Cooking for one can be a joyful and creative experience while also promoting sustainability. It allows you to choose what you want to eat, experiment with new flavors, and reduce food waste. After a long day, it’s easy to quickly order food from our phones or pick something up on the way home from work. In fact, the food delivery industry is estimated to reach $157.4 billion by 2025. Even more staggering is the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that packaging constituted the majority of municipal waste, totalling 82.2 million tons in the U.S. alone in 2018. While we don’t want to push anyone, we seek to inspire you. Perhaps it’s time to give the planet a break and skip takeout this week, even if it means just cooking for yourself.

There are a few ways to make cooking more enjoyable and easier on the planet. Here are a few tips to make things easier for you and the earth.

Plan Ahead

Planning is the key to making cooking enjoyable and sustainable. It’s not just about deciding what to eat, but also about making the process easier and more efficient. Have you seen something you want to eat, or is there a dish that you typically buy out but might be easy to make at home? Plan it out, search for the ingredients, and decide where you want to shop. This simple step can make a world of difference in your cooking experience.

A few questions to ask yourself:

• Will you want this meal more than once?
• Are there ingredients in it that will be pantry staples? (Like rice, potatoes, beans, pasta.)
• Do you have room in your freezer to keep a few extra items so you can make it again the next time you crave it?

Start by planning 2-3 weekly meals to feed you two servings.

Shop Mindfully

After picking out your meals and making your list, you can choose where to shop. You may purchase some items in bulk, while for others, you may just need a single item. Planning ahead helps you reduce excess food waste you might incur by going into the store blind or hungry!

Reduce Packaging

Try limiting the items you buy with excess packaging. If you are buying fresh produce, don’t worry about putting it in a plastic bag if its outer skin is sturdy enough to survive the ride home.

Seek Inspiration

Are you stuck in a recipe slump? Here are a few of our favourite sources of inspiration in the kitchen, and some that provide great recipes.

The Minimalist Baker

Delish – 31 Recipes for One

One Girl, One Kitchen

Do you have any favourite meals for one? Or many that could be adaptable? We would love to hear about them in the comments.