# Live Alone? Let’s Talk About Meal Prepping **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 13, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130 "2024-07-13T05:04:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/21 "2024-07-15T11:40:31Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I promised to pick up a pack of Dole Whip). Dole Whip is a weird thing. An ice cream stand had “Dole Whip” on their sign and I mentioned that I’d never heard of it. My gf thought I was joking; it was a big thing where she grew up, about 15 miles from where I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/22 "2024-07-15T11:58:56Z")
Until now, I’d only seen it at Disneyland, outside the Enchanted Tiki Room. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/23 "2024-07-15T21:46:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Dole Whip is a weird thing. I’ve never lived in/near your part of the USA but I’ve never heard of that stuff before your post. Despite traveling around your area a bunch. For those, like me, who’ve never had the experience: > **[Dole Whip®: A Creamy Dessert Made with Real Fruit](https://dolesunshine.com/us/en/products/dole-whip/)** > > Lighten up your day with the new Dole Whip® Frozen Treat, made with real fruit & whipped with coconut cream, for a velvety-smooth delight you can enjoy anytime. Some digging on their site says distribution is very regional and doesn’t include anywhere I’ve lived for the last ~30 years. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/24 "2024-07-15T22:02:40Z")
My parents never let us go to the Enchanted Tiki Room (although we always went to the Golden Horseshoe (tuna sandwiches, yum! Er, nope). We never stopped for the Dole Whip either, but last time we were there it was so hot, and I was so thirsty I thought it sounded good. I guess it was o.k. but not very thirst-quenching. And very sweet. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/25 "2024-07-16T00:03:27Z")
You are correct; it’s not thirst-quenching, and it is very sweet. It’s also out of stock at every Costco in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area until Friday, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/26 "2024-07-16T00:13:28Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > a) Cook for yourself. It’s an act of love. Sounds good in theory, but sometimes it’s an awful lot of trouble to go through for just one. Going out for a burrito or burger is about the only human contact I have these days. I do cook for myself sometimes. I have good recipes for chili and spaghetti sauce; make a batch and separate it into portions, and freeze. Or I’ll cut up a pound of chicken thighs and cook them. I’ll use them in chicken teriyaki, or make a simple lo mein. I’ve been working on a recipe for fried rice that I’ve got almost where I want it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/27 "2024-07-16T00:24:28Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Cook for yourself. It’s an act of love. > b) Reduce your preprocessed packaged food intake. Get it on with fresh produce and raw meat. > c) Make lots of food that can be frozen and microwaved as leftovers. Not every dish can be but some really great ones can be Isn’t this exactly what the OP is asking for? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/28 "2024-07-16T00:45:01Z")
I can go to Food Basics just once or twice a month, so I usually stock up on things that will keep several weeks in the fridge and can be paired with non perishables like pasta. I keep vegetables in the freezer after chopping them up and storing them in containers and take them out when I need them. Bread I either buy in limited quantities or make my own. In the next few weeks, my menu will include: Linguine in homemade clam sauce. Beef and lamb koftas with seasoned rice. Homemade Spanish rice and grilled chicken thighs. Fish fillets baked in butter with boiled potatoes. Beef and bean enchiladas in red sauce. Cheesy Tex-Mex rice and bean bake. If I don’t feel like cooking or eating leftovers, I just crack open a can of soup or chili and nuke it. I can’t make my own any more unless I clean out my fridge and freezer to make room for them. A nice sandwich now and then is good too—tuna, roast beef, ham and cheese, Reuben, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/29 "2024-11-03T07:17:50Z")
I made it through summer and fall (so far) with a decent amount of variety, and now I’m looking to make a lazy comfort food in my Speedi. My idea is to place three boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese in the pot and cook it along with three cans of chili. For chili Mac, don’tcha know. My dilemma is that I don’t have tremendous confidence in boxed Mac and cheese in the Speedi; as far as cooking instructions go, the ones on the box are useless (because at so point they all call for draining the macaroni, which won’t happen on a Speedi). Anybody have some data on just how much liquid I should use per box? (For clarity, a Speedi is a multi-purpose cooking appliance from Ninja, that’s kindasorta a combination air fryer/Instant Pot. And that description is a gross oversimplification of this gadget’s capabilities.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/30 "2024-11-03T15:11:34Z")
Try this idea: Sacrifice one box of macncheese by making it in the Speedi using the stovetop instructions. Then when it’s done, drain & measure the excess liquid. My ballpark is you can probably short the instructions by about 90% of whatever the drained overage turns out to be. Particularly if mixed w chili, some of the excess liquid will just thin the chili broth a bit. You won’t notice the difference. You don’t want to short the initial liquid by the full amount of the measured pour-off or worse yet by more than that. Don’t forget the mac absorbs a lot of water while cooking and you need there to be some free liquid all the way to the end of that process. Heck, that macncheese from paragraph 1 isn’t even sacrificial; you can still eat it once you’re done measuring the pour-off. Your only “cost” here is the ~20 minutes to run the experiment. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/31 "2024-11-03T16:44:43Z")
