I love this anonymous quote about single living which appeared a
few years ago in the San Francisco Chronicle:
”
Single living is overrated.
I love this anonymous quote about single living which appeared a few years ago in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Single living is overrated. People get dressed to the nines and go out to swanky bars to try to meet someone special so they can do the truly cool stuff: dress down in sweats, get Chinese take-out and a movie, and plop on the couch with a significant other.”
Single living is never quite what it’s cracked up to be. And no matter how you get there – divorce, haven’t met the right one, or the death of your soulmate – it can be a challenge, especially when it comes to eating.
Recent surveys have found that many single people (surprise!) aren’t meeting their nutritional needs.
The frustrations are many: difficulty scaling down recipes, bread spoiling before you get through half a loaf, fresh fruits and vegetables going bad before you can use them. The temptation is to avoid cooking altogether.
A friend of mine did this, living for almost a year on pizza and beer, and an occasional dinner at his brother’s house where he would load up on vegetables. Of course, 20 pounds and a frightening high-blood-pressure doctor’s warning later, he figured out this wasn’t a good solution. Instead, he found a good girlfriend and got married.
There are ways to cope with the recommendation to eat daily from the five food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, milk and meat (or other protein).
Following, some tips from the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture’s nutritionists.
• Fruits and vegetables: Buy produce by the piece, not the package.
Often, produce managers will halve cantaloupe, cabbage and other large items to help you. Also, consider shopping from the salad bar. It can be more expensive per pound, but you’ll reduce waste. Buy frozen vegetables, so you can use only what you need. Stock up on seasonal berries and freeze them for healthy, vitamin-rich smoothies all year long.
• Meats: Buy smaller cuts of meat or ask the butcher to cut your items into smaller pieces (roasts, whole chickens). Divide packages into zip lock bags that contain single servings; this makes it easier to thaw just the right amount.
• Breads: Immediately after you bring bread home, freeze half the loaf.
If you’re not a big bread eater, freeze the entire loaf and take out each piece as necessary. A quick turn in the toaster and it’s ready to go.
• Snacks: Don’t want to cook? Most people will graze on low-nutrition items. Make sure you have healthy, quick food items that don’t require much preparation, like low-fat cottage cheese, raw fruit and vegetables, deli meats and yogurt.
• Size counts: Don’t buy half a gallon of milk or family-size soup cans if you know you won’t be able to finish them. Visit your deli section for just the right amount of meats and cheeses for nutritious sandwiches all week.
Most importantly, remember that almost all recipes – except baked goods – can be halved or quartered to fit your needs. With a little thought, you can turn single life into a healthy venture.
If nothing else, invite a friend to dinner and ask them to bring a salad. You can make one of the following dishes for the two of you, or just treat yourself and have an extra meal for later in the week.
• Nacho, nacho man: These nachos can be made with ham, roast chicken or any other meat you have on hand. They can also be made vegetarian style with no loss to flavor. Because you use baked tortillas and not fried chips, you end up with less fat and calories than traditional nachos. Serves 2.
Nacho Man
4 whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup homemade salsa
1 can diced mild green chiles
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup meat (diced ham, shredded or diced chicken, etc.)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tortillas on a large baking sheet.
Drain the chilies and spread over tortillas. Top with meat and then cheese.
Bake two tortillas at a time, for about 8 minutes, until tortillas are crisp and the cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cut into wedges, top with salsa and serve.
• Cold day solution: This soup is a cinch to make when you get home from a tough day. Besides the nutrition from the beans, you also get vitamins from the tomatoes and spinach. And it will make you kitchen smell so good. This recipe is adapted from one I found in “The 5 in 10 Cookbook” by Paula Hamilton. It makes two hearty servings.
Minute Minestrone
3 cans (14.5 oz. each) beef broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
3 cups loosely packed fresh ready-to-use spinach leaves
1 can (15 oz.) cannelloni beans
1 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 tsp. oregano
Parmesan cheese
Pour beef broth into a saucepan. Stir in elbow macaroni. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook about 4 to 6 minutes, until macaroni is tender.
Meanwhile, rinse spinach leaves to remove any sand.
Drain beans and stir them into soup. Add chopped tomatoes and oregano and heat through. Add spinach and cook 3 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
• Tender for one: This recipe is only slightly more difficult than the above, and will give you one dinner plus some great leftovers. On another night, make delicious burritos by dicing the leftover meat and stuffing into tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa. This recipe is adapted from the “Good For You Garlic Cookbook” by Linda Ferrari.
Pork Tenderloin with Garlic and Rosemary
1 lb. pork tenderloin (if there are two in the package, freeze one)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Fresh rosemary
1 T. flour
1 tsp. butter
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 T. whiskey
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub pork on all sides with garlic. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary. Put on a rack in a roasting pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until meat just loses its pinkness. Remove rack and meat from pan and set aside.
Add flour and butter to roasting pan. Add chicken broth and stir until flour is incorporated. Cook, stirring, until sauce begins to thicken. Add whiskey and salt and pepper to taste, cooking for another minute or two.
Slice pork and serve with sauce.
This week’s tip
If you’re making chile rellenos, try stuffing the peppers with halved snack-size cheese sticks. They’re the perfect size and easier than shredded cheese.
Notes
• Want to get away … The Mendocino Coast brags about its beautiful weather in late summer and fall. Try out Café Prima in Fort Bragg, featuring the unusual flavors of coastal Kenya and freshly brewed beers; and the Natural Herb Gardens in Mendocino which offers herbal remedies, botanical skin care products and essential oils from Europe. For more information on any of these attractions, plus info on where to stay, go to www.mendocinocoast.com or call the Chamber of Commerce at (800) 726-2780.
• Look for this … “Joint Juice” comes in three flavors: lemonade, tropical and orange-tangerine, and contains 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of glucosamine. This dietary supplement has been shown to reduce joint pain and swelling, especially in arthritis sufferers. Joint Juice was developed by Kevin Stone, an orthopedic surgeon and the U.S. Ski Team doctor. Your best bet to find it right now: health food or body building stores.
• Garlic care … Be careful not to overbrown garlic when sautéing or it will turn pungent and bitter. Minced garlic will usually cook in less than 1 minute over medium-high heat.
• End notes: “In Italy, fresh basil has always been a token of love, and is called “kiss-me-Nicholas” in some of its regions. Any girl who wears a sprig of basil is suggesting to her beau, and not too subtly, that there is no need for him to keep his distance.
In Romania, however, things are somewhat more definite: when a boy accepts a sprig of basil from his girl, it means he is engaged!”
~ From “The Spice Cookbook,” published 1964
Happy cooking!
