cooking single

[4tify]

I'm looking for ideas to help with food waste. I newly moved out of a roommate situation where no matter what I made got eaten up by a couple big guys with huge appetites.

But now I'm solo and seem to be wasting a fair amount of food. I love to cook (and eat!). I go to the farmer's market every week and try to limit how much I purchase, but there always seems to go wasted. On weekends I'm trying to make dishes that I can freeze or pick at throughout the week, but since I'm a bit of a foodie I tend to like variety too. Also my freezer is already filling up pretty fast!

How do you all fare? Love to hear some recipes & ideas if you have them! Thanks!

[patchyfacialhair]

I eat by myself during the week most weeks (wife travels for work).

Two things work best for me:
1) Lower your expectations. Nothing wrong with eating chili for two lunches and two dinners.
2) Go to the supermarket frequently and purchase small portions. 2 apples...half pound of meat...a little bit of fresh veggies. This way you can change things up frequently without having to waste food.

Also, keep "quick food" on hand for when you're too lazy. I have frozen pizza crusts and one or two frozen microwaveable Amy's TV dinners on hand at all times. It's easy and cheap to throw some sauce and cheese on a pizza crust for an easy meal when I'm not feeling like actually cooking.

[Sibley]

In no particular order:

-Cut the recipe in half, or even quarters if it's a big recipe. Don't give me any BS that it doesn't cut in half (like my roommate who makes enough food to feed a family of 4 for several days then fills up the freezer for months cause it's just her and she gets tired of the food). Of course it does, you just did it wrong.
-Eat the same 2-3 things (in rotation) until they're gone. Add different condiments, etc if appropriate to vary the flavors.
-You're shopping too frequently.
-Eat your freezer down. Don't care if you get tired of it, it'll just remind you that you're cooking too much.
-Meal plan. Only plan to make enough to feed yourself until you'll get tired of the food. Only buy exactly what you need to make what's on your meal plan.
-Do not stock up on perishables beyond what you'll reasonably use, they'll just go bad. Doesn't matter if it's a good price, if you're throwing it out it's a waste of money. Same goes for nonperishables actually, but you've got a longer time frame before flour goes off than milk.
-Look for ways to use what you have rather than buying stuff. IE, use the last of the applesauce in place of eggs. Make a baked potato for dinner to eat the last one. Make soup using whatever is available in your fridge. Internet is very helpful here.
-Have a challenge - how long can you feed yourself without buying anything? I keep a pretty lean pantry and was able to eat for a month buying only milk and eggs before I stopped, but could have gone longer.
-Have a dinner party and feed everyone leftovers?
-Recognize that being a "foodie" is a luxury.

Realistically, you're going to have a period where you're not cooking or buying much because you're eating down your freezer and pantry first. Get creative on combos and try new recipes to help because you're a "foodie". Once you've significantly reduced your food backlog, make smaller quantities of things cause otherwise you get tired of them and throw it in the freezer or in the garbage.

[dignam]

I live within walking distance of a nice grocery store, so I make several trips a week and just get a few items.  Mainly to get fresh ingredients.  Apples, bananas, onions, peppers, etc.

I always have to cut recipes at least in half as I also live solo.  Still tastes great; I like simple things like crock pot chili or crock pot chicken veggie soup, etc.

[HipGnosis]

You're buying and cooking to much food. 
And yes, fresh produce is hard to buy in small quantities.
You have to adapt. Pretend you're on iron chef?

I roast chickens and pork roasts (I cook very little red meat) only moderately seasoned.  It makes the leftovers more versatile. 
Chicken can be used for: enchiladas, stew, fried rice, tetrazzini, casseroles, chili, salad...
Pork can be: BBQ, carnitas, fried rice, stew, rice and beans, chili, pork and beans (I start with dried beans and I roast tomatoes)...

During the week I only use my toaster oven.

When the freezer is full, I only buy things I need to make what's there into something else.

[AlohaOrang11]

I used to have this issue until I looked at "food" through a different light.
On the weekdays, food for me have stopped from being a "luxury" to pure basic "nutrition."

