Keep Your Freezer Stocked with Single Servings for Emergencies

I've been distracted this last week with an illness in our family. My normal routine is disrupted, and frankly, meal planning, shopping, and cooking have been the last things on my mind. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been hungry, just that I don't want to plan anything, and I really don't want to put the effort into cooking anything, either, not even the effort it takes to cut up greens for a fresh salad.

This week, I was grateful that I had a well-stocked freezer.

From the Toaster Oven: English Muffin Ham and Swiss Sandwich with Red Grapes

By Guest Writer Michelle PG Richardson (aka Frieda Babbley)

A simple sandwich paired with fruit can be
just what your body needs for lunch time.

In the world of lunch for one, plopping together a sandwich is a common act.  Pairing that sandwich with chips is just as common. Sometimes this is all we want or need, and that’s fine.  But we all know that it’s good to treat yourself to a sandwich that can wow you and a side that gives you a bit more than a handful of chips has to offer.  A warm homemade sandwich like this English muffin ham and Swiss with a side of grapes is sure to hit the spot and give you a variety of nutrients to boot.

What You'll Need

• English muffin - I like to use an original Thomas’ English Muffin (or you could try the whole wheat version)
• Butter and a butter knife - for spreading
• Ham - plain, smoked, honey cured, or low sodium is fine to use
• Cheese - Swiss, baby Swiss, or provolone (remember, low sodium is available)
• Fruits and vegetables as a filling or as a side - a good variety is listed below
• Dollop of your choice of condiment - mayo, Dijon, ranch or honey mustard dressing
• Oven set to 250 F or toaster oven set to toast - a toaster oven works faster, more efficiently, and uses up less energy

Meal Planning Habits: Does the Nut Fall Far from the Tree?

Like most behaviors, meal planning comes more easily to some than to others. What we see and experience as children probably has a lot to do with it. I know for sure that this nut didn't fall far from the tree: I plan and cook much as my mother did when she was raising me. As a result, meal planning is a habit, something I don't think too much about unless I'm telling someone else how I go about it, or unless I'm trying a different approach because someone in my life has a special need.

As I set out this morning for the grocery store with my weekly shopping list, which this week includes ingredients for my mother's black bean, tomato, and garlic salad, I got to thinking about my mother's shopping strategy. She is almost never an impulse buyer, always having in her head her list for healthy, or as she puts it, "proper" food. I think that as I go on through the years, I probably won't need a list either, but for now I do as I continue to refine the art of meal planning for one, something she's perfected over the last forty years.

Why Plan Meals When You're Cooking Only for You?

I used to think that meal planning was pointless, since I'm the only one who's eating. After all, if I have a few staples in the pantry, a selection of fresh vegetables in the refrigerator bin, and a piece of meat or fish in the freezer, I can whip something up, right? And if I don't feel like doing that, I can always order out or pick up something already prepared, a tired girl's treat that is one of my biggest temptations at the end of a busy day. I'm kind of lucky, cooking only for myself. I have no one to answer to, no one whose picky needs have to be met, and no one to criticize me. So, I can eat what I please.

What a convenient trap to fall into. By not planning meals, because it's only me, I am spending money I don't need to, risking eating foods that don't promote my health, and wasting time making decisions I don't need to make.

Save Money

If I plan meals ahead of time, I can eat tasty, satisfying, healthful foods for about 50% of what it costs to order out, dine out, or pick up food through a drive-in window. There are some who don't agree with me, but that's because they've dismissed two critical aspects of cooking for yourself: the cost benefits of planning ahead, and the false justification of applying your hourly rate on the outside job to cooking for yourself at home. That last part may sound a bit strange, but take a look at this article that asks, is eating out cheaper than cooking? Food for thought.