COOKING FOR ONE :
How to Make Dining Alone More Enjoyable
These days, there are many people who live alone and numbers have grown from 7
percent in the sixties to 27 percent of the total today. Many of those who dine alone are
deficient in calcium, iron and other essential vitamins and minerals because they choose
to skip meals and eat snacks as meals.
Research has shown that people who live by themselves are more likely to have vitamin
and mineral deficiencies than those who live with others. I want to show you that eating
alone can also be an enjoyable and healthy activity, as long as you plan ahead and
make an effort. Here is a list of things you can do:
Stock your kitchen with a variety
1.
of staples with a long shelf-life, such as
brown rice, oatmeal and other whole
grains. If you stock your pantry with
these foods, you will be less inclined to
go out to the drive-through for a quick
(and unhealthy) meal.
Chop up vegetables, such a
2.
broccoli and lettuce, in advance so you
always have them on hand. You can
also stock up on easily accessible foods
such as low-fat yogurt to go to when
you are too hungry to wait.
Prepare your meals in advance
3.
and freeze them so you won’t have to
waste time throughout the week. Portion
the individual meals into zip lock bags
and defrost them when you are ready.
Don’t underestimate the uses of your
freezer and microwave. You can defrost
bags of frozen vegetables when fresh
produce is not easily within your reach.
Also, rice and pasta can be frozen for
later use.
Photo by : Elina Paliakova