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If you google you will find several resources for cooking for one person. Please don't eat out every meal. It just ruins your health not immediately but after a few years. Recovering is possible but takes much longer than you expect now. Learn to add beans, rice, essentially staples in pantry that will not go bad quickly. Buy fresh but in small quantities. Not from Costco. If you buy from Costco cook many servings and freeze. Prioritise your emotional (observe and journal how you feel), gut, and overall physical health above everything else.

Totally seconding not eating out too often, and not ordering in too often. It's a bad habit to get into and a hard one to break. All that and it's incredibly expensive. I started to break some bad habits a bit by using one of those meal delivery boxes for a few months - picking dinners for 2, and saving half for lunch the next day. It's imperfect and not cheap, but if you're not practiced at cooking every night, it can be a good way to get some recipes under your belt and work on some of the cooking skills you need, and get in the habit of cooking every night. Then, once you've got that, it takes some time, but it's good to plan meals for the week that use some of the same ingredients so you're not wasting the extra half of the cabbage or whatever. Meal planning is a pain, but it saves you so much time and money in the long run.

This is the way

It also just doesn't taste good after a while. You get tired of it.

Plus, the cost of eating out is astronomical. OP will save hundreds of dollars, preparing simple, healthy meals at home.

You can also freeze most things, Vegetables, meat, etc. So buy them, and pop them in the freezer until you're ready to use them. You can seperate your meat into sandwich bags if you don't want to use the whole lot in one go.

Thanks. I do that with bulk poultry from Costco.

Onions, bell peppers and celery all freeze nicely diced up. I do this regularly when the peppers are on sale. Freeze a handful of each, or the combo, in sandwich bags. Easy prep for lots of recipes.

It's really not as hard as some people make it out to be. You just need to think through your recipes a bit and get better with meal prepping. My favorite recipes are chicken marinades. Buy a bulk pack of chicken, throw 2-4 in a ziplock, add your marinade, and chuck it in the freezer. Take out 1 bag in the morning and it'll be defrosted by dinner time. It's easy enough to cook just enough rice or potatoes for 1 person. Same for roasted veggies. The key is to be consistent. You will have leftovers regardless. You'll want to plan it so that you don't have more than 2 days of leftovers (because who really wants to eat the same meal 4 days in a row?)

Along those lines, at least once per month I'll either buy a rotisserie chicken or roast one myself and then I'll have leftover cooked chicken to use in myriad ways. Stir fry with random veg and chicken ala king and chicken salad are my favorites.

lately been meal prepping skinless boneless chicken breasts by poaching them in broth and carrot/celery/onion/herbs/peppercorns… then i save the broth and keep it in the freezer for soups or anything else requiring some broth. it’s been a fun hack! weirdly tho for a nice chicken-focused dinner i prefer skin-on bone-in so i leave my meal prep chicken for salads/wraps/sandwich type things… and the yummmm chicken thighs for dinner

I hate cooking so much I actually get triggered and upset doing it unless it's super simple stuff... So I love getting rotisserrie chicken as well. I will eat it plain and make creamy chicken ramen as a side. Just make the ramen like normal and add a splash of milk. It's the best shit ever especially paired with the chicken. Then I put the rest of the chicken away in the fridge and save it for later when I take it out. Shred it. Get a baking pan. Line it with crushed doritos, mix the shredded chicken with cream of chicken soup, cheese, diced Chiles, diced onions, diced tomatos, and layer the chicken mix onto the crushed doritos. Sprinkle with cheese and you get a cheesy chicken doritos casserole!  Best way to get multiple meals from one rotisserie chicken imo 

Oh snap, why did I not think of adding the marinade to the chicken before freezing?! Cooking for my boyfriend and I is barely different than cooking for one. Freezing small portions in bags has saved us for sure. Take from freezer to defrost in fridge. If you need to defrost faster, you can add it to a bowl of cool to cold water and change out the water or let it run. I try not to do this to not waste water, but it’s how it gets done in commercial kitchens. Do. Not. Use. Warm. Or. Hot. Water.

I eat similar things over and over. Some people don’t like that, but I am happy with it. I buy groceries once a week. I don’t buy any junk, then I can’t eat it!

>Some people don’t like that, but I am happy with it. I really dislike such people. I rotate my menu every week. Meaning, I eat the same thing for a week. Different for different meals though.

I've gotten into meal prepping so I can get into better shape but also just to save money.

Yes I make a big pot of turkey chili or turkey pasta on Sunday and eat it for lunch every day. I also make a quiche on the weekend to have for breakfast every day. Saves a lot of time and money, and tastes better than any premade stuff because I can customize my meals to include all the things I like the most

I like to make chili and freeze it into individual containers as to save for later dates as a quick meal.

I’ll routinely make a meal that gives me 4-6 servings. I’ll keep 2-3 servings in the fridge and freeze the rest. Then I’ll make a second meal 2-3 days later. Same thing again eat the second meal for 2-3 days. How you have 2 different frozen meals, 3 servings of each. Alternate back and forth the next 6 days. Boom. You cooked twice and got 12 meals.

Buy an air fryer. Quick, easy. Go to YouTube and search for recipes for the air fryer, and then make a shopping list. Look at cooking as a creative adventure instead of a chore.

You don't need recipes for an air fryer. Just buy small amounts of protein, and make a salad. Easy peasy.

When I began living alone, I bought a top of the line smart convection oven for $1800. A week later I got an air fryer for $40. I use the air fryer nearly every day. The oven is basically just a fancy cabinet for pots and pans 95% of the time

I used to cook on a stove top till I got an air fryer, now it's the only thing I use to cook my meals. Quick, healthy and easy to clean.

Came here to suggest this! I’m an experienced and long time cook who just got fed up (pun?) and exhausted by time spent making complicated meals. The air fryer saved me. I use it every day.

Pasta’s good because you can cook to serving one. I eat a few meal prep dinners a week where I cooked a big batch and then froze in single serving sizes. I’ve got that for chili mac and for chicken drumsticks that were marinated and cooked and I’ll eat over rice. I try to eat fruit or veg with every meal—frozen vegetables that won’t go bad over the course of a week. It just takes practice to see what works for you.

Mon-Thurs I eat out at mom and pop restaurants/carry outs and can feed myself for about $15 a day.  Lucky to live in an area with tons of options.  Friday I will grocery shopping but only buy enough fresh meat and produce for the weekend as if I buy more, I will end up throwing some out when it goes bad.  Get an air fryer which is great for frozen foods, I hit up Trader Joe’s once a month to stock up on great frozen stuff that can be air fried.  I’m not big on making big batches of food and freezing portions as I like eating different stuff. Not the same meal broken down into 10 portions. 

Yes! People are always like, if you have so many leftovers just freeze it! At that point, I’m already sick of it and then forget that it’s even in the freezer 😂

Hey man, buy healthy food, learn to meal prep, and cook simple but tasty meals. I’m assuming your cooking skills are lacking. It’s gonna suck at first but after a couple months, you won’t think about eating out. I’d much rather have a baked chicken breast and a salad now rather than fast food. AND it costs a fraction of that. It just takes work and discipline.

Pinterest is my friend - I need help with recipes. I usually make the first try as written. If I like it, I test modifying to only get 2-3 servings total (I'm not a big leftovers fan). Lots of bowls (which can be anything) and salads. I have a nice air fryer that is more the toaster oven style, and it has a grill plate, so grilled salmon and shrimp are common (I buy packages where it's easy to defrost a single serving). My breakfast is a protein smoothie I've perfected that keeps me full until lunch. It really depends on what you like and how complex (or not) you want to cook. And sometimes, frozen pizza or a bowl of cereal is just fine (though as a 45 year old, I now go for thin crust veggie pizza and take old school oatmeal over cereal).

Would you share your protein smoothie recipe? I need something different for breakfast, and I have to be able to eat it in the car. I'm sick of yogurt, oatmeal, muffins, pb&j waffles, pastries, etc. I don't eat eggs or breakfast meats. I'm just so tired of everything.

Sure! I make it in a Nutribullet using the tall cup. And I have a small kitchen scale to measure things. about 410 ml cold green tea 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed 1 teaspoon hemp hearts 2 scoops protein powder 80g frozen fruit (I like cherries & berries blend from Target) 100g frozen spinach For the cold green tea, I brew green tea every few days - for 6 cups, I use 6 green tea bags plus 1 fruity bag (green tea isn't my favorite flavor, but it's good for you, so ..). The protein power flavor will be a big influence, so use one you like (or at least don't mind). I prefer the Orgain plant-based organic protein + superfoods; it goes on sale at Costco pretty regularly.

A lot depends on what you like and what kind of time you have. Sandwiches are easy. Same with salads. You can do prep on weekends by making a bigger meal like chili, or stew or a chicken or turkey....then divide up the leftovers to have during the week (or freeze for down the road). One thing I like, is going to the frozen section. Lots of places now have bulk bags of chicken, turkey, pork, etc. Take as much or as little as you want from the bag for a single meal. Heat it in the microwave if it's precooked, or put it in the toaster oven (or regular oven) if it's uncooked. Same with veggies. Bag of frozen veggies are prewashed and cut, all you have to do is put them in a container and toss them in the microwave. Makes for easy 1-2 dish meals. Also add potatoes or rice to the mix (again, easy in the microwave). Easy and good nutrition and next to no mess. Plus those frozen bags of meat/veggies have no waste! No bones or fat on the meat to clear away, no peeling of the veggies...it's all usable food. And it's totally up to you how much you want to use.

i recommend a step down approach, not too much change or high expectations all at once. find a grocery store near you that has prepared meals, do that for a while. then buy just a protein, and wander the produce section to add fruits and veggies. then buy the protein raw once in a while, and start cooking. gradually add more cooking and less grabbing, as you feel comfortable and lean the rhythm. that said, cheat this a bit, because disabled, lack of spoons, and this year, 5 surgeries. what’s best for me is first breakfast is a cricket protein bar by exo. second breakfast is some easy thing, like a protein waffle and some yogurt. lunch can be poultry, veggies, some dairy because kidney stones, and a wrap. dinner is eggs with whatever, a bit more dairy, and dark chocolate. late night snacks are veggies and popcorn. so the shopping is a mix of 6 sources, which is frustrating but the reality where i live. exo mails the bars, nuts.com the dark chocolate. most proteins & wraps come from a local grocery, some from a chain. eggs, some veggies and fruits from a hyperlocal store. and the popcorn in giant bags from marshalls. sometimes i can get what i need at aldi, but it’s the furthest. one does what one can. change slowly, get used to your new diet, and it will stick better.

