We often see articles and books giving advice on how tomeal prepand plan ahead when cooking for families.
But when cooking for one, we don’t talk about batch cooking as often.
There are a lot of reasons that cooking for one person is easier than cooking for a family.
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However, that doesn’t mean I want to cook every day.
I decided to splurge and order dinner.
After attempting my meal prep plan for one week, these are my top takeaways from the experience.
Courtesy of Aly Walansky
What does my week look like?
Do I have dinner plans?
You want to prep all the food you will eat, but not more than you will eat.
Courtesy of Aly Walansky
Remember, the goal here is eliminating food and money waste, not adding to it.
From there, I create and keep maintaining a pretty intricate shopping list.
Also, I wasavoiding food wastebecause I was making exactly what I would be eating as the week progressed.
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But the leftovers made for a delicious veggie and turkey stir fry the next day.
The brisket was a delicious dinner, as well.
(Don’t ever sleep on leftover brisketit always tastes even better the next day!)
Always a crowd-favorite, those meatballs also store and freeze so well.
They are excellent for aquick dinneron their own or added to sandwiches as a special lunch treat.
Overall, this was simple in that it is inherently ready to grab and go.
I keep bananas on standby as well as some plant-based yogurt cups in the fridge.
I also have a fewfavorite cerealoptions on standby.
I buy greens one day a week, and prep out salad ingredients for that week in Tupperware.
I had made containers of lettuce, beans, and various veggies.
These could be mixed into a salad of choice each day, but also repurposed in other ways.
This works for dinners in various capacities.
That brisket that eventually became taco bowls could also easily be sandwiches or wraps or turned into burritos.
Keep things fun and tasty.
Emotionally and mentally, it’s a whole new world.
Embrace storage space
Your freezer, your fridge, they can all be used for food storage.
I also keep astocked pantry.
Buy in bulk
Don’t be afraid tobuy in bulkeven though you are only feeding yourself.
You save a lot of money that way, and it helps with prep.
Stop calling it ‘leftovers’
I know, I did it all throughout this essay.
But calling food leftovers feels sort of negative.
(I mean, isn’t that why restaurants call it a doggy bag?!)
Stop thinking of a single meal as a standalone culinary blip on the screen.
Instead, think of all the dishes you whip up as a building block for other deliciousness.
I look forward to my stir fries of various odds and ends.
Final Thoughts
Remember, we are cooking more now to cook less later.
But I do this so that I cook a lot less during the week.
