A week or so ago, guest expert Frances Gilham tweeted her dinnertime frustrations faced with another night alone, cooking for one. And it really struck a chord…the fantastic Twitter community kicked in and she received cries of sympathy as well as practical ideas. Luckily Frances has friends, family and a flatmate to space out her nights of dinner for one. But for many people, especially the elderly, it is the routine and this often effects their optimal nutrition status. So don’t let your nutrition and enjoyment of food slip. And don’t live on take out. As a passionate dietitian and cook Frances has plenty of tips to share when you dine alone.
About our expert:
Frances Gilham Accredited Practising Dietitian
Frances graduated with a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics in 2009, and is now enthusiastically embarking on her career. She currently works for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing in Canberra, and is passionate about improving the health of all Australians through good nutrition. You can follow her on http://twitter.com/FrancesGilham
Dinner dilemmas
Picture this. You live alone. It’s dinnertime, and you’ve just arrived home from work. In the fridge? Left-over spaghetti bolognese. You cooked a big batch on the weekend and have been reheating portions all week. So you turn on your computer and log onto foodbook.com. You type: ‘Single, Canberra, Spaghetti Bolognese to swap.’ Hungry123 quickly replies: ‘Single, Canberra, willing to swap leftover pumpkin soup for Spaghetti Bolognese.’ After a short online chat, you discover that Hungry123 lives just down the road, so you jump in the car, and soon have a bowl of pumpkin soup on the table ready to eat. Foodbook.com has solved the nightly dilemma for singles everywhere!
Ok, so this hypothetical dinner-for-one dilemma solver has obvious limitations – but we all know cooking for one can be hard. And as a share-flatting, multi-tasking, food-loving Gen Y, I’ve done my share of cooking for one! Yes, I am a dietitian – but like everyone else, there are nights I lack inspiration.
Single solutions
Plan ahead – it sounds so simple, but it really is the most effective way to combat boredom and stop you reaching for cheese and biscuits for dinner again.
- Cook meals like soups and casseroles in bulk. Store single-sized portions in the fridge or freezer for reheating.
- Compile a list of ‘For One’ dinner menus, including brand names and ingredient substitutions. Update your list regularly based on what’s currently available in your freezer and pantry.
- Stock your pantry and kitchen well – look for non-perishables meal starters like dried pasta and couscous, canned tomatoes, chickpeas and beans, and dried and frozen spices. If you find fresh vegetables don’t last long enough, try frozen or canned. Equally nutritious and really convenient, just throw a handful of mixed vegies into a tomato-based pasta sauce or a soup. And if it’s convenience you’re after, try other minimally processed foods as well, such as bottled tomato sauces, canned lentils, and rice, and use them in combination with fresh foods to create an easy, healthy meal.
Recipe-for-one repetoire– swap ideas with other single friends and build a collection of seasonal recipes. You’ll find lots of ideas on the internet, but many of the meals just don’t tick all the boxes – dinner for one should be healthy, convenient and tasty (and be easy on the washing up!). You will often need to tweak recipes you find. As a rough guide, try and make sure your meals are made up of roughly half vegetables/salad, a quarter meat/meat alternatives and a quarter starchy foods like rice, pasta or potato. I always advocate adding extra vegetables whenever you can. Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie’s Italy’ has a great suggestion to help boost your vegetable intake: for an easy starter, take any greens you have in your fridge, steam them lightly, then dress in a really good olive oil and lemon juice like you would a salad. Delicious and easy.
For the singles out there who, like me, need inspiration, here are some recipes I recommend to get started:
- Ham, cheese and spinach omelette from Taste
- Stir fried asian greens from Ninemsn
- Steak pita with tomato salad from Beyond Baked Beans (photo below)
A last tip for those trying to watch their waistlines: monitor your serving sizes! If you are cooking more than enough for one meal, try putting the extra portions straight into the fridge as you serve yourself so you won’t be tempted to help yourself to seconds from the stovetop.
And as for tonight? I’m cooking a dish with tomato passata and canned chickpeas, fresh eggplant and sweet potato. I’ll make enough for four, and freeze the rest in single portions. And I look forward to the day where I can log on to foodbook.com and swap a portion of my chickpea creation with my neighbour’s left-over stir fry!
Frances’ Chickpea Creation – makes 4 individual serves
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 fresh chilli, chopped
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, chopped
1 medium-sized eggplant, chopped
400g jar tomato passata
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Heat oil over medium heat. Cook the onion, chili and garlic for a few minutes. Add the paprika and cook for a minute or so, until fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes, eggplant, tomato passata and 2 cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chickpeas and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Nutrition info per serve: Energy – 1200kJ; protein – 12g; fat – 4g; saturated fat – 0.4g; carbohydrate – 46g; dietary fibre – 12g; sodium – 340mg.
(Thanks to my Twitter buddies Catherine Saxelby APD, Zoe Nicholson APD and Mel Kettle for their help!)
Editor’s note:
Thanks Frances. For those of us with families to feed who only dream about a quiet night in ALONE, spare a thought for those who long for someone to cook and dine with. I often take a meal to an elderly neighbour in our street who is fit and living independently in her 90’s…but we suspect lived on canned soup for an evening meal or tea and toast if really tired. And another neighbour has gifted and taught her how to use a microwave…wonderful community support. Do you have any solutions or favourite recipes for dinner for one? What do you find most challenging? We’d love to hear your comments below.
