself, on the other hand, is not fun. In fact, it’s just a chore – so much so, that those of us who live alone usually try to avoid it at all costs. Dinner, in particular, is something that ‘singletons’ often can’t face spending time preparing. When you’ve just finished a long day at work and you’re tired and hungry, the last thing you feel like doing is throwing on an apron and cooking a proper meal. Unfortunately, this usually means turning to convenience or fast food that’s often really unhealthy.

Healthy Eating For One Starts Here

The solution?

So eating for one is clearly a problem, but what’s the solution?

While dinner is the ‘danger meal’, part of the solution is to ensure that you eat a good breakfast and lunch, so that you’re not absolutely ravenous by dinner time. Also, unlike dinner, a healthy and delicious breakfast is easy and quick to prepare. Things like granola with low fat milk, yoghurt with fruit, or wholemeal toast with avocado take no time at all, and set you up for the day.

If you need a mid-morning snack, a handful of nuts or some fruit are excellent choices. Keep a supply at work for when you need them.

For lunch there are usually plenty of healthy prepared food options. Ensure that your lunches are compromised mainly of lean meat (skinless grilled chicken breast is a great choice), complex carbohydrates, and green vegetables.

If you get serious hunger pangs in the afternoon, have the ingredients on hand to make yourself a smoothie with low-fat milk, yoghurt, fruit, and a scoop of protein powder.

Now we come to dinner. To ensure that you have food on hand so that you can prepare a meal if you feel up to it, do a weekly or fortnightly shop where you stock up on key ingredients. Also, think now about healthy options for convenience food in your area, so that when you do succumb to the temptation to order in, it’s something like a healthy Asian noodle dish rather than pizza or a double cheeseburger.

When you do cook, make enough for two people. You can freeze what you don’t eat to provide a quick meal for another night.

The last part of winning the eating for one battle is to invite friends over regularly to share meals with you. Cooking and eating with friends is a cheap night in, and it puts the fun back into preparing a healthy meal.

Grab a copy of the Healthy Urban Kitchen  here
         

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