Cook for yourself even if it's JUST for yourself...

My grammie taught me this.  When my grandfather died 20 years ago, my grandmother lived alone, but continued to cook proper meals for herself, 3 meals a day.  She's 82 now and even with a hip replacement, this hasn't changed. 

At one point in time, I ate dinner alone far too frequently.  Now, it's almost never, but I expected to be solo tonight.  My plans were as follows: get the kids to bed, clean the kitchen, and make myself risotto.

Yes...JUST for me.  Usually when I'm solo for dinner, I make a frittata, just as my mother did when my father worked late.  Poor forethought...I had an egg for breakfast.  If you've been following along, remember, I shopped for the week on $50.  Not on purpose, but that's just what was spent and I didn't want to go to the grocery store, to be honest.  I still had some arborio rice in the cabinet, a tomato, bag o' baby spinach, and some peccorino romano cheese (from making meatballs earlier this week), not much, but certainly enough for a nice little dinner. 

I poured a glass of wine and started to cook feeling myself decompress from the day, as I stirred and stirred...it was like meditation.  

Whether you eat alone most nights or even once in a while, don't just stand at the counter picking at cheese and crackers or a cold bowl of cereal...cook for yourself.  Show yourself a little love.