I have to feed myself every weekday lunchtime. I don't want to cook but I do care what I eat. So I try to eat a balanced diet using zero prep food. Things on toast. Poached egg, canned fish, baked beans, cheese, marmite, pnb. Fruit and vegetables that can be eaten raw out of hand. Carrots, celery, fennel etc. Nuts and seeds. Sometimes musli or porridge. I deliberately don't keep any snacks, cookies etc. in the house because I'd just eat the lot while wondering what healthy meal to have.

John, what brand of instant ramen is in your cupboard?

I cook for one all the time and have for many years. I want to eat well and eat interesting food. I also try to make something that will have leftovers for at least one more meal or can be frozen for when I don't want to cook. I eat a lot of beans, both canned and dried, lentils, vegetables and occasionally pasta. Grains are always whole. Styles include a little Chinese, a little slightly Indian, Italian, Mexican.

That's when it's handy to have easy stuff in the freezer....hanging maybe? heh-heh.

I have been in that state a lot lately. I feel like my body needs less food to function these days as well. When DH goes away I usually make a big pan of garlic risotto that will be a few meals. Dinner will often be something like Prosciutto and grapes while I pretend to be in Italy. I also do the noodles, snap dragon beef pho which I sometimes add protein to.

A personal chef would be nice but to be honest I am not as hungry lately so it matters less to me these days. I guess I will consider that a good thing. Less shopping and cooking.

I've been thinking about it. There are things I'll only make if feeding enough people, some homey traditional things, like bourekes or stuffed cabbage, some fiddly or adventurous, but I'm as likely to do project cooking, like stock, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, etc. (stuff that goes in the freezer), whether I have the kitchen to myself (and tunes) or minions. But total disinterest? The solitary blahs? That's a stripped down version of the basics. I eat a lot of sandwiches, salads and soups anyway—concatenations of protein, veg and carbs.

Subsistence, given no leftovers, would be steamed cheese bread and any produce that can be eaten out of the fridge without prep other than washing (little tomatoes, handful of pre-prepped spinach, berries, green beans, peas, pickled whatever). Or something from the freezer that's one or two portions, like sometimes soup, or lasanga. Or, sometimes I have frozen packets of meat, which I'll add some of to one of the S's (salad, sandwich, soup). But for the blahs, the salad may be boughten and in need of decoration. Or blah and bored, and unwilling to do even that much, it might be interesting salads from the (high end) deli eaten out of the containers, or wrapped in a slice of bread.

ETA: My father's go-to, without Mother, was boiled sausages. Hot dogs for the kids, and some kind of grown up wurst for himself. If any vegetables were involved, they weren't memorable.

Eggs in some format, usually something breakfasty, like an omelet or scrambled. Or a grilled cheese sandwich.

tbh, I am not typically very hungry at dinner time so often just munch on cheese, crackers, olives or fruit.

I may cook a full meal once or twice a week but I am less inclined to like leftovers these days and cooking a single person, no leftovers meal is challenging and usually involves a protein I can incorporate in other quick, single serving meals.

lisaam, whatever instant ramen is the cheapest. I've never noticed enough difference between high and lower priced instant ramens to care.

Once I bought some expensive plant based high protein low carb high fiber instant ramen - "Immi" brand - for $36 per six-pack. I bought all the flavors, spent like $200, tried a pack and it was awful.

I ended up giving it away on my neighborhood's "Buy Nothing" Facebook page. I was worried no-one would deign picking up a pack of instant ramen, so I gave it a good write up using reverse psychology. Here, you might find it amusing:

My Facebook post:

"Has your Facebook feed been deluged with ads for the REVOLUTIONARY new plant-based, high-protein, low-carb “instant ramen” from IMMI?

Have you been hankering to TRY this GAME-CHANGING new approach to healthy eating?!

Is YOUR body a TEMPLE?!!

but . . . have you hesitated . . . perhaps after seeing the price of the stuff . . . wondering how much of a temple your body really is . . .