You’re talking about the mac-n-cheese with the powdered cheese mix? I used to not bother with putting milk in it at all, just butter (not margarine) ummmm, it’s been a while, I switched to velveeta mac and cheese years ago, I think about 1/2 a stick of butter? Makes a thicker creamier cheese sauce but you end up mashing the noodles if you mix it in the pot with them, because it also requires more stirring. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/32 "2024-11-04T00:09:26Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > I used to not bother with putting milk in it at all, just butter (not margarine) I went the other way for my mac n cheez powder. Milk & butter, no water. _Much_ better. And stir / melt them first in the pan, _then_ add the mac once the sauce is homogenous. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/33 "2024-11-05T13:47:41Z")
Water to powdered cheese sauce mac and cheese?!? That is the first time I’ve ever heard of such a thing. Did not know that was a thing. Is that something in the directions? I never read those, was just taught by my Mom as a youngling how to make the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/34 "2024-11-05T15:21:36Z")
I grew up on homemade Mac & cheese; that gloopy boxed stuff is an abomination! Cook the noodles & drain grate (American) cheese layer noodles & cheese in a dish bake 400° The top gets brown & the top & sides are _crunchy_ We’d fight for the bowl at the end & then fight the bowl to give up the cheese that was baked onto the sides; this involved the fork in a stabbing &/or prying motion. _mmmmm_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/35 "2024-11-05T16:14:23Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Water to powdered cheese sauce mac and cheese?!? It’s budget food for folks looking to stretch their groc money as far as possible. IIRC the classic instructions called for half water / half milk and you could even splurge on a bit of margarine or butter. All of which directions IMO were carefully chosen to suggest without saying that anything from all water to all milk with a wad of butter would work. Whatever your budget permitted. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/36 "2024-11-05T18:53:58Z")
Eating all day what I made from my kitchen has changed my life. **Bread** - It started as a COVID project, but now I make one loaf of wheat bread in my Bread Maker every Sunday for that week’s lunch sandwiches. The bread doesn’t taste world class, but it’s good enough, smells real and I know it’s fresh. I have every confidence eating it regularly contributed to me dropping 40 lbs, both because eating a healthy sandwich made me disinterested in fast food, but also most bread sold in America is really a disguised variety of donut with everything that comes with it. **Raw veg** - A sandwich bag of raw veg is with me everyday on the commute. Commonly carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (the is the easiest medley to buy, keep and store) but sometimes a sliced pepper or sweet peas. I’ll make dinner for the week on Sunday as well, two meals, one is typically spaghetti and the other a steak/pork and some kind of starch. The recipes listed I am sure are better so won’t add mine but the above two changed my weight, sleep, and outlook to the point I will never go back to the ‘take out guy’ I used to be even if tipping is figured out and prices finally stabilize. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/37 "2024-11-05T19:32:57Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I grew up on homemade Mac & cheese; that gloopy boxed stuff is an abomination! > > Cook the noodles & drain > grate (American) cheese > layer noodles & cheese in a dish > bake 400° > > The top gets brown & the top & sides are _crunchy_ > We’d fight for the bowl at the end & then fight the bowl to give up the cheese that was baked onto the sides; this involved the fork in a stabbing &/or prying motion. _mmmmm_ Same here (well, maybe the Velveeta or Kraft “deluxe” versions with the cheese sauce packets are acceptable), except I mix an egg into 12 ounces of milk, pour that into the dish with the noodles (usually medium shells or rotini), then mix the cheese in rather than layering it. I live alone, and here are some of my “usual” dinners: Leftover pizza It used to be a meatball sub and some frozen leftover mac & cheese, but after my doctor read me the A1C riot act, I got rid of the bread and now just eat the meatballs, cheese, sauce, and spinach leaves out of a bowl Pastrami, roast beef, occasionally corned beef as well, and swiss/cheddar sandwich - well, it’s a “sandwich” with two halves of a low-carb tortilla in place of the bread “Taco Bowl” - shredded beef with hot sauce, cheddar cheese, and spinach in a bowl; occasionally, I will put it in tortillas, or replace the hot sauce with jarred beef gravy for a “mini pot roast” Friday is usually my “baking” day - either lasagne, or some sort of tuna or chicken casserole; occasionally, I will make curry On Sundays, I alternate between Friday leftovers and a combination of half of a 16-or-so-ounce Top Sirloin steak and half of a chicken breast. On Saturdays, I almost always eat out - this is where the leftover pizza comes from. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/38 "2024-11-06T21:05:50Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Cook the noodles & drain > grate (American) cheese > layer noodles & cheese in a dish > bake 400° > > The top gets brown & the top & sides are _crunchy_ This is how I grew up eating it. I wasn’t a big fan, but it was o.k. I hate macncheese with just a smooth sauce, and the Kraft stuff doesn’t even taste very cheesy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/39 "2024-11-07T01:34:58Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > and the Kraft stuff doesn’t even taste very cheesy. No. But it does taste Kid Krafty familiar. Which is its only virtue. MacnCheese as a general dish is vile; the only useful kind is the nostalagia flavored. Kind. For sure Kraft doesn’t have a lock on that; other parents made it other ways. But for those of us who grew up on the Blue Box, it’s that or nothing. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130/40 "2024-11-07T01:43:18Z")
Yeah, we didn’t get much essentially pre-made food like when I was a kid, so I compare it to homemade which is so far superior it’s like an entirely different food. I never developed the taste for it, so it has no nostalgia for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-alone-let-s-talk-about-meal-prepping/1004130.md?page=3)