Meal planning is one of the banes of my life and, whilst I know this isn’t just a complaint of the single fraternity, I think we have it worse than most – or is it just me?
I’m one of those people who eat to live, not live to eat unless I’m dining out (or being cooked for); then I love the choice, the temptations, the sheer indulgence of someone else doing all the hard work for me (and taking care of the washing up)!
Cooking for one can be soul-destroying, not least because what I feel I might fancy when drawing up my shopping list on a Sunday ends up being the last thing I fancy by the time it rolls around to actually cooking it. I’m quite a spontaneous person, work full time, am socially active and like to keep fit, so I invested in a ‘meal planner list’ to help me focus my woefully small attention span and to help me be as efficient as possible. I try very hard to plan at the weekend what I need, plot around various social engagements or meetings I may have, and then shop accordingly. I sometimes have to plan 2 weeks in advance, knowing that I will have to top up with the fresh stuff but alas, it very seldom works out that way; Having just emptied my fridge of a shocking array of mouldy detritus, some of which was virtually unidentifiable, I don’t know what the answer is. Seriously, if the health and safety office for the Royal Borough did a spot check this morning, I think he would have condemned my fridge there and then because of:
- Half a packet of parmigiana which was virtually black
- 2 half cucumbers, one of which was spewing gunge in my salad tray
- Out-of-date sour cream which hadn’t even been opened
- Sweaty salmon which I’d taken out of the freezer on Wednesday morning with the best intention of making salmon and sour cream pasta but then didn’t because of a very late night caused by the day job
- Milk which probably had more penicillin in it than the local chemist
- And a dozen or so aged, half empty jars of things to shuzz up my salads ie gherkins, antipasto, pickles etc
I don’t think anyone could call me a fussy eater but I have an eclectic palate and get bored easily, so a couple of gherkins, a dab of pickle, a blob of this that and the other cheers up my summer salads as I chomp through my 5 a day; this ensures that I’m getting my vitamin and mineral fix and means I can tick the ‘doing my best to eat healthy’ box.
Which brings me back to the trials and tribulations of shopping for one, especially if you are a busy professional. I consider myself the queen of efficiencies and time management shop accordingly, indulging in sliced mushrooms, grated cheese and packets of salad, ready washed and assorted (please, no judgements!) I’m also a big fan of the packet rices and quinoa variants, a huge bonus for those in a hurry which I usually am. Shopping for one can be stupidly expensive, but shopping solo can also be wasteful if you’re not careful. And if, like me, you also have a food intolerance to cater for (gluten in my case) which rules out most prepared meals, it magnifies the challenges, especially if you are a reluctant cook
I was lamenting my food challenges to a friend who gaily proclaimed I should invest in one of those recipe boxes which are delivered to your door with a whole week’s worth of solutions. It would solve all my problems, he said: there’s lots of different things to choose from, the shopping is done for me and the instructions are idiot-proof (he too has been a victim of one my home-cooked offerings when I went off the menu piste because I thought it would make it taste better, it didn’t!). However, said friend is loved up in his couple bubble and didn’t realise that the majority of these companies don’t cater for single people – yet another area where we are invisible because meals for one are not ‘cost efficient’ for them….. After much scouring of the internet, I found the only company that offers a single box, but the cost was ridiculous. However, my curiosity was piqued like a finely honed meringue so I ordered a week’s worth and eagerly looked forward to it arriving.
When it arrived, I excitedly delved in and tried to cram everything in my fridge. Now, given that I am a single person but live in a townhouse with family sized white goods, it was a heck of a challenge to fit everything in the fridge, so goodness only knows how those catering for a whole family would have coped. However, after some careful space planning, I managed to squeeze it all in but the quantity of packaging was truly horrifying, recyclable or otherwise. So much for trying to save the planet
After the unpacking challenges, I set about the first meal prep and, whilst it was easy enough and indeed took the prescribed 30 minutes to prepare, the clearing up afterwards easily doubled that time, not quite the efficiency I was seeking. Undeterred I came home the next day and tried again, but in my haste to cram everything into the fridge the night before, it took ages to locate all the items on menu two, oopsy. Again, the meal was lovely but it took ages to cook and clear up, so I was beginning to feel I’d bought in to a dream which wasn’t geared up for the solo chef.
Day 3 and I got home so late from the office, I couldn’t be bothered, and ended up with my standby of peanut butter on toast.
Day 4, I was unexpectedly invited out and on day 5, I really didn’t fancy what was left. So whilst I did pat myself on the back for trying something different, I admitted defeat and went back to the manual menu planning. But… it didn’t end there, I got home the following Tuesday and found another box of food on my doorstep with a very random selection. I knew I hadn’t ordered this, so phoned up the company. It seems I hadn’t read the small print regarding a weekly subscription service, so had entered into a weekly obligation. After much wrangling, they agreed to cancel my subscription providing I paid for that week’s box too, so please beware if you fancy giving it a go
I understand that some single people enjoy planning, shopping and cooking their weekly food needs, but that isn’t me – and I don’t believe I’m alone. Another friend, who is a Herbalife re-seller tried to convince me that I could replace my meals with some of their nutritious dense meal replacements, but I explained it’s not that I don’t like food – I do – I just find shopping and cooking burdensome doing it all alone. One of my favourite activities used to be throwing dinner parties when I was ‘a deux’ but even doing this as a sole operator is a challenge and can suck out the enjoyment of the actual event. I must admit, I’m a bit lazy on the food front now and I guess that’s the danger when there is only me to please. I was only reminded to up my standards after a recent visit from one of my best friends who bought me a wall plaque saying ‘You pretend you enjoy cooking it and I’ll pretend it tastes nice’. That’s why we all need best friends, they can serve up the cold hard truth and get away with it!
So whilst I try and up my food game, if you have hit upon a solution for shopping and cooking for one, please do share, I’m always keen to try something new!
With Love
Julia, AKA Just Me.