Storage and Portioning

Photographed by Camille Funk

A major issue to tackle when cooking for one is how to buy and store items that come in bulk (or exceed the amount you need for one meal). The biggest concern is perishable items such as meat and fruits and vegetables. However, the key is in using Ziploc bags and small Tupperware containers. These baggies and containers are essential when cooking for one. They will keep meat and produce fresh, allowing you to stretch your dollar. Let’s talk more about how to store produce, meat, and leftovers.

Produce
Grapes are my favorite fruit, but you don’t have the option of purchasing just a handful when you’re at the grocery store. The key, then, lies in the way you store produce. The snack Ziploc baggies are very useful. I typically wash and split up my grapes into adequate serving sizes (or one snack bag full of grapes). When I leave for work, I grab a baggie on the way out the door for a snack. Or I can grab a baggie from the fridge when I need a simple side dish to complete a meal.

Again, the key here is to take time right after you purchase produce to wash it, prepare it, split it up into proper serving sizes, and place it in storable Ziploc baggies. This will help you make the produce last in serving sizes for one.

Meat
Meat is tricky, mostly because unless you purchase it from the butcher’s counter (which I highly recommend), you rarely get an amount fit for only one meal. But this isn’t so bad. Again, the trick is coming home from the supermarket and taking time to portion out your meat. This means that you portion out the meat into appropriate serving sizes and put it in Ziploc bags. For instance, if I had purchased three chicken breasts, I would put each one in its own Ziploc bag. Then I would label the meat and include the date I purchased it. The beauty of placing the meat into baggies is that you can reach into the freezer and grab a chicken breast for your meal and use the others when you have another meal that requires it.

Now you don’t have to feel like you have to cook all the meat at the same time. Additionally, this assists in keeping all the meat fresh, because if you are defrosting all of the meat but only intend to use one chicken breast, you are potentially ruining the rest of the meat with multiple defrosting sessions.