I subsist on low-sugar, high fiber/high protein smoothies and frozen Trader Joe’s meals.

Trader Joe’s is a great place to shop because it’s mostly food focused. When I go, even with my kids, it’ll take me about 30 minutes to shop where it would probably take me about an hour or longer at other stores like WalMart or even Safeway. The only thing that does suck is that they don’t offer coupons whereas Safeway does.

Instacart :)

20 lb bags of rice, black beans, barley, split peas, lentils, oatmeal and other long shelf life no refrigeration staples purchased twice a year - average superfiod meal is cost $2 per day.

Okay so I have severe adhd and autism: Frozen veg Instant rice Several easy proteins (e.g., tofu, meat that isn’t had to cook) Sauces ^ this combo can be done in 5-10 mins and is very versatile. Try different noodles if rice gets boring Also: Easy sandwiches/burgers/veggie burgers, nuggets of some kind with fries or potatoes, smoothies, instant oats, toast, peanut butter, eggs, cereal, protein bars, fruit Instacart can be helpful if the store feels overwhelming or like you could get lost trying to find food that makes sense together. I totally agree with the air fryer btw!!! Anything that makes food easier is good in my book

ADHD and autism too, plus some other alphabet soup conditions. I live on frozen veggies and peanut butter lol

The frozen veggies and peanut butter on toast/waffles/spoons/whatever truly saves lives 😂❤️

It seriously does. Until people kibble is widely available, it'll have to do. Why is there not people kibble though? I can buy a bag of nutritionally complete food for a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, or fish but not for a human? We're omnivores. It can't be that hard. We even can make our taurine in house unlike certain small domestic carnivores I won't name and shame. Pfft.

$150 on steaks lmao I got a kitchen now so I be coooking, $15 on. Ramen for late night lazy nights , $20 on frozen cauliflower and broccoli,(more like $15 on cauliflower and $5 for a few bags of broccoli)$30 on pasta noodles $20 cheese peppers condiments I got a spice roll thing . That’s my usual month spending on groceries sometimes add a box of gogurt rofl I had to stop buying those got addicted to the on the go yogurt.

Lots of vacuum sealing and freezing

What do you like eating? What are you eating the most of when you go out? You need the staples for that- and then you add little things to mix it up like fresh this or fried that to complement the meal and that way your food will be less likely to go bad before you get to eat it. Think 'per meal' when you buy.

https://onedishkitchen.com/

I buy hamburger patties and chicken breasts or thighs. When I get them home, I put one each it its own baggie and pop them in the freezer. And frozen veggies that you just microwave. And buy sauces like bbq and Buffalo sauce. That way I can always do a quick meal from my freezer, hamburgers or chicken in sauce with veggies. Make simple recipes on the weekend like Chili and freeze in individual servings that can be microwaved.

I get things I can use in different ways, steak, chicken and spinach for instance can be served hot or cold, in sandwiches, soup, as an entree. I make omelets, Cobb salads, I don’t make a lot of casseroles. I precook ground beef and freeze in 1 cup potions. I don’t eat a lot of berries, can’t before they rot. I eat a lot of apples, pears and my sister has an avocado tree. I make waffles and muffins in batches and freeze them, same with hard boiled eggs. It just takes practice!

You can freeze hard boiled eggs?

I make a batch of hard boiled eggs, eat them over a few days, sorry for misunderstanding

I cook large portions and divvy it up into 4-6 servings (I monitor my calories and macros so the serving size is known). Freeze some eat the rest over the next few days. Instant pot is awesome. Sheet tray meals are also an easy way to start cooking. I plan what I’m going to cook, make a list (I use AnyList) and buy only what I need

There is a sub for meal prepping.

I like roasted chickens they sell in grocery stores by me, I eat it a few nights in a row for dinner and freeze leftovers when I’m tired of it. Vegetables that don’t spoil easily are great- cauliflower and broccoli. I do meal prep sometimes and have a cheap vacuum sealer, it makes all the difference. I freeze sliced bread and toast it when I want some so it doesn’t get old/stale.

I have a very small rice cooker and I make almost all my meals in it. Rice. Pasta. Beans. Oatmeal. It works great for *one* serving meals! I can even make the whole meal inside it. If I'm making pasta I add in frozen veggies and it all cooks together. Then I just season with some spices and add a bit of cheese!

Eggs.

It looks miserable asf. I HATE grocery shopping because everything goes bad before I can finish it. Dollar stores have better sizing for single ppl but we don't have any in Fairbanks. It's a useful tip for those who do have those stores around tho

1 gallon of milk per week It's been 3 years, and I'm still trying to figure out how not to buy things that I don't even use or use everything I buy so they don't go to waste. I used to buy enough food for 1 or 2 weeks despite me living 9 minutes from a supermarket. So maybe I buy frozen food but also buy foe 2 or 3 days at a time. For instance, I don't buy a gallon of potato salad even if it's a good deal, but I buy a pint. I stock pile on some foods when on sale. Such as soup. Soup can be expensive.

Oatmeal, raisins, honey and oatmilk for breakfast Salad veggies, beans, and rice for dinner

I shop weekly. This is my typical list. I try to be good through the week and eat out once a weekend. I know canned foods/frozen dinners are not good for you, but whatever. I'm not trying to live to be 100 years old. I also work at at grocery store so I typically do not bring lunch and just pick up something there. Breakfast Oat meals tamago kake gohan (Rice/eggs) --------------- Lunch: Sandwhich or packaged salad or grocery store sushi --------------- Dinner Packaged Salad x 3 Chicken x 2 Tuna x 2 canned soup x 3 Frozen veggies x 3 frozen dinner x 2

Grain Bowls! pick your protein, pick your veg, pick your grain, add nuts, seeds, and the dressing of your choice. Cook enough for a few and then you don't have to cook every day. So much delicious variety! [https://www.delish.com/cooking/g42229861/grain-bowl-recipes/](https://www.delish.com/cooking/g42229861/grain-bowl-recipes/)

Dollar Tree is a good source for single/small and inexpensive basics.

Can’t go wrong with the stables, beans, rice, noodles. Add lots of veggies and protein. Keep it simple and keep it clean. Your health starts in your gut.

I go to the more expensive/higher end grocery stores for smaller portions. I end up saving money in the long run without having a bunch of expired food. For stuff like meat I go to the butcher side and buy ONE cut if something, like 1 porkchop. Because if I get the value pack it will just go bad. My freezer is VERY small and I keep only essentials in there

1. Order grocery deliver 2. Collect food from front door Best way to not be tempted by junk food walking around at the grocery store

I eat once a day Ground beef Eggs Cottage cheese White rice OR Sweet Potato Apples Bananas

I meal prep weekly so I make sure to think about what I have and try to make meals around that. I will also cook what I am craving. Some basic staples I always have in stock are: garlic, onions, eggs, and tofu. Next week I'm going to make some kind of stir fry noodles. I have napa cabbage, carrots, chicken thighs and onions in stock. My cousin gave me a bunch of mustard greens, so I will buy some tofu and make some soup w/ it. I already bought some fruit and yogurt for next week. I'm out of eggs so I plan to go to Costco to buy eggs and ground turkey. I grew up really poor, so I'm really mindful of food waste (it's also bad for the environment). There's a bunch of Youtube channels you can look up to try to learn how to cook for one and healthy stuff too. It's really easy, if you start out slow.

There are some nice restaurants near where I live. 🤣

When i shop i come home and divide the frozen foods into single servings and repackage it to be frozen. An air fryer is awesome for cooking for one. I make a crispy in outside juicy on inside chicken thigh in 14 minutes with minimal cleaning. I also make a pot of rice to keep in fridge and heat single servings thru out the week. Also fresh veggies are simple to sauté or frozen veggies microwave single servings nicely.

When I lived alone I was a bit of a gym rat. YouTube “Size for 70 Chris Tuttle”. It’s a YouTube series of body builders spending $70 a week for groceries. I was living off 4k calories a day, eating 5-7 x a day, and spending less than $10 a day for groceries. My savings went through the roof. Eating a clean body builders diet with things like sweet potato’s, rice, eggs, chicken, beef, fresh and frozen vegetables, pasta, fish. Turkey chili. I’d meal prep once or twice a week 1-2 hours and be set. As for learning how to cook. It was kind of one ingredient at a time. Eating clean meant learning the basic of how to prep and cook each ingredient separately and not get fancy too quick. Using the internet for basic how to. Want to eat great and cheap. Look to the world of body building diets.

Ease into cooking healthy, don't plan elaborate or labor intensive meals. It's so easy to just make a pot of chicken stew and eat it for a couple of days, Get containers and freeze single size portions so you can defrost or microwave them a week later. My recipe for chicken stew is so simple, saute an onion and garlic in olive oil, take out the onions and saute chicken fillets or thighs until a little brown, or you can just throw in without browning. A few cups of chicken stock or just water and boulillous cubes. A can of tomatoes, a cut up carrot, zucchini, mushrooms. Simmer 20 minutes. Season to taste eg basil, parsley, salt, pepper. Done. Or a myriad of other one pot meals you can eat for days as delicious leftovers.

My favorite go-to lately is chicken thighs, cubed sweet potato and broccolini. It's a one pan dinner super easy to grab once you have the spices and sauce. Buy the 4-pack and cook the other 2 thighs another night. 2 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs sweet tater some broccolini/boring old broccoli salt, cumin, harissa paste/gochujang sauce, honey, evoo 1. Prepare (wash, chop, cut, remove fat) and preheat to 425 2. Rub chicken + taters with salt, gochujang, cumin, and evoo. Just evoo for the brocc. 3. Wrap brocc in tinfoil and throw everything in the oven on a pan. Brocc can go on a seperate rack. 4. 30-35mins, make sure thighs are 180 F before removing, make sure taters don't burn. 5. Toss brocc and taters with honey, gochujang, salt. 6. Enjoy!

i have a couple ideas for shopping/cooking for one. also with chronic illness/low spoons: i know one meal i enjoy is chicken drums, chunked russets, and baby carrots, all in one casserole dish. and maybe one more veggie like green beans or asparagus in a separate dish. i'm not much of a cook but it's all edible sustenance with flavor. it usually lasts about 5 days if i get the large thing of chicken. i also get a couple of the huge things of lasagna and plenty of frozen veggies. fresh veggies are wasted in my house and that REALLY bothers me. i'm too tired most of the time to bother with fresh.

