Cooking for one – 8 tips and tricks

One of the pleasures of eating is enjoying a variety of foods and dishes. If you live alone like I do but love to cook and eat different foods, want to eat economically and minimise waste, follow these simple tips:

1. Plan and shop to a list using the principles covered in the Let’s Talk About Reducing Food Waste article.
2. Avoid places that sell fresh food in family sized packages – go to your butcher, fishmonger or farmers' market/greengrocer.
3. Have a decent-sized freezer – you can portion larger packages of meat or bread or you can cook a meal for four, such as lasagne, and freeze some of the portions.
4. Have your pantry well stocked with staples such as cans of beans, lentils, salmon and tuna. Consider buying smaller cans or use a portion from a larger can and freeze the rest. The Love Food Hate Waste blog advises on foods that are suitable for freezing.
5. Know how to scale down recipes – sometimes, if a recipe is suitable, I will do a quarter quantity, but a half quantity is easier to work with.
6. Look for ways of using leftovers intentionally.
7. Have a small kitchen garden for herbs and salad greens.
8. Surprise a friend with a home-cooked meal.