Salads, Sandwiches, and Smoothies - A No-Cook Summer Meal Plan for One

Since it's been so hot lately, unusually hot this summer, I haven't felt much like cooking, so I'm devoting this week to foods I don't have to cook, in other words, salads, sandwiches, and smoothies. My plan starts at my local farmer's market.

I'm Going Shopping

I get excited when my local farmer's market opens on Wednesday in the summer for a five-day week. They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so when Wednesday comes along I'm waiting at the door first thing in the morning, eager to stock up on freshly pulled and picked produce from their farm and from produce they stock daily from the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market for their customers' convenience. So here's what I'm buying tomorrow and then I'll tell you what I'm going to do with it all.

Why I Cook a Whole Chicken Just for Me

Cooking a Whole Chicken Is a Smart Thing To Do When You are Cooking for One

I've never met a cooked chicken I didn't like. Well, except once. Many years ago I ordered a baked chicken quarter from a local family restaurant. That chicken must have been sitting in the refrigerator, cooked, for at least five days, got warmed up, and was as stale as a shut-up room. Needless to say, I never visited that restaurant again (it went out of business shortly thereafter). But that stale experience never has to be yours when cooking a whole chicken just for yourself.

Although I'm cooking for only one person, I never worry about a whole cooked chicken going stale before I can eat it all. In fact, I often cook a whole chicken because, first, I love it, and second, it's such an economically smart thing to do, especially when whole chickens are on sale. For about five dollars, I can have at least five chicken servings, plus herbed chicken stock for a pot of soup, and even chicken sauce or biscuits for the dog. When a chicken comes into my house, nothing goes to waste. Here's what I do.

Ease into Meal Planning for One - Start with Lunches

A simple, hearty sandwich for lunch.

When I finally got serious about meal planning for one, after my daughter left the nest, I felt uncomfortably adrift in a sea of confusion. I'd been cooking and meal planning for most of my adult life, but aside from a few years of being on my own before marriage, always with others in mind. With my daughter off on her own, I found I'd have to break the old habits associated with cooking day-to-day for others and make some new habits that centered only on me. At first I bought too much, cooked too much, and wasted too much. But over time, I developed a few successful strategies for planning meals for one, and this is one of them: start meal planning with one category of meal at a time--breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks (yes, snacks are meals!).

Start Meal Planning One Meal at a Time - Breakfast

Quick and easy breakfast parfait -
yogurt, fresh berries,
and muesli.

You don't have to go whole-hog when beginning to create and follow a meal planning program. You can start simply, with one category of meal at a time, and use your success to build up to an entire meal planning routine. Let's start with the breakfast category.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It can start your day with energy and alertness, and just as important, it can fend off that hungry feeling that drives us to make poor food choices for the rest of the day. It can also be the easiest meal of the day to make.

Read on for easy ways to kick-start your overall meal planning strategy.

The Simple Week-day Breakfast

My mother was an excellent meal planner, and I learned nearly all I know about meal planning from her. Since she worked full-time, she planned quick and simple week-day breakfasts, saving the tastier and more time-intensive breakfast feasts for weekends. She planned our simple week-day breakfasts with convenience in mind. Since Mom had to be off to work before I had to leave for school, she made sure I had breakfast items I could put together in a hurry and consume in the ten minutes it took to read the morning comics before gathering up my books and running out the door to catch the school bus.

Week-day Breakfast Items for Quick and Healthy Starts to the Day

• Cold cereal (bran flakes, corn flakes, shredded wheat, granola, muesli).
• Fresh or dried fruits (bananas, raisins, berries in season, dried plums, figs)
• Yogurt or milk (cow, soy, almond...whatever your choice)
• Hard boiled egg
• Toast