5 Cooking Tips for Single People

You may not want to, but cooking for yourself doesn't have to be a bad thing and the following cooking tips will help you out. Cooking for just yourself can seem redundant, but you can make the process easier and more fun with these few suggestions.

1. Freeze Leftovers

There are countless recipes for more than one person. It seems like there are no recipes for single people. You can convert any recipe to accommodate any number of people, but it's never as simple as cutting it in half or doubling it. Do not worry yourself about amounts when preparing meals. Instead, gather a few plastic containers together and when you're done cooking, split the meal up among the containers. Allow the food to cool before placing it in the freezer. When you want to have a meal, just place the frozen container in the microwave.

2. There Is Nothing Wrong with Frozen Foods

Frozen vegetables are much better than canned because they are frozen at the peak of freshness. A new trend on the rise is vegetable steamer bags. These include a vegetable medley with herbs and spices. Some have pasta and others even have meat. Pop them in the microwave for a minute or two and you have a great side dish or meal. Besides frozen vegetables, you can buy frozen meat. A big money and time saver is buying frozen chicken on sale. You can defrost it and use as you need.

3. Experiment with Food

As a single person you have a lot of freedom to try out new things. A simple cooking tip is to experiment with food. You are, essentially, your own test subject. Prepare a new chicken dish or be daring and make sushi at home instead of going out to a Japanese restaurant. Only you will know if you make a mistake, and when you perfect the dish you can share it with friends and be a cooking star.

4. Soup Is Your Friend

Canned soup is not only boring but very unhealthy for you. These soups are loaded with preservatives and mass amounts of sodium. Making your own soup is incredibly easy and it can also be frozen. All you need is water, broth, meat and some vegetables. Throw everything in a pot and cook for 45 minutes.

5. Use a Crock Pot

A crock pot is great for single people because they come in single serve sizes, so you'll never make too much. This device is a way to cook a meal at a very slow rate. You can make anything in it from soup and jambalaya, to a roast complete with potatoes and carrots. Throw all of your ingredients in the crock pot before you leave for work, set it on low and when you come home the meal is done and there's only one pot to clean.