Eat like a bachelor

When I first retired, I went on a cooking spree. All those recipes that pile up and never get tested got tested. And then suddenly, I was done. I discovered better things to do than cook and wash dishes.

Here is a typical day's worth of meals for me now:

Breakfast: (paleo) bacon and egg and vegetables, plus OJ
Lunch: meat and vegetables
Snack: popcorn with a little butter and Parmesan
Supper: yogurt, fruit, nuts
Bedtime snack: Cheerios, banana, nuts, milk

The source of my midday serving of meat is the freezer. I bake about eight boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then freeze them individually. Or I cook a 4-lb pork roast in the slow cooker and freeze that in individual sizes. Or I might fry up four quarter-pound hamburgers and freeze those. Or I eat a (paleo) hot dog.

The veggies are also cooked in batches, but not frozen. For example, I'll nuke a baking potato, but get three meals out of it. Or I'll cook a whole package of green beans or peas and eat them a serving at a time, until they are gone.

I don't mind eating the same thing for several days in a row. Since I live alone, there is no one else here to complain. And since I mix up the meats and veggies, it doesn't seem all that monotonous to me. It's just plain.

I do eat out two or three times a week, usually at Panera or Freshii or Penn Station or Culvers or even McDonalds, so rest assured I am getting some SAD (Standard American Diet) food stuffs, too. Today I went wild and crazy and substituted a ciabatta roll and cheddar cheese for my snack and supper. I even had a beer last Saturday, with Lays potato chips and a Snickers bar.

So now I have a kitchen full of equipment that rarely sees the light of day. If I were downsizing, most of it would probably go, but there is a chance that some time in the next 20 years, the cooking bug will resurface. I still make my own yogurt, after all.