Solo dining during COVID has advantages

Table for one.

If that image seems bleak as the social isolation of these pandemic times continues, think again. Single-person households, long before coronavirus held us captive, reveled in the comforts, challenges and pleasures of dining solo.

For every person who dines alone only because of a move or mate’s departure, there is another who relishes the independence and advantages that a one-person kitchen affords.

Eat a bowl of cereal for supper or prepare enough gourmet fare for a week. Gone is the need to compromise, tolerate or live beyond your own preferences, whims, quirks and budget.

Solitude is not the same as loneliness. Cooking can help build a sense of community, if you’d like, or turn into satisfying self-indulgence. Regardless of extremes, the freezer is your friend.

Single-person households climbed to 28% of all in 2019, reports the U.S. Census Bureau, compared  with 17% in 1969. Sweden leads the world in solo living (47% of households), followed by Norway (40%).

Julie Jasinski, catering manager at Wisconsin Union Catering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaches cooking classes too.

Risk vs. rut

Trial, error and deliberate strategy sway household menus, regardless of size.

“I get stuck about what to eat sensibly, in my one-person household, even though I am a trained chef,” Julie Jasinski writes in her blog, “The Deliberate Pickle: The Craft and Finesse of Eating Solo,” which she is turning into a book.

“Smart food choices for solo meals begin long before recipes, with knowledgeable food shopping and kitchen stocking.”

Next Post

Environment Foodstuff Software warns of famines of 'biblical proportions'

By Samuel Smith, U.S. Editor Comply with | Wednesday, January 06, 2021 Planet Foodstuff Programme Govt Director David M. Beasley (center) and U.S. Ambassador Kip Tom stop by South Sudan on July 23, 2019. | WFP/Giulio d’Adamo The head of the Planet Food Software thinks that 2021 could see “famines […]