Cooking for 1 or 2

Instead of settling for leftovers and frozen dinners, try these tips when cooking for one or two:

• Make a plan. Jot down the week's menu and a shopping list. It makes grocery shopping easier and ensures that you have everything you need when you're ready to cook.
• Stock your pantry. Keep canned vegetables, beans and fruits on hand for quick and healthy additions to meals. Rinse regular canned vegetables and beans under cold running water to lower the salt content. Consider whole grains, such as brown or wild rice, quinoa, barley, and pasta. Dried foods are easily portioned for one.
• Take advantage of your freezer. Buy in bulk and freeze in smaller quantities that you can thaw and cook for one or two meals. You may be surprised to learn that you can freeze many foods, including breads, meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. Freezing is a simple way to preserve food and prevent waste. For the best quality, freeze food while it's fresh.
• Prepare one-dish meals. For quick and simple cooking, choose a dish that serves as the whole meal. Look for dishes that include items from several food groups, such as meats, whole grains, legumes and vegetables. Healthy examples include beef, barley and vegetable stew; chicken, vegetable and rice casserole; turkey and bean casserole; and vegetarian chili.
• Cook a batch and save some for later. Make a casserole or stew and freeze the extra into individual-size servings. Then take out only the amount of food you need. You'll need to experiment so that you don't have more leftovers than you can use. Write the date and contents on packages and move older packages forward as you add food to your freezer.
• Cook once, use twice. Plan meals so that you can use the extra food in new dishes. For example, cook rice as a side dish for one meal, then use the remainder in a casserole. Bake chicken for a meal and use the leftovers in sandwiches or soup, or toss with greens, dried fruit and nuts for a tasty salad. Or make a meatloaf mixture and bake some as a meatloaf and use the rest for meatballs to freeze and eat later.
• Shop with convenience in mind. You know there'll be days when you don't have the time or don't want to cook. So plan ahead and keep on hand ready-to-eat, low-fat, reduced-sodium canned soups and healthy frozen meals or prepackaged single-serving foods. The latter can be pricey, so stock up when you find a sale.