I love food so changing my perspective is difficult.
During the weekdays,
- I eat the same things weekly
- Cook a batch on Sunday
- Differentiate using various herbs and spices I buy in bulk
- Cook 1 type of protein, few carb staples and few vegetables (makes a few diff combo)

Weekends, I tend to go to farmer's markets to cook more "unique" meals

[rpr]

For the last week and the next couple of weeks, I have been and will be cooking for myself as DW is out on travel. I do make a lot but I absolutely don't mind eating the same thing for days in a row. For example:

For lunch, I made some garbanzo beans mashed with peppers and onions. I ate that for 3 lunches in a row. Day one was with bread, Day two with tortillas, and Day three as part of a salad. Similar but some variety.

For dinner, I made a big pot of red lentil soup with veggies. Again this was enough for three days. Day one was with some bread, Day two with some tortillas, Day three with quinoa. Again provided variety. 

Now I made too much quinoa so I will eat it for dinner with some oven roasted broccoli. Another day, I plan to stuff the quinoa into some small bell peppers. 

Cooking is fun. I enjoy it.

[ketchup]

I eat by myself during the week most weeks (wife travels for work).

Two things work best for me:
1) Lower your expectations. Nothing wrong with eating chili for two lunches and two dinners.

I use this tactic when my GF is out of town for work.  Some giant portion of who-knows-what I threw together with leftover whatever in the fridge?  Throw some seasoning on that and call it breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four days!

[sonjak]

I used to have this issue until I looked at "food" through a different light.
On the weekdays, food for me have stopped from being a "luxury" to pure basic "nutrition."

I love food so changing my perspective is difficult.
During the weekdays,
- I eat the same things weekly
- Cook a batch on Sunday
- Differentiate using various herbs and spices I buy in bulk
- Cook 1 type of protein, few carb staples and few vegetables (makes a few diff combo)

Weekends, I tend to go to farmer's markets to cook more "unique" meals

This is almost exactly what I do!  I mix it up sometimes during the week by making a burrito bowl or tuna salad instead of the soup I made for the week but thankfully I don't mind the repetition either.  Weekends are the time to enjoy cooking and eating those one (or two) serving meals.

[Schaefer Light]

When I was single, I'd just get one chicken breast, one steak, one piece of fish, a dozen chicken wings, enough ground beef for a single burger, etc., and grill whatever I was in the mood for that particular night.

[Digital Dogma]

I bought a small Costco chest freezer (like, 3.5 or 4 cubic feet?) and set it up in our spare bedroom in the corner (to avoid overloading circuits that A/C is on). That has allowed me to go CRAZY with freezing leftovers, soups, chillis, etc and never worry much about how much space I have to store it.

Got leftover cooked chicken/beef/pork? Combine it with some rice, beans, cabbage, and a tortilla wrap for burritos and freeze them.

Bought too much raw meat and don't want to eat the same thing for 5 days straight? Cut a raw meat portion off and freeze it for later. I like to throw small quantities of frozen raw meat into a bean dish for added flavor. Simply breaking up the meat prior to freezing it makes all the difference when it comes to portioning some out as an ingredient.

Most of my recipes begin with meat and the veggies sneak in there for nutrition, but I've made an effort to fix that by eating way more beans. Beans have become my go-to dinner item, canned for quick pan cooking, or dry for pressure cooking, thats cut down the quantity of meat I use significantly and saved me a ton of money. Its also made me lose ~20 pounds in the last year without any additional exercise.

Another big improvement to my cooking game came when I started making pasta salads, either greek pasta, tuna/egg pasta salad, or chicken salad (no pasta there...). Cut the mayo with some home-made yogurt, throw some dry cranberry and nuts/seeds in them, add a little variety with some cheap ingredients that last forever.  I'd leave a giant pot of it in the frig and eat it all day every day till its gone.

[Hotstreak]

I was in this exact position a while ago, and I had the same trouble you're having.  I was worried that if I cut back, I would totally run out of food.  I justified the waste by telling myself that if I ran out, I would buy take-out which would end up being more expensive. 

What I did to solve this was get a few go-to meals I could prepare in a few minutes.  Nothing fancy.  Frozen pre-cooked bratwurst in a pan with canned baked beans & canned tomatoes/corn.  Canned tuna with canned green beans, hot sauce, cheese.  Things like that.  Once I knew I had decent meals to go to, I was able to let the fridge get completely empty.

