Cooking for One

Cooking for one has been a bit challenging, cutting those recipes down or knowing what left-overs to freeze.

Planning meals ahead of time, and of course remembering to cook when I'd rather be doing something creative.

I work 20 to 30 hours a week, so I'm out of the house 4 and 5 days a week.  Fortunately, I'm home early and have time to prepare meals.  It takes a little more effort to be inspired, but usually by the time the aromas waft through the house I'm glad I took the time to prepare something nutritious.

I eat organic although not vegetarian, but I will only eat chicken that's organic and from humane farm environments.  I also eat wild fish and shelf fish.

This winter I have enjoyed home baked bread from organic flours I purchase online from Purcell Mountain Farms.com.  (I also buy their organic beans.)  This way I can eat what I call guilt free bread without sugars or other added ingredients.  There are some great recipes using honey and molasses.

After reading "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, MD, I have decided I will now replace my flours with Einkorn and Emmer for my bread.

I also recommend "The Perfect 10 Diet" by Michael Aziz, MD, for understanding hormone balancing, good and bad oils, and there's even a Glycemic Index chart in there.

I recently created an excel spreadsheet to track my intake of foods for glycemic index, wheat content, and acidic and alkaline foods, among other things.  This way I can add or subtract foods to keep on track.

Among my favorite meals this winter have been cream of broccoli soup made with organic broccoli, rbST free milk, organic butter and a little seasoning.

I'm also enjoying split pea soup with a slice of organic turkey bacon, cooked and chopped.

My favorite dessert is apple or pear crisp for one - recipe as follows:

1/4 cup each of brown sugar and flour
1 or 2 tblsp butter, chopped in to above mixture with a pastry blender
Add 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats and
1/4 cup of chopped pecans
1/4 teasp each of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Add bite size pieces of one apple or pear to a one serving size souffle dish and sprinkle the mixture on top.
Sprinkle some almond slivers on top of that.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until fruit is tender.

It's important to remember to eat healthy, even for one!!