Dishes for 1

My daughter has the Joe Yonan book, but she's found it too complex for everyday cooking for one. Taking a look through it myself, my first reaction was that it would be a good book for scaling up for more than one, just as healthierkitchen says they do in their family. Has anyone looked at Judith Jones' The Pleasures of Cooking for One?

I'm a family of 2, with my husband away for 3 months. I have been scaling down recipes for 4 and halving them. I've been cooking once and trying to eat twice. If there's something I'm craving badly, hoping to freeze for another meal or eating the next day. I'll be testing the Salvarian Breakfast Cakes for a party latter in the month so I will save some & freeze some. Also, making 2 soups which I hope I can do the same. I always have salad greens and veggies, so a quick salad (teach her to make great, home-made dressing) is very satifying to me, and cucumber, radishes, red pepper or carrots cut up dipped in tangy dressing makes a great snack or side dish.

Joe Yonan, food editor for the Washington Post did a cookbook on just this topic recently. It's called Serve Yourself. His recipes are great, and I often scale them up for my family. I'm not recommending Amazon, but linking here just to show the book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FGMPH6/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=158008513X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=18JMPVMENM8PTWYDHS0X

I usually keep a couple of vegetable salads for eating on the run. Lately 1 can chickpeas (or any bean you like), 1 6oz can tuna, 1/3rd cup crumbled feta cheese, any crunchy chopped veggies that you like (celery, cucumber, zucchini), and lightly dressed with vinaigrette, a simple lemon or red wine one is perfect, or any bottled that you like. I will eat this right away but chilled is better and it will last the week.

I live by myself and love to cook as well.
I do LOTS of stir fry dishes....and frequent the salad bar for my veggie selection. I find that this offers the freshest selection and allows me to get as much or little as I need. I change up my proteins too...sometimes tofu, chicken perhaps, scallops or even shrimp.

I'll also get rotisserie chicken and use the meat in different ways. I may layer it in a small mexican type casserole with refried beans, tortillas, cheese and salsa. I may toss the meat in an omelet, throw it on a soup or on top of a Caesar salad.

I love to do different varieties of flat bread pizzas too. Sometimes I'll top them with goat cheese, spinach, olives....other times, I'll do different meats. Again, the salad bar comes in handy here.

It's pretty easy to pick up a piece of fresh fish and season it however you like-then serve it with garlic roasted potatoes or something.

Breakfast foods are actually decent on occasion...pancakes with different home made compotes with sausage or bacon...that sort of thing. You just have to get creative.

I've also seen several books oriented towards cooking for one:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cooking+for+one

Stir-fry dishes are good if she wants lots of vegetables. I usually use some meat, but that's more for flavoring the dish anyway. Those dishes will go well with brown rice, couscous or quinoa.

Soup is another good way to get vegetables, especially when you blend it.

If she feels comfortable with it, she can always cook some food in a slow cooker during the day when she's at work. She can have the ingredients prep and put in the fridge at night, then put in the slow cooker in the morning. Or cook something overnight and have it ready in the morning. She have have oatmeal going in the slow cooker overnight and have that ready for breakfast.

I find that many Indian recipes are simple, healthy, and easy to cook. With just a few basic (and inexpensive) spices -- like turmeric, coriander, cumin, and garam masala -- and with just a few ingredients like onion, peppers, and meat you can make a variety of curries. For example, a can of chick peas, some turmeric, and chicken will make a nice yellow curry, or a can of diced tomatoes, some beef, and a bag of frozen peas and carrots will make a tasty Keema curry. I usually end up with enough for one meal plus an extra serving or two, which I can store in the fridge or freezer.

Susan g, I love your loaded skillet cornbread idea. I'm going to pass it along to my daughter as well.

Seem my reply down thread about the ziplock freezer bag, vacuum sealer thing.

She could make up dishes with Quinoa and store those...along with rice and veggies.
And save the leftovers in the bags..to boil or heat up in the microwave and take advantage of sales of veggies and blanch and freeze those in the bags with some herb butter to heat up for meal.

A 'needle tenderizer' is nice too..to buy cheaper cuts of meats and cook them for stews or country fried steak and seal and pack the other portions. (or just buy cube steak and make up some extra portions to seal up and freeze with the onion/mushroom gravy..and another bag of broccoli and rice in the freezer).

I just made my favorite cornbread and put grated sweet potatoes and onions in the pan first, then poured the batter over them. That idea can be used with any veggies, any topping, so that you have an easy semi-balanced meal. And lots of leftovers can come back as salads with added veggies.
Sounds like she'll make the transition beautifully!

Frittatas or eggs "muffins" (frittatas made in muffin tins) are a great way to sneak in extra veggies and clean out the fridge. I'll make a batch on Sunday so that they can be popped in the micro before work.

Here is one recipe I have used as a base since you can use egg beaters to cut back on cholesterol and turkey bacon for an extra lean protein:
http://www.food.com/recipe/sausage-and-cheese-breakfast-cups-south-beach-diet-109385

I have added some frozen (thawed) spinach to the recipe and it turned out great!

@Jestei - thank you! Now I am starting to refine my question - looking for nutrient dense foods and lots of vegetables.

This is divine:
http://www.food52.com/recipes/2577_rhondas_spaghetti_with_fried_eggs_and_pangritata_for_one