Well, hesitate NO MORE. I have roasted pork, creamy chicken, tom yum shrimp, garlic chicken, and something-beef flavors for my immensely healthy temple-dwelling Laurelhurst neighbors to TRY, absolutely FREE, NO commitment required!!!

Let me know which one of each flavor you’d like to pick up from my porch. Limit two packs per customer for this INCREDIBLE DEAL!!! *

I will message the lucky winners with address and directions to come up the driveway rather than breaking your neck on the under-construction stairs.

Why, you ask, are we offering this AMAZING product FREE this weekend only?!?

Because I don’t like the stuff AT ALL, my body is a whorehouse, and it is too expensive to throw out.**

There. TMI?

* Unless only one person wants it, then you can take it all.

** If no-one wants it, I’m going to feed it to your dog secretly at night, so better step up, neighbors."

I received tons of interest. Beverly: "I have been marketed as well and have been super curious!" as well as some TMI. Meredith: "My body is maybe 1/2 whorehouse 1/2 Temple." Miriana: "My body is a late night rave."

The verdict, from ramen connoisseur Beverly: " I know John Liu lowered my expectations, but this stuff is like eating cut up cardboard. I couldn’t taste which one was garlic chicken and which one was Tom yum! It’s actual incredible that this went to production. For those that did’t get to try it, you dodged a bullet. Go to your local Hmart and grab some real instant ramen! Thanks for the huge warning, John."

So that is my approach too. Don't spend money on fancy instant ramen. Instead, doctor up cheap ramen.

P.S. SWMBO was angry that I had given away the super-duper spendy ramen before she'd even tried it. Protesting that I was only trying to protect her temple did not soothe. So I took one of the unclaimed packs (several people read the verdict and chose to forgo the INCREDIBLE DEAL!) and fed it to her, and nothing further was said.

As I have been following a keto diet for a little over a year, I can say that I love Immi ramen. I don't eat it as ramen, nor do I use the spice packet. I use it as a pasta replacement for stove top based pasta dishes like chicken with lemon pesto. Immi still has 310 calories per packet and pesto isn't exactly low calorie/carb either, so I can only indulge occasionally.

Cooking for one is a challenge when you don't want to eat the same meal for days. I sort of meal prep by grilling several pieces of chicken, portioning it and freezing it. That way, I can thaw a portion and add it to a soup or salad without much prep. I also will hard boil six eggs at a time and refrigerate them. They make a good base for egg salad or an addition to chicken or tuna salad.

Keto diets are challenging! Keeping it up for a year is impressive.

I tried a low carb diet (<30 g/day) for a month, which was all I could manage. I basically ate chicken, eggs, and lettuce. Weight was lost, but so was spirit. One day I was weaving dizzily on my bike, ”bonking” hard, watching a little girl on a pink bicycle with handlebar tassels mercilessly ride me off her wheel. I struggled to my local bar, ordered a pint, and that was that. Turns out whorehouses are not easily remodeled to temples.

My subsistance food is veggie burgers (Morningside spicy black bean) or eggs.

Husband is Maruchan chicken ramen which makes me cringe. He says it is healthy because he adds a large handful of baby spinach. Just recently got him Sun brand frozen— he hasn’t tried that yet. The first Covid Christmas I got him a fancy artisanal California product which he didn’t like, I think because the seasoning packet included nutritional yeast.

I have recently tasted and liked the Momofuko 3 minute noodle packages, scallion & soy. The texture of the curly noodles is fun but I rarely eat white pasta. so it always tastes like a holiday.

Breakfast is the one meal I regularly cook for myself when alone. After that I need self discipline not to eat chips, cheese and crackers, ice cream and cookies the rest of the day.

Not to be the language police and only because you had me second-guessing myself, I think the word you meant was sustenance.

food, subsistence also fits since it can mean supporting oneself at a minimum level.

