Going from a unit of two to being alone takes getting used to. You're kinda "hanging out" in life. No goals, because.... what's the use, nothing to look forward to, because everything you had planned went to shit in a heartbeat (or the loss of one) no schedule, because there's only you to make decisions for, and that seems a concept you don't seem to be able to get your head around.... but life keeps knocking on the door you want to nail shut, keeps intruding into your pain, your memories, your thoughts and utter hopelessness. It keeps knocking in the form of people lovingly checking on you (YES they Are appreciated!!), bills that need taken care of, things that need figured out but you don't comprehend what needs done, a house that is filling up with dustbunnies, and your body telling you to keep it going.
So, the first couple of days, you give in, and eat what's in the house.... when the fridge is empty, you "upgrade" to the freezer and when that too only has icecubes and coolpacks, kept company by some mystery meals, you really don't want to get acquainted with, you go to the store, and buy for 2, during the week that follows, you throw part of it away, because it went bad, you realise your freezer is still empty, so you freeze the rest and you try to figure out what to do for food, go to the store and do it all over again, only this time, you remember to freeze at least some of the stuff in smaller portions and before it goes bad... The cracker isle becomes your "go to" followed by the meat and cheeses, yoghurt and packaged soup, so things don't go bad if you don't want to eat for a day or two...... Yep, it's a thing. You're not starving yourself on purpose, eating is just not a big thing in your life. You have more time than you know what to do with, because the caring for your loved one is not necessary anymore, the hobbies you used to enjoy together, don't have ANY appeal, let alone the same it had when shared, your voice becomes rusty, because there's no one to talk to in the house, and going out is too much of a chore, even though you have nothing to do and are just floating around alone in a space meant for two.
And than survival instinct kicks in.... your house is still a mess, you still don't feel like "peopling" but you finally figure out, that you're going to have to eat, if you want to keep "being", however miserable, you're gut tells you to "move it" so you pull some of the stuff from the fridge, throw it together in a pan, and eat.... you do this for a while before you realise that trying to figure out something to eat, takes a little bit of the time you're dreading, and your shopping lists become more structures. You still buy for 2, because that's what you've done for the last 40 years, but you start making smaller meals and freeze half of it for a day when you don't want to think and just feed your body. Quick warm up and be done.
From that timeperiod, I'm going to try and write the recipe's down, because talking to friends that are also cooking for one, it turns out that a lot of them don't, because it's more work to fix than to stuff it down and get on with the day, so they do take-out, or don't eat at all, unless they have company..... If you enjoy cooking, keep doing it. If you don't maybe having a couple of recipes with "regular" ingredients and not a whole lot of cooking or prep time may just be the little kick in the butt to start cooking your meals instead of literally, phoning it in....
I'm telling you in advance, there's a lot of "repeat ingredients" because there's only so much energy to figure out new things, but that also means, that you can eat different meals with the same ingredients during the week and not waste food, and keeps you from cooking everything into one meal, and eating the same thing for 4 days straight..... That's no way to treat good ingredients.
I am NOT going to put pictures with the recipes for the simple reason that what I envision it to look like, rarely pans out, even though a lot of the times, the taste is perfect, so..... if you expect apetizing professionally looking pictures of great dishes and intricate recipes.... you're on the wrong blog page. If you just want to look at food-for-one a little different.... come on in! And the good thing? It's easy to scale up for when you have company, or want to freeze a couple of servings for those days you really don't want to do anything but turn a knob, get comfy and sit down to eat.
I will list "approximatee) measurements, because, what fills me up, may just be a tease for someone else, so, as you know how big of a portion you may want to make, adjust the measurements. Usually, my measurements for dinners will provide me with about 3 cups of food. I have to tell you though. Most of the time a big time wing it in the measurement department. I look what I've got, start putting stuff on the counter, and cut up what I think I would be able to eat. Sometimes I misjudge one way or the other, and I either snack the night away, or I have just enough left for lunch the next day, leaving the evening meal that day to a sandwich and a bowl of yoghurt.
Steak, vegetables and rice/noodles
Originally published August 27, 2025 but publishing date updates with every recipe addition
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