Meal planning for couples and singles

Meal planning for couples and singles is possible!

It won’t work for me

I often hear people say that they don’t think meal planning is going to work for them. They are only cooking for themselves, or it’s just the two of them, so it’s not worth it.

I actually think meal planning would work better for them in some ways, than for a large family.

Not only would it save money!   It would also be very easy to have nights where you won’t have to cook at all and are still able to eat a good healthy meal.

Bulk cooking for 2

Bulk cooking for couples and single people is very easy. Most recipes are enough for four people, which means you always have left overs. If you cook every night for 5 nights then you will have enough meals for 2 people for the next week or for one person for 2 weeks!

A suggestion of mine would be to cook only the main ingredients, like mince, for instance. Cook up 500 g and then portion it up and put the labelled portions into the freezer. That way you can make pasta or mash potato, a portion of frozen vegetables and just add a portion of cooked mince.

I remember the days before I got married when I was working 12 hour shifts as a nurse and the last thing I wanted was to come home and still have to cook! I ate a lot of unhealthy meals at the time.

Here are 6 steps to make it work

1. Find recipes that feed 4 or more people. Each recipe then is enough for 2 or 4 meals.
2. Know which foods freeze well and which don’t. Starchy vegetables like potato and butternut need to be partly cooked before freezing.
3. If you are feeling energetic, why not make most of the meals on a weekend and then you are free after work for the rest of the week. Just reheat and eat.
4. Take the food out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge to defrost. This is important as you would like your food properly defrosted. Leaving it out to defrost on a counter the morning before work, to eat that night, could be dangerous as bacteria can grow and give you food poisoning. If you have a microwave, you can defrost and heat all at once, so you can decide that night what you want to eat. Having a variety of frozen meals gives you choices.
5. Buy disposable but reusable containers in different sizes, these containers stack well in small freezer spaces and cost less than more expensive food storage systems.
6. Always label the food and the date before you put it in the freezer so that you can see what you have stored away.

Meal planning allows you to save time and money. It gives you the opportunity to eat healthily and follow eating plans on practically any diet you want.

Why not give it a try?