Grocery Shopping and Cooking for One

Cara Stewart, RD, LDN, member of the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team, provides tips for grocery shopping and cooking for one.

Shopping and cooking for one person can be a challenge. Reduced prices for bulk quantities cater to large families and can make it easy to prepare – and eat – more than you really want.

The difficulty of cooking for one can make options like take-out or fast food seem more appealing, but there are economical ways to shop and cook without resorting to unhealthy food. With planning and creativity, you can successfully stock up on healthy foods while keeping your portion size and budget in mind.

Follow these tips when grocery shopping for one:

Make a weekly meal plan  
Taking time to create a meal plan can help you shop strategically. To start, consider how many nights of the week you want to cook. Rotate between preparing single portions and multiple portions, which you can then use for leftovers.

Check the weekly supermarket circulars to see what items are on sale and for meal inspiration. Try to think of ways to reuse key ingredients so they do not go to waste. For example, a grilled chicken dinner can easily become a protein-packed salad topper the next night.

Be careful with coupons
While coupons are an excellent way to save money, they are often for processed foods that contain excess sugar, fat, refined grains and with little nutritional value. Try to avoid using coupons for food you would not otherwise purchase because of its nutritional contents.

Buy smaller portions of perishable foods
Sometimes it is worthwhile to pay slightly higher prices for less food. When buying smaller portions, you might spend more per ounce of food, but you avoid wasting food or overeating.  For example, next time you are at the grocery store, buy six eggs instead of a dozen, three bananas instead of the whole bunch or a quarter of a watermelon instead of a whole one.

Stock up on non-perishable foods
Dry goods like whole grain pasta, brown rice, dried beans, oats, nuts and spices are pantry staples. It is helpful to keep larger quantities in stock so you always have them on hand when you need them.

Shop the meat counter
Pre-packaged meats are often sold in relatively large quantities. At the meat counter, you can specify exactly what you want. For example, at the meat counter, you can request a single sirloin steak instead of purchasing the pre-packaged, larger quantity.

Freeze the extras
Storing leftovers in the freezer is a helpful way to keep ready-made meals on hand. It’s also a great way to keep larger packaged items fresh for longer. Next time you buy a loaf of bread, store it in your freezer to keep it fresh and avoid the temptation to eat too much too quickly. Cooked vegetables, beans and grains also freeze well, so plan to prepare extra and freeze them for a future quick meal starter.

- Cara Stewart, RD, LDN