Cooking for one or two can sometimes feel like just as much work as cooking for four or more! Plus, it can seem expensive, especially if some of the ingredients go bad before you get to use them.
But with a few smart habits, you can make cooking easier, cheaper, and a lot more enjoyable. Think of it as building a toolkit that works for your schedule, not the other way around.
Make Ingredients Work Harder for You
You don’t need to start from scratch every night. Make ingredients do double (or triple) duty! For example, if you are up for simmering a whole chicken, you get soup day one, wraps for lunches, and top a simple pasta with jarred sauce day two. Not up your alley? A store-bought rotisserie chicken can do the same.
Use Your Freezer Like a Meal-Prep Superpower
Don’t want to eat the same protein all week? Use what you need for this week and freeze in portion-size containers for the next couple of weeks. Once you get into a rotation, you can cook one main central item for the week, pull from last week’s freezer stash, and restock the freezer with the excess from this week.
Buy Produce Strategically
Fresh ingredients are great until they wilt before you get to them. Some foods keep longer than others. Carrots, onions, eggs, and potatoes, for example, tend to have a longer fridge or pantry life than salad greens, tomatoes, and squash.
Also, consider frozen vegetables. They’re great for taking out only what you need for the meal, then returning the rest to the freezer for later. You can also lean into shelf-stable options like canned beans and vegetables. Just remember to check through your pantry and freezer regularly to see what’s lurking, it can be the inspiration for next week’s meal plan!
Reinventing Leftovers
Leftovers don’t have to feel like repeats. Not enough chicken for a full meal? A quick blitz in the food processor with mayo, cottage cheese, and spices (I love dry ranch seasoning) makes a tasty chicken salad. Partial serving of deli meat and cheese? It’s a stuffed baked potato or upgraded scrambled egg waiting to happen. Reinventing leftovers can be a very tasty art!
Sample 4-Day Meal Plan
Hungry for more specific ideas? Check out the weekly meal plan below and tweak it for your own preferences and taste.
Day 1 – Easy crockpot Caribbean pork (or chicken)
- ~ 2 lbs pork loin, trimmed of excess fat and/or tendon
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed (or a tbsp of jarred garlic or tsp of garlic powder)
- ½ cup of orange juice (orange is best, but you can substitute another sweet/tangy liquid – apple juice, white wine, etc)
- 1 small fresh onion or 1 Tbs dried onion flakes
- salt/pepper
- Put all ingredients into the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork
- I like to serve this with a squeeze of lime alongside rice, beans, and/or quick sauteed sweet plantains
Day 2 – Barbecue
- Warm a portion of leftover shredded meat with barbecue sauce
- Serve on buns or other bread with chips or raw veggies
- It’s also great with pickles or a bit of quick coleslaw if you have cabbage handy. Stir together mayo, a splash of vinegar, salt, pinch of sugar to taste and toss with finely chopped or sliced cabbage.
Day 3 – Enchiladas
- Warm leftover shredded pork (and corn tortillas) in the microwave just until flexible
- Stir a few spoonfuls of jarred enchilada sauce into the meat
- Roll into tortillas and place in a small casserole dish or oven-safe pan
- Top with more of the sauce and shredded cheese
- Bake until hot through and bubbly
- Serve with any leftover rice/beans from Day 1
Day 4 – Hash
- Dice a small potato or sweet potato and any residual vegetables hiding in the fridge. Carrots work well, as can onion, zucchini/squash, and bell peppers. Toss the vegetables in oil and season with salt and pepper
- Roast at 400 degrees in an oven-safe skillet (or sheet pan) for about 20 minutes before adding chopped pieces of the leftover meat. Heat another 5-10 minutes or until all is beginning to brown and crisp on the edges.
- For a true breakfast hash, crack an egg into the center and cook until the white is set and yolk is done to taste
- Options for sauce, if desired, are a drizzle of worchestershire, brown sauce/steak sauce, or chimichurri
Putting it all together
Remember that you don’t need to start from scratch every night. Mix and match these ideas throughout the week, grab dinner with a friend, or pull something from the freezer when you need a break.
It’s all about finding what inspires you and trying out something new. It’s like building a new muscle! Testing out a new recipe or method can take time to feel like it’s working for you, but you (and your wallet) will be all the stronger for it!
