Living Alone | Vol II: Food Prep

Previously I spoke about how living alone means you’re not completely by yourself, here if you’d like a read.

Now I’d like to talk about something more practical- and close to my heart. Food.

Food isn’t cheap to begin with, and living alone means it’s inefficient. Most recipes, if they’re not specialised as such, rarely come in single serving. You need to split it down, which on the whole isn’t too difficult. But sometimes, you really can’t split down an egg into four.

Even if you do manage to take the recipe apart, it’s still just as time and resource consuming to cook. More on the cooking side then the ingredients prep time. If you’re on a budget, like me, with a not particularly brilliant electric oven, like me, you can be hesitant to eat certain things.

To make things more efficient I meal prep- which is not uncommon these days. By planning, preparing and, in some cases, cooking food ahead of time. Mainly to save time and help prevent eating badly. My meal prep is more along the lines of cutting costs and time. There are two meals that a I plan and prepare ahead of time, my breakfast and dinners.

Dinner is an easy thing to prepare. I try to make sure there is a reasonable meat source in there, nothing too lean as it doesn’t defrost well! In my experience, it comes out a bit stringy and tough. From mince, to diced steak, to home made meat balls. Vegetables, and mushrooms are also a must as well, with a sauce to keep everything tasty. This is all on top of a basic carbohydrate, either protein rich bulgar wheat or polenta.

Once it’s finished it’s split, into four or five serving and frozen in sturdy tubs. This makes defrosting easy, just some time in the mircowave! So within a few minutes of getting home I can have a cheaply made, nutritional dinner ready for.

Fajita spiced chicken, with lots of veggies, frozen and made up- all done in under ten minutes!

Sometimes, it can be a bit repetitive.

There have been weeks where I’ve had the same ragu for days on end- just switching up the carb. But it’s cheap!

Ginger and beef stew, veggies and a brown roll. Simple flavours that make great dinners.

Now, breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day!

Breakfast, during the week is made up by layering different ingredients together. First a mashed up mix of banana and peanut butter, topped with yoghurt, and polished off with oats and milk. Again, a few minutes in the microwave, and I’ve got a filling cheap breakfast.

Eggs kind of Benedict, a Saturday morning treat- it’s one of the best things, about being able to spend time making breakfast.

At the weekend, that’s a different story. If you follow me on Insta you’ll see that Sundays are for pancakes. Simple single serve recipes, like banana pancakes and Love Swah’s Single Serve Pancakes are amazing. Then it’s just a matter of combining it with new flavours or ideas! Take a look at what I’ve done!

Banana pancakes and kiwis with creme fresh and honey sauce- it’s what Sunday’s are for.

What you need to remember is, food can be convenient, nutritious and most of all cheap! It just takes a little thought, and planning is all!