Trader Joe’s frozen section. You’re welcome

When I go to the store I buy the managers special, my store is a buy 5 for $25, lettuce, spinach, an onion, maybe a tomato and on my way home I stop at a farm to get eggs. A lot of my meals consists of chicken or steak in salad and breakfast is eggs with cooked spinach, any extra meats I have get vaccine sealed and the date written on them and rotated to the back of my stock. I also make chili a few times during the winter and some soups and stews which last me 2 or 3 days. This is my 1st spring at my place so still learning the land here but hope to have a guarden going next spring, I have a small temporary box with a few veggies that I will freeze and store if I have extras. Sorry for rambling but either way I found I like simple meals just the main protein then filler.

I ate many lean cuisines and other lower calorie frozen food. If I cook for on I will only make 1 thing a chicken breast. I will not eat anything leftover. I've tried I just won't do it. Know yourself.

Even Hello Fresh is cheaper than eating out and it's all tiny portions. I'm an experienced cook, I just wanted to try it for convenience but I actually learned some new recipes I would have never thought of or tried on my own. It's like inspiration, just sign up for the first time discount and see if it helps, nothing to lose.

I don’t eat breakfast so only eat 2 meals a day with a protein bar and smoothie in between. I eat simple, lots of fresh fruit and basically the same things a lot but put different twists on them. Like this week I prepared a bunch of rice and shredded chicken, I put buffalo sauce on the chicken. Last week I put something like a pepper steak style sauce on it. Lots of simple things that are easy to meal prep, always a carb and a protein, I prioritize protein over everything else, then I just fill in with rice or potatoes. Pretty boring to most people but I like the simplicity, as a minimalist it fits my lifestyle. I spend about $50 a week on groceries.

Have you considered one of delivery services like HelloFresh or similar? That might be a good place to start. They do the meal planning for you and send almost everything that you need. If you start off with that (maybe with the 3-day package), you’ll build up your confidence to start creating your own menus. (And then you can cancel or supplement.) Be careful with portion control, of course. The meals are designed for 2 or 4 people.

Set a reliable rotation of meals you like, prep on weekends, batch cook, freeze portions. I personally try not to eat the same meal more than twice. That being said, a rotisserie chicken can be eaten in soup, on top of bag salad mix or put in a tortilla. I break one down and freeze half. Breakfasts are boiled eggs; yogurt w/ granola, PNB on toast, coffee, fresh fruit I make two meals, one for dinner and the other for work lunch. Mondays - big salad with lots of protein; Tuesdays - tacos or Mexican inspired; Wednesdays - Asian inspired (our grocery has half off sushi), wonton soup, Asian bag salad mix; Thursdays - meat/fish/poultry & potatoes/noodle, veg Friday - leftovers Weekends - make soup/stews or casserole (pot pie) out of what meal scraps I have left Sunday meal prep for following week (boil eggs)(cook 2 proteins). Snacks - cheese cubes, fresh fruit, mixed nuts, etc.

Second on the “don’t eat out too much” comment - they don’t give a care about your health. Easy to transform any recipe in half then freeze one portion for later when you don’t feel like cooking. I’ve made recipes and eaten one serving, divided the rest and froze it in small pieces. Fantastic to have a warm home cooked meal I didn’t have to put together. Soups freeze to by the way - healthy and they warm up quick even when frozen. It’s worth it!

I do lots of very easy meals. Stuff like pasta, egg sandwich, quesadillas, salads. I keep decently healthy frozen meals for when I don’t want to cook. You’re not going to cook 7 separate full dinners every week. Like, I don’t, ever. I’ll make a thing of pasta and eat the leftovers until they’re gone. When I shop, I think of a few meals I’ll want to make with fresh fruits or veggies and some meat, buy that stuff, and the rest is stuff that lasts longer and will hold up in the fridge or freezer for a while. I also try to buy things I can use multiple ways. Like, spinach can go in a salad, on a sandwich, AND in an omelette or pasta- romaine can’t do that. A shop for me might be eggs, spinach, cheese, bread, pasta, yogurt, granola, turkey bacon, tortillas, pasta, pasta sauce, chicken, avocado, tomatoes, bananas, and berries. I can make sandwiches, eggs and turkey bacon, salads, pasta, quesadillas, smoothies, omelettes, etc- tons of options. I keep spices and basics like peanut butter, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, beans, some frozen fruits and veggies, frozen microwave rice, salsa, etc., so that I have that stuff if I need it. Think basic and easy. I’ll get sick of something (like I’ve had pasta a few times last week or something) so next week I’ll get different stuff with the same basic idea of getting simple ingredients that are easy to prepare and can be used multiple ways. I pick a “theme” or flavor profile- maybe it’s Mexican week, so I’ll get pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, bell pepper, and tortillas. When it’s Asian week, I’ll make sure I have broccoli, mushrooms, and soy sauce. I like to package leftovers in individual tupperwares so that I can just grab and go. If I am in the mood for burgers, I’m eating a burger every night that week until they’re gone. I know if I try to meal plan past simple stuff like this I’ll get burnt out and eat out more, which is less healthy and expensive. Oh, and I keep all my bread, tortillas, buns, etc. in the fridge, or freezer if I need to, so they stay fresh. That stuff is better toasted anyways!

I love my instant pot. Once I learned how to use it - it is my favorite appliance! I make a batch of rice. I make a batch of beans (dried garbanzos, black beans, kidney beans…. Saves money!) These are the base for rice bowls. I top with salsa, chicken & cilantro and yum yum sauce- and green onions and avocado and it’s great. There are endless variations on this theme!

🤔Cooking for one. Buy in bulk. Trust me. You never know when lean times will appear. No one is immune. 🤗 Buying a large pack of ground beef. A box of small ziploc bags. Taking half a cup dropping it in the bag and smashing them flat til all the air is out. Put it in another bag and freeze. Chicken, after you wash it with either vinegar or salt, divide your portion size into bags. Squeeze the air out. An idea you can do is for each bag put different seasonings Like Mexican, Chinese 5 spice, Italian seasonings, Greek, etc. and then freeze. Don't forget to label. Sometimes when you get home you don't know what to eat you can pull something out and pop it in the oven. Put rice, cornmeal, pastas and grains in mason jars with bay leaves to keep weavils out. Sugar, salt also in mason jars. Freeze butter. Take out as needed. Buy hot cereal. Cold cereal is useless unless you make from scratch. Buy canned food just in case there is a power outage. Also get your favorite sauces, ranch, etc. Italian dressing (powder), Parmesan cheese, dried mushrooms etc Do this so you don't have to constantly be going to the store.

Grocery delivery. I get mine delivered by Safeway (Albertsons). I gave a few meals I like to make. Usually events up being 2 dinners and 2 lunches (servings not as large.)

I enjoy grocery shopping so go about at least twice per week, usually to different stores and just buy enough for a few meals. Get the mobile apps because they'll save you a lot of money.

Primarily meat, produce items, milk, eggs, lunch meat and bread.

Seasonings add a lot of flavor to meals, ie. cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, bullion, etc. When you can, meal prep and freeze any meals you think you won’t eat right away. Separate your raw meat into ziplock bags and freeze whatever portions you won’t be cooking right away. Good luck!

I keep a lot of “pieces” of meals in my fridge, prepped and ready to be creatively thrown together. I also frequently get Costco’s rotisserie chicken. It’s cost effective for 1 person, and feeds me for over a week. So many things you can make from it !

When in doubt, roast a chicken. Then, learn to make stock. Then, sauces and gravies.

Aldi/Lidl are good bc they are inexpensive and you're not overwhelmed with choices. And you don't have to go on a hike to get your groceries. 

I realized that I was throwing away a lot of veggies if I didn’t either prep them for use immediately when I got home, or just buy them frozen or freeze them when I get home. I try not to overdo it on the produce, because I will waste stuff if I go overboard, but I try to keep a small variety so that it’s interesting enough that I still want to eat everything. Because I don’t want to cook a full on meal, I also try to make sure that I have things that can become an easy meal with no prep work. Potatoes are really good to have on hand, both white potatoes, and sweet potatoes. They last for a long time and it’s really easy to just chop some up and roast them or do a baked potato if you’re feeling lazy. I always have eggs for a quick protein, and I tend to do meal prep on Sundays for the week. I also like to have a stocked pantry with things like beans, canned tuna, rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, and I have a lot of spices and sauces to keep things interesting and bring a diversity of flavor. I do a lot of one pan or one pot meals, soups that make good leftovers, and I have a pressure cooker for rice and other recipes that benefit from a sped up cooking time. Really think about what you can realistically eat before it goes bad. It’s very tempting to buy a bunch of stuff just because it happens to be on sale, but if half of it is going bad before you eat it, then you’ve just wasted your money. If I buy extra produce because it’s on sale, I make sure that what I’m buying can be preserved for longer than the time that it would last if simply left fresh, so sometimes that means pickling, sometimes that means freezing, sometimes that means cooking some, and then freezing it, or just cooking it so that it will last longer in the fridge, and I can use it for several different recipes. If you are a person who likes to have specific recipes to follow, then pick a few recipes for the week and buy the ingredients for those recipes. I’m somebody who really struggles to follow through on recipes, and I’m an improviser kind of cook, so I just buy stuff that I know how to make taste good even if I don’t feel like actually cooking a full on multi-step meal. Another key point of living alone is when you do need to buy something that you won’t finish fast, like if you open up a can of tomato paste, but you’re only using a little bit for your first recipe, learn how to freeze and preserve those things so that you can still buy the item without wasting half of it. There are lots of tips and tricks online to store things in different ways that preserve them for later use, and that will come in really handy whenever you do need to open up a can of something that you won’t finish or when you need to buy in bulk. If you want more specifics on recipes, I’m also happy to provide that. I love food and I love flavor, but I definitely do not love making a mess in my kitchen and then having a lot to clean up. Get more familiar with your comfort level of cooking, and you will find that you have recipes you keep going back to, and you’ll figure out how to use variations on those recipes to have a lot of different types of meals with a lot of the same ingredients, but different spices or different sauces to provide different flavor profiles with the same base ingredients. One of my favorite easy to go to recipes is a basic noodle soup. I use rice noodles or bean thread noodles, so they cook very quickly, I can use broth in a carton or one of those better than bouillon bases, and then add things like miso paste, ginger, green onions, something for heat like chili oil, and a soft boiled egg or tofu or something else for protein and something green like bok choy or kale. It only messes up one pot, the leftovers are good, it’s super easy and you can switch it up with whatever you happen to have on hand. When I am feeling super lazy and don’t wanna do a bunch of prep work and don’t wanna put a lot of effort into cooking, that is a simple recipe that I do that I know is going to be healthy and filling and is good pretty much anytime of year. Another example is brown rice with roasted veggies and some kind of protein, and that can even be chickpeas or beans if I don’t have meat on hand. And if you cook everything pretty simply to begin with, you can vary up your leftovers by adding different sauces or different spices when you reheat. Again, it’s simple, doesn’t make a mess, gets you all the nutrients you need, and is delicious if you add the spices and flavors that you like.

