“Keeping cool” can mean maintaining a relaxed demeanour and not getting ‘hot under the collar’. On hot summer days our appetite for food is sometimes not as great, and I also certainly often feel an added lethargy when it comes to deciding what to eat in the heat.

Eating alone already has enough negative aspects, but when the weather is stiflingly hot the prospect of preparing and cooking a meal for just one person, can become daunting. That’s largely because my late dear Dorothy spoiled me by always being the consummate chef and homemaker. Great, but nowadays when I think of preparing a meal I almost shudder!

Creative cooking for one person can also require a vast array of herbs and spices and other ingredients which are seldom used. They soon become past their use-by date, so I long ago disposed of them. Now I have only a limited number of condiments but can still achieve a varied diet.

Breakfast is easy, and is one meal that doesn’t vary much, year-round: fruit juice, cereal, and a slice of toast with vegemite and, perhaps rarely, an egg. Even lunch is a breeze; if it’s a cool day, a “Cup-a-Soup”, maybe a cheese sandwich, a piece of fruit – quite enough… But dinner at night, well, that’s a whole new ball game!

I have a daughter who lives nearby, and I reckon you could hear my cheer when she frequently suggests dinner with her family. As well, there’s a monthly meal with my neighbours at the Retirement Village café and, occasionally, dinner with a friend. All the other evening meals are a challenge to me; it’s either a raid on the deep-frozen dinners or be creative….

Some days I get really extravagant and innovative: three veggies (frozen), with half a brown onion, a tomato, and a fresh (or frozen) lamb chop. Then, for variety, there’s eggs, pasta, and sauce in a bottle. Afterwards, dessert is easy: a choice of creamed rice (in a tub), or perhaps ice-cream with chocolate sauce (in a bottle it keeps for months), or an ice-cream on a stick. Finally, fresh fruit, an apple, orange, banana, or some nuts, or even half an avocado in season.

(Later in the evenings, of course, limited snacking of nuts, chocolate or fruit is occasionally a nice indulgence when watching the telly…. shhh, that’s my secret).

There you go – a healthy diet of basic food with hardly any prep or washing up! There must be some advantages of living alone. With a frig and freezer and a microwave oven, simple meals with few ingredients and pre-cooked frozen meals must be some of them! My dietary objectives are to avoid food wastage, gaining weight, and washing up.

I wonder what other single blokes, living at home, aspire to at mealtimes? Some, I know, are really good in the kitchen and regard cooking like a cherished hobby. Not me! I have now revealed my personal culinary secrets and you have now discovered how I eat healthy meals without the fuss, and at minimum cost. Have you any ideas to share?

The bonus for me, especially in this hot weather, is that I never need to use the conventional oven, and that’s another easy reason for me to keep my cool!