Eating Healthily for One
More and more people all over the world are living in single-person-households these days. 25% of adult Australians and 27% of Americans live alone. I was chatting this morning to a fellow health coach and we were talking about how much more difficult it has become to resist the highly palatable mass-produced food that shouts out at you as you walk down the aisles of every grocery store. Buying ready-made, convenience food becomes ever more attractive when living alone. Psychologically, we become more invested in food preparation when we are catering for others as well as ourselves. Why bother making something elaborate, we think to ourselves, when it is only for me?
I have been thinking about some of my clients, people who understand the importance of eating a healthy, balanced, whole-foods diet; yet struggle to overcome their self-sabotaging behaviour. What is the solution to preparing tasty, nutritious food for oneself? If you have been struggling with these issues, I hope these ideas inspire you!
a. A well-stocked pantry and fridge-freezer
This could be the deciding factor in cooking or not cooking a meal. You find a good recipe, but you don’t have the ingredients. You give up and order take-away instead. What do you really need?
Pantry staples:
Oils: locally produced virgin olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, macadamia oil, avocado oil.
Canned Food: coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, sardines, wild salmon, tuna, beans and lentils if you can digest them.
Sauces and condiments: tamari sauce, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, local unheated honey, maple syrup.
For baking: bi-carb of soda, baking powder, vanilla extract (not essence).
Flours: tapioca flour, almond flour, coconut flour.
Nuts, seeds and nut butters: activated almonds, pecans, macadamia, walnuts, brazil, hazelnuts, pepitas, chia seeds, quinoa, sesame. Sugar free organic peanut butter, tahini, and any other nut and seed butters
Dark chocolate, anything above 70% cacao solids.
Spices: sweet paprika, hot paprika, cinnamon, chilli, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, black and mixed peppercorns, good quality salt, bay leaves, mustard powder, dried herbs such as herbs de provence. For the more adventurous: cardamon pods, cloves, cinnamon quills, mustard seeds. Spice combinations such as cajan, butter chicken, chermoula, baharat, curry are time saving and very useful.
Non Gluten Grains: rice - basmati and black rice.
Dried beans and lentils - for people who can digest them are a good source of protein.
Garden Herbs:
hardy and easy to grow in pots - rosemary, thyme, mint, parsley.
Best at room temperature:
lemons, onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, avocados - depending on ripeness could be in the fridge.
Fridge:
Pastured eggs
Grass Fed beef bone broth (I love “Best of the Bone”)
A2 Milk or nut milk - (preferably home made or not containing oils and sugar)
Cheese (if you tolerate dairy) - parmesan, haloumi, feta, cheddar, edam
Organic butter - (organic is important)
Pickles: olives, sauerkraut, kimchi, cucumbers
Vegetables: root vegetables, leafy greens, peppers (capsicum in Australia), cucumbers, mushrooms, fresh parsley, coriander and other herbs, spring onions, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc.
Fruit: assorted berries and other seasonal fruit
Don’t buy large quantities of fresh vegetables if you don’t have time to cook daily, most vegetables will keep for a week if you store them in breathable containers. Do make the effort to prep them and put them in plastic bags or tupperware as soon as you bring them home.
Freezer:
Pack your meat, chicken, lamb, etc in double portions, so you cook once and eat twice.
For quick and easy meals use chicken breasts, sirloin steaks, prime chops
For baking or roasting in the oven - lamb/beef ribs, roasting meat, whole chicken, chicken thighs and legs
For slow cooking: osso buco, oyster-blade steaks, shanks, stewing meat, round chops with or without the bone
Frozen berries and other fruit are great for smoothies. If you have a few too many ripe bananas - peel them, slice them and pop them in the freezer. Your smoothies will thank you.
Fish is best bought fresh on the day.
b. Good kitchen tools.
You don’t need to spend a fortune or have every gadget invented. Sometimes gadgets are wonderful but consider the fact that they can be tricky to wash-up and require storage space. Sometimes, the simplest tools are the most convenient. As I have written in a previous blog -
2-3 different sized, sharp, well-balanced knives are a boon to any cook - see my post on knives
Good, stable, clean chopping boards
Sharp vegetable peelers
A set of unscratched pots and pans
A colander for straining
A box grater
A garlic press
Using good tools makes the prepping experience much more pleasurable.
c. A recipe collection.
I am attempting to curate here for you a set of recipes that are simple to prepare, use ingredients that can be found in any grocery store, and can be cooked in an hour or placed in a slow-cooker and then forgotten about. My recipes are clearly written, give reasonably accurate quantities, and are generally flexible. Having a few tried and tested, go-to recipes makes cooking more meditative and pleasurable. Discovering a new and delicious recipe can add a spark to your day. If you are a stationary lover, get yourself a beautiful file, print the recipes and build your collection. Take photos of your own cooking, it will inspire you and reward you for your work.
d. Time and place planning
Like any good habit, allocating a time each day or every second day for your meal preparation - such as ‘at 4pm I’m in the kitchen’ can make all the difference. If it is decided in advance, you just need to show up. Be intentional about giving yourself the best meal you can, treat cooking like cleaning or exercising, plan it, do it, and reap the rewards of healthy, tasty, life-giving food!
e. Make a date to cook (virtually) with a friend or coach
Recently, a friend and I joined forces via zoom and cooked the same meal together, she - in Hong Kong and I - in Melbourne. We chatted and joked, I demonstrated a little, we checked each others’ pots and the results were two tasty meals. She was much encouraged in that what have may seemed complicated proved to be quite straight forward, I was glad that she and her husband enjoyed the meal very much. I would like to suggest that if you are a hesitant cook, cooking with a friend or booking a session with me to cook a main course, could be more fun than you expected.
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