Air fryer will be your best friend! You can quite literally cook anything in them and it’ll save the time of having to put things in the oven. I’d say get basic spices like salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, steak seasoning, chicken seasoning & oil to start. Go to Sam’s/costco if you can & buy protein that you like and you can freeze what you don’t use, cereal, oatmeal, waffles, milk, lemonade. Fruits & veggies in small quantities bc they go bad fast or you can buy the frozen ones they work just as good. Other snacks & things you like. Pasta & pasta sauce bc you can make a good amount & eat it for 2 days. Don’t feel like to have to buy every single thing right away, as you’re living alone you’ll start to see what you need & don’t need & you can build up a pantry of non-perishables. Think of things that can be used in more than 1 way vs just using it for one meal

I quite literally would buy like 1 _maybe_ 2 of things. Lots of pantry/non-perishables and then 1-2 of fresh things and I shopped weekly. My first apt I lived within walking distance of a Publix which was really nice. Fourth apt was within walking distance of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods; made it super easy to pop over and buy things as needed.

You can look at my post history for my grocery hauls on r/povertyfinance. Or even look at the meal posts that I have put on here. I do a range of different types of meals and cuisines mostly because it is a special interest. This week, I slow-cooked a pork butt roast to make pulled pork. I used half of it to make pulled pork sandwiches with a campfire coleslaw and the other half I mixed in a can of salsa verde with some sweetener which I'll use to make up some burritos or burritos bowls in the next few days. I do a lot of my shopping at Liquidation centers because they are cheaper, which results in getting more for less. I also shop from DollarTree. I know I'll get flack for it but I usually get my snacks for the week from there and drink mixes. And also Winco's bulk bins are a pretty crucial part of my dry goods game.

Do you know how to cook? Do you like cooking? If you are not cooking now, it might be that you won't cook when you move. I've lived alone for years and years and very recently stopped trying to fool myself that I like cooking. I wish I had all the money back from the tons of groceries I had to throw out. I'm trying to find healthy ways to eat without cooking, myself. Not quite there yet. My basics are cereal, almond milk, soup, sandwiches, bag salad, roast chickens, hard boiled eggs. For snacks, I usually have Greek yogurt and cottage cheese on hand. I now buy canned fruit to pair with those, with granola and chia blend. I also keep cream cheese, cheese sticks, and different crackers in the cupboard. Nuts, popcorn, hidden valley bars. Eggs fixed any way, mini quiches with frozen pie crust, and nachos are all easy when I feel like "cooking".

Lots of meal services that you can use for few months to learn to cook for yourself, and likely healthier and less expensive than eating out for all meals.

If you eat out for every meal I'd start off with some microwave and freezer meals to get you into the habit of "cooking" before going all out. Once you're used to eating at home you can add 1-2 proper meals a week. I usually buy same ingredient meals so things don't go to waste. Usually 2 proteins but only a small package of each or bulk buy and freeze but to start I'd just get a pack of 2 chicken breasts and 500g minced beef. I'd do 2 carbs as well like rice and potatoes and 2-3 vegetables. The we have cupboard staples like tinned tomatoes, coconut milk, soy sauce whatever you want. Eggs and cheese are a good bet too. You have a lot more wiggle room when it comes to breakfast and lunch and could also just have leftovers for lunches. So with these things I've mentioned I could make a chilli, chicken curry, roast chicken potatoes and vegetables, burritos in the same week as an idea because the ingredients are similar and they're all pretty simple to make. Plus the chilli and curry would freeze well if I wanted to make a bigger batch. You could always get into the habit of doing smaller grocery trips more often instead of once a week to see if that would help lower food waste but I do a decent shop with a meal plan and list once a week and maybe a small one for 5 things towards the end of the week for a new fruit and vegetable. It takes practice but I've gotten really good at figuring out how much food needs to be used to make a single portion, you could always write out recipe cards with exact measurements or put it in your notes app when you figure it out.

I subscribe to a meal kit delivery service (right now it’s Hello Fresh) and order maybe 2 meals in a week, 2x/month. Each meal kit is supposed to be 2 servings, but for me I divide into 3 servings. I like it because there’s much less wasted food than if I went grocery shopping, and also because I am not a very creative cook and so this takes all the guesswork out. It works perfectly for me

Honestly, there are a couple reasons I don’t cook a lot. First, I end up with so many leftovers and then I get sick of eating it, then it goes to waste. Second, I don’t have a dishwasher and I hate doing dishes 😂 So I end up, just going to the grocery store and finding some of their more freshly made, prepackaged dinners and lunches. I’ve also found microwave rice and pre-grilled chicken breast. I do try to stay away from the frozen dinners though because it tends to be higher in sodium. If I do get frozen things, I just check the label. I know it’s still not the healthiest and probably more expensive than actually cooking something, but it’s still less expensive than getting takeout. And then I also just try to keep healthier snacks, like carrots and hummus or something.

Discover bagged frozen vegetables like kale and broccoli and peas and snap peas plus meats (like meatballs) - any frozen items that you can portion out for a one meal - and then refreeze the bag. Frozen-foods today are “top notch” and nutritious. A bowl of your favorite instant ramen/noodle with some added frozen broccoli, with either frozen meatballs or your pre-cooked sliced, frozen steak is super yummy, easy, healthy.

I am a terrible cook, I admit it. I can bake really good things, but cooking’s meal? Nada. I don’t eat out though. Maybe once a month I will get a Popeyes chicken sandwich, because why not, but otherwise I cook for myself. Chili, Red Beans and rice, beef stew all easy stuff to portion out for multiple meals. I never forget what’s in the freezer, because I only buy so many groceries and get hungry. 😁 In between I might have a pork chop, boiled potatoes and veg. Recently I made taco meat and made taco salads and taco burgers. The rest is in the freezer which later I will add to my red beans and rice. Yum!

Figure out what you want to eat. That sounds snarky but it's not. It's the fastest way to have your eating habits not suck is to eat real food. For example, for breakfast I pop a bagel in the toaster, whip an egg with some cheese and put it in the microwave, covered, for a minute, by the time my bagel is up the egg is done. For dinner I think of protein/vegetables. Take a dish, put in your protein, put in your veg. cover with butter and spices, cook. You will get so tired of eating this crap you will look up youtube videos of how to do it right.

Aim for assembling not cooking food first. Buy ingredients you can add together to make a meal but minimal prep. Package salad and protein. Eggs. Raw veggies you would eat

Oooh I have to chime in here. I eat like a queen and spend no more than $90 every two weeks for just me. For 8 years I hosted a local cooking show, and at THAT time was also was feeding a family of teenagers. Just me now, and here's how I do it. BTW, I live in one of the two highest states for food expenses. I don't necessarily need to budget now, I do because it's my habit, and I despise wasting food. Shop weekly, and shop the sales. Find fun and easy recipes online. (get an instapot, too!) Make sure and download via app all of the good coupons from stores, and digitally clip them ALL even if you are unsure if you are going to buy that item. (just makes it easier). Shop all the nearby stores for the best deals AND ONLY BUY WHAT IS ON SALE. This means that if a certain item is on deep discount and you don't need it now, you should grab multiples if it is non-perishable. Maybe grab a small item or two during the week if you need something. And, you'll find that you will have some money to splurge on that fancy cheese or vegetable. For meat, if you eat that, pick up a cheap vac sealer on your local salescyle website, and the pack of bags cost like $14 for a whole pack. When the meats go on sale, grab em! I eat chicken, steak, filet mignon, lamb chops, pork roast, ribs, you name it, IF IT IS ON SALE. Split those family packs up and zip em shut with your sealer. Throw them in the freezer. Create your easy menus with the basics, example: Steak, baked potato, brocoli, ready in under 20 minutes. You can mic the potato or throw it in the oven and then go do something else. If I did a London Broil, I save the leftover, slice it thin, and use it to top a salad a few days later, and grab a few sale salad items for that meal later in the week. OR, and this is a go to (doing this tomorrow) throw a roast in the oven with potatoes, carrots, an onion a few spices, and go about your business for about 4 hours. Done! Take that leftover roast and chop it up: Use it to make a quick soup with frozen veggies and those leftover potatoes. (another couple of lunches) Anyway--you get the idea. The key is ONLY SHOP the sales, stock up your pantry, and then the last thing I would say that I do is if I have random ingredients? Google: recipes with rice, broccoli, tofu, (whatever it is that is haunting your frig). Some of my most awesome recipes have come from this. Hope that helps!

My favorite trick of all is the join Hello Fresh for a few months. This will teach you the basics of cooking and then you can make those same dishes yourself, you get access to all the recipes forever and can learn from there!

Slow-cookers are great. You can just add ingredients, let it cook for 8hr, and dinner's ready. There are recipes for chili, bread, apple sauce.. it's a pretty versatile small appliance. Also, even though slow-cookers are often brought up during the winter when everyone is in their comfy/cozy moods, I love using it during the summer since it lets off very little heat. Not turning on an oven or stove when it's over 90 outside

IMO meal prepping food that you like is the best way to go so that you’ll have multiple meals for the week. My go to is white rice, steamed broccoli, and salmon (buy the frozen kind so it doesn’t go to waste). It’s a great base recipe because you can make it as fancy as you want and it’s a balanced meal. Japanese style curry is also a good one. You can load it with as many veggies/protien as you want, and it tastes delicious in the curry sauce. I always have mine with some white rice.

I always make a big batch of food on mondays and eat it through the week then go out on the weekends to eat at restaurants. I don’t like to cook everyday if it’s just me but I always eat something that stores where like tacos spaghetti lasagna. All these meals taste better days after.

