The ultimate meal planning for one cookbook 100+ easy, affordable, and low-waste (high-taste!) recipes made just for you

Scaling down recipes for one person while meal planning can be a challenge, but Jagger (The Ultimate Baking for One Cookbook, 2020; The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook, 2023) is here to help. First breaking down the differences between meal planning and meal prepping, Jagger goes over how to create a meal plan and instructs readers generally on how to cook for one, such as having smaller cooking equipment and adjusting cooking times. Most recipes are kept to one page and include classics like buttery herb rice, chicken noodle soup, and pasta bolognese. In addition to being geared towards meal-planning solo cooks, the book's format, shopping lists, and included meal plans make it a useful introduction for people just getting started, those who don't want to spend a lot of time in the grocery store, and anyone who doesn't want to eat the same thing every day. A short, sweet, and to-the-point addition to the cooking-for-one subgenre.

"A little planning goes a long way toward a satisfying weekly meal plan," promises Jaggers in this helpful workbook, the fourth in the Ultimate for One series (after The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cooking for One Cookbook). In an informative introduction, Jaggers encourages readers to think through their meals for the week in advance to save both money and time and reduce food waste, and offers eight sample weekly meal plans, complete with shopping lists. Recipes yield either one or two servings, with some suggested meal plans including scheduled leftovers for later in the week. Dishes are sorted into breakfast fare (including loaded avocado toast with smoked salmon); snacks (almond and date energy bites); salads, soups, and sides (a single-serving take on a seven layer salad); vegetarian mains (couscous stuffed zucchini); seafood (lobster thermidor for one); meat dishes (beef chili, the leftovers of which can be stored in the freezer for a month); and desserts (single-serving berry crumble). Jaggers notes when recipes call for overlapping ingredients to help home cooks plan ahead (both cranberry brie mini tarts and cranberry turkey meatballs call for cranberry sauce, for example) and provides both nutritional information and helpful sidebars on storing, freezing, and reheating items. This is sure to come in handy. (July)