Cooking for one or two
Cooking for one without waste
Waste drops when every ingredient has a second job. Half an onion goes into eggs. Extra rice becomes tomorrow's skillet. Herbs you will not finish get frozen in a little oil.
Small household · 4 min read · Updated 2026-10-16
In the portions written below, protein is about 32–42 g, calories about 390–520, and sodium about 150–360 mg. Those are rounded kitchen estimates before extra cheese, bread, or a heavy pour of sauce.
A crisper drawer is not a plan. Write the leftover on the meal plan or it becomes soup you did not want to identify.
How to run it
- Start with yogurt and soy smoothie. Plan on about 5 minutes. Blend everything until smooth. Add a splash of water if the blades stall.
- Next, no-salt tuna and chickpea box. Regular canned tuna is often 250–400 mg of sodium in a small can. The no-salt-added label is the difference between a lunch and a salt bomb.
- Keep egg and edamame rice skillet for the meal that needs to feel different. Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
- Cool anything you will not eat right away within two hours. For egg and edamame rice skillet: Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
Cook these
Yogurt and soy smoothie
5 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 32 g
- Sodium
- 150 mg
- Calories
- 390
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Peanut butter adds a little sodium and a lot of staying power. Leave it out if you need the sodium lower, and the protein drops by about 4 grams.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 banana or 1 cup frozen berries
- 1 handful spinach
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Method
- Blend everything until smooth. Add a splash of water if the blades stall.
- Drink it the day you make it, or pour it into a cold jar for the commute.
Fridge up to 24 hours. Shake before you drink. The freezer version is the smoothie-pack recipe.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Also used in A twelve-dinner rotation, Breakfast for one, Cooking with less added salt.
No-salt tuna and chickpea box
12 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 42 g
- Sodium
- 190 mg
- Calories
- 430
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Regular canned tuna is often 250–400 mg of sodium in a small can. The no-salt-added label is the difference between a lunch and a salt bomb.
Ingredients
- 1 can no-salt-added tuna in water, drained (about 5 ounces)
- 1/2 cup no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed
- 1 rib celery, diced, optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- dried dill or parsley
- black pepper
Method
- Break the tuna up with a fork. Fold in the chickpeas, oil, lemon, herbs, and pepper.
- Skip the celery if you want it softer. Eat from the container or over greens.
Fridge 2 days. Not a freezer meal.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Also used in Adult lunch boxes, Cooking for one on a budget, Cooking for two on a weeknight.
Egg and edamame rice skillet
15 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 32 g
- Sodium
- 360 mg
- Calories
- 520
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Cold leftover rice stir-fries better than fresh rice, and it is a good reason to make extra rice earlier in the week.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup cooked rice, cold if you have it
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1 scallion
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- black pepper
Method
- Scramble the eggs in the oil until just set. Move them to a plate.
- Warm the rice and edamame in the same pan. Add the soy sauce.
- Return the eggs, toss once, and finish with scallion.
Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Chill cooked rice promptly. Vomiting-type Bacillus cereus illness is generally tied to rice and other starchy foods, and that emetic toxin can survive heat that kills the bacteria. FDA Bad Bug Book: Bacillus cereus.
Also used in Cooking for one, Cooking for one on a budget, Cooking for two on a weeknight.
Details that matter
- If one person wants more food, add rice, potatoes, or an egg. Do not cook two entirely different dinners.
- Cook a full recipe and freeze half before you are bored of it. Future-you is a different customer.
- Eggs, a baked potato, a yogurt jar, and a can of no-salt tuna are the emergency shelf.
Easy mistakes
Letting produce liquefy because the recipe only needed half an onion
The other half goes into eggs, soup, or the freezer. Write it on the meal plan so it has a job.
Shopping hungry for one person with a cart built for four
A short list beats a 'stock up' trip you cannot finish.
Grocery starter
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 banana or 1 cup frozen berries
- 1 handful spinach
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 can no-salt-added tuna in water, drained (about 5 ounces)
- 1/2 cup no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed
- 1 rib celery, diced, optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- dried dill or parsley
- black pepper
Questions
How should I store yogurt and soy smoothie?
Fridge up to 24 hours. Shake before you drink. The freezer version is the smoothie-pack recipe.
How much protein is in a serving?
Yogurt and soy smoothie is about 32 g; No-salt tuna and chickpea box is about 42 g; Egg and edamame rice skillet is about 32 g. These are kitchen estimates, not a lab analysis.
What is the easy mistake here?
A crisper drawer is not a plan. Write the leftover on the meal plan or it becomes soup you did not want to identify.