I also started moving food around in the fridge more.  I found that a bag of vegetables could get "lost" in the back of the fresh food drawer, and I would forget about it until it went bad.  Now when I see something that's been in there a few days, I move it front and center so I make sure to incorporate it in my next meal.  This is fun since I always am trying ingredient combinations I wouldn't have thought of before, and have discovered some delicious dishes.  There's a few threads on the forum called "Eat All the food in your House" or something like that, where people talk about interesting ways to get rid of ingredients, you might want to check those out.

[FIFoFum]

Stop buying food! Seriously. Eat what you have. Pay attention to what you choose to do - the stuff you eat or go through first is the stuff you should buy in the future. The stuff you leave for last (can't figure out what to do with it, don't really like it that much, leftover from needing a tiny amount for one recipe): make a note not to buy more of.

When you go to farmer's market, limit yourself based on meals you already can make with what you have. Do not overbuy and do not buy things that do not go with other things you already have. When you get home, post a list of what you have and track usage. Again - things that are leftover or wasted, buy less of or stop buying.

You can feel very satisfied as a foodie craving variety and creativity by making a game out of using the food you have.

Eat leftovers. Period. If you don't like eating leftovers, cook less of that item next time (1/2 the recipe), freeze for future (but then you have to use it) or cook the item when you can share it with others. If you find yourself throwing out a specific item of leftovers (e.g., fish goes bad too quickly!), then...repeat after me, don't make that again, make less of it, etc.

[smilla]

There is a blog post somewhere out in the ether with what I thought was a clever idea to reduce food waste. A day or two before you go grocery shopping, go through your fridge and turn all the food that won't last for another full week into something good for this week.

Got softening zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, make up some ratatouille to top polenta or to serve as a side dish with lamb; or just bake/roast all the leftover  vegetables with olive oil and salt and pepper and drizzle with balsamic vinegar to nibble at throughout the week or toss into pasta or a frittata. Saute the sad spinach with onions and garlic to add to a hot cheese dip or spread on a pizza or bake with eggs later in the week. Bake or poach that chicken you didn't end up using, shred for sandwiches or baked pasta or quesadillas. Cook up the bruised fruit with some sugar to top yogurt or ice cream. etc. etc. Now, once everything in your fridge is newly fresh and appetizing, plan your menu and shopping list based on the foods you have prepared.

Fridge soup or stew or pizza has its place but then you're starting from square one with all raw ingredients. This way you have a fair bit of meal prep done for the week.

(I'm not sure if I found the post through a link here at MMM or where I came across it, but google can't find it for me now. Sorry.)

[Jschange]

I think it's lazy meal rep http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/bizarro-meal-prep

[4tify]

You're buying and cooking to much food. 
And yes, fresh produce is hard to buy in small quantities.
You have to adapt. Pretend you're on iron chef?

I roast chickens and pork roasts (I cook very little red meat) only moderately seasoned.  It makes the leftovers more versatile. 
Chicken can be used for: enchiladas, stew, fried rice, tetrazzini, casseroles, chili, salad...
Pork can be: BBQ, carnitas, fried rice, stew, rice and beans, chili, pork and beans (I start with dried beans and I roast tomatoes)...

During the week I only use my toaster oven.

When the freezer is full, I only buy things I need to make what's there into something else.

This is great, thanks. I like the idea of having a protein around to mix with the fresh stuff :)

[4tify]

I think it's lazy meal rep http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/bizarro-meal-prep

This is great. I did this a couple weeks ago and ended up with some great pesto :). I think I've got to spend a couple weeks emptying down my freezer now and maybe spend a little more time actually planning out meals, which I've never been great at since I usually just go with my mood!

[691175002]

I cook only for myself, and also found that the hardest problem was keeping the fridge and pantry stocked without wasting food.

I started by reading up on how to store food correctly.  I got a fridge thermometer to ensure it is holding 2c, and read about vegetable shelf life and appropriate humidity levels.  I can get two weeks out of most produce, even longer if I chop/blanch and return to the fridge.

Certain herbs can also be stored in specific ways (pot of water, wrapped in wet paper towel) to dramatically extend their lifespan - sometimes to a month or more.

This is a little more hardcore, but I also have a vacuum sealer which I use for all kinds of storage.  For example berries sometimes mold after 3 days but can last 1-2 weeks in a vacsealed jar in the fridge.  Its also great for long term freezing.

[smilla]

I think it's lazy meal rep http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/bizarro-meal-prep

That was it, thanks LFG!

