If you live alone, it can be difficult to shop for just yourself. Many supermarket packs are designed for families or groups of people, which could lead to food waste and make it harder to get portion sizes right.
There’s no one-size-fits-all way of eating, but we’ve put together this handy, nutritionally balanced meal plan to help. It’s targeted at those who cook for one - designed to save you time, money and food waste. It’s calorie and carb counted for your convenience, and contains at least five portions of fruit and veg per day.
We’ve included the value for fibre too to help you make sure you are meeting your nutritional requirements. We know lots of people in the UK aren’t eating enough fibre, so it’s important to try and include good sources in your diet everyday.
Some of the recipes within this plan serve anywhere from 1-6 people. You can either reduce the quantities to serve one person or look at the chef’s tips to see if the recipe can be made in bulk and frozen for a later date. This will also help reduce waste.
Before starting any healthy eating programme, please read how to choose your meal plan to make sure you follow the plan that's right for you. Please speak to your diabetes health care team before making significant changes to your diet.
This is especially important if you treat your diabetes with insulin or other diabetes medications that increase the risk of hypos. Reducing carbohydrate intake and changes to body weight may mean your medication needs adjusting.
Important points about this meal plan
- This meal plan has taken nutritional information from our recipes and the sixth edition of Carbs and Cals, unless otherwise stated.
- A mix of whole milk and semi skimmed has been used, but please use whichever you prefer. Any dairy alternative should be unsweetened and fortified with calcium.
- These meal plans meet your recommended amount of fibre across the week.
- These meal plans outline daily food intake, but it’s still important to remember to drink regular fluids. This includes plain water, plain milk, and tea or coffee without added sugar.
Disclaimer: every effort has been taken to make these meal plans as accurate as possible but there will be some variation in nutritional values. Speak to a dietitian or your diabetes healthcare team if you have questions about your individual dietary needs.
Further information and tips on following this meal planner
Your weekly cooking for one meal plan
You can also download our Cooking for one meal plan as a pdf (PDF, 82KB), which contains a full breakdown of the nutritional information and exact specification for all meals and snacks per day.
Monday
Breakfast: Banana porridge – made with 27g oats, 150ml whole milk, 100ml water, 85g sliced banana and 1 tbsp of flaked almonds.
Lunch: Stuffed wholemeal pitta with humous, cherry tomatoes, rocket and coleslaw.
Dinner: Meat Free Monday: Mushroom ragu with whole-wheat spaghetti.
Pudding: Greek yogurt and blueberries.
Snacks: A satsuma including the skin, with one slice of malt loaf, Two crispbreads with houmous and avocado.
Milk: 225ml whole milk
Tuesday
Breakfast: Shredded wheat pillows with whole milk, Greek yogurt and blueberries.
Lunch: Sardines on toast – sardines in tomato sauce made with two slices of wholemeal toast with vegetable oil-based spread and four cherry tomatoes.
Dinner: Griddled chicken breast with no skin, paired with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves and sweet potato mashed with vegetable oil-based spread.
Pudding: Three squares of dark chocolate with a portion of raspberries.
Snacks: Two oatcakes with peanut butter, one orange, a Greek yogurt with kiwi.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Two shredded wheat pillows with whole milk, Greek yogurt and blueberries.
Lunch: Chicken and soya bean salad.
Dinner: Fruity mince served with new potatoes and broccoli.
Pudding: Greek yogurt with raspberries.
Snacks: One satsuma with skin, one slice of malt loaf, two crispbreads with houmous and avocado.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Thursday
Breakfast: Omelette made with two eggs, a tomato, 40g spinach and four mushrooms (cook with 1.5tsp of olive oil).
Lunch: Ploughman’s sandwich – two slices of wholemeal bread with cheddar cheese, pickle, houmous, tomato and salad leaves.
Dinner: Bang bang chicken salad (serves two, have second portion for lunch tomorrow).
Pudding: Greek yogurt with raspberries.
Snacks: Two oatcakes with peanut butter, two satsumas with skin, two crispbreads with tomato and cheddar cheese.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Friday
Breakfast: Banana porridge – made with 27g oats, 150ml of whole milk, 100ml of water, a sliced banana and 10g flaked almonds.
Lunch: Leftover Bang bang chicken salad.
Dinner: Breaded fish fillet with sweet potato chips, peas and tartare sauce.
Pudding: Fruity chocolate tray bake.
Snacks: Two satsumas including skin, two crispbreads with tomato and cheddar cheese, three squares of dark chocolate and raspberries.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Saturday
Breakfast: Two shredded wheat pillows with 200ml whole milk, 40g blueberries and 50g Greek yogurt.
Lunch: Kale and green lentil soup with a wholemeal roll and two satsumas including skin. Freeze the rest of the wholemeal pack for later.
Dinner: Chicken and lentil curry.
Pudding: Warm exotic fruit salad.
Snacks: Two oatcakes with peanut butter, two satsumas, two crispbreads with tomato and cheddar cheese.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Sunday
Breakfast: Omelette made with two eggs, tomato, 40g spinach and four mushrooms, cooked with 1.5 tsp olive oil.
Lunch: Pasta in brodo.
Dinner: Roast mackerel with curried coriander crust, served with baby new potatoes and broccoli.
Pudding: Apple, blackberry, oat and seed crumble.
Snacks: Two satsumas including skin, two crispbreads with tomato and cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt with raspberries.
Milk: 225ml whole milk.
Tips for following this meal plan
Planning meals for one person that are both healthy and affordable can seem like a huge task, especially when a lot of recipes are designed for families, couples or parties. However, there are some handy tips that can help you to make your weekly meals more affordable:
- Try buying a combination of frozen, fresh and canned fruit and vegetables to get the best value for money.
- Tinned fish, beans, pulses, eggs and vegetarian alternatives can be a cheaper way to get a good source of protein.
- Plan ahead and write a shopping list so you aren't tempted by supermarket deals.
- Choose fruit and vegetables which are in season.
- Make batches of your favourite meals and stock up the freezer to save time later in the week.
- Look out for reduced items that you can freeze and use at a later date.
- If you can, buy meat in bulk and freeze in portions. Separating larger portions of mince - for example, into two plastic containers - can save pounds over the year.
Daily reference intakes
Our Cooking for one meal plan is aimed at helping an average adult to maintain their body weight, but it should be adjusted according to your needs. Remember, everyone requires a slightly different amount of nutrients each day. For example, we don't all need to eat the same amount of calories
Men, who are generally heavier and have more muscle compared to women, need more calories.
So, adjust portion sizes accordingly to meet your needs.
