Healthy Dining For One
Cooking and dining for one can be challenging.
Meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking 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.
Our registered dietitian nutritionist Madelaine Morrish went on Global TV Winnipeg to give viewers her top tips to for people who are cooking for one or two!
First, let’s talk about the benefits!
- 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, pans and appliances.
- 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.
Example: Cooked chicken can be turned into a wrap, salads, quesadillas, power bowls or soup!
Meals don’t have to be complicated.
Make sure your meals have a protein + grain source/carbohydrate + veg/fruit at each meal.
Example:
- Muffin, hard boiled egg and an apple
- Carrots, hummus and crackers
We also like to recommend having some back up meals like leftovers in the freezer or healthy canned soup.
TIP: Look recipe inspiration with cookbooks like “the 4 ingredient cookbook”
At the grocery store
Shop the bulk bins! Bulk bin pricing is usually equally or less expensive than buying ingredients in full-sized packaging. And you can buy exactly how much you need.
Shop the deli counter: Did you know that you can buy a single chicken breast, rather than a pack of 4? Or 1/4 pound of shrimp, instead of the frozen 1 pound. Or — just 3 slices of your favorite cheese, rather than an entire wedge!
Do you need help building a healthy personalized meal plan?If so, a registered dietitian can help!
Give us a call 204-515-7466 to see if working with a registered dietitian nutrition coach might be a good fit for you or click here to book an appointment
*We offer direct billing to most medical insurance companies!