OP it might also be helpful to get some smaller cooking dishes (or to use your smallest ones): maybe a 6" cast iron frying pan, a 2 cup sauce pan, a couple of 1 cup ramekins and some glass baking pans, 5x8 and 5x5. Small amounts of food seem to turn out better when cooked in smaller dishes (maybe less evaporation?) but it also gives a sense of abundance when your dishes aren't half empty.

Also consider a toaster oven to waste less energy when cooking for one.

[Noodle]

I learned to cook from my Mom, who cooked for 5, so it took awhile to learn to cook as a single person (and I am still not perfect on the food waste front...). Here are a few things I learned to do:

1. Definitely cooking ahead--if you are the kind of person who doesn't like the same food at repeated meals, making components that you recombine (grilled chicken, a whole grain, cut up raw or cooked vegetables) with different sauces or flavorings might work.
2. Figure out which kinds of produce hold best and either buying the kinds that can hang around the fridge awhile, or at least making sure I eat in order of expiration.
3. Making a list of things I intend to cook, and also a list of produce and leftovers in the fridge, has helped me keep track of what I have on hand.
4. I'll be honest, I trust my observational skills over package dates when it comes to food that needs to be tossed. Not everyone is comfortable with this, I understand, but I have not run into problems.
5. I alternate "fun experiment weeks" and "clear out the fridge" weeks when it comes to planning meals.
6. You don't say where you are in terms of cooking skills, but being able to play "Iron Chef" is a really powerful frugality tool--being able to take bits and pieces and figure out what to do with them, or at least know where you can swap things out (ie, raisins for dried cranberries in baked goods, etc).
7. Maybe only go to the farmer's market alternate weeks? I didn't see where you are, but a lot of places at this time of year the produce is things like winter squashes and root vegetables that will keep a good long time.

[MrsPete]

- Look for opportunities to share meals.  For example, people in my department at work take turns bringing lunch two days a week.  I enjoy bringing something good when it's my turn, and I look forward to NOT bringing my own lunch on Monday and Wednesday.  Similarly, do you have neighbors who might enjoy "trading dinners" once or twice a week? 

- You've already addressed the freezer.  In your situation, the freezer should be your best friend; when you make a big recipe, immediately divide up your leftovers into single-serve portions and freeze it.  Look for creative ways to prepare freezer items; for example, a couple years ago I bought a couple SMALL bundt cake pans ... and I like to make one cake recipe, which really doesn't divide well, and end up with four small bundt cakes ... we really enjoy one, and then we have three in the freezer for later.  Be religious about labeling and dating. 

- Loads of leftovers can be transformed into soup ... or baked potato toppings ... or can be blended with a can of tomatoes to become pasta topping ... or can be stirred into scrambled eggs as a skillet-breakfast.  Or any number of other things.

- Since you enjoy fresh fruits/vegetables, search for recipes that use up a whole fruit/vegetable rather than using 2-3 fruits/vegetables to make a big recipe (or, save those favorite big recipes for times when you're cooking for a group).  For example, I LOVE toast topped with fresh avocado ... and one avocado mashed up will make two big pieces of toast, which is a good simple meal -- and no leftover avocado. 

- Look at the pre-chopped veggies in the deli -- that'll allow you to get three a bit of three colors of pepper instead of buying three whole peppers.  You can ask a deli worker to take a BIG container and divide it into a smaller container for you (for half the price, of course); I mean, you've done that in the meat department -- you can do it in the deli too.  I sometimes buy pico de guio and guacamole pre-made because it's cheaper than buying all the ingredients /ending up with a bunch of leftover that may go bad. 

- Be sure you're storing things to make them last.  For example, once you open a bagged salad, it seems to go downhill fast ... but if you put a paper napkin into the bag, it'll last two weeks.  Better yet, divide your salad into mason jars and put 1/2 a paper napkin into each one, and you have lunch ready for several days. 

[4tify]

These are great ideas thank you! I never thought of the mason jar/salad trick :)

[FIFoFum]

There is also salad bar "hacking," which is how you can get a little bit of certain ingredients for variety. The key is to use the pricing for light/pricey items (nuts, fancy lettuce, etc.).

[Metric Mouse]

I eat by myself during the week most weeks (wife travels for work).

Two things work best for me:
1) Lower your expectations. Nothing wrong with eating chili for two lunches and two dinners.

