Dinner for one?

One and two person households are the UK's fastest growing demographic - and it's causing problems in the kitchen. The number of people living alone has doubled since 1971 and it's predicted single households will outnumber family households by 2031.

Being a singleton gives you the freedom to do what you like, when you like. But it also has its challenges. As a couple or a family you get to share the shopping and choice of what the family eats. As a singleton the choice is yours alone. But what do you cook?

Having to cook for just yourself has a way of sapping the inspiration from mealtimes. For most singletons, no matter how well-intentioned at first, it usually winds down to a choice between beans on toast or a microwave dinner in front of the telly. But now food companies and supermarkets have responded by developing ranges of dinners for one. Major manufacturers are also introducing scaled-down versions of their products specifically with singletons in mind.

And just because no one is coming to dinner doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself. That's the rationale behind a new cookbook devised by celebrity chef Alan Coxon. "With so many single households, I thought it was essential to have a cookbook that delivers dishes to please one person," he says.

Alan's also enthused about the appearance on the shelves of single-person sized versions of food products. He singles out new 50g sized 'Mini Blocks' of Lurpak Butter as an example of how such bijou products are helpful not just to one-person menus, but to the environment. "They ensure people cut down on food waste whilst retaining product freshness," he says, "they also cater to singletons who love to cook and eat well but don't need to cater to an entire household. It's perfect."

For more information visit lovelurpak.co.uk.