You know the saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Well singlelistas, that's especially true for us since, for the most part, everything we have, we paid for.
"The shoes on my feet... I've bought it!"
Oh...Sorry girls. I'm back!
Where possible we at The Singles' Salon are going to highlight fun ways to save you a cent or two on living the single life.
Today we're tacklimg something that has definitely been a problem for me and probably for you too: Dinner for One.
Let's face it ladies, when you're living single, not only is it easier to just grab dinner on the go, it's also much cheaper.
One of my fave guys has often commented about how much I eat out, but the truth is that eating in costs a lot of money-- in wasted grocery.
Rarely do we find food items in our local grocery stores that are intended for one person. I don't have a family, yet I always have to buy the family pack of ground turkey - although I was completely thrilled to learn that Perdue Chicken has a product line called Perfect Portions, which features, you guessed it, chicken breasts in SINGLE PORTIONS... SCORE!!!
Honestly ladies, how many times have you caught that "domestic feeling", bought out your nearest grocer, gone home and cooked up a fab meal, and then found yourself torchered by having to eat that meal for the rest of the week. Yes, it was good day one, great day two, but days 3-5... umm...not so much. Finally after reheating the never-ending dinner for as many days as your fridge could keep it safe, you go to throw out whatever's left, and realize you're tossing HALF of your money away.
Ughhhhhh!
The next night you faithfully return to your carefully alphabetized dossier of delivery menus and vow to never stray again.
While much more convenient and economical, we savvy singlelistas know the perils of fast food and have heard of the heath code horror stories of restaurant kitchens, but honestly, what's a girl to do?
Well I don't have all the answers, but I can at least get the conversation rolling.
While at The Container Store the other day, I became reacquainted with a throwback from my mother's childhood-- food storage containers!
You're saying duh! but I was really excited about this. These weren't the ones from your mom's Tupperware parties. These came in fun colors, sassy sizes, and a range of materials from plastic to Lucite (Lucite...squeal!).
That rediscovery, along with a trip to the dollar store for a pack of food storage bags, changed my life and more notably my dinner to dollars ratio!
Here's the trick: Every week I go to the grocery store ( I usually go on Mondays as to avoid the obstacle course which is tight aisles filled with mommies and tiny children that seem to overtake the stores on the weekends). I buy whatever meat and poultry items my little heart desires, an assortment of seasonings, spices, sauces, and marinades, and a combination of non-perishable goods (60 second rice and assorted pastas mostly) and fresh produce.
As soon as I get home, I separate all of my meats into single serving sizes and put each in its own storage bag filled with whatever kind of marinades my culinary creativity can conjure up- rosemary and thyme chicken breasts, garlic and peppercorn steaks, pineapple glazed shrimp... it's looking like the start of a very delicious week!
Next, I season and cook all my fresh veggies- squash, asparagus, navy beans, cabbage. (I know it sounds like a lot, but once I get all of my pots going, it doesn't take more than 20 minutes for all of it- remember we're going for affordability and efficiency!) Once those are done cooking, I scoop out a single serving size and place it into its own super stylish storage container.
I then put of all my now single size, gourmet entrees and sides into the freezer and store my uncooked rice and pasta in the cabinets. In about 45 minutes I've prepped all my meals for the entire week.
Every morning on my way out the door, I go to the freezer, pull out whatever meat and veggie combo I'm in the mood for, and place it in the fridge to thaw. When I get home that evening I slide my entree in the oven, throw my veggies in the microwave, and drop my rice or pasta of choice into the steamer.
By the time I've gotten comfy, picked a channel, and poured my favorite glass of wine, I have a delectable home cooked dinner- for one!
Do you have money-saving, appetizing, dinner-for-one tips? If so, email us singlelistas@gmail.com. Remember, sharing is caring chicas. We're in this single life together!
Bon Appetite Singlelistas!
Love life...Every SINGLE moment of it!
-xoxo
