Singles and food

[Grandma Helen]

I know many singles and it seems that many of us don't cook anymore.  Do you think a lot of single folks have given up cooking for one?  Do you still cook for every meal?  I was never much of a cook, so it's hard to judge by me.  I will occasionally cook something I have made for years, but in smaller quantities.  The quantity usually depends on whether my son that lives with me likes it. 

[oldmike]

I cook for one, because if I don't I get lazy start eating pizza and fast food!

The only way for me to maintain my weight and health is to cook.  However, I do work every week day, so I eat out for lunch, usually I'll go someplace that has salads.

[Suthinsoul]

I use to love to cook, guess I got that from my mother who owned a resturant.  Now that I'm single I dont go thru all the trouble just for me.  My doctor is always after me cause I don't eat as much as she thinks I should.  At one point my lack of eating put me in a state of malnutrition.  Now she's trying to get me on the right track.  Now that I'm alone I have to remember to eat.  My first meal today was at 3:00...peanut butter and saltines.  She would freak if she knew...LOL!  So don't tell her.  If I don't have someone to cook for I just don't think about food.  I get busy doing other things and just don't think about it.  My bad.

[mercerquietman]

Ditto what oldmike said. I also enjoy my own cooking much more than eating out. I still have a sone at home so it is not like I'm the only one here, but I know even if he was not here, I'd still cook the overwhelming majority of my meals.

[Grandma Helen]

I wish my problem was forgetting to eat.  My problem is when I get hungry I eat sandwiches.  I also can't keep sweets around or I prefer to eat them.  Just a bad habit.  My son lives here and is a chef, but he uses so much spice I can't eat what he cooks, plus they eat too late, because of their jobs.  Now tomorrow I'm making Lasagna and he'll eat that when he gets home from work after the game. 

[Lily]

I continue to cook...mainly because I have more control over the contents.  A lot of my cooking involes making something for that meal, some to freeze, and enough left over to turn it into something else the next day.

I enjoy going out, but sometimes I am so disappointed...esp when I've spent money for a nice meal and I end up feeling like I would have been happier with something at home. I still don't go out alone to eat. I thought I might get better at that, but I enjoy it much more with someone else across the table...or better yet, next to me.  ;)

[ozzieowl]

Aha, very good questions you pose here Helen, especially directed at us single folk.

And my answer to both questions is `yes',

I think it is a natural progression in life to find we lose enthusiasm towards cooking

if it is only for one person - our self, then add the fact that there doesn't even

have to be a timetable for preparing meals on time for a busy family any more,

so we can please ourselves whenever we feel like eating hey.

We need to continue caring about ourselves though,

and making sure we do eat regular good food, as that helps us to

keep the Doctor's visits to a minimum.

All throughout life we need fuel for our engines to keep running,

and for a time now, I think I have worked out a good plan, 

I usually have a light bran cereal breakfast with decaf coffee to swallow my tablets, lol,

then around lunchtime I make that time to eat fruit, sometimes I choose about

4 different fruits (always including an apple, it really does keep the Doctor away)

and I cut them all up and place them in a container that will last me for around

4 days, I find this assists me in stopping to eat because it's already there.

Then in the same way, I gather up around 8 salad vegetables that I really like

and chop them all up and place in a airtight bowl to put in refrigerator that

also lasts around 3 to 4 nights for my evening meal, then all I need to do

is choose a piece of chicken or fish to cook which is a nice contrast to

have the hot meat with the cold salads, it is very refreshing and tasty

with my 99% fat-free oil and apple cider vinegar (which is good for you)

together with some fresh mint, basil and one thin green chillie

from my garden to give it a little `umph' - I really do look forward

to my evening meal this way and I'm not really `cooking' all that much!

[Eaglewoman]

I hardly cook at all, once in a while I will cook a small roast in the slow cooker or a pot of chile on a cold day. But mostly just eat out. My neighbor is also single so we go out when we have been to a discussion group or book club meeting, I usually only eat ½ so bring it home for the next day. Don't eat a lot of meat anymore, one of our favorite place is a soup and salad bar, for seniors it is $7.59 including drinks (there you can't take any home), most other place I get a vegetable plate, once every other week we go for Mexican food.Because I have stage 3 kidney disease  there is a lot I can't eat, so just give up some day.When I first got it, I followed the kidney diet so much that I got really low on potassium and they think that may be what caused my stroke. Now I cut myself a little slack and my test are coming back OK.

[carol machulski]

I guess I'm a combination of some cooking, no cooking and lots of cooking. There are times when I don't want to cook and so I rely on frozen Lean Cuisine dinners and then there are times that I cook a lot especially if I've invited a friend over for dinner. I do this sometimes more for the company as dinner conversation with me the only participant is weird and the TV can't hold up its end. So I make a simple meal (meatloaf mostly with baked potato and veggie) and 2 single people are feed companionably and nutritionally. Several times during the week around lunch time I'm eating fast food. And then there are the weeks that I dread cooking and tend to force myself to cook up ahead of time some batches of meat or rely on already-prepared from a takeout place. I rarely go out to dinner though.

[Leftygrl]

I still absolutely LOVE to cook and still do.  I enjoy trying new recipes and test recipes for American's Test Kitchen.

But the quantity is not for one, so I have leftovers or freeze for a later day.

As far as eating out, I typically choose places that offer food that I don't want to make such as sushi!

[Zochitl]

I do my own cooking and love it except when I 'm invited out on the week-ends, although you have to watch what you eat,  otherwise you can also gain weight if you don't. That's what I'm aiming to do so as not to gain the weight and after the Holidays I know I have to get back to eating  better.

[Mickchick]

I've never liked to cook and I've been single for 13+ years, so I just don't do what I would consider "cooking".  I do make my own meals - fry/poach an egg, microwave bacon/instant oatmeal/yogurt for breakfast, through together a sandwich and stick it in my george foreman grill to heat it up for lunch, make a salad, grill chicken or fish (rarely), and microwave frozen veggies for dinner most nights.  Abuot once every week I'll get a slice of pizza for dinner, or more rarely treat myself to a burger!

[oldmike]

What's odd is that my late wife couldn't boil water without burning it, but her mother was the best cook in the world -- guess she never taught her daughter how to cook!

My mother hated cooking, my dad always wanted the simplest meat and potatoes meals, so that's what I grew up on.

I, on the other hand, like to cook and can do a pretty good job if I set my mind to it.