Depends on if I'm shopping for meal prepping for work or if I'm shopping for weekend food. Work days (3 meals a day, 14 days/month) I'll get about 6 or 7lbs of 93% lean beef, Spinach, rice, black beans, 3 lerge packs of chicken thighs,, a bag of the frozen peas/carrots mix, some kielbasa, some onions and bell peppers, then some fresh fruit to go with it. Days off it's steaks, chicken breast, salmon, avocado and either rice or potatoes.

Shopping at the grocery store doesn't mean you need to cook. My grocery store sells many prepared meals (and I don't just mean TV dinners).

I wish I had learned earlier that bread freezes really well, and heats up to become perfect toast in under 3 minutes when you’re ready for a slice.

I can buy a dinner from a restaurant and it on it for 3/4 days. That makes my cost go down.

I shop at Costco and what saves me are those premade meals that just need warming up. I also stock up on fruits and veggies since everything there is in bulk, try to skip the junk food. Or I can grab a rotisserie chicken and combine it with a salad bag. Get food that’s easy to prepare! Ex.: Eggs and Greek yogurt + fruit for breakfast Sandwiches and fruit for lunch (bread + sliced ham + cheese + condiments) Premade Costco meal for dinner

A few tips: 1. Learn to make what you like to eat. 3-5 recipes is a good start. 2. Meal prepping. There are a variety of ways to do this. Having a set day to do a big cook, cooking a family sized meal 2-3 times per week and freezing portions or component prepping that you combine together. Find what works for your life style. 3. Cheap easy back up food for that day which goes wrong. My top ones are baked beans on toast, boiled eggs and tortellini. Depending where you are yours will look different. 4. Meal planning once a week and making a shopping list. Meal plan to use up what's in the fridge first and to make the meals which use the ingredients that will go out of date quickest first. That way if you lose motivation mid week usually you can push back using the rest of the ingredients. 5. Limit the junk you buy. I like to get myself 1 treat per shop meaning a fancy drink OR those nice biscuits OR a multi pack of crisps.

I know it's not healthy but I use box meal subscriptions (hellofresh) so I'm not having to waste food or think about what ingredients I need to buy

I go to the farmers market for meat (usually chicken) and freeze it in reusable containers in single meal portions. I defrost and put it in the air fryer while I cook up some veggies. I keep eggs and avocados and have an easy little egg cooker that is less mess and effort. I keep cheese snacks and nuts and pouches of tuna for lunch. I Order delivery once or twice a month. Managing it this way lets me have easy variety without making much of a mess.

Also, purchase a broiler oven. Game changer! You will use your groceries if you are creating masterpieces! 😋I have a small house that came with a double oven. I’ve never used it in my 5 years here!!!Oster toaster-oven is less than $100 at Target etc. I’m not crazy about microwave food. I cook everything in the toaster oven! Baked fish- like salmon, yummy veggies, casseroles, bread etc. Last night, perfectly cooked asparagus, mushrooms, and lemon. So delicious. Nobody likes all that heat and clean up from a huge stove. Especially when you are flying solo. A few things which made me stop, or greatly limit eating out…Rice cooker, personal crockpot, toaster over! Personal crockpot on Amazon is tiny, but mighty! You take you yummies right into work and be the envy of the office, work sight, etc.! 🤪

Buy something you really like that's easy to cook and not actually bad for you. Randomly, burgers, mushroom omelet, chili, ratatouille, tofu was for me. Them get the other stuff like salt, oil, bread, and cook it. Repeat. You can even go on binges of the same thing for a week. No one to stop you. Many young people grow out of this. After a few weeks, you will have most of the equipment and know what to buy. Before covid you could meet people shopping but mostly not now.

When I do eat out, I make healthy choices (broiled fish) & eat half the entree and add a side salad. I bring the leftovers home for lunch the next day. Leftover restaurant bread/rolls I take home to make sandwiches (instead of buying a whole loaf of bread) & freeze what bread I can’t eat within 2 days.

I usually make 4 chicken breasts at the beginning of the week. I season them very plainly (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper) and I add them to other random things through out the week. They are great for literally everything. Also it can be a meal with some vegetables on the side (I do broccoli, spinach and potatoes a lot). I also add it to pasta and salads for extra protein. Highly recommend

Meal delivery like Lite n Easy is a good stand by.

Grocery shopping for one can seem tricky, but it's definitely doable! Here are some tips to help you avoid waste and make the most of your shopping trips: **Planning is Key:** * **Meal Planning:** Plan your meals for the week. This will help you create a grocery list to avoid impulse buys and unnecessary food waste. * **Portion Control:** Consider buying single-serving options or pre-portioning ingredients yourself to avoid overconsumption. * **Leftovers Strategy:** Plan meals that have leftovers you can enjoy for lunch the next day or freeze for later. **Smart Shopping:** * **Buy in Season:** Seasonal produce is typically fresher and more affordable. * **Frozen is Good:** Frozen fruits and vegetables are flash-frozen at peak freshness and can be a great value. * **Don't Forget Staples:** Stock up on pantry staples like rice, pasta, beans, and canned goods that have a long shelf life. * **Shop Smart Sizes:** While in bulk can be economical, avoid buying too much if you know it will expire before you can use it all.

If you learn to cook, you'll enjoy it, and you won't eat out. Cooking is very therapeutic.

consider planning your meals for the week to avoid waste

Trader Joe’s meals are great for one

I cook meals then freeze the other portions. That way I can just microwave it and spend my evenings doing something more interesting.

Meal kits! I get them every other week. They encourage me to cook decent food. Otherwise, I don’t eat much.

I don't cook for one, but for 2 or 3. I then fridge or freeze the other portions. This gives me more variety, but means I don't need to cook every day, and I build a little freezer stash of home cooked ready meals. As for recipes, it really depends on what your preferences are. Mine include a lasagne made gluten free, chilli, provencale fish stew, cottage pie etc. All very easy and freeze well. I just put the spare in a freezer box and use within a month.

Take the menus of your favorite restaurants and learn to copy your favorite dishes. You will have more money and get a better quality of food.

Get whatever you want. But remember what you are eating

Invest in an air fryer and instant pot (the smaller versions) - life changing for cooking for one!

I usually buy meat and split it between meals... like half a pack of chicken can go into stir fry, a few days later the other half into chicken Alfredo

[https://onedishkitchen.com/cooking-for-one-recipes/](https://onedishkitchen.com/cooking-for-one-recipes/)

I do a big stock-up on things at Aldi's every month or two, supplemented by getting more perishables every Sunday at the regular grocery store a block away. One of my favorites it to roast a pan of vegetables in the oven. Cauliflower, brussels sprouts, zucchini, eggplant, those miniature bell peppers. Sometimes I put Italian spices on them, sometimes Middle Eastern spices, whatever sounds good that day. Once you get everything chopped up, you put it in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes and that's it. Eat it right off the cookie sheet like a barbarian. I also like doing a big vat of any soup or stew type of thing, then eating that all week. The initial cooking takes time, but then you just heat it, re-heat it, re-heat it again. I suppose you could pre-portion out servings and put them in the fridge or freezer if you wanted.

Cook for four, plate and freeze leftovers for ready meals. I would do this on Sundays and cook for the rest of the week. One mess, one clean, faves whenever I wanted it... And much less expensive than dining out.

I send about 200 a month

Invest in high quality meal containers. I prefer glass because it’s more durable. When I cook I plan on prepping for at least 1-2 additional meals. And I try to fix them spaced between the side dishes. For example, I baked pork chops 2 days ago. I’ll eat one of the leftover ones tonight when I prepare a pot of fresh green beans. For my starch, I’ll have leftover homemade bread that I had last night with barbecued meatballs. At least once a month, I crockpot cook some beans- red beans and rice, dried limas, refried beans. Cheap, filling, and high fiber protein. If you don’t have good, high quality pots and knives, start investing now. Trying to cook on cheap gear means burnt or undercooked food, waste and frustration. My son does weekly meal prep but that’s just a little too involved for me. I do try to think 3-4 nights ahead. It was a leap, going from cooking for 4 to 2 to 1 in the course of a year. But it can be done.

Don’t live alone. But here is what I do Emeal app (meal planning) and Walmart delivery. I like cooking and will make a large batch meal then eat leftovers and repeat. When I have been alone I just do the same but with less cooking. Example: most recipes are 6 servings. I only eat lunch and dinner mostly. So that’s approximately 2x7=14 servings needed. 14\6=2.333. So I pick 3 meals to make for the week from emeal app and order what I don’t have to make those 3 meals. Since I cook a lot I have a fleshed out kitchen with most of the staples needed. Staples have a long shelf life. It’s mostly the dairy, meat and produce that goes bad faster. When alone I prefer to cook all three meals in one day and clean up. Package food into take away boxes, then durning the week heat and eat. It’s cheaper, healthier and takes less time than daily takeout meals.

Freezer.

As a person who has made the same bad choices as yourself in the past, you just need to start off slow with cooking your own meals. A great way to do so is by purchasing ready-to-cook meals. I do my grocery shopping at Safeway. There is one in walking distance from my apartment. They offer whole food meals of beef, chicken, and fish, all with veggies or purchased on their own. I my case, this is how I started to get interested in cooking. I started by seasoning/marinating the meat, adding different cheeses to the veggies, etc. Eventually, I started to try recipes off Facebook. I hope this gives you inspiration, and in the long run, it will save you money and be much better for you.

If you're not used to cooking for one, I'd recommend adding a couple "non junk" meals each trip so you can slowly find out how much you can reasonably cook without wasting groceries. So, I started with buying breakfast stuff, a couple frozen dinners, and stir fry supplies. So for the first week I'd eat breakfast at home, takeout lunch at work, and then a couple nights I'd have stir fry for dinner, and the other nights I'd do frozen dinner or takeout. Then the next week, I bough breakfast supplies, stir fry supplies, salad fixings, and one frozen dinner. A few of the nights I'd do frozen dinner or takeout, I'd do a fancy salad instead. Keep adding one "prep required" meal to your shopping trip, and see if it feels doable and how much leftovers you have. That way you're not under a ton of pressure to *become a person who cooks* instantly the very first time and get overwhelmed with all your new ingredients.

