Cooking for One or Two

By Shaun Hui and Lindsay Schwartz, KSC dietetic interns

Meet Lindsay
Based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts!

Undergrad: Johnson & Wales University

Loves to: Read, travel, help family with

fostering kittens and pugs

Favorite place I’ve been to: Wroclaw, Poland

Meet Shaun
-Born in New Jersey

-BS in Nutrition from Rutgers

University

-Enjoy running, cooking, and

eating avocados

-Favorite place: NYC

What is your favorite dinner to cook at home?
Objectives

○ By the end of this presentation, you will be able to...

■ Identify 1 way to use leftovers in a new recipe

■ Name 1 way you could add to/change your current meal routine or

habits to promote enjoyment of food

Cooking alone can be challenging
● Many products are sold in large portions
● Many recipes are formulated to make many serving sizes
● Buying the right amount of food to avoid waste can be difficult
● What difficulties, if any, do you face with this?

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One ingredient, many meals

● How do you use leftovers at home?

● What foods can be easily used in more than one recipe?

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Examples:
● Rice
○ Stir fry, soups, burrito bowl, risotto
● Roasted vegetables
○ Omelet, soup, medley with another meal
● Lettuce or other greens
○ In a sandwich, grilled, lettuce wraps
Storing food and keeping it fresh (1)
● Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
● Freeze meal sized portions for another day
● Split family-size foods with a friend or neighbor
● Participate in meal sharing or potlucks

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Storing food and keeping it fresh (2)

● Prevent browning of foods like avocados by securely placing plastic wrap

● Keep produce in the crisper drawer

● Storing herbs - wrap in a damp paper towel

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More cooking tips
● Embrace cooking for one by practicing flexibility in the kitchen

○ Customize!

● Make desserts or other dishes in a ramekin for smaller portions

○ Apple crisp, poached pear, frittata

● Look for recipes that are “one-pot”

● Find ingredient substitutions

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Shopping for one
● Local farmers’ market may have smaller portions available
● Consider using smaller vegetable substitutions
○ Shallots vs a whole onion
○ Sweet potato vs butternut squash
● Shop in the bulk section
● Stop by the deli counter
● Peruse the salad bar

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Adjusting recipes for potion size

Do you have any experience

adjusting recipes for portion
size?

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Adjusting recipes

MyKitchenCalculator.com

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Eating alone and with others
● It is easy to be influenced by the group when eating
● Evidence shows that eating with others can increase happiness levels (4)
● Do you eat with others or by yourself more often?
● How could you incorporate social time into a meal or at other times of the day?

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Enjoy eating alone
● Enjoy cooking and eating whenever you’d like, without judgement
● Be creative and experiment
● Change of scenery
● Set the table
○ Placemat, flowers, napkins

● Use your favorite plates and cutlery

● Take time to make the food look appealing on the plate

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Mindful eating
● Paying attention in the moment without judgement

● Using the five sense while eating

● Eating with a distraction can increase food intake

● Consider your eating patterns

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Food Sample!
Call to action

We challenge you to you reuse leftovers in

a new meal this week!
Questions?
References
1. Hetherington M, Anderson A, Norton G, Newson L. Situational effects on meal intake: A
comparison of eating alone and eating with others. Physiology & Behavior. 2006;88(4-5):498-
505. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.04.025.
2. Nakata R, Kawai N. The “social” facilitation of eating without the presence of others: Self-
reflection on eating makes food taste better and people eat more. Physiology & Behavior.
2017;179:23-29. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.05.022.
3. Howland M, Hunger JM, Mann T. Friends don’t let friends eat cookies: Effects of restrictive
eating norms on consumption among friends. Appetite. 2012;59(2):505-509.
doi:10.1016/j.appet.2012.06.020.
4. Yiengprugsawan V, Banwell C, Takeda W, Dixon J, Seubsman S-A, Sleigh AC. Health,
Happiness and Eating Together: What Can a Large Thai Cohort Study Tell Us? Global Journal
of Health Science. 2015;7(4). doi:10.5539/gjhs.v7n4p270.