Cooking for One: Why You Should and How to Do It

It's really hard to walk into your kitchen and make a meal that you know will only be enjoyed by one person--yourself. It starts to look like too much of a hassle and the temptation to become a perpetual snacker or to order out, or to just eat a frozen meal can be really overwhelming. In my case, I recently moved out of my parent's home and into my first apartment. While I love my freedom, I don't relish coming home each night to the knowledge that I will be eating dinner all alone. If you're recently divorced, single, or like me, just moved out on your own for the first time, then you can probably share my pain.

But here's why you shouldn't give in to fast food: it's not healthy! It's expensive. And most importantly, having a delicious meal that you prepared yourself is tremendously rewarding. And with a few simple tricks, it doesn't even have to be hard.

The most difficult aspect of cooking for one person is buying just the right amount of groceries so you that don't end up wasting half of it. A practical tip to avoid throwing away your money is to buy in smaller quantities and try to use the same ingredients in different ways for the multiple meals. You could buy a small mix of vegetables and use them creatively in several dishes. On Monday, try a vegetable stir-fry and then on Tuesday, use the same ingredients in a vegetable frittata. And on Wednesday, reinvent those same flavors for a pasta primavera. Cooked in such different ways, you truly won't feel like your meals are repetitive. Meanwhile all proteins -beef, fish or chicken - are available at the meat counter in single servings and you should buy a six-pack of eggs, rather than the common dozen.

That said, you could also embrace the math of cooking in a totally different way by making a larger meal and then freezing the leftovers in individual portions. There is a huge difference between the chemical-laden frozen meals that you purchase at the grocery store and the home cooked gifts you keep for yourself in the freezer. It will be much tastier and healthier. Also, I use the word "gift" because few things are as gratifying as coming home after a long and tiresome day at work and knowing that you don't have exert energy on cooking, but can still eat well. You can also use this extra food as an inexpensive option for lunch.

And lastly, since you created a lovely meal for yourself, try to also create an enjoyable setting for dining at home. Play relaxing music, and set the table with an eye-catching placemat. Finally, some flowers or candles can help make a meal feel important- even though your company is just yourself.

Walking into a kitchen to prepare a meal for just one person-especially when it's little ole you-can seem like a challenge at first but if you bring your creativity it can be enjoyable and truly gratifying.