Kitchen

[ECBG]

@marmot24 

SO very sorry for your loss.

These ladies will give you a lot of advice.  If you freeze, for heaven's sake, get some freezer tape!  So much looks alike after it's been frozen!

[idiotshopper]

I am in the same boat but it's now been 5 years today. Good advice from this forum. The one extra thing I thought of is making soups and freezing individual portions. I love the Souper containers. I freeze first and then pop out when frozen and add to ziplock bags. Be sure to put the date and the name of the item. So many times I forgot to do that and ended up throwing it away. Best wishes! 

[beckyb1012]

I have cooked even Christmas meals for myself when I felt the need to be at home instead of with family.  Just smaller portions and I cut recipes not only in half but in ¼'s as well.  I will sit down with a recipe and do the fraction difference off to the side of each ingredient for easier prep. time.  Also, the most important to know is the freezer is your friend.  I freeze a great deal and go back later and eat what I previously cooked.  It can become a hobby rewriting recipes and creating new dishes for yourself.

[wagirl]

OP--very sorry about your husband.

In my grocery store, there is a section in the meat dept where they package up only 1 serving of asst meats.  Pork, beef, chicken burgers, etc. Also you can buy just the amounts of produce you will use too.  there are small cans of stuff too. I am wondering if a small counter top oven or an airfryer would work for you---Just my DD and me now and thats how I cook ---- I use my big oven for storage---have never used it yet.  Have a small kitchen with a small refer and freezer and  not much room for big amounts to freeze. Also you can only make 1/2 or 1/4 of a recipe---I do that all the time. Salads in bags too--give that convience stuff a try--frozen dinners are awful but good in a pinch. Will be difficult to get use to only being you, but it will get better-----

[momtochloe]

@marmot24  gosh I am so sorry for your loss and goodness no you are not alone, at least around here!  I took care of my parents and we always hosted all the holidays so after they passed I found this site so helpful as their reipes are simple, easy to prepare and delicious meals.  I hope you find it helpful too:

Your Source for Single Serving Recipes - One Dish Kitchen

[Just Bling]

@marmot24 

So sorry for your loss but there are great meals for one.

There are Healthy Choice frozen dinners, Weight Watchers have a tasty lasagna and various pasta dishes.

If you want to cook, you don't have to cook a lot, it's easy to make a piece of steak, small meatloaf, baked potato, open up a small can or frozen package of vegetable.

I think right now you feel alone and put a wall since you are not used to be alone.  That's acceptable, it takes a long time and not sure if you'll ever stop missing your husband.  

Don't forget there's meals on wheels, various organizations delivering food and of course, you have the deli.   

Good luck to you and post whenever you can.  We are all here for you.

[chickenbutt]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I pretty much just cook for me, as the husband eats at the office and not in the evening.   I do buy some of the Lean Cuisine type meals/bowls and some of them are really good and I don't think they are too unhealthy.

I also make some small-ish 'batches' of things I like so I might be eating the same thing for 3-5 days but it's always foods that I really like so it works out ok.

Beyond that , some batches I make I will portion out, freeze, and then vacuum seal and store in the freezer so I can pull out one portion at a time and I don't have to eat it every day.    I do this with my turkey chili, split pea soup, and a few other things.

Sometimes I just make a sandwich, so I keep what I need for a few types of sandwiches I really like.  Yesterday I had a grilled ham and cheese, using some of the ham I made a couple of years ago and vac-sealed in packets that have been in the freezer.  It was like new, since it was vac-sealed.   Since that was enough for more than one meal, I did the grilled ham and cheese twice and the rest of it I put into another one-pan type dish that fed me for 3 more days.

I don't know if any of that is helpful, but I hope maybe it gave some ideas anyway. 

Best to you and I hope the passage of time brings the good memories to the forefront and provides healing.