Single here. I work from home, so breakfast and lunch are typically made for me alone. Dinners are typically for 1 or 2 depending on whether the boyfriend is around.

I take several approaches...
* Make regular sized portions of recipes and then make 1-3 meals of it while it's still fresh (Day 1 dinner, Day 2 lunch and maybe Day 3 lunch or dinner) while freezing individual portions of the leftovers to eat down the road.

* Make rice 1-2 times a week in my rice cooker, use it throughout the week for one-bowl meals (rice, protein, veggie or two, sauce).

* Once or twice a week, buy an individual portion of fish (salmon, most typically) and roast it in the same pan as veggies. I use the Pike's Place fish seasoning to sprinkle over the fish before roasting, veggies are tossed in olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and an herb or two. Broccoli, brussels sprouts and asparagus are my favorites for roast veggies. Often I'll buy an extra large piece of salmon and then toss the leftover into a salad the next day.

* If I have a large quantity of veggies that need to be eaten, I'll make a frittata (sliced potatoes sauteed in olive oil lining the bottom of a casserole pan, then topped with veggies, feta or Parmesan cheese, maybe some crumbled bacon or other meat, then topped with eggs and baked). I'll eat it cold for breakfast or lunch over the course of several days, or for dinner paired with a salad.

* If I have to buy a larger portion of protein, I'll cook it and then cut into small pieces, then freeze. That allows me to grab a handful of protein, add it to rice and veggies for a quick meal. I do this most frequently with chicken (poached) or pork loin (grilled/roasted)

* Once a week or so, I do a grazing lunch or dinner with cheese and crackers, veggies and dips, salami or other cold cuts or preserved meats.

* I'll do egg dishes for lunch or dinner. Sometimes I make individual egg muffin sandwiches with Canadian bacon (muffins, bacon are in the freezer, so no worries about them going bad). Or I'll do a riff on chilaquilles -- eggs scrambled with salsa, served on top of a tortilla or tortilla chips with slices of avocados.

* If you have tortillas in the house, there are endless varieties of quesadillas you can make. Lately I'm doing a corn-flour tortilla, spread with refried black beans, a few slices of roast beef, a little cheese and a lot of salsa and avocado.

* Salads are, of course, a great way to go through a lot of veggies. Stir fries are also terrific, and you can freeze the leftover veggies to use as a side dish down the road.

* Clearly I'm not much of a sandwich person, but I'll occasionally make a sandwich if I have great ingredients. That said, I go for more elaborate sandwiches. For example, leftover steak might be sliced and warmed in some garlic butter then served on an open-faced sandwich. Or if I've made some caramelized onions I'll buy a nice blue cheese and some roast beef for a sandwich.

I am curious about your "you just can't buy these ingredients in small quantities" comment. Where in Chicago are you shopping? I do most of mine at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Jewel, Mariano's and even (I hate to admit) Walmart Express.

I am certainly by not means an angel when it comes to consuming everything before it spoils, but I don't really have a problem with most things. Every protein under the sun can be bought in almost any portion size if you're willing to shop at the butcher counter/seafood counter. Sure, an entire chicken is a fixed price, but many cuts of beef, pork, poultry and fish are available in flexible sizes. Fruits and veggies can be purchased in bulk. (If you're feeling lazy, salad bars are a great way to get just the right amount of many common ingredients.) The deli counter can give you flexible-sized portions of cheese and coldcuts. (Whole Foods near me even has a basket of better cheeses that have been cut into portions costing $4 or less.)

I don't freeze cheese (but I know some who do) or milk (ditto). I have frozen tomatoes if I intend to use them in sauces/stews, but I normally wouldn't refrigerate or freeze them. I do refrigerate avocados and know some who freeze them, but I haven't. Lettuce doesn't freeze, but other steamed/sauteed greens such as kale, spinach and brussels sprouts freeze well.