What do you eat when you eat alone?

February 3, 2010

I read a ton of foodie non-fiction, and recently finished What We Eat When We Eat Alone by Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin.

The idea for the book came together when McFarlin (who is Madison’s husband), would, as a conversation starter, ask people what they ate when dining solo. He drew a few pictures  based on some of the answers, and in these doodles Madison saw the potential for an entire book on the topic. McFarlin’s darling drawings, btw, are perhaps my favourite parts of the book.

As for the replies included in the book? Some of the responses are expected (men seem to prefer cooking that involves slamming something into a skillet or smashing an ingredient up, and women who cook regularly for other people are not going to take out their arsenal of kitchen tools when preparing food for themselves) but there are also surprises (who would’ve thought that a tub of cottage cheese eaten with puffed rice biscuit, cucumber and tomato with salt and pepper would be the reply coming from a man?).

Which got me thinking about what I eat when G. is out of town (which is often — think George Clooney’s super elite air miles status in Up in the Air and you’re not that far off). Turns out my normally relatively healthy eating goes down the drain. Typical meals when I’m home alone:

• microwave popcorn (not well balanced, but at least I’m getting some whole grains!)
• Kraft Dinner (yup, for reals — see photo evidence)
• instant vermicelli noodles (total cost: 60 cents — needless to say, the grocery bill drops big time when I’m home alone. If I’m feeling particularly flush, I fry a few cubes of tofu and toss those into the soup, too)
• BLT sandwiches (I get fresh bread from the bakery if I feel like being fancy schmancy) or I skip the bread and make a variation of a Cobb salad

This Sunday, after way too many days of eating like this, my body was so craving something freshly cooked that I was motivated enough to roast a whole chicken with veggies on the side on Sunday. (OK, full disclosure — I would’ve bought a prepared roasted chicken but the grocery store didn’t have any ready). Let me tell you, roasting my own was so worth it; it was divine (the chicken was juicy, with a gorgeous crispy golden skin, and the veggies hit the spot, too). I followed a very basic recipe, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Chicken (which I unfortunately can’t seem to find online) from the book Bon Appetit Every Night Cooking (I skipped making the gravy, though, too much fuss!).

I read a review in which Madison is quoted as saying that it’s dismaying how people don’t appreciate their own company and value it. I disagree (if I’m understanding the context of this quote correctly) — I do value my own company, and that’s why I’d prefer to use that time alone taking a break from all of the cooking that I normally do on a regular basis and using that time to indulge in episode after episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Joss Whedon — brilliant! But his genius could cover an entire blog on its own so I digress.)

Well, I’ve shared my dirty little solo eating habits: I eat like a poor university student. Now it’s only fair that you share, too. What do you eat when you eat alone?

Filed under: Diet,Healthy Swellness

Tags: book, Cooking, healthy eating