Solo Living with Salter

Solo living is on the rise, with more and more people choosing to live alone. There are many amazing benefits to living by yourself; you have complete decorative freedom, you can do whatever you want when you want to do it, and no one can tell you off when you’ve left the flat a bit messy. As with everything, there are also a few challenges when it comes to living by yourself, and one of those can be figuring out what to cook for every meal. While you have complete freedom to make whatever you like, this can also become a challenge when it comes to trying to reduce food waste and supermarket spends, especially with household bills on the rise. Here at Salter, we want to help you feel inspired to cook again, with these delicious meals for one.

Breakfast

Start the day off right with a smoothie. A quick and easy breakfast, they are also an easy way to use up any leftover fruit and veg. We love using the Salter NutriPro blender as it is smaller than a jug blender and therefore perfect for solo smoothies. Why not try the following combinations to kickstart your morning:

       

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

175g Strawberries

1 Small Banana

100 ml Orange Juice

Green Smoothie

250ml Milk of Your Choice

1 Medjool Date

1 Small Banana

Handful of Spinach

1tbsp of Nut Butter

Simply pop all your ingredients in the blender and you’re good to go.

Lunch

Quesadillas are a delicious and filling lunch that won’t break the bank. Much like smoothies, you can fill a quesadilla with anything you like or need to use up, and we are a big fan of using leftover meat from the night before. For a veggie option, simply replace the meat with vegetables, tofu, or any meat replacement.

2 tbsp Salsa

1 Large Flour Tortilla

100g Kidney Beans

1 Spring Onion

30g Chicken (leftover chicken would be perfect for this)

40g Mild Cheddar

½ tsp Paprika

¼ tsp Cumin

Roughly mash the kidney beans then add the paprika and cumin into the beans. Spread the salsa onto half of your tortilla, then top with the beans, spring onion, chicken, and cheddar. Fold the tortilla over so all of your toppings are covered. Brush the tortilla with a little bit of oil.

Heat up a large non-stick frying pan, we recommend our highly rated Marblestone Non-stick Frying Pan, and cook the tortilla oil-side down for 3-4 minutes. Then, carefully flip it over and cook the other side for 2 minutes until golden. Cut into wedges and serve with some sour cream for dipping.

   

Dinner

Dinner for one doesn’t have to be a microwaved ready meal or an oven pizza, it can still be fresh and delicious. Below we have two recipes perfect for one, to give you some inspiration.

Air Fryer Jacket Potatoes

Having the oven on for over an hour for just one potato might not seem desirable, but did you know you can make the perfect jacket potato in an  air fryer. This hands-off recipe means you can get some other household tasks done while your dinner cooks, and still sit down to a hearty homemade meal.

Drizzle a little oil over the potato and rub it into the skin, making sure the potato is well-coated. Season with salt and pepper- the salt will help crisp up the skin. Set the air fryer to 200°C and cook for 40-50 minutes. Check the potato after 20 minutes to ensure it isn’t browning too much on one side and turn it around if necessary. Split and serve with your favourite toppings, we like tuna mayonnaise on ours.

   

Roast Chicken

A roast dinner might seem unattainable or too much work for just one person, but it doesn’t have to be. This roast chicken and leek dish is perfect for a Sunday roast for one. Serve it on its own or with roast potatoes, which you can easily cook at the same time using our  dual function baking tray. You can also double this recipe to ensure you’ve got chicken for leftovers, which would be perfect for the quesadillas mentioned above.

1 Chicken breast

1 Large Leek

A Few Sprigs of Thyme

Olive Oil

A Pinch of Salt and Pepper

1 tbsp White Wine

4 Slices of Pancetta (bacon will also do)

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Add the chicken breast to a bowl with the washed and sliced leek, the sprigs of thyme, a tablespoon of olive oil, the salt, pepper, and wine and toss together. Place the leeks on the tray and wrap the chicken breast in pancetta to help flavour it and prevent it drying out. Put the chicken breast on top of the leeks and drizzle everything with olive oil. Cook in the middle of the oven for 25-35 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve with a side of potatoes and a glass of something nice – we recommend finishing off the white wine needed for the recipe!