Eating for one

Follow these ideas for making meals a special ‘me time’ you can enjoy on your own:

Make it an occasion

Serve food on a plate, at the table, and take a few moments to sit down, relax and enjoy your food. Light a candle if it adds to the atmosphere, or play some soft music and savour the occasion.

Don’t buy for a siege!

If you’ve spent your life providing for a family, it’s hard to get out of the habit of stocking up even when they’ve flown the nest. You can save money and waste by planning meals ahead, making a list and buying only what you need.

Cook once and eat twice

Save time, effort and money with ‘two sitting’ meals.

For example, you can bake two jacket potatoes and save one for next day, or boil twice the amount of pasta or rice, eat one half with your meal and use the rest in a salad next day.

Use a freezer

Cook up larger quantities of meals and freeze them in single portions, ready to remove and reheat whenever you need to.

Buy single portions

Single portions may be slightly more expensive than buying in bulk… but then you won’t get any extras going to waste.

Shop and buy with a friend

Larger quantities cost less, so go shopping with a friend and split the bill between you… and look out for offers like ‘buy one, get one free’ to make your money go further.

Use utensils suitable for cooking and eating meals for one

Investing in a range of small pots, dishes and pans will make life easier when it comes to doing the washing up… and they take up less room in the cupboard too.

Get social - invite a friend

It’s so much more fun cooking and eating with friends and much more sociable too – so make meals with other people a regular fixture.