Cooking for 2 people is a piece of cake!

A very famous British cook named Delia Smith, brought out a great little cook book called 'One is fun' suggesting that cooking for one is a lovely, and not a lonely way to stand over a solitary saucepan! Well, it might be a blast when you're young and independent for the first time, but it ain't much of a giggle when you hit mid 30's and you still dishing up on one plate. Thank goodness I got cooking for two before I hit 40. I was beginning to think my shelf life was about to expire!

I have been cooking for 2 for a while now and would like to share with you a couple pieces of advice. When it comes to cooking for 2 most of your failures and successes will begin at the grocery store. What you buy at the grocery store and especially how much of it will determine how well you accomplish your cooking goals.

It seems like the vast majority of products at the grocery store are packaged for families. When you're cooking for 2 you don't need several pounds of frozen meat unless you're stocking up for a long, cold winter. When you're cooking for 2, you will need to learn how to look for smaller packages. I try to buy packages of meat such as pork chops, steaks, and chicken portions that are no more than a pound or two.

I never cook more than six to eight ounces of meat for myself and my partner. This usually turns out to be one steak or chop or two to three chicken tenders per person. Remember these portions when you are shopping for meat because it is one of the most expensive items you will purchase when you go grocery shopping.

It's just a matter of practice makes perfect, and it shouldn't take too long to adapt, but if you're not careful, you could end up with a lot of waste in those early days as you adjust to life with a new partner.

Other items that require good portion consciousness are fruits and vegetables. If you buy fresh fruits or vegetables you'll have to keep in mind that you will probably not consume more than a cup's worth per person per meal. Only buy a few handfuls’ worth each week so that it doesn't go bad before you have a chance to eat it. I've lost count how many times I've thrown bananas away, which seem to ripen and rot over night.

When cooking for 2 you need to resist the urge to buy a large quantity of bread products. One loaf of sandwich bread may take several days for you and your partner to consume depending on how much you like your breads. Although your loafs can be put in the freezer, they never seems to retain that lovely freshness and smell that they had on the day of purchase.

So, being mindful of portion size will help you to keep from spending too much on groceries, or wasting chunks of money because you had to throw stuff out. I have literally thrown away hundreds of dollars of uneaten or spoiled food over the years, and I always found this extremely aggravating. It took me a while to understand the importance of portion size and I hope that my readers do not experience that aggravation.

Today, just to complicate things in our household, my partner is becoming a bit of a health fanatic and I now have the added difficulty of managing healthy cooking for two on a daily basis. Being in a relationship has also meant that occasionally I have to do cooking for a crowd of friends at summer BBQ's a dinner parties. What's next? Cooking for kids? Hmm! Perhaps the cooking for one wasn't such a bad deal after all! What about you? How many are you cooking for these days