6 Best Meals When You're Cooking For One

Losing weight and getting leaner revolves around what you eat and this is why it is incredibly important to have a healthy diet. To get into the shape that you want, you will need to make sure that you’re following a reduced calorie diet, composed of healthy and nutrient-dense foods. Take out food just won't cut it anymore. In order to have complete control of your diet, and get the best results possible, this means cooking your meals from scratch. While it may seem daunting cooking your own meals with many ingridients, we will walk you through the whole process.
 

When you’re just cooking for yourself, this can of course be problematic. It’s no good relying on convenience food, takeouts and TV dinners – these are packed full of calories, additives and hidden ingredients that can hinder your weight loss, and won’t provide you with enough energy to perform at your best. Despite this, it seems to be the option that many people living on their own take. This is the quick route to a lack of results though.

While you may think that cooking takes hours and that you just don't have time for it, you're wrong. Cooking healthy, tasty, diet friendly meals from scratch just for yourself doesn’t have to take hours of preparation and cooking time though. It’s actually quite easy to knock up a decent meal in just 10 to 15 minutes, provided you know how to do it.

There are so many benefits to cooking your own meals. Not only will it be very helpful and necessary to losing weight but it's also surprisingly a lot cheaper than those takeouts you always order.

In this article, there are guidelines on the steps to take to make sure your meal is healthy, and right for your diet, and some sample recipes that you can try right now!

Ideally, you should look for the least processed food possible. This means sticking to meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and pulses. While this may sound bland, when you actually sit down and think about it, there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of foods that fall into these categories.

Other slightly more processed foods, such as grains – rice, pasta, bread, etc., and dairy products are fine in moderation, but shouldn’t make up the bulk of your meals.

Processed foods like reformed meat, chips, microwave dinners and junk food are definitely off limits though.

The second thing to consider is your protein intake. Weight loss diets need to be high in protein, as protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, boosting your metabolism, and aiding with hormone production. You can get your protein from any type of meat, fish or eggs. Dairy products are a good choice too, especially if you’re a vegetarian, or if you’re vegan, then look to lentils, chickpeas, beans, and fermented soy products like tofu and tempeh.
 
Vegetables are another essential component. All vegetables (with the exception of starchy vegetables like potatoes, parsnips and yams) are very low in calories and carbs, yet high in nutrients and filling. Each meal you cook should include at least two servings of vegetables, and preferably dark green, or brightly colored ones, like sprouts, kale, zucchini, cauliflower, egg plant, asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, and so on.

Finally, you can add in extras, like starchy carbohydrates, fats and sauces. It’s perfectly acceptable to add small amounts of these, but they are all more calorific than proteins and vegetables, so you need to watch your serving sizes, and make sure you don’t go overboard.
 

Finely chop one large onion, a clove of garlic and two bell peppers, and fry them in a little organic butter until brown. Add a pound of extra lean ground beef, and continue cooking. When the beef is cooked through, throw in a large tin of chopped tomatoes and a few jalapeno chilies, and let the pot simmer for 30 minutes. When it’s done, garnish with some chopped cilantro, more fresh chilies, and a handful of grated low fat mozzarella cheese.
 
This recipe makes four individual servings, which can be frozen and microwaved at a later date.

For this, you can buy pre-made burgers, but making your own is tastier, healthier, and easy. Just put a pound of ground turkey, beef or pork into a food processor, along with a handful of breadcrumbs, half a chopped red onion, a clove of garlic, and some tomato puree. Blend on high for 30 to 60 seconds, then take the mixture out and form it into six to eight patties.

Dry fry them on a griddle for five minutes per side. Instead of serving them in buns, try using a large lettuce leaf, with some low sugar relish. It’ll feel like you’re eating a burger, but without all the unwanted calories and carbs.

A simple, but very tasty dish here. Grill a salmon fillet until it’s just about cooked through, while at the same time steaming some broccoli, asparagus, carrots and spinach. Serve with lemon juice, and a homemade tartar sauce, made using light mayo, lemon juice, capers, pickles and black pepper.

Anything goes with this one, and there’s no cooking required. Grab a huge bowl, and fill it with spinach, watercress, kale, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, scallions, olives, carrot, corn, and any other veggies you fancy – the more the better. For a protein hit, top it with grilled chicken, a tin of tuna fish, or some slices of roast beef. This is great for a low carb lunch or evening meal.

Eggs aren’t just for breakfast. Omelettes can be great for your lunches or evening meals, and fit the bill of being low carb and high calorie, yet high in protein and taste. Chop up some onion, pepper, mushrooms, and ham, and start them off over a high heat. Crack two to three eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add the eggs to the veg/ham mixture, and cook on high for half a minute. Turn the heat down, and allow the eggs to finish cooking for a further minute. Top with some grated cheddar or parmesan, salt and pepper, and serve on a couple of slices of rye bread.
 

Following a vegetarian diet doesn’t mean you have to go light on the protein. Beans and pulses are packed full of protein and fiber, as well as many essential vitamins and minerals. This soup can be made in large quantities, and then frozen, making it ideal for a quick on-the-go snack, that just needs reheating in the microwave or over the stove.

For this, you’ll need 250 grams of lentils, two carrots, two stalks of celery, two onions, and enough vegetable stock to make the soup to your desired consistency. Cook all vegetables until soft, then add the lentils and stock, and simmer for half an hour, and that’s it! If you like your soup at more of a liquid consistency, then wait for it to cool, and run it through a blender.

Hopefully now you can see that cooking healthy meals for one isn’t time-consuming or difficult. With a little forward planning and experimentation, you can make great tasting, quick meals that will suit your diet to a tee.