Everyday Systems

I'm an avid baker. I love trying out new recipes, and every weekend I bake something I've never had before. Most of the time, the recipes live up to my expectations, which - from my point of view - can be a problem I mindfully eat one piece of cheesecake, feel totally satisfied for about an hour, then I inevitably reach for another. Rinse and repeat.
I'd like to hear your tips and suggestions on how to enjoy a baking hobby and S days without going overboard. Do you know how to scale recipes down to make only a couple of portions? Does freezing leftovers work for you? (For me, a freezer loaded with yummy treats is not safe to be around on N days). How to tackle the temptation? And why, on earth, mindful eating works for up to an hour, and then I'm plagued with more cravings?!

I've successfully cut some recipes by a third or half.

Check out Small-Batch Baking and Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers. Not only are there recipes, but also advice for dividing ingredients like eggs and what equipment you'll need for baking. Most recipes make 2 servings.

Also check Small Batch Bistro by the same author. It's not just baked goods, but there are some among the recipes.

I think the cravings come because there's more available. If you have one or two cupcakes, one or two cupcakes will definitely satisfy the cravings. If you have a dozen, it will take the entire dozen to be satisfied.

wosnes wrote: I think the cravings come because there's more available. If you have one or two cupcakes, one or two cupcakes will definitely satisfy the cravings. If you have a dozen, it will take the entire dozen to be satisfied.

Wow this really makes sense and I really have trouble making things for just one or two servings.

I'm with you that if it is around, I'll probably eat it, especially if it is good.

I'll have to check out the books/posts.

Great post!

Thanks for the book suggestions, wosnes, but shipping costs to Poland (be it from US- or UK-based Amazon stores) are horrendous. Any websites you could recommend instead? I'll definitely check out what Google has to say about it!

Imogen Morley wrote:Thanks for the book suggestions, wosnes, but shipping costs to Poland (be it from US- or UK-based Amazon stores) are horrendous. Any websites you could recommend instead? I'll definitely check out what Google has to say about it!

Unfortunately, I can't think of any blogs or web sites dedicated to small-batch baking. In fact, there are extremely few dedicated to cooking for a small number of people. I don't understand that, either. Cooking for 2 is probably the best. The magazine is no longer being published.

Oh WOW, thank you! That's exactly what I've been looking for!


Here's a modest collection of small batch recipes:

http://cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

I don't understand the absence of blogs/web sites dedicated to cooking (and baking!) for one or two. Supposedly nearly 60% of American households consist of 1 or 2 people.

There are a number of cookbooks available, but many of them offer pretty gourmet fare, often with hard or impossible to find ingredients.

If you go to marthastewart.com and search for "everyday food for one" there will be a small collection of recipes. Also, cooksillustrated.com has a number of recipes for two, but you have to join their web site.

wosnes wrote:I don't understand the absence of blogs/web sites dedicated to cooking (and baking!) for one or two. Supposedly nearly 60% of American households consist of 1 or 2 people.

There are a number of cookbooks available, but many of them offer pretty gourmet fare, often with hard or impossible to find ingredients.

Just as a note....
While my recipe videos don't focus on cooking for one,
many of them involve just one very small serving.
So something there might be helpful, and
if my personal serving size is too small, it would be easy to double the recipe.

Also, in my Tips section, I show the storage methods I use to keep from eating large batches of food.

My own personal rule about the treats and other foods I keep in my freezer is:
If I find myself eating more than double what I've alloted myself,
then I am committed to throw out the remainder of that particular stored food.
This might SOUND harsh, but truthfully, that personal committment
keeps me from getting unplanned treats from my feezer most of the time.

Can you incorporate sharing into your hobby? Make a cheesecake, and then invite the neighbors over, and send them home with the leftovers.

Everyone wins this way!

Who Me? wrote:Can you incorporate sharing into your hobby? Make a cheesecake, and then invite the neighbors over, and send them home with the leftovers.

Everyone wins this way!

Or take it in to work. I've rarely worked in places where colleagues didn't eat stuff if people brought it in.

This works really well for us. My husband is a professor, which means he works with grad students. Grad students will eat anything, if it's free.

Who Me? wrote:Can you incorporate sharing into your hobby? Make a cheesecake, and then invite the neighbors over, and send them home with the leftovers.

Everyone wins this way!

Yep. I often make a nice dessert on the weekend when we have friends over for dinner. By the end of the night, there are no leftovers left to worry about picking on =)

I love baking too. Even though I have 4 kids, including three boys - 20, 18 & 16 - we often have leftovers if I make something yummy. If there's no one I can send some of the treat to, I throw it away. I grew up in a family that never threw ANYthing edible away & it was initially hard to use the trash can to escape more eating, but I think I'd rather throw things away than throw them onto my already ample hips. Also, when I was really struggling before coming back to NoS again, I'd drown things in the sink before throwing them away so there'd be no temptation to look back into the trash to see if if survived the trip without actually being destroyed. Okay...there's a confession...yup, I've taken things OUT of the trash to binge. UGH!!! Anyway...I'm slowly learning that the trashcan is my friend.

Have a great day everyone!
Determined...

determined wrote:Okay...there's a confession...yup, I've taken things OUT of the trash to binge.

Me too !!!

BrightAngel wrote:

determined wrote:Okay...there's a confession...yup, I've taken things OUT of the trash to binge.

Me too !!!

I know of someone who sprayed Windex over the edible food in the trash so that she wouldn't be tempted to dig it out. No, it wasn't me! It was someone from another forum.

Some more small-batch recipe resources; I'll add to this post as I find more:

http://www.dessertfortwo.com/tag/baking-for-two/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Publ ... o-Magazine
http://heatherrosejones.com/baking/index.html

Well, you could live with 8 other people who inhale food but that's probably not practical I usually freeze things immediately if I don't want to eat them. Food has to be convenient for me to eat it.

I love baking, too! I have a small family, but I *like* having leftovers so that we can enjoy a variety of options even when I don't have time to cook. I have a freezer full of slices of cakes, muffins, cheesecake, pie...all kinds of things. They aren't there to stop me from eating them, but so we can enjoy them later.

I don't have cravings anymore, which makes it easier not to overeat. I attribute the lack of cravings to a nutritious diet and not dieting anymore.

Maybe it will come with time, for you, too, and in the meantime, hopefully some of the other suggestions for smaller amounts will help.

My friend's solution to that problem was to make friends with the firestation people near her home and also her work, and she drops by to share the wealth.

Clarica wrote:My friend's solution to that problem was to make friends with the firestation people near her home and also her work, and she drops by to share the wealth.

I love that idea!!!

Determined

I tend to limit my baking to when I can give leftovers away.
Today I'm going to bake an apple tart, and take it to give to our tango tutors when we go for a lesson. They have an allotment and sometimes give us fresh veggies.

I'll keep enough for hubby and I to have 2 slices each probably.

A couple of years ago when I wasn't working, I baked nearly every day, just to keep myself busy doing something I enjoy - big mistake for both waistline and health.