The title of this post seems so sad, doesn’t it?
It’s not sad, though. Don’t worry. This post is about food.
Truth be told, cooking dinner for myself isn’t much different than what I’m used to. Even when ABS and I were living together, we very rarely ate together. I would throw something together when I got home from the gym around 8, and he’d usually pick up a roasted chicken on his way home, which he’d eat around 9.
Eating together was not one of our strong suits.
But at least we could share the food we bought. Now I have to be more conscious when it comes to planning meals so that food doesn’t go to waste. It’s particularly challenging to plan right now because I don’t have a microwave, so there’s no reheating leftovers!
When 5 pm neared today, this is how I felt…
But I’ve worked my body pretty hard these past few weeks, and I haven’t been diligent about getting to yoga.
So tonight, tight legs won out over a sleepy brain, and off to yoga I went.
As usual, I felt so much better afterward. I’m still fairly new to the practice, but I do know that tonight’s flow was fast. We were cruising through the poses and by the time I settled into pigeon pose I was feeling dang good. I left class feeling bendy and relaxed.
Get it done tip: If you plan to exercise at the end of your workday but just aren’t feeling it, remind yourself that it’s only an hour out of your day (or more or less, depending on what you’re up to). There are 24 hours in the day. All you need is that 60 minutes. The minutes will fly by if you just get it done.
After yoga it was off to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Man it’s tough to get out of that place without doing some serious wallet damage!
But I was well behaved and just picked up a shower hanger thingy for my shampoo and soap and whatnot, as well as some Drano.
Yup, Drano.
My bath tub isn’t draining. I refuse to call the super — for now. I want to try to fix it myself.
You know, because I’m such an experienced plumber…
Dinner tonight was easy and delicious and probably not worthy of being posted on the blog, especially when there are so many amazing food blogs out there. But I’m hoping that in a few months I’ll look back on my “first meals living alone” and get a laugh out of “what a bad cook I was.”
A girl can dream, right?
I bet in September I’m still making the same Easy Bake Oven-worthy pizza I made tonight.
I munched on grapes while my food was cooking.
I put two pieces of corn on the cob (on sale at the grocery store!) on the stove…
I used to load up my corn with butter, but now I actually prefer it plain.
For the main course, I covered a whole wheat pita with some pasta sauce and a heap of mozzarella cheese. I threw it in the oven (350 degrees) for about 10 minutes and boom…
Five minutes later, my paper plate looked like this…
And there it is — my dinner.
My food isn’t fancy, which is why I pretty much never post about it. But it was delicious and it left me feeling satisfied.
Uhhh…that’s what she said? Sorry. I had to do it.
Now time to do some major flossing (corn on the cob for dinner, leaves me feeling sexy), showering (hopefully the tub will drain after my handiwork) and hanging up clothes before getting into bed.
TELL ME: What are your easy, go-to dinners? Bonus points if it doesn’t involve a microwave and isn’t pre-packaged. Even more bonus points if it’s really cheap. TONS more points if you’ll come to my apartment and cook it for me.
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I’m always looking for good meals for one…I made one of these pizzas for lunch today and it was delicious, so thanks for the idea 🙂
I’m really into pre-cooked/heat-and-eat things from Trader Joe’s…their turkey meatballs are amazing, as is the chicken sausage. I just throw them into the microwave and also microwave some frozen veggies, and there’s dinner. If I’m making something bigger, I tend to make a double portion and just bring leftovers for lunch the next day.
Pancakes will always be my go too dinner no matter the time or place. I’m pretty obsessed. I love that you coaxed yourself into yoga-I was in a similar situation with my legs earlier to run or sleep. Decisions decisions.
I agree about food blogging though-I don’t eat the best things or most fancy which is why I post about it to the minimum. I normally just talk about my breakfast since that is my forte ha.
