Cooking for one is on the rise, home-made family meals decline

I do a lot of cooking for one. In the last week, I didn't go out for dinner at all. Every day, I pack a bento bag with snacks and a bento box lunch. Dinners are a mix of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese dishes, with some supermarket or convenience-store items to round out the menu. In the past week, I didn't eat out at all. Is that so unusual for a single?

My typical bento box lunch with Thai green curry, salad, and rice

A recent article on Yahoo revealed the results of a survey on family and solo meal habits. The results show that the proportion of singles cooking at home has risen. At this point, singles and family households eat home-cooked meals at about the same rate. It's a result of families cooking less. One meal that is in decline for families is breakfast.

The data also reflects my own experience of cooking for one. Just like many of the solo cooks, I am selective about what I prep from scratch. Some dishes are labour- or fuel-intensive, so I pick up ready-made items. I tuck supermarket お惣菜 ososai, or side dishes into my bento box for variety and nutrition. On the other hand, families are going for convenience and expedience with prepared food.

To be honest, some nights, cooking an evening meal and the next day's bento box lunch feels like a chore. But I like my own cooking, and I think I eat very well.

Are your household cooking habits reflected in the data?