ok, so here goes. DH is out of town for two weeks and I have to feed me and my 5yo son. It use to be easy, a grill cheese, soup, chicken nuggets, or any fast food that was close. I am also lazy so would just grab something quick for the little guy and not bother making anything for me. But now I realize I have to actually eat to lose weight (I find that very ironic by the way, but its working). Now i have to figure out how to cook for 1 and a half ppl. I am so lost. I went to the store and got a few chicken breast and some ground turkey for spaghetti (and hoping ground turkey instead of ground beef doesnt kill me). I'm hoping the little guy will eat it since he loves spaghetti but does not like ground beef in any shape form or fashion. I'm just ranting because I'm worried about what I will be doing about my food for the next two weeks. I refuse to fall off the wagon. I just find it a waste of time to go through all the effort to cook for just one, but I will do it. I want DH to come back and find that I have lost a few more pounds, not gained just because he was gone. oh well, i'm done whining. Cheese anyone? Thanks for listening.
There's no reason you have to eat traditional "Dinner" foods for dinner. A sandwich or wrap is quick and easy with a side of fruit or a salad, and can be very healthy. You could scramble eggs with whole wheat toast and a fruit cup and make "breakfast for dinner". Make a fingerfood menu with veggies and dip, fruit cut up on skewers, and lean deli meat rolled up with sliced veggies and some light cream cheese or Laughing Cow wedges. Any of those will be quick, easy, and relatively healthy without cooking a full-out meal, so you can get away with it if you don't want to cook some nights.
Then, for the rest, make something up in a batch - the spaghetti sauce is a great idea. Stick the chicken breasts in some marinade now and freeze. Take one packet out to defrost - it will marinate while it defrosts. When you get home, just steam up a veggie or two and you're good to go.
Not to mention your little guy deserves healthy food too. It is possible to make healthy chicken nuggets---coat chicken tenders with panko and bake---healthier grilled cheese (whole grain bread, turkey, tomato, avocado, cheddar---grill with a little olive oil spray)--soup--there are some better choices in the canned variety, or you can saute some veggies, add some chicken, noodles & broth---check out the food forum below---photochick posted a pretty yummy sounding butternut squash mac n cheese---that would last you and your son a few days. Both of you guys deserve good nutrition.
You should also check out Green Lite Bites (www.greenlitebites.com) - she is a Weight Watchers dieter, but she has a GREAT blog with LOTS of great recipes - they are all "toddler tested" and most are easily made for 1-2 people. She also lists nutritional info if you're not on WW
When I was a kid I *loved* doing "breakfast for dinner" - it was such a treat. And sandwiches and soup ... mmmm. A healthy sandwich on whole grain bread and some healthy choice tomato soup on a cold night sounds yummy (in fact sound good right now!).
What about a pot of chili made with your chicken breast? Or if you want a treat for your little one, get some fat free hot dogs and make him a chili dog (you can have a bowl of the chili with a salad).
Slice the chicken breasts thin and skewer them on bamboo skewers and bake them (kinda like sate - there are recipes all over the internet). Put some barbecue sauce on them and serve your son "shish kebabs". Most kids like that kind of food.
You could make chicken tacos - a corn taco shell is farily low in calories and you can top it with lettuce and tomato and other healthy stuff - again a pretty kid friendly food as well.
Maybe this mini rant is a direct result of PMS but..............why do people always say cooking for one(when talking about yourself) is a waste of time? It's like implying since some people who are single, and more and likely will remain single, are less than those who have someone in their life. eww this is a pet peeve of mine as you can probably tell.
Anyways I 'm happy you said you will do it anyway and that you are not taking the easy way out and feeding your son fast food. One thing I do when I make something like a casserole is to halve the recipe. I eat that a few times a week and what side dish I eat with it is always different so I don't feel I am eating the same thing all week.
aybe this mini rant is a direct result of PMS but..............why do people always say cooking for one(when talking about yourself) is a waste of time? It's like implying since some people who are single, and more and likely will remain single, are less than those who have someone in their life. eww this is a pet peeve of mine as you can probably tell.
I totally agree with you.
I actually love cooking for myself because I can fix EXACTLY what I want without having to worry about whether or not my husband is going to want rice or potatoes or if he likes extra artichoke hearts or whatever!
I don't understand the cooking for one or even the cooking for 2 thing.
When I was single, I cooked a lot and would make recipes. Although I have always had issues with portions so I'd have leftovers but not as much as I probably should've had.
These days, I cook for my husband and myself but I try to cook lots of food at once. If I only have a little leftover, I feel I haven't cooked enough. I try to cook for multiple days and make sure that I only have to cook a couple times/week at most. It is so much easier to cook/reheat then to cook every day.
Well, What do I say now? Thank you everyone for your great suggestions. I dont know why some of them didnt cross my mind already. they are definitely things we will both eat. and as far as not cooking for one, I appreciate your thoughts and it opened my eyes to the fact that I DO COUNT. I deserve a good hot healthy meal. I have just had difficulty with down sizing. When I lived at home there was 5 too cook for, then when I married DH #1 there was only two of us so we ate out all the time or had hot dogs and craft dinner or frozen entrees. then married DH #2 and he had 3 kids so instantly cooking for 5 again. I had a hard time adjusting each time a child left home. now all three of his are gone but we have our 5 yo left so i still have a few years before its just the two of us but i will have this eating healthy thing down by then. Thanks again everyone.
The ultimate test
And sandwiches and soup ... mmmm. A healthy sandwich on whole grain bread and some healthy choice tomato soup on a cold night sounds yummy (in fact sound good right now!
.
