Healthy Cooking for One (or Two) – Plus Four Bonus Recipes

Living independently in your later years often means learning to cook for one or two people as opposed to cooking for a household. If you live alone, meal preparation and cooking may feel like a chore that isn’t worth the effort. It might be tempting to eat out, order take-out, eat pre-packaged or frozen meals, or skip eating entirely, which makes it challenging to maintain healthy eating habits that support healthy aging. Research shows that people who cook at home eat fewer calories and eat more nutritious food overall. Discover the health benefits of home cooking, including easy recipes for delicious and affordable meals for one or two people, while minimizing food waste.

Benefits of cooking at home include:

Knowing exactly what ingredients are in your food.
Managing the amount of sugar, fat, and sodium in the food you eat.
Choosing the portion of the food you want to save money and reduce waste.
Increasing your cooking confidence through practice.

Older Adults Unique Nutritional Needs:

As we age, our risk for chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes increases. The following guidelines can help:

Choose foods with less saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium
Eat a wide variety of nutritious foods as an effective way to help manage health issues and possibly prevent the development of chronic diseases.
Get adequate protein throughout the day to maintain strength and muscle since we all naturally start losing muscle mass beginning in our 30’s.
Remember to make ½ your plate colorful fruits and vegetables. Choose whole grains most of the time.
Drink adequate fluids, especially water. Our thirst mechanism decreases as we age, increasing the risk for dehydration.
Maintain a healthy weight and/or prevent weight gain with healthy eating and an active lifestyle.
Keep food safety in mind. Older adults are more prone to foodborne illness.

Steps to Healthy Cooking Success:

Make a meal plan and shopping list

Decide what you want to eat for the week and make a list.
Take an inventory of your fridge and pantry to see what ingredients you already have and note any leftovers or perishable foods that need to be used up. These can often be incorporated into your meal plan for the week.
Use your shopping list to save time and money. By sticking to your list, you can avoid impulse buying and repeat trips to the store for missing ingredients.

At the grocery store

Try not to go shopping while you are hungry, or you may buy more than you need or buy something because it looks extra good when you are hungry.
Compare prices and buy store brands instead of name brands to save money. Store brands or generics are usually the same quality without the cost of advertising and fancy name brand packaging.
To get the most for your money, buy in-season fruits and vegetables when buying fresh.
Choose fresh fruits and vegetables in their simplest form; buying pre-cut and pre-washed has a higher price tag.
Consider frozen fruits and vegetables as a less expensive and convenient alternative to fresh.
They are usually picked at their peak ripeness and quickly frozen so that their nutritional content is close to that of fresh produce.
Look for options without added sauces, syrups, or seasonings.
Look for canned fruits and vegetables to stock your pantry with some shelf stable healthy options.
When buying canned vegetables, get low sodium when possible, and rinse the contents before using to cut the sodium content by about 40%.
Canned fruits should be canned in water or in their own juices.
Buy family packs of foods you eat often to save money. For example, you can save on a family pack of chicken or other meat.

Post-shopping tips

Store perishable food right away. Keep the most perishable foods visible so you are sure to use them in a timely manner and they don’t spoil.
Divide up the food you purchase into more manageable portions.
Repackage, label, and freeze food in smaller or single servings. You can freeze a family pack of chicken in smaller portions in freezer-safe bags.
Consider freezing half a loaf of bread to make it last longer.
You can extend the shelf life of dried beans, rice, quinoa, and ground coffee by storing them in the freezer.
Store nuts and seeds in the refrigerator to extend their freshness.

Cooking tips

Try cooking in larger quantities a few times a month and freezing in smaller portions for a later date to save time and money in the future. Be sure to label with name and date.
Think creatively with leftovers so you can cook once and eat twice.
- If you make roast chicken breasts one night, use the leftover chicken to make a hearty salad or use it as the filling in a quesadilla the next night.
Find some go-to “kitchen sink” recipes you enjoy where you can substitute in any vegetables, beans, or other protein that needs to be used up right away before it spoils.
If you don’t want a huge amount of leftovers or run out of freezer space, learn to cut recipes in halves or thirds if they are meant for four to six servings.

	How to Make 1/2 of a Recipe	How to Make 1/3 of a Recipe
Recipe calls for	Instead use	Instead use
1 cup	1/2 cup	1/3 cup
3/4 cup	6 tablespoons	1/4 cup
2/3 cup	1/3 cup	3 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons
1/2 cup	1/4 cup	2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
1/3 cup	2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons	1 tablespoon + 2 1/4 teaspoons
1/4 cup	2 tablespoons	1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon	1 1/5 teaspoons	1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon	1/2 teaspoon	generous 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon	1/4 teaspoon	scant 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon	1/8 teaspoon	scant 1/8 teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon	dash	dash

Ways to Simplify Cooking

Use a toaster oven to broil, roast, or heat up small portions of meats.
Microwave vegetables as a simple and quick cooking method that maintains vitamins and minerals.
Try an air fryer for heating leftovers or making crispy, tasty vegetables.
Cook soups, stews, and pastas in a slow cooker or pressure cooker.

Try one of these simple recipes:

Kitchen-Sink Frittata

serves 1

Ingredients:

½-1 tablespoon olive oil to coat pan
½ cup leftover vegetables (any, like potatoes, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes)
2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons skim milk (optional)
Italian seasoning, or other no-salt seasoning, to taste
1-2 teaspoons parmesan cheese, or other strong-flavored cheese (optional)

Instructions:

Heat oil in oven-safe skillet over medium heat on stove. Add veggies and sauté 2-3 minutes to warm.
Whisk together 2 eggs in a bowl until well beaten, then add 2-3 tablespoons milk, if using. Pour over the vegetables in the skillet. Add seasoning to taste. Sprinkle with cheese, if using. Cook until slightly set (some liquid may still be left on top.)
Turn on broiler and place skillet underneath for about 3-4 minutes to set completely to your desired level of doneness. Carefully remove hot skillet from oven with oven mitt.
Can be eaten hot or cold.

Quick Berry Oatmeal

serves 1

adapted from food.unl.edu

Ingredients:

¼ cup quick oats
½ cup low-fat milk of choice
½ cup frozen berries
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 Tablespoon finely chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

Wash hands with soap and water. Place oats, milk, berries and sweetener (if used) in a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave 1 ½ to 2 minutes until hot, stirring at least once. Watch mixture carefully so that it does not cook over the container.
Top with nuts and enjoy!

Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry

serves 2

adapted from ncoa.org

Ingredients:

½ cup long-grain rice (brown or white)
1/3 package beef (8 oz)
1 can mixed vegetables
1 tsp. cooking oil
Soy sauce (low-sodium) to taste

Directions:

Cook the rice according to package instructions.
In the meantime, heat the cooking oil in a skillet; add vegetables and beef, stirring until hot.
Serve over rice and season with soy sauce to taste.

Turkey or Chicken Soup

serves 2

adapted from food.unl.edu

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped, cooked turkey or chicken (or canned chicken, rinsed)
Dash of pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped celery
2 carrots, diced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup cooked pasta (such as bowtie, shells, macaroni, etc.) OR 1 cup cooked rice

Directions:

Wash hands with soap and water.
Add all ingredients, except pasta or rice to pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered until vegetables are tender crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add cooked pasta or cooked rice and cook a few more minutes until pasta or rice is heated.
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to four days or freeze.