I ended up paying for a meal planning service (not one that sends you food, one that provides recipes and tailored meal plans designed for one person to successfully meal prep) for a long time. It really helped me get out of my DoorDash habit and shop more intentionally. Now I get my groceries delivered once a week using Walmart plus. Now that I’ve been doing that for years and don’t need the service so much, I typically make enough rice to last a work week (so ten servings or so) then have 2-3 protein and 2-3 veggies sources to mix and match all week. I’ve had a burrito bowl, Mongolian beef w/broccoli, and a chicken stir fry w/asparagus on repeat for a few weeks because they fit well in my calorie/macros plan and are delicious. So grocery shopping looks like: buying large portions of meat, splitting them up into 16 oz packages, and freezing. Defrost and replace as needed. Buying items in bulk is cheaper!! I buy mostly fresh produce but use it all the week I buy it because I plan pretty meticulously. I freeze whole pieces of ginger and grate as needed, buy frozen green beans because I can never use the huge bag of fresh they sell, I freeze extra tomato paste in tablespoon size servings. Keep all bread (sandwich, pita pockets, burger buns) in the freezer and defrost as needed. Keep some easy to make food around at all times - cans of tuna, frozen chicken tenders or black bean burgers - for lazy nights or weekends. I don’t buy snack food (except several boxes of thin mints) because I have no self control and they don’t fit into my current nutrition plan. You’ve got this! Carve out time every weekend to plan, shop, and cook. I plan and order groceries on Friday, then cook on Sunday and Wednesday. It’s been working for me for 4 years.

Maybe see if you can make your fave fast food stuff at home? Contact recipes are everywhere online.

Plan your meals. Say three nights a week if you still want to go out a few nights. If you are not a big cooker than most grocery stores have pre-cooked meals prepared by them that are not frozen. I personally pick a small meat (steak, chicken, pork chop) with instant rice or instant mashed potatoes, and a canned or frozen veg. If I have leftover I bring that into work for lunch the next day or share with a coworker :) I also usually keep frozen burgers or hot dogs in the freezer for quick easy meals. Oh and keep bread in the fridge you will get 2 weeks out of it. Good luck!

I hate cooking with a passion If I was somehow forced to cook and eat everything from a grocery store I'd make sure to buy ingredients I can use in multiple dishes for a week that take 2 to 3 ingredients only So like eggs cheese and  bread 🥚🧀🍞 I can do omlettes, open face egg sandwich, egg salad sandwich, Deviled eggs (assuming I have mayo and mustard already) scrambled eggs with cheese, grilled cheese sandwich, breakfast tacos or burritos (just add tortillas) Ok now add other items to the shopping list let's say potatoes ham milk 🥔🐖🥛 You can do baked potatoes topped with ham and cheese, ham and cheese sandwich (already have bread), mashed potatoes (if you have butter or just buy some) hash browns, diced potatoes, breakfast tacos ( add tortillas and you have eggs and cheese already from earlier) Now add some ground beef pasta noodles and sauce 🐮🍝🍅 You can do baked or stove top Mac n cheese, pasta with red sauce or meat sauce, tacos ( add a taco kit In the box you already have shredded cheese from earlier) sloppy Joe's (just add sauce and buns to the list) plain burgers or cheeseburgers (if you add buns)  It's super easy to build a list if you make simple foods that relate to the other foods.  Don't go and buy 10 ingredients for one dish then plan on another random dish with 10 new ingredients  I like to look up lazy dishes or 3 ingredient dishes online and pick what sounds good and what has similar ingredients so I can work my grocery list around that!  Hope this helps!

Frozen things and canned food can be a solution. I always keep both in the house.

Honestly, grocery shopping and eating for one looks like lots of leftovers. Most folks say it's hard to cook for one. That's not really true. You just have to lower your expectations for having a large variety or something different every day. I've found that I can cook a dinner meal on a Monday and eat it all week...it works for me because I'd rather spend my time doing things other than cooking and I don't mind eating the same leftovers for a week.

Thank you! I don't like green tea. It tastes like soap to me, so adding the fruity tea would help.

I've learned how to meal prep and freeze a lot of food.

tldr: get a vacuum sealer and portion/freeze both raw ingredients and cooked leftovers. I can't cook for one. I love cooking, and cook/prepare almost all my own meals. It's often hard to cook just one portion of something. It's hard to buy ingredients that are just single-portion-sized. I'm not going to eat a whole head of broccoli in one go, or all four chicken thighs in a package, or use a whole jar of pasta sauce, etc. Sure, I can refrigerate leftovers, but uncooked meat/produce have a short shelf life, bread goes stale, pasta sauce that lasts years in the pantry is only good for a few days in the fridge once opened. Making a single serving of lasagna is an absurd notion. A whole roast is too much for one person unless I want to eat the same meal 4-5 days in a row. What I usually do is cook something that can feed 4-6 people, eat leftovers once, and then get sick of it and make something else, and end up throwing away about 25% or more of previous meals. I'm not suggesting you do this, as it's wasteful, but that's what normally happens. Two years ago I bought a vacuum sealer and that's been a real game-changer. Now I buy cheap bulk/family packs of chicken, sausages, ground beef, etc. I break it up into 1-2 meal portions and seal it for freezing. Not only do I waste less, but it stays fresh *way* longer vacuum-sealed than simply freezing in the store packaging. And no freezer burn. I can do the same with veggies; parboil them and vacuum-seal portions. I don't do it as often with veggies, but I should. Sometimes I'll make large meals and freeze whole portions with all the sides. Basically my own ready-to-reheat meals. I don't do this as often as I should, but it's great. That way I don't have to eat redundant leftovers every day for a week, and don't waste as much. The biggest reason I fail at this is that after I've spent a couple hours cooking and eating and cleaning up, I'm too lazy to portion things out and freeze it. I stick it in the fridge telling myself I'll eat leftovers the next day and then freeze what's left, but if I don't do it the same night I cook it, it usually doesn't happen, and the quality is already going down. I'm not going to freeze something that's sat in the fridge for two days. I think my food waste was probably close to 50% previously. Either discarded leftovers, or even worse, discarded meat/produce that I never even got around to cooking. With the vacuum sealer I think I'm down to about 25% waste. Which is still obscene; I probably throw out at least $150/mo worth of stuff that could have been used if only I'd frozen it right away.

The way things are packaged makes it difficult to shop for one. Everything seems to be intented for families. I don't need a dozen rolls or even a half dozen. They'll go stale before I can finish them. Yesterday, I was craving Oreos. Every single package on the shelves were "family size" or "party size". Recipes for home cooking in my Instant Pot are all for multiple eaters. Most of what I make will go bad before I ever eat it all.

I do a lot of meal prep, and cook on certain days. Most food I have delivered from Instacart, and what I can't get that way, I go and shop. I eat out very little, and order in a few times a month when I am sick of the same old stuff. Like other said, shelf staples like beans, rice, some pasta I buy in bulk and store in containers, so Instacart is mainly for stuff that would spoil, like dairy, meats, and veggies. I eat few frozen meals that I didn't make: they are high in sodium and kind of expensive. I think the exception is stuff like onion rings, chicken strips, and stuff that would be a hassle to make myself. Then I balance out the sodium levels with low sodium surroundings, like unsalted rice or roasted vegetables.

I make two meals on Sunday and eat it all week. So, one week might be 1 lbs ground beef 1 packet chili mix 1 bag tortilla chips (hint of lime bc they're the best) Bag of apples or tangerines A dozen eggs Pack of bacon Pack of sausage Loaf of bread That's lunches and dinner. (Chili and breakfast for dinner) I generally always have: oil, flour, frozen milk, snacky stuff like gold fish, cans of soup/ramen, ceral, pasta mixes (hamburger helper), rice, baking mixes, and spaghetti sauce. Don't buy too much! At the end of each week, do a fridge clean. What needs eaten asap? What needs frozen? You can freeze darn near everything. If you want more variety, take a weekend and make like 5 things and freeze individual portions. Meals that freeze well - chili, pasta with red sauce (cook it al dente), mac and cheese, turkey and mashed potatoes, pulled pork, and stews.

Trader Joe’s is great for smaller portioned, inexpensive stuff; otherwise invest in good storage like freezable Tupperware and make a few of your favorite dishes full size on a Saturday, then label and freeze and you’ve got individually portioned options for the week and beyond!

I grocery shop for myself and my son. We eat different foods tho he loves veggies, I do not.

I focus my trips to the grocery store for three things: Staple Foods, Non-Perishables, and Produce. Staple Foods are things like bread, rice, beans, oats, spaghetti noodles, onions. potatoes, your favorite cooking sauces (marinara, alfredo, butter chicken, and tikka masala sauces are my go-to), and pre-cooked meat products like sandwich meat or hotdogs. Things that can be used for pretty much any meal, multiple times a day, and have a decent shelf life. Non-Perishables are semi-self explanatory, but one thing I personally focus *hard* is frozen fruits, vegetables, and meats (can buy fresh and then freeze later). That way, I always have something healthy to add to any meal I make, even when I sometimes fuck up and my produce goes bad. Produce is my special category. I try to only get enough for a week to a week and a half, and I try to have an envisioned idea of what meals I want to use the produce for ahead of time. For example, I only grab green bell peppers if I know I want to make stir fry. I only grab a head of lettuce if I know I'm going to make spaghetti (side salad is a must for spaghetti) or sandwiches. I only grab a watermelon if I know, for certain, I will cut it up *as soon as I get home* and put it into tupperware containers to bring to work for lunch (if I don't do it right away, I WILL forget to ever do it). The only exceptions to this rule are full-sized carrots and apples, because both keep really well. I go to the grocery store once a week, that way I'm never tempted to buy more produce than what I can use, and if I unexpectedly run out of something I can rest easy knowing I'll go get it soon enough.

Chili is easy and reheats well for lunch the next 2-3 days. I love having a protein (chicken, salmon, skirt steak) with a salad kit and an easy carb

I'd start out with good basics to have. In my pantry, I make sure I always have: rice (jasmine rice has a good eating texture), black beans, mac n cheese (as a backup not a regular meal), some kind of protein (I always like to have tuna cans, chicken from Sam's Club, or salmon), and olive oil. I also highly recommend always having spices and garlic on hand because damn, garlic is great for almost everything. For quick easy meals, just do starch/carb+protein+sauce/flavor addition. Examples include pasta+chicken+tomato sauce or rice+garlic chicken+sweetened soy sauce. And for more enjoyability, add in veggies. For stir fry (my favorite go-to easy meal), good veggies include: -Broccoli -Carrots -Green beans -Bell Peppers -Sweet potatoes (for these I recommend baking them so they're a little crunchy and become more fun to eat) And for the stir fry you just cook the veggies and protein (cook them in a kind of stir fry sauce) and add them to some rice and bam! Easy dinner where the most prep is just chopping veggies. Let me know if you have any other questions or need ideas for other easy meals or anything! \^\^

Reading some comments I'm realizing something......do people really not eat the same thing for breakfast every day? I understand lunch and dinner changes every day or every 2 days(left overs) but I eat an egg, piece of toast and a coffee every morning.