I use this tactic when my GF is out of town for work.  Some giant portion of who-knows-what I threw together with leftover whatever in the fridge?  Throw some seasoning on that and call it breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four days!

I am lucky enough to have a partner who shares this feeling.  I can't imagine wasting food because we ate the same thing yesterday; neither can they.  We make different combos and eat at completely different times a lot of days, but not much goes to waste.

[Reynolds531]

Except for fruit and milk for junior I banned myself from the grocery store for a month. By the end I didn't have a hoarding issue anymore.

[VoteCthulu]

Lots of great ideas, but you could also find new roommates. I have a spare room that I'd discount for anyone who like cooking ;)

[DaMa]

I fed a family of 6 for a long time, so it was really hard to get used to feeding just me.  Main thing for me is to buy perishable in very small amounts.  If I can buy a 3lb bag of apples for $3 or 2 apples for $2, I'm still saving $1 if I'm only going to eat 2 apples.

[Metric Mouse]

I fed a family of 6 for a long time, so it was really hard to get used to feeding just me.  Main thing for me is to buy perishable in very small amounts.  If I can buy a 3lb bag of apples for $3 or 2 apples for $2, I'm still saving $1 if I'm only going to eat 2 apples.

Arg. I struggle with this too! Wanting to buy in bulk when it's so clearly more efficient, but realizing that I won't consume the bulk product. Or I wind up eating 3 pounds of apples in a few days, with all the joy that entails. :D

[4tify]

I fed a family of 6 for a long time, so it was really hard to get used to feeding just me.  Main thing for me is to buy perishable in very small amounts.  If I can buy a 3lb bag of apples for $3 or 2 apples for $2, I'm still saving $1 if I'm only going to eat 2 apples.

Arg. I struggle with this too! Wanting to buy in bulk when it's so clearly more efficient, but realizing that I won't consume the bulk product. Or I wind up eating 3 pounds of apples in a few days, with all the joy that entails. :D

I've come to terms with the bulk issue and not being able to save on it since in the end so much goes to waste.

[MrsPete]

These are great ideas thank you! I never thought of the mason jar/salad trick :)

I love storing leftovers in mason jars.  I have a ton of them, they're just right for single servings and can go right into the microwave (not salads, obviously), and they're hard to break.

[brooklynmoney]

Just want to say you are not alone I have the same issue. Although I do batch cook in the weekend and eat the same thing all week. The issue I have is I will buy stuff to bake and then not bake again for years and then even though stuff is non perishable it's welll past it's good by date.

[4tify]

Just want to say you are not alone I have the same issue. Although I do batch cook in the weekend and eat the same thing all week. The issue I have is I will buy stuff to bake and then not bake again for years and then even though stuff is non perishable it's welll past it's good by date.

Ya don't even get me started. I love fresh baked bread but can almost be assured to throw out half the loaf. I'm starting to think I'll give some things away to neighbors or homeless! I'm not convinced I need to give up my love of food & cooking for the sake of frugality ;)

[use2betrix]

Eat leftovers or cook less?

Pretty straight forward really. When I was single I'd cook 2-3 days worth of meals at a time. When you can get over food needing to be special every meal, it truly has about the biggest impact of any area of our life. Short term and long term health, weight, energy, sleep, etc.

My wife and I still do a similar standardized meal prep compared to when I was single. We get a bit more variety now but still we have the same breakfast daily, alternate between two dinners, and alternate between 4-5 lunch/3pm meals during the week/weekend. We splurge occasionally, usually go out once a week and ice cream once a week. I personally think all of our meals are delicious. What better breakfast than eggs, Ezekiel bread, and a banana each morning? She has some sweet potato pancakes she makes occasionally on weekends as well.

[cobbb11]

After 6 years of living alone, and turning vegan the last 10 months, I've got this dialed down to a science and never throw out food:

-Buy a Joyce Chen carbon steel wok and learn to love stir frying. Takes a few minutes and you never need to have leftovers because you only have to cook for one plate at a time.
-Get a rice cooker and cook like 4 or 5 cups per batch. Whatever i don't use for the meal on hand, I separate into small single-serving Pyrex bowls in the fridge and they last like a week. I'll either stir fry them or microwave them as needed.
-Get a vitamix if you can swing it. Just bought one to replace my ninja blender and holy crap is it awesome.
-I can buy bags of dried beans, rice, oatmeal, raisins, peanut butter, bananas, tomatoes, chocolate cashew milk, frozen berries, and salsa/tomato sauce in bulk. They never expire before I get to them. If the bananas start to go brown, just peel them and freeze them in a ziploc bag. Then when you get a sweet tooth, throw a couple in the vitamix with some chocolate cashew milk (not too much or you get a smoothie), and boom, chocolate banana ice cream. Top with peanut butter.

