Cooking for One?!

This is an article from the Weight Watchers website - Single and On Plan section


I get home after 8 p.m. at least three of five weeknights each week. If I worked out, I’m starving, sweaty and exhausted. Making myself something special for a weeknight dinner has never been my priority. I want something fast, filling and healthy.But I’ve decided to start treating myself better, and that means a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich on whole-wheat toast isn’t going to cut it anymore.

I can’t promise I’ll cook every night, but I’d like to put some extra thought into what I’m eating for dinner and take time to enjoy the meal.

I decided to talk with Dave Lieberman, host of the Food Network show “Good Deal with Dave Lieberman,” and author of Young and Hungry: More Than 100 Recipes for Cooking Fresh and Affordable Food for Everyone (Hyperion, 2005) for his “young and hungry” cooking advice. Here are his tips for getting a savory meal on the table—fast.

“Simplicity Above All” Lieberman says the key is using only four or five ingredients for everything you’re cooking and making use of what you already have in your kitchen, like pasta, canned beans, canned tomatoes and condiments that are always in the fridge.

Make the most of your time. “Think about what’s going to take the longest and then work backwards,” Lieberman suggests. “If you have to boil the pasta, put the water [on] before you unpack your groceries. When you know you’re going to use lettuce and it’s got to be washed and dried, just wash it and let it sit while you prepare other things.”

Use quick-cooking proteins.If you’re cooking with proteins like fish, chicken or steak, Lieberman recommends fast-cooking methods like pan-searing, broiling or frying. “Fish cooks in just a couple of minutes and you can broil that with some olive oil, salt and pepper,” says Lieberman.

Pump up the flavor. Adding a few flavorful ingredients like garlic, onions, fresh herbs and spices can keep your dinner from being another ho-hum meal. “Play around with the spice rack,” Lieberman says. He suggests Indian spices because they pack a lot of flavor, fennel seeds, chili powder, chipotle chile, rosemary and thyme.

In addition to chatting with Lieberman for advice, I took a class called “Techniques of Healthy Cooking” at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York. The most important take-away from the class was that when I do take my time with a recipe or make an effort to think about preparing a meal, it tastes better, I savor each bite and I stay satisfied longer. Here are some other strategies I learned in the class that I’m challenging myself to try this year.

Don’t be afraid to work with a new food. I’m not a picky eater. I’ve become more selective about what I’m eating since trying to lose weight, but I’m willing to “sample” almost (almost) anything. But, quite honestly, I’ve been afraid to make foods that I’m not familiar with. There are plenty of vegetables I don’t know how to prepare and meats I’ve been afraid to dig my fingers into. I know I’m also wary to make dishes with “unfamiliar” ingredients because if they don’t turn out as hoped, I’ll have wasted time, money, food—and I’ll be left hungry and frustrated. But I’d like to turn over a new leaf in 2008 and try one new ingredient a month. If it turns out to be inedible, well, at least I can say I tried. What ingredients have you been afraid to cook with?

Keep trying foods you haven’t liked in the past. I thought I didn’t like lamb. I’ve tried it a bunch of times, cooked different ways, and it just didn’t appeal to me. But on the first day of class we made lamb, so to be a good sport I tasted a sliver like my instructor, Chef Allen Smith, recommended. Well, I loooved it. Maybe it was the cut of meat or the shallots, mint, guava juice and cayenne pepper it was prepared with, but I think it was one of my favorite dishes in the class. I’m even going to try to make it at home soon.