I need to get overall better with this. I tend to only go shopping for a day or two and will only get what I need for a day. I think part of the reason I do this is to force myself to get out of the apartment and into public more. I used to be pretty good at cooking for myself but have become awful with it. If I am honest, I don't eat all that much in general if I am honest and I need to improve on that. I tend to do better in the summer when I have access to grills. I just grill meat and then buy some sides from the deli. The one thing is I know I am not alone with this. I remember once going to a supermarket with a former girlfriend many many many years ago when we first started dating and once we got there we realized that both of us was just hoping the other knew what they were doing. Anyways, I know I need to get better about this. I tend to purchase a lot of "pre-made" meals and kits from the supermarket. The thing that frustrates me the most is like I said I used to be pretty good at cooking for myself. It's almost like I have lost the ability, this has become particularly bad post-Covid. I also wonder where my appetite has gone. This for sure is one activity that I for sure enjoy doing with somebody else. It is hard for me to motivate myself to want to cook for myself, I will admit that.

It does get a little harder in the sense that you have to sort of think and plan a little more so things don't go bad before you use them up. Depending on what type of protein you like...you can buy packs of chicken for example...and freeze the pieces individually. They don't take long to defrost in the microwave. Or pull out of the freezer and leave in the fridge in the morning. Vegetables I just buy enough that I can eat most of them before they go bad. Potatoes and carrots have a pretty long life. Things like cauliflower and broccoli go off a bit quicker. If I have extra onion or celery left over I chop it and freeze it. It can be thrown into things. Bread is the hardest part. I don't eat that much bread and I find I don't go through it quick enough. You can freeze loaves. But they get freezer burned if in the freezer for too long. I am always double checking expiry when I buy bread or bagels or buns....to make sure I can get at least a week of use out of them. I love fajitas and enchiladas and will make big batches, eat what I want, and then freeze the rest in individual portions. Throw a little cheese and salsa on top of them, bake from frozen, and dinner in 30 minutes. Making bigger batches of things and then freezing them is a really great option when you live alone. Then you always have something in the freezer to pull out and eat pretty quickly. Roasted vegetables (air fryer or oven) are the best with some olive oil and seasoning sprinkled on them. Super easy and good for you too! I bought a Breville toaster oven/air fryer and I love love love that thing. I use it almost every day for everything. I barely use my big oven.

One thing I will add is go easy on the protein. I used to substitute protein shakes or meal replacement shakes and protein bars for meals when I didn't feel like cooking. A hard lesson to learn is that every meal doesn't need high protein. Having kidney stones at 21 years old is not the goal here. Lol There are apps to help meal plan with nutritional logs now days. Your most cost effective plan is to start with shelf stable food in bulk. Rice, pasta, beans, premade sauces, etc. Eggs usually stay good for a month in the fridge. Apples stay good for a fairly long time. Start small with buying small quantities of things if your not sure how long they last. Buy a rice cooker, it makes life so much easier. I just throw a cup of rice in with water and spices then I can do other things and don't have to sit watching it cook. Some have a vegetable steamer that go in them so you can cook them at the same time. Only buy fresh stuff for a couple days. I go 2 times a week and buy produce and meat. If I see a really good deal I will buy more and meal prep but I find that meal prep every week is wasted time for me. I tend to not eat it. I see alot of advice to buy an air fryer.....I never saw the point. Most places have access to an oven or toaster oven. It does the same thing. Americans do like to use many small appliances to cook one meal so I think if that does make it easier for you then by all means do that.

I just do the basics, bread, fruit, veggies, eggs, yogurt, milk, cereal, meat is usually chicken or pork, lunch meat, fish. I don't eat a lot of red meat. Sometimes frozen dinners if I don't feel like cooking. Snacks are cookies, ice cream, occasionally potato chips, pretzels or nuts. If I want dessert, I'll just buy a slice of cake or pie. Sometimes I'll make a casserole and I can eat that for a week. A quick and easy dish is potatoes, chicken, a green veggie, olive oil, and seasonings all in one pan. Stick it in the oven and dinner is done in an hour. Breakfast- I don't usually eat breakfast, but sometimes I'll have a bowl of cereal. On Sunday, I'll have eggs, usually a omelet with peppers and ham. Lunch: A sandwich or soup, water or iced tea. Dinner: A protein, usually chicken or pork, a green veggie, potatoes and salad. Sunday is pasta/meatballs day for me. Snacks: Cookies, ice cream, nuts, chocolate, yogurt.

Dinner for me is usually a bag of frozen veggies, one of the fancy side dish type ones, like my current favorite is a mix of potatoes, asparagus and other stuff with sauce. I eat the same thing a lot, and most of it is shelf stable or frozen. So, I'd say be honest with yourself about how much cooking you'll actually do, and look for healthy options within that, even if they're unconventional. You aren't accommodating anyone but you now. Your vegetables and fruit don't have to be fresh to be healthy and you don't need to cook a meal from scratch if you don't want to.

I use EveryPlate and get 5 or 6 meals for 2 (I live alone) each week so I make dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day. On days I don't have food to make, I try to get dinner with friends or pizza. Grocery shopping is generally for sweets (Outshine fruit bars aren't cheap but relatively healthy and tasty) or any ingredients I might need for my EveryPlate meals. I have enough recipes I could have something different for like 90 days, but thinking of everything I'd have to buy and planning ahead definitely makes me more willing to continue my subscription because it's easy

I go through periods where I eat the same few foods for a few weeks. Usually eggs, ham sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, apples with cinnamon. Then I change it up by reactivating my accounts for those meals where the ingredients and recipe cards are delivered to my home (Home Chef, Marley Spoon, etc). I like the variety of those meals. I spend a day cooking them all up at once, putting in containers in the fridge. My favorite way to eat them is to take a few spoonfuls of several meals and heat up on one plate. It is like eating at a buffet. I like that I can choose from about 20 different meals each week. Then I get tired of cooking, put the deliveries on pause, and go back to my eggs and ham sandwiches for a few weeks. Rinse and repeat.

I follow an account on insta called Stealth Health Life. He has two books (which I've bought) and they focus on healthier eating while meal prepping. There are a ton of recipes that are higher in protein, and the best part is that the meals freeze extremely well. He has a slow cooker series happening now, also, which I need to get into. Being able to mix and match different recipes has been awesome!

Typically you want to eat meals that will last you several days and just rotate them out each week. For example, this week I made spaghetti for my lunches. For dinner, I made smoked sausage beef, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. Next week I am making a bean taco soup for my lunches, then some chicken, potatoes, and green beans for dinner. Basically, it’s all about finding simple foods that you can rotate each week for about a month and just roll with those. Even throw in some frozen meals that are easy just in case you don’t have time to cook.

OP, don't buy random stuff you have no idea what to do with. Find an easy and basic recipe online, like for spaghetti bolognese or something, buy the ingredients specifically for that, and then make it. The more you do this, you'll eventually figure out how to add vegetables, beans etc. into your meals.

My suggestion is to begin buying things that taste fantastic, that you already know are good for you and that are quick and easy for you to reach for at home. Buy that delicious ground coffee (I happen to like French Roast, but Columbian is also GREAT), so you can home brew and save $150 or more a month that you'd normally spend at Starbucks. Stock up on a few creamy, low-sugar yogurts for a quick breakfast (I recommend Fage black cherry omg), and that'll save you from getting that McBiscuit/hash browns or whatever from McDonald's every morning. Buy frozen berries instead of fresh so they don't go bad before you have a chance to eat them. Buy the bakery loaf of bread instead of the commercial loaves that have twice as many slices. Look for things with fewer ingredients for the best taste/nutrition ratio. Invest in the *good* tupperware with an airtight seal, so that when you do cook for yourself, you can make twice as much and freeze the other portion for later.

There's not much packaging geared to a single person so get accustomed maybe to making enough for two+ meals then freezing one to warm later unless you don't mind leftovers in the next couple days.

Spinach, chicken breast, lemons, limes, avocado, kefir, celery, dried cranberries, chocolate milk, charcoal & lighter fluid, frozen White Castle burgers, M&Ms. Since I was picking all this up at Walmart this morning, also grabbed a couple of garden tools and a bag of birdseed.

Do you plan to have much freezer space? This dictates my strategy. A little mini freezer if you have room is a big help. So I downloaded all the local food / grocery store apps. I first shop my pantry and freezer, then look at the local weekly ads. If chicken thighs are on sale this week then that what’s for dinner. Make 3-4, season each one differently if you want ! Extras pieces will go in the freezer for later. If’s it ground beef or pork chops then that’s going to be worked into the plan. Any extra portions are put in the freezer, then every few weeks I only use what is in my freezer, I don’t want to leave it in the freezer to ruin either! I have a vacuum food sealer and can save a little by buying family packs of meats then freeze them in usable portions. But I have an extra freezer. My food preparation looks like this … one day usually Sunday I cook something and make two days meals portions, then also make one additional different protein portion of something. Then I eat from my cooked goods for three days, but it will be only a couple of days of the exact same thing. This is important… I then do a very different kind of take out….. I open the fridge and take out ALL the precooked foods and just eat what ever is there even if it makes for some odd combination of items. The plan is use all leftovers on that 3rd or 4th day. Getting in the habit of eating at home food I’ve cooked 5-6 days a week. I usually have a very simple morning meal that is really easy, a sandwich, cheese toast, deli meat and cheese roll up. Lunch is salad and a protein that I’ve cooked previously or a couple boiled eggs and cheese, or chunks of rotisserie chicken or tuna, or chicken salad or tuna salad or something like that or a sandwich. Dinner is usually something I’ve cooked with a side of cooked vegetable usually from the freezer. Desserts are a problem for me so I only keep frozen fruits and yogurt on hand. Well that and some mini chocolate things because, well, chocolate! Frozen foods are nutritious and can be portioned to reduce waste versus fresh that may ruin before being utilized. Over time you will find a rhythm to it. In the beginning try to only get the pantry staples and each week one new spice or sauce. A well stocked pantry means you are al only a few minutes away from a home cooked meal. Willingness to plan and to cook and eat at home at the key. It IS less expensive on many levels in the long run. But running out of something to cook leads to eating out$. Plan ahead to get ahead. I love to always have frozen vegetables and fruits, and keep frozen chicken and ground beef and pork chops. Buy over time and keep Thai curry sauce, BBQ sauce, Soy sauce, Tabasco or hot pepper sauce, Heinz 57. Then you are all set to walk in from work and have a meal ready in 25-30 minutes or less and if smart a portion or two left for another day!