Get those large bags of mixed vegetables that are already cut (corn,carrots, green beans) for 5 or 6 bucks. Get the wok smoking hot and pour in as much veg as you want to eat straight from the frozen bag, heats up in a few minutes. Also buy those bags of kale or spinach and throw them in the wok around the halfway mark. They taste way better cooked if you aren't a fan of them raw. My go to meal is a big steel mixing bowl of some combination of stir fried veg, beans, rice, spinache/kale, salsa, mayo (the Just Mayo brand is vegan and delicious. Costs the same as regular mayo and just a spoonful adds a nice little zing to the taste. Don't knock it till you try it). Or go with soy sauce for Asian flavor (put the soy sauce in the wok of veg/rice in the last minute or so).

My go-to vitamix shake is kale/spinach, frozen berries, fresh/frozen banana, chocolate cashew milk. If your lettuce starts to go bad in the fridge you can freeze it and use it for smoothies.

Oatmeal breakfast: Put oatmeal, raisins, fresh banana, scoop of peanut butter, and enough chocolate cashew milk to coat all the oatmeal in a large bowl and stir. I think it tastes better than warm oatmeal.

I also make my own hummus: Can of chick peas (drain and fill like a 1/4 of the can with water, spoonful of diced garlic (or 1 clove or garlic powder), spoonful of tahini (optional), salt, pepper, bit of lemon juice, splash of olive oil, some roasted red peppers (optional), and blend. Add water if you need a more thin consistency.

The goal is to stick with things that have a huge shelf life or can be frozen at the end of their fresh life and re-purposed.

Pro tip: If you're an avocado freak like me, buy them when they are still green and hard as a rock and put them in the fridge. It extends their lifespan over several days instead of 1 or 2.

[rpr]

Oatmeal breakfast: Put oatmeal, raisins, fresh banana, scoop of peanut butter, and enough chocolate cashew milk to coat all the oatmeal in a large bowl and stir. I think it tastes better than warm oatmeal.

I love my warm oatmeal with a boatload of fruit but will try your suggestion. Sounds delicious.

One other thing I do is to eat savory oatmeal every other day. I add some green bell peppers, some pickled jalapenos, chopped spinach, and sriracha to the oatmeal. Gives a wonderful morning kick.

I also make my own hummus: Can of chick peas (drain and fill like a 1/4 of the can with water, spoonful of diced garlic (or 1 clove or garlic powder), spoonful of tahini (optional), salt, pepper, bit of lemon juice, splash of olive oil, some roasted red peppers (optional), and blend. Add water if you need a more thin consistency.

I also make my own (somewhat rustic) hummus but I only process the beans somewhat coarsely without olive oil and tahini. i like to be able to bite into the texture of the  garbanzo beans. I add fresh bell peppers (any color), a can of diced chiles, and cilantro again coarsely blended. It is great on a sandwich with spinach and baby carrots (sliced half lengthwise). I make enough hummus to last for at least three lunches. Yummy.   

[Bumperpuff]

Just want to say you are not alone I have the same issue. Although I do batch cook in the weekend and eat the same thing all week. The issue I have is I will buy stuff to bake and then not bake again for years and then even though stuff is non perishable it's welll past it's good by date.

Ya don't even get me started. I love fresh baked bread but can almost be assured to throw out half the loaf. I'm starting to think I'll give some things away to neighbors or homeless! I'm not convinced I need to give up my love of food & cooking for the sake of frugality ;)

Once the bread cools, slice and freeze it. If you bring sandwiches to work, you can make them on the frozen bread and it will be thawed by lunch. Alternatively, you can microwave a slice or two for a few seconds to thaw them and then make toast.  Frozen bread isn't as good as fresh baked, but it lasts for weeks and is normally better than store bought. 
If you bake regularly, try maintaining a sourdough starter. Sourdough breads tend to last longer before becoming stale.