Hate Cooking? Single? Hungry? Read This

I admit it, I am a single girl in this lonely mixed up world and I love to cook. But the problem is I always cook too much and then I have to freeze and store it, and most of the time my freezer is jam packed with rations I have made perhaps maybe six months ago. In addition, I know I am never going to eat most of what is in there ever again and I just hate to waste food. Therefore, below I have listed ways to shop smarter- and healthier. I hope that if you ingrain these into your head it will become easier over time and you will learn even more ways to cook as a single.

Start with recipes designed for one or two people. Rachel Ray's website has got them, and I am sure if you look around you will find many more sites with meals made for one. Alternatively, if you're feeling adventurous you can try cutting your favorite recipe down a size or two. It is hard-at least for me it was-but practice makes perfect every time and now it is easy to chop down a stew recipe to maybe four instead of ten. And it is so much cheaper than buying out for one and much more satisfying. To your mind, your body and your spirit.

Shop the Salad Bar. I know, gross right? I mean all those people walking around sticking their fingers in and taking a taste for free. You don't know where those hands have been? Why would you even want to spend even a cent on contaminated food? However, if you shop the salad bar right after it opens it's all fresh and free of finger mongers (what I like to call them). I believe this is the smartest way to shop for a single but you have to be careful of the containments. I mean really, if you only need a half cup of onions, why buy a whole onion or even a containers worth of chopped onions? The rest will just go to waste, trust me. You say you're going to use the rest the next night but you never do.

Check expiration dates. Supermarkets want to sell their old products first, so they put them in the front of the line. Stores will mark down the stuff they want to get rid of, so it is possible the prices of these old products will be the same or a little bit higher than carefully rationed out bulk foods. These are great if you are a single but you also like to throw the occasional dinner party because expiration date products really do last after the posted expiration date so you can actually use the product at a maximum a week after the posted date.

Let's face it, it's tough to eat healthy. About 80% of America thinks that eating healthy is way more expensive than say eating at Micky D's. So not true. You can make any type of soup and keep it more days to have at lunch for weeks for less than 20 dollars if you are a single, yeah you might have to get off your lazy ass and actually move around a little to eat but it's really worth it in the long run.

Avoid bulk purchases. I have made this mistake too often! And it is hard to quit because you're thinking if I just buy ten of these I will not have to go shopping next week. No. It does not work that way. I am a female and I love to shop, I also change my mind about what I want to eat every day. It does not matter what I buy on my list, if I'm craving something different, I'll go out and buy it. This applies to my toilet paper too...and my laundry detergent. I never have the same brand of product the next month. So, if you are a single, avoid Costco at all cost.

Avoid convenience foods. McDonalds, Burger King, microwave prepared foods you buy in grocery stores, high in calories and fat. Totally not good for you. There has been enough information out there about "fast food". I am not going to reiterate. Just try and stay away from these foods.

Farmers Markets. These are popping up all over the country and they have already been in our neighborhoods, they are just not popularly advertised. You can get fresh from the farm fruits and vegetables here, not to mention baked goods, flowers, ,etc. Most are pet friendly and all are good for your health.

I hope this has helped in some small way. I struggle each and every day with buying and cooking for one, sometimes I just give up and buy low cal/fat or weight watchers one meal containers at the supermarket. But it is just another skill you can acquire if you are a single and living on your own, another skill that will boost your self esteem and confidence.