Meal Planning for an Empty Nester

Bring back the joy of cooking

You use to cook up a storm, but now that the kids have moved away it’s hard to find motivation and inspiration to cook. If you’re used to feeding a family every night, meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking for two can seem like too much effort for just one or two people.

Many people start eating out at restaurants, which might be easier but can be expensive and an unhealthy habit to get into.

But there are many benefits to only having to cook for one or two.

You can cook on the fly and feel free to cook and eat whatever you want
Extra time on your hands
Save money with fewer groceries

Empty nester cooking requires a bit of an adjustment. But once you get your routine back you may even find yourselves eating healthier than you did before. Now you don’t need to satisfy the tastes of your children, you can start purchasing foods you actually would love to cook and eat.

Here are some tips:

Downsize your meals
- Find new recipes that don’t feed a crowd/scale back your recipes
- Invest in smaller pots and pans
If you make a big dish or have days worth of leftovers, turn it into your own freezer meals.
Get out of the habit of buying in bulk. If you are cutting back, you likely don’t need to be shopping at a discount warehouse store.

Downsized Meal Ideas – If you have leftover chicken, you can repurpose it in different types of meals. That way you don’t feel like you are eating the same meal over and over.