I could do it easily for myself, but a certain DH is much more of a meal guy. We barely finish breakfast when I hear ”What’s for dinner?”

Maybe I mean something in between sustenance (supporting of life or health) and subsistence (barely sufficient to maintain life)? As I mope around here alone I want to eat enough to maintain life but seek nothing more. ”Subsistenance” then.

I think I’ll try another ride on the chicken-eggs-lettuce train.

LOL, John, I was thinking about ”subsistenance.”

I cook for myself all the time. With varying levels of effort. It is the begining of garden season here. Which means I have fresh herbs and small harvests peppers, greens and tomatoes. I seem to be on a Dutch Baby kick. I have a small oval Le Creuset casserole dish that is perfect for a one person DB meal.

2 eggs, 4 tbsps of flour, a little salt and 1/4 cup of milk is the base. Then one can go sweet or savory. Today I used leftover chopped herbs from a focaccia I made yesterday, black pepper, a few shishitos, a little cheese and a slice of deli ham. 20 minutes in my toaster over - served with a lot of hot sauce. Sometimes the toppings get added before baking and others after. Generally I would say herbs after and cheese before. It isn’t instant but it is dead simple.

Subsistence sounded right to me. Like in war torn plaes where they promise 1000 calories, but not of any particular thing. Like in '60's science fiction, I think seminal from Heinlein, where the workers are guaranteed subsistence food, and can get it free by walking in, but it might be the human equivalent of dog chow.

Soylent Green!

Actually, I should order some cases of Soylent (not made from people) for exactly these situations.

DD was a fan, for a little while, she got bored but it seemed to sustain her.

I don’t know about dog chow, but when I young I read a profile of a bush pilot veterinarian in Alaska. It all sounded rugged and romantic, was probably in the New Yorker or suchlike. He, the vet, said he always carried a 10 lb bag of dry cat food in the plane, in case he got stranded in the ruggedly romantic bush. Dry cat food, he said, was pound for pound the most nutritious non-perishable food available. I tried eating dry cat food. It must be an acquired taste. We sadly have a whole bunch of cat food around here, but I think I’ll leave it for the next kitty.

::sob:: The lingering cat food is the saddest thing yet!

I can believe the nutrition value, but our French poodle liked the cat's kibble (back then it was probably cat chow) and turned up his nose at the dog equivalent, but the vet said it was bad for his organs. Though it probably doesn't matter for emergency rations. And hunger could help a lot with the taste.

Y'know, subsistence due to loneliness needn't mean self-abnegation. Standard "bro" fare, here, is a steak from the freezer on the barbecue (seasoned if he remembers, but S&P sit decoratively on the table), a potato in the coals (not cleaned, but he won't eat the skin anyway), a beer, and if not forgotten frozen broccoli steamed in their own iciness on the grill halfway through. "See! Balanced meal and the kitchen is clean!"

After a very busy, very tiring day, my pre-sundown meal today was as described above: A heated spinach stuffed bread thingie spread with a bit of ferment-process cream cheese, a little truffle hard cheese, and, from the deli, fancy slaw and lobster salad out of the containers. My idea of lonely (but Super Mega Cakes for company) and tired subsistence.

Jeepers, that’s my idea of a dinner party! I guess Super Mega Cakes are good company.

My diet incorporates at least 5 different vegetables a day, and at least 100g protein. I enjoy cooking very much, but there are days when I'm in subsistence mode. Sample meals on those days:

Protein shake--easy, not particularly satisfying, but does the trick.

Scrambled eggs with sauteed vegetables and cottage cheese.

Amylu chicken burger (from Costco) pan-fried on a bed of greens. I can cook the burger from frozen in about 10 minutes.

Canned tuna or salmon on mixed greens with a quick vinaigrette that I double the recipe so I can use it again the next day.

A fish and veg sautee. Double and have leftovers.

The key to all of this (sans the protein shake) are spice blends. My two favorites at the moment are Rogan Josh blend from Penzeys and Trader Joe's Soffritto.

