One and two-person households are a growing sector in North Dakota and the United States. About 37% of U.S. two-person households (ages 45 to 64) were empty nesters. Eighty percent of those 65 and older were in two- or one-person households, according to the Population Bulletin, 2019. They all have something in common: They need to eat! Sometimes, cooking for one or two may seem like it’s not worth the trouble; however, everyone needs a variety of foods to stay healthy. Homemade meals usually are more nutritious, better tasting and more economical, compared with restaurant meals.
When there’s just one or two of you around the dining table, it can sometimes be hard to get motivated about cooking. For some people, the temptation to make easy meals, such as toast, can take over. But these ‘pretend meals’ don’t provide the balanced nutrition you need to live well. So here are some tips on how to make cooking small meals more fun.
If you’re cooking for one, remember to tell yourself what you enjoyed about the meal and thank yourself for preparing it. Keep it social by inviting a friend you’d like to be your dinner buddy. One night a week, you cook for them; on another night, they do the same for you. Shared dinners with a friend will give you a night off cooking and might introduce you to some new meal ideas. It often pays to agree up front that this is not a competition, just a chance to share meals. Maybe choose a night when there’s a TV show you’d both like to watch together after eating. That way you’ll get dinner and a show!
Creating a healthy menu for the week makes it easier to shop for groceries and cook ahead for later meals. You may find that your appetite is less than when you were young, so it’s important to make sure there’s plenty of goodness in what you are eating. Like most things in life, it’s good to aim for variety and balance. When it comes to nutrition that means eating something from the five food groups at every meal. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein foods, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products are healthy choices. Include a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meats, poultry, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.
To reduce time spent in the kitchen each week, some people like to cook once and eat twice. That means making a larger batch of something, so that you can set some aside for later. You can keep most cooked food in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or two. Putting it in the freezer gives you more flexibility; just remember to label the container with its contents and the date it was cooked.
Cooking ahead doesn’t have to mean having ‘left-overs’ or the same meal again. With a little planning and imagination, it can be easy to cook ahead for completely different meals. For example, extra cooked steak, chicken or seafood could be sliced into a delicious sandwich for lunch the next day and stir-fried with vegetables and a dash of Asian-style sauce for dinner that night.
Creating balanced meals cooked in a single pot, like a tasty casserole or stew, is a great way to simplify time in the kitchen for both cooking and cleaning up. In summer, you can create a fresh salad for one in a good-sized dinner bowl, then toss through some cooked chicken slices, sprinkle with cheese and have some whole grain bread on the side.
A weekly menu plan makes it easy to create a shopping list, so you’re less likely to forget something important. Keeping a pen and paper on the kitchen counter helps you to write down pantry items you’re running low on as soon as you notice them. Writing your weekly shopping list in roughly the same order as things are laid out in the supermarket also helps. Buying small quantities of a grocery item tends to be more expensive than buying in bulk. One way around this is to buy larger quantities of the things that keep well or you can divide up at home to freeze for later meals. This won’t work with fresh fruit of course, but you can try to choose some that’s ripe and ready to eat, and some that will keep and ripen for later in the week. You can also briefly blanch or microwave vegetables then freeze them in small parcels, ready for use in cooking later. Already frozen fruit and vegetables from the supermarket are still very nutritious and a good way to use a little at a time without food going to waste.
Use MyPlate to Help Guide Your Food Choices Nutrition and physical activity play a vital role in maintaining good health. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture food icon, MyPlate, provides individualized plans to help guide your food choices. Visit the website at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov and enter your gender, age and physical activity level to print out a personalized plan. Use this guide to help plan your menus to meet your nutritional needs.
Making meal plans for one or two
Health & Wellness on the RunBy JournalTrib.com Staff | on July 06, 2021
By Kim JonesKim Jones
One and two-person households are a growing sector in North Dakota and the United States. About 37% of U.S. two-person households (ages 45 to 64) were empty nesters. Eighty percent of those 65 and older were in two- or one-person households, according to the Population Bulletin, 2019. They all have something in common: They need to eat! Sometimes, cooking for one or two may seem like it’s not worth the trouble; however, everyone needs a variety of foods to stay healthy. Homemade meals usually are more nutritious, better tasting and more economical, compared with restaurant meals.
When there’s just one or two of you around the dining table, it can sometimes be hard to get motivated about cooking. For some people, the temptation to make easy meals, such as toast, can take over. But these ‘pretend meals’ don’t provide the balanced nutrition you need to live well. So here are some tips on how to make cooking small meals more fun.
If you’re cooking for one, remember to tell yourself what you enjoyed about the meal and thank yourself for preparing it. Keep it social by inviting a friend you’d like to be your dinner buddy. One night a week, you cook for them; on another night, they do the same for you. Shared dinners with a friend will give you a night off cooking and might introduce you to some new meal ideas. It often pays to agree up front that this is not a competition, just a chance to share meals. Maybe choose a night when there’s a TV show you’d both like to watch together after eating. That way you’ll get dinner and a show!
Creating a healthy menu for the week makes it easier to shop for groceries and cook ahead for later meals. You may find that your appetite is less than when you were young, so it’s important to make sure there’s plenty of goodness in what you are eating. Like most things in life, it’s good to aim for variety and balance. When it comes to nutrition that means eating something from the five food groups at every meal. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein foods, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products are healthy choices. Include a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meats, poultry, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.
To reduce time spent in the kitchen each week, some people like to cook once and eat twice. That means making a larger batch of something, so that you can set some aside for later. You can keep most cooked food in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or two. Putting it in the freezer gives you more flexibility; just remember to label the container with its contents and the date it was cooked.
Cooking ahead doesn’t have to mean having ‘left-overs’ or the same meal again. With a little planning and imagination, it can be easy to cook ahead for completely different meals. For example, extra cooked steak, chicken or seafood could be sliced into a delicious sandwich for lunch the next day and stir-fried with vegetables and a dash of Asian-style sauce for dinner that night.
Creating balanced meals cooked in a single pot, like a tasty casserole or stew, is a great way to simplify time in the kitchen for both cooking and cleaning up. In summer, you can create a fresh salad for one in a good-sized dinner bowl, then toss through some cooked chicken slices, sprinkle with cheese and have some whole grain bread on the side.
A weekly menu plan makes it easy to create a shopping list, so you’re less likely to forget something important. Keeping a pen and paper on the kitchen counter helps you to write down pantry items you’re running low on as soon as you notice them. Writing your weekly shopping list in roughly the same order as things are laid out in the supermarket also helps. Buying small quantities of a grocery item tends to be more expensive than buying in bulk. One way around this is to buy larger quantities of the things that keep well or you can divide up at home to freeze for later meals. This won’t work with fresh fruit of course, but you can try to choose some that’s ripe and ready to eat, and some that will keep and ripen for later in the week. You can also briefly blanch or microwave vegetables then freeze them in small parcels, ready for use in cooking later. Already frozen fruit and vegetables from the supermarket are still very nutritious and a good way to use a little at a time without food going to waste.
Use MyPlate to Help Guide Your Food Choices Nutrition and physical activity play a vital role in maintaining good health. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture food icon, MyPlate, provides individualized plans to help guide your food choices. Visit the website at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov and enter your gender, age and physical activity level to print out a personalized plan. Use this guide to help plan your menus to meet your nutritional needs.
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