Resource High protein low cal cooking while depressed 👅💦

[amerie]

Disclaimer im not vegan, or vegetarian, or on any anti seed oil or inflammatory diet so if you are those things then id recommend you don't waste your time on this thread

Anyways there was a post a few days ago talking about cooking while depressed and I'd like to offer up some high protein and low cal options. I try to eat at or below 2000 cals per day. I'm also a 5'2-5'4 woman so if you need to eat more then please do so. My daily protein goal is around 120-140g

Anyways here are my tips, a lot of the stuff I have is from Costco but if you can't afford it then Walmart is fine

1. Meal prep in advance, this saves you time by you only needing to heat up your food so you don't have to make it every single day. But I don't like wasting dishes so I just manually make everything.

2. Get a flavorless whey. Mine is from Target but I sprinkle it into foods if I want some extra protein, I prefer it a lot more than flavored protein and it's nice for salty dishes.

3. Eat fermented foods or something canned so it doesn't go bad easily, I like kimchi and pickles along with these artichoke heart things and if I'm feeling fancy then I add hot sauce



i recommend kimchi because it has probiotics so if you have trouble getting in your daily fiber then this is a god send. A lot of store bought kimchi is sour but I really like the Jongga brand and I reseason it with MSG, a little soy sauce, and chicken bouillon just so it doesn't taste as funky but it's alright on its own. Oh also the longer it sits the more sour it'll become but this can last for 1-2 years honestly.

4. Low cal tortillas with some rotisserie and Greek yogurt + some guac or whatever sauce I have make the bulk of my protein goal and they're easy to make.

5. Have a lazy protein in your freezer like some sausages or chicken nuggets. I personally like the just bare chicken from Costco because they're low cal and have a ton of protein but you can try vegetarian chicken strips or some shit.


The chicken in question (ignore the ugly presentation)

5. Protein bars
I've been gatekeeping these but I genuinely love these built bars, and by love I mean they're the only diet food I'd eat if I wasn't on a cut. They're so good.
View attachment IMG_5989.webp
This one is my personal favorite and I normally don't even like coconut

That's it I guess

 

[SpinandPainr]

You're so real for this. ground beef/greek yogurt with tons of spices is a go to of mine. tuna patties too: a canned tuna, drained well, 1 egg, 2 tbsp greek yogurt and two tbsp bread crumbs, and I like some feta in there; and fry up in a skillet. yum yum

 

[Forveleth]

I air-fry fish fillets. Lots of protein and very low calories. I buy the big bags of frozen filets and pull out 1-2 for a quick meal. Some garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. 400F for 8 minutes. Pair with broccoli or a dark, leafy green salad and it is a satisfying meal.

 

[Pluto]

 

[Eriktf]

hold a chicken fillet over a pan then use scissors to chop it up then fry the chicken and boil pasta and add pasta to the pan with any kind of sauce.

plus if you add onion, broil or whatever you want

can replace pasta with noodles or rice

i eat this all the time it takes like 5 min to make

 

[trying ungracefully]

Scrambled eggs with whatever vegetables and then also cheese is so good to me.