Eating for One

By Tara Gidus Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, ACSM-CPT

PHYSICAL HEALTH FOR WIDOWS

Eating for One

When you are used to cooking for two or more, adjusting to cooking for one person can be difficult. Not only are there logistics involved, but you may even lose motivation to cook for “just me.” Dinnertime is, for many of us, the most difficult time of the day because it may have been one of the most consistent times that we shared a meal, conversation, and connection with our late husband. It sometimes may feel pointless to us to cook a big meal or sit down at the table all alone. It may feel easier to sit down on the couch with a bag of popcorn and avoid the dinner table.

Even with small children at home when I was first widowed, I often skipped dinner. I just didn’t feel it. I would make the kids something simple and kid-friendly, and I simply didn’t eat or I would munch on cereal. Don’t fall into the trap that you don’t deserve a decent meal for dinner. You DO deserve nourishment. You DO deserve good food that will sustain you and provide you…