Super Mega Cakes is a TV show with a couple dozen people making a dozen gigantic sculptures out of wood, foil, cake and other baking edibles in four days. It is amusing.

I usually stick with a keto diet. But on those occasions that I am sick to death of thinking of something, and when its just me to think of, its caution and carbs to the wind. I will do pasta, any type but preferably a short cut variety, with jarred sauce and some cheese, and some of that pizza seasoning sprinkled on top. A baked potato with butter. Ramen is a very occasion thing. I like the Marechan creamy chicken flavor, water drained completely save a Tablespoon or 2, I add a glob of butter and the seasoning packet. A salty treat. Grilled cheese. Sometimes Ill fry up some frozen fries and cover them with cheese. If I am still being "good" Ill make a cheese omelet. Or just some bacon.

I hit the frozen food aisle and buy lots of frozen meals.

Instant Pot. 1 cup of brown rice. 1.25 cup of water. Some granulated garlic, cumin, whatever. 24 minutes on high pressure,.

Meanwhile saute 1/2 bag of "saute" veggies from the produce section near the bagged salads. (Kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, snow peas, carrots.) Combine with rice and drizzle with sesame oil.

Eat for dinner and tomorrow's lunch. Repeat later in the week.

Or a steady diet of Cheeze-its. Your choice.

Skipping down to add that if I'm the only one eating, I will cook things I like but hubby doesn't care for - like liver, shrimp, fish (tacos especially), squash, beets, lamb, and so on.

To me, a subsistence meal is a big spoonful of peanut butter, cheese sticks or boiled eggs and a banana or some other filling fruit. I'll do that for lunch, but don't mind at all cooking for myself at dinnertime.

Frozen foods + air fryer.

Right now we're having BLTs about 3 times a week. Bacon cooked in the micro-zapper. Add in some fresh local sweet corn. Hard to beat.

John, I'm sorry about the kitty, when they live with you for so long it's hard to get used to the absence.

When I'm on my own I think less about food and more about the mess I make cooking that I don't really want to clean up. Meals consist of peanut butter on a spoon, some kind of egg, cold cereal or whatever fits on a piece of bread or a cracker. That must be why I was much thinner when I was living on my own than I am now.

Annie

Sardines on crackers, or yogurt with fruit.

I read somewhere that some people opined that this ramen was ”the best.”

I don’t know if i have ever bought it a d because I almost always toss out that salty seasoning packet, I just buy the plain ramen noodles and use my own stock, vegetables and whatever (which results in ramen not being ll that quick a meal).

New low over here :-)

Can of tuna, can of black beans, a spoon.

The ratties ate better! (soup legume mix, rice, tofu, boiled carrots).

Tuna & black beans...VERY healthy!

I'm making lots of salads using iceburg lettuce, nutrient-poor....but we like it! Then a honey-spicy dijon dressing I make. Very quick! ❤️

Just saying... cat kibble has a 6-12 month shelf life if unopened and stored properly, and closer to a month once opened. Check the expiration dates on your bags.

It's not often I'm home alone for days. But when it happens... I tend to graze more. I'll make fussy small plates, try out something new. Eat the rare couple things he isn't fond of and I am very fond of. I always have the house stocked with quick fixes for lunches, and plenty in the freezer. So eating solo mostly is not making as much as I usually do.

It happened. I had a bad afternoon. Late meal was smoked chicken sausage (comes cooked) and heirloom colored cherry tomatoes. I could have added prepped arugula with a dab of leftover dressing, but it didn't agree to come out of the fridge… Pretty subbie.

First two days … grilled cheese on toast with a ‘Cup O Soup’ packet……

Next two days… frozen dumplings in broth…..

If there’s a next Two days order in Rendang Curry with belachan egg plant……

Annie… so funny and totally agree about clean up. I have eaten peanut butter from a spoon and English style baked beans cold from a can.