Dinner for one: Take one.

As a singleton living in a rented room in a family home in London there is one thing that frustrates me the most. Dinner. Walking past the aisles in supermarkets is a constant anguishment. Not only am I trying to save money but I am constantly being battled with being resourceful with my one shelf in the fridge.

If you are a singleton of some kind you may share my anger for the many 'dinner for two' meals on the shelves. Or the packs of four chicken.

See my predicament. I have one shelf in the fridge, literally. Approximately one microwaved shaped space in the freezer. I need to shop for a week but use all the contents before they go off and I've practically flushed my money down the drain. I want to be healthy and I want variety and all of this with a limited budget. I am also restricted to kitchen facilities due to my impossible (and yes ridiculous) concerns of intruding someones kitchen space (who wants to be cooking when a dinner party is going on in the same room?).

A four pack of chicken could take you far at not such a hefty fee. Lunch, 3 dinners in the week perhaps. But do I really want to be having that for 70% of my meals? Fish and steaks are expensive. Fresh fruit and veg have a decent life span but also not that cheap. The cost of eating healthy though not pocking breaking isn't as cheap as other alternatives which add pounds in other areas. Really, I am quite lazy and this needs to stop if I want to get my bikini body. I don't think it actually takes much to make this work so, I have decided from today, going forward I will make a vow. To eat a balanced diet at a reasonable budget with creative flair. I will document my efforts with you the beautiful blog reading public.

I thought I would share with you a meal I whipped up a few weeks back in acknowledgement of this new eating me.

Marks and Spencer Chicken Breast filled with Ricotta and Spinach, cous cous and salad. YUM!












Ingredients

Marks and Spencer Chicken Breast filled with Ricotta and Spinach 3 for £10
Cous Cous 500g pack £0.63p
Salad leaves £1.50
Vine Tomatos £1.00
Beetroot £1.50

Total ingredients cost= £6.00
Total meal cost = £3.90 Approx

Now this isn't rocket science. The chicken was from one of Marks and Spencer foiled dished meals which is conveniently in 3 for £10 deal on all meat and fish dinners. As a pack of two, I cooked one and will be using the other for lunch next day. Cous Cous is rather cheap with a bag from Sainsburys and simple. I poured 300ml boiling water into around 180g for 5 minutes which I split into 4 - 1 for dinner, 3 lunch time meals. I then added a basic side salad for a healthy finish.

This filled me up more than I expected and was a delicious meal to inspire me on my way.

It was really nice to get away from my laptop or any form of screen and cook up some grub, even if basic.  Just think what I could do when actually applying myself! At the same time I prepared some lunch from my left overs for the remaining week. Not a bad dinner for £3.90 and even then I think I was being a little generous with the spend.

Good start if I say so myself. Let the games begin.

Does anyone else have any penny saving tips for the single chef?