So it turns out
that I’m all talk and no substance when it comes to my “Twins Blog”. I crumbled under the pressure (I put on
myself) to be a Twins expert outside my own little world of pretend, where I
have Supreme Knowledge of All Things Twins.
In crashing down to earth, I have not abandoned the idea of
blogging! I’ve just taken a hiatus of
about 10 months or so to gather courage once again…
…and as you can
see from my updated “Paula’s Pitch” description, I’ve decided to tell the world
about, well, whatever comes to mind!
I’ve been
thinking a lot about “Cooking for One” as a way to save money and to eat
healthier. And of course, simply because
I love to cook. With that in mind, and
the encouragement of several friends, here is the inaugural post of my
(re)new(ed) blog. This post is a revised
response to a friend’s request to the Google world, which was an appeal for
tips about starting to cook for one’s self with minimal planning. Without further ado...
How can I get started cooking for myself...especially if planning scares me???
A little
planning is inevitable if you want to avoid the drive-thru and cook for
yourself, but it can be kept to a minimum if you’re willing to adopt a few
basic habits. There are five tips I
would give to those who want to begin cooking for themselves. These are all
things that can give you easy options and remove the pressure to make a gourmet
meal every night. It’s also important to
try to pick one or two of these tips to help kick-start you. Don’t try to adopt them all overnight! As you get comfortable, you can add a new
habit to your routine.
Paula’s Five Best
Tips for a “Cooking-for-One” Newbie:
1) Keep a “standard” stock of canned/dry goods and frozen foods on hand to help avoid giving in to the drive-thru temptation. An easy plan is to make sure you always have
pasta, red sauce, canned black beans, rice, pre-cooked frozen chicken strips,
and a frozen veggie on hand. The great thing is a lot of these things mix-n-match
surprisingly well, so limited ingredients create options. Sometimes, you might
go a long time before breaking into them, but they’re always there to prevent an
excuse for that drive-thru drive-by. Pick
your favorites, so you’ll like them and want to eat what’s on hand.
2) Keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand and invest time once or twice a week
in "prepping" them; or invest the money in buying them already
prepped. It also helps to keep it pretty
simple, choosing what you like and what you can eat before it spoils. For example, you might keep apples in the
fridge, lettuce, a salad "throw in" veggie, and onions. (Onions are one of my favorite ingredients.)
3) Keep a
grocery list & a pen in a standard and accessible place, and write items
down when they get low. Then, without having to plan what you will
eat for the next month, week, or even for a day, you’ll find you have your
favorite standbys on hand. It makes it
harder to justify a stop at the drive-thru.
Or, better yet, download a grocery list app and enjoy the ease and convenience
of a paperless list.
4) Spend some
time each week cooking one "big" dish – a favorite or a new recipe
that interests you – and package the leftovers in single servings. Most things
can freeze, so half or two-thirds of the portioned containers in the freezer
for the future. For a lunch or dinner on
the fly, pop it in the microwave (probably on defrost first), and you have your
own “TV Dinner” – no planning required. This can be a great way to break up the monotony of eating boxed spaghetti with jarred sauce one more time.
5) It helps to have spices, condiments, and shredded cheese on hand. These can add
pizzazz to a simple dish or change a third-day-in-a-row leftover into a new
dish.