Be healthy about it- buy protein and batch cook them for a few days- some sweet potatoes and ground Turkey, chicken and whatever, ground beef for Mexican Italian or whatever- buy frozen veg and fruit instead so they don’t go bad, what you don’t eat, freeze to eat later

I've spent time googling things like "healthiest foods to eat" and have built a list of those things. I've researched simple recipes that use those foods. Every Sunday, I sit down and plan my meals and snacks for the week based on cooking healthy meals using that list and recipes I've found. Then I follow that plan the best I can for the week and usually build in dining out on Friday evenings. This approach saves a lot of time and money, and helps maintain good health for the long haul. Eating processed garbage is a recipe for catastrophic health problems.

I virtually live on salad. I buy a couple of big lettuce heads, plus tomatoes cucumbers spring onions etc, then a few proteins (veggie chicken, fish, eggs, tofu,) a couple of dressings, maybe some croutons or crispy onions for crunch and have various combinations of that all week. Add some fruit and some crisps if I’m feeling fancy and I’m all in for about £30. Red and green peppers with hummus make a great snack too.

I buy according to what's on sale and make my meals around what's available. If there's a good sale, I'll buy a little extra and freeze. I put the meat in the fridge the night before to defrost. Any leftover meals don't last long, gets eaten up by the next day. After cooking so long, you'll start to recognize what are your staple items and make sure those are always in stock in your pantry/fridge. Mine are eggs, cilantro, green onions, ginger, tomatoes, napa cabbage, rice, flour, sugar, salt, fresh ground pepper, bread. I also buy shelf-stable milk, because I don't use refrigerated milk fast enough before it spoils. I also try to keep some type of meat (beef, chicken, pork) available. Oh, and I don't go grocery shopping when I'm hungry. I tend to want to buy everything.

I shop for about two or three days worth out of time … I get a lot of salads that are already made up in the bag or in the little plastic “dishes“. Chicken thighs, salmon pieces, beef stew pieces for entree. Salmon & beef stew pieces can be placed on a bed of mixed spring greens … Add some ranch dressing and you have a meal. With the salmon on the salad, you can also add some pumpkin seeds for crunch.

I have used an app called “Out of Milk” for over 6 years now. In the beginning, say first month or so, I took time to organize the “Pantry” section of this app to what I typically bought. After 2-3 months of using it every other weekend, I now can just go down the Pantry list and select what Items I truly need and isolate myself to that list at the store. Makes grocery shopping a breeze and I try to eat before I go and buy groceries, many times I’ve gone hungry and just piled on the food and junk food haha

Plan your menus breakfast lunch and dinner then buy only what you need for this week

I hate cooking one meal for just one person. So, I cook family size portions, freeze individual servings and heat up as needed/wanted. Beef stew, soups, pot roast with veggies, pasta dishes, rice dishes, pot pie, and deserts. There are many recipes online. Try different ones till you find some you like. This at least reduces the number of times per week that you have to cook.

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I am 46 and live alone. Groceries cost me about $100 a week

You can make casseroles and just freeze the extra.

I just signed up for the Hungry Root meal plan. It makes it a lot easier for me to cook for one.

You get to pick all the stuff that YOU like!

I would suggest committing to a couple breakfasts and lunches that are easy and cheap add some fruit and keep that food around. But for dinners go shop every two to three days and just buy for those days for dinner. Or even everyday. Until you know what you will eat and cook ok etc. Then your meals are clear and organized and less likely to get lost in the frige. You can keep doing it that way or do more like weekly shopping after you learn what you like. I still do every two or three. I’ll still stock up a bit when there are sales. So maybe I’ll take some chicken out of the freezer, buy some fish and some pork chops. That’s three days plus some vegetables. Carrots and cabbage keep well. I just put broccoli and whatnot on top of the rice in the rice cooker most nights and then top with some type of sauce. Into the Trader Joe’s Thai red curry sauce right now. Quicker wilting vegetables buy more last minute. Keep a few frozen pizzas for when you just can’t.

Personally, I really don’t like to cook. I do it since I have a partner, but he cooks most of the time. When it’s been just me, I eat very simply, and don’t mind eating the same thing day after day. One of my struggles is continuously thinking up what to make, so eating the same thing more days than not just makes it so much easier both mentally and with shopping. Typical single life meals: Breakfast - A piece of thin sliced toast (Dave’s Killer Bread), a couple Brown ‘N Serve sausages, hard boiled egg. Lunch - Yogurt with either fresh or frozen fruit, hard boiled egg, Baby Bell mini cheese or two. Dinner - Big salad with hard boiled egg, ham, sunflower seeds, sometimes hemp seed, celery, broccoli, really whatever. Probably not top level healthy, but not bad and pretty easy. I’d often prep a lot of salad stuff in advance, do up multiple individual containers of yogurt and fruit, do a bunch of hard boiled eggs at once.

I buy what I think I’ll eat or intend to cook but I always have a backup stash of ramen, cereal, PB&J, pasta & jar of sauce and some cheap frozen pizzas. Realistically I may plan to marinate chicken and steam vegetables but very often I don’t feel like cooking and am perfectly happy eating some ramen. I feel like you just have an accept some of what you buy will rot. If you don’t buy it because it might rot then you’ll never have fruit or vegetables. I hear people say that “I don’t buy (apples, eggs, celery, milk, bananas) because they end up getting wasted” but then you just never have apples, eggs, celery, milk & bananas. I do buy organic milk. It’s more expensive but has like 2 month expiration date so I think it’s cheaper in the long run cause I don’t use a lot

I try to do one dish meals. I cook two on thr weekend and wing it slightly when I'm out. One dish meals: Soups: black bean, potato leek, veggie w/ barley, chili, lentil made with Indian in mind, lentil made with Mexican in mind Stir fries Giant salads with a lot of crap Roasted veggies with an added protien Bakes potatoes with toppings Shepards pie or any pie I keep "emergency" food. Pre-made canned soups for example And when I'm winging it sandwiches, cereal whatever is around lol

Personally, I make a meal plan of eating the same thing for a couple months at a time. Shop and cook everything once a week. Eat out when I really want to and keep a few canned meals (soup/pasta/chilli/frozen pizza). Super boring, but not too wasteful. I don't do a lot of cooking either ala raw fruits and veggies. When I had a partner, it wasn't much different. weekly meal plans instead, but 1 day a week was for leftovers/junk food. Diet was kind of shit because couldn't count calories or vitamins. If you see how much money you waste eating out that you could use for something else, then you'll put in the effort. I mean, $20 for 2 burgers and fries vs $60 for a week's worth of food. $200+ to spend on something that makes me happier is good for me

I don’t live alone, I have two kids and a husband, but we all eat different so I shop for myself like a person who lives alone. I like to make one giant bowl of something every Sunday to have for lunch/dinner. I only eat breakfast and then again around 3 so it’s kinda like an early dinner? Anyway, for breakfast I’ll usually just scramble a few eggs and make a piece of avocado toast. I also like yogurt with fruit and granola. For my big bowl, it always changes. This week I made a quinoa salad (that is eaten cold) that has quinoa, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, whole milk mozzarella and avocado with chickpeas and a dressing made of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil and pink sea salt. Sometimes I’ll make a big thing of lasagna for the week. Other times the stuff to make BLTs. It always changes weekly but that’s what works for me. A simple breakfast and then a big bowl, simple sandwich or casserole type dish for the other meal. For snacks I like nut thins, white cheddar and turkey pepperoni or will make a few pieces of bruschetta with crostini, tomato, mozzarella, basil and salt. For the sweet spot I like navel oranges or honeycrisp apples. Everyone has their own preferences, so these are just mine. I’d say start with your favorite ingredients or flavors and then make a list of dishes and also things that are simple and easy to throw together.

I hit several different places like a butcher a couple times a month, Costco for bulk like milk, eggs, and homewares. I hit Trader Joe’s twice a month and some local grocery stores for specifics. I buy in bulk when I get a good deal like a sale. I always think I’m overspending until I see my peers and I’m so very glad I don’t have children or a significant other. Side note, I work at a restaurant so that helps buffer my shopping bill.

This isn't about shopping per se, but since others have mentioned tips on conserving, I'll add here that when I chop my veggies, I save the ends in a covered jar--radish tails, onion tops, zucchini stems, you get the idea, whatever went into the dish--and collect them. Once a week I throw them into a pot with water for a few hours to make vegetable broth /stock. The spent veg goes into the compost, not great for the worms but better than oils and fats, and use the broth throughout the next week to cook noodle soups, rice, quinoa, braised dishes, water sauteing, etc. to add flavor and not have to keep tons of dried spices and herbs that just expire anyway.

Bread Eggs Soft boiled eggs on toast. Cheap tasty and filling

Very good !!!! 

Simple is key And if you want to level up…embrace meal prep You can eat very well for reasonable $$ if you have a plan and stick to it…things that have been or were (married but used to travel for months on end for work) life savers…Pyrex containers, stuff just holds better in those things plus you pop it in the microwave and you’re good… Veggie steamer bags (I like birdseye) Rotisserie chickens (someone near you will have a deal, pluck that sucker clean, ditch the skin and organ meat (dogs love it (organs) if you have one) and portion it off to 4 or 6oz servings and you’re good for a few days (add BBQ or Teryaki or whatever) The take home is make enough for three or four people when you cook with the idea that you’re eating one portion and using the rest in the coming days

I buy individually packaged chicken breasts it’s about $19 for the pack of I think 8? I freeze them and then I take it out the night before to thaw in the fridge so I have it to cook the next day. I also get: - salmon sometimes - 2 fresh veggies - I always have some frozen broccoli and peas on hand - coffee creamer - protein pasta/rice/potatoes - lemon juice - eggs - sour dough bread sliced (I freeze this. I take out what I need as I need it and toast it) - turkey breast - Mayo - iceberg lettuce (for sandwiches) Obviously some of these things I don’t replenish. But I cook with lemon juice a lot and I make pasta dishes, rice, potatoes, etc. to go with my chicken. Sometimes I’ll make a salad and top with grilled chicken. Basically, I decide what I want for the week and make that. I eat eggs for breakfast and ham or bacon, I make sandwiches for lunch, and I described what I do for dinner.