Well this requires a microwave, but covers CHEAP, EASY and QUITE — ANY Trader Joe’s frozen dinners! They’re delicious and most are relatively healthy. My favs are:
– Guiltless Mac n’ Cheese
– Black Bean Burritos
– Chicken Tikki Masala
– Spinach Lasagna
Even though I live with my bf, he too works long hours, so I tend to shop and cook for one. Personally, I like cooking for one because I get to experiment and can look like I know what I’m doing when I cook for someone else. I actuall enjoy doing what you did and making tortilla pizzas. Other things I like to make are veggie stir frys, fast curries, pasta dishes, and baked eggplant parm (that one leaves you with lots of left overs). If you want more suggestions, check out my recipe page. Most those recipes work well for one.
Breakfast for dinner is great for something quick–I throw whatever veggies/cheese I have into an omelette (or messy egg scramble) with toast or english muffin. 10 minutes tops.
mine are egg white bowls! I through egg white in a ceramic bowl with lots of veggies and cheese (and sometimes bacon ;)), throw a lid on it, and microwave it. so delicious!
This is definitely not the healthiest of options but it will hit the spot and doesn’t require any superhuman cooking skills: Boil whatever pasta you have on hand, drain, and toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, and red chili flakes… serve with a handful of freshly grated pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano! Plus, it’s perfect for one but can easily be made for two, three, four…
Or, I like to mash an avocado on some toasted naan bread with a fork, and crack some freshly ground salt and pepper on top… yum.
Keep the meal posts up… the whole wheat pita pizza looked really good!
I am eating from paper plates for years now but mine are recycled (meaning took them home otherwise they would have bin trown out)
My quick dinner is a burger.
I made a big batch of beef and pork patties and froze them and I always have bread so I can eat in like 7 minutes 🙂
If you have a george foreman or some kind of grill take an avacodo cut in half and put a little bit of olive oil on the open half, put open half down on the grill for about 4 mins. Then fill the pit hole with salsa! It’s amazing and you eat it right out of the shell! I add either a small salad or sandwich with it.
I saw your tweet earlier today and also made myself go workout thanks to YOU! I went to Zumba Bollywood style, and feel amazing/ so thankful I went. Hope you have an amazing night!
First I just have to say how much I love you for writing “that’s what she said”.
Second, good job for going to yoga! I know how easy it is to throw in the towel after work, so you should be proud!
Third – I am a sucker for easy, cheap meals. I’m all about roasted veggies, brown rice, canned beans, veggie burgers – anything that can be heated quickly and will make tons of leftovers for easy lunches at work!
my eating-for-one meals are patheticsauce. usually they resemble eating-for-twelve but it’s just me. and my microwave. and 12 different frozen amys products. and a bag of mozzarella cheese because really what frozen anything ever has enough cheese on it?
That’s such a “me” meal! I am a huge fan of frozen pancakes covered with nutella and fresh berries. Takes about 5 minutes to make in the toaster which is about all the time I feel like devoting to “cooking.”
Ok, so I live alone too and last year I moved into a place without a microwave… I planned to buy one when I felt like spending the money, but after a while, I realized I literally didn’t use it for anything other than making popcorn! I now use the stove/oven to heat things up (like a pioneer). Plus, things reheated in the oven taste sooo much better reheated in the microwave (pizza for sure!). It takes a little longer than a microwave, BUT I now have more counter space!
Your cooking cracks me up! I’m seriously same way. I rarely use my real dishes, paper plates are the way to go man! I’m so bad at cooking, so I make a little salad each night. It’s easy and relatively cheap. Cooking for one is the worst though, I swear I throw away way too much food. Wah. Please share any new tips you learn 🙂
That looks like way more of a dinner than I usually make. Its usually breakfast for dinner for me!
When I do cook, I like making stir fry with veggies + protein + a Trader Joe’s simmer sauce. I mix up exactly what I use, but I LOVE the red Thai curry sauce. The meals come together in about 15 minutes and they are aways delicious!
Peanut butter sandwiches! I eat them all the time for lunch/dinner when I don’t feel like cooking and I’m not feeling creative. Canned soup is also really good when you add a whole bunch of stuff to it- veggies, salsa, hummus, veggie burgers, cheese, croutons. Or you could just go buy a baguette and a hunk of cheese 🙂