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7 Best Meals When You're Cooking for One
Eating alone? Put down that microwave dinner and step away from the Pop-Tarts. We found these very healthful (and very tasty) ways to eat solo
Take heart, solo diners -- you may be sitting at the table by yourself, but you can still eat healthier than the people who are partnered up.
Eating for one is something that at least 73 percent of people living in single-person households do regularly, according to the Economic Research Service/United States Department of Agriculture's 2008 Eating and Health Module. And while there's nothing technically wrong with eating a meal by yourself, the unfortunate fact is that the meal is more likely to be an unhealthy one.
Skip ahead to see how to eat healthier when you're dining solo now.
Why? No one's paying attention to what you're eating, for one thing. When we get home, we kick off our shoes, turn on the TV, and go into autopilot mode, says Luigi Gratton, MD, MPH, And when we're dining solo, it's easy for us to cook -- and eat -- more than we need. "People who live by themselves have some real challenges when it comes to cooking healthy meals," he says. "Most recipes are geared for four to six people, extra half heads of broccoli or lettuce that don't get used just go to waste and -- let's face it -- sometimes it just seems like too much trouble to cook for just yourself."
But that doesn't mean you're doomed to sketchy frozen meals. As these recipes and eating-for-one tips show, there's a whole world beyond frozen pizza and Chinese takeout. Here are seven ways to make your solo dining experience as healthy as possible.
SEE NEXT PAGE: Be a slow cooker
Eating for one is something that at least 73 percent of people living in single-person households do regularly, according to the Economic Research Service/United States Department of Agriculture's 2008 Eating and Health Module. And while there's nothing technically wrong with eating a meal by yourself, the unfortunate fact is that the meal is more likely to be an unhealthy one.
Skip ahead to see how to eat healthier when you're dining solo now.
Why? No one's paying attention to what you're eating, for one thing. When we get home, we kick off our shoes, turn on the TV, and go into autopilot mode, says Luigi Gratton, MD, MPH, And when we're dining solo, it's easy for us to cook -- and eat -- more than we need. "People who live by themselves have some real challenges when it comes to cooking healthy meals," he says. "Most recipes are geared for four to six people, extra half heads of broccoli or lettuce that don't get used just go to waste and -- let's face it -- sometimes it just seems like too much trouble to cook for just yourself."
But that doesn't mean you're doomed to sketchy frozen meals. As these recipes and eating-for-one tips show, there's a whole world beyond frozen pizza and Chinese takeout. Here are seven ways to make your solo dining experience as healthy as possible.
SEE NEXT PAGE: Be a slow cooker
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