Meals to eat when depressed?

[dustbiter]

i really want to eat better, but cooking can be really difficult when things get hard ;w; i know salad is easy, but i struggle with eating it all before it goes bad. i dont want to survive on slices of cheese and club soda mixed with juice anymore ;~;

does anyone have any healthy meals they eat for when things are tough? im not a picky eater, but id prefer things with minimal prep, and maybe more veggies and whatnot for nutrition •3•

 

[themanwithoutaplan]

Smoothies? No cooking and you can fit in a ton of vegetables and hide the taste with some fruit (pineapple, banana, berries).

 

[4eyebiped]

It isn't exciting but I keep a variety of can beans since they are healthy and easy to prepare (open can, dump out contents) and to quickly warm up in the microwave (two sets of 45 seconds) and I eat oatmeal daily (Not instant oats). When available, I chop up a banana and toss it into the oatmeal and make it with milk. I lack the energy to do much better than that. I drink tap water and drink some coffee (Mainly because it keeps me satiated). It isn't exciting but both are actually quite healthy but make sure you do not drain the beans, lots of the fiber and water soluble vitamins leach out into the water.

Lately, I been making some organic peanut butter sandwiches on 100 percent whole wheat bread (Sadly the US loves to dump lots of sugar into the breads). Works well with the coffee oddly enough. The worst part is stirring that shit up when your hands hurt since the organic kind usually doesn't contain emulsifiers. If I am lucky, I will have a packet of grape jelly from some random restaurant but they often contain high fructose corn syrup, so I use it sparingly.

 

[emmarg]

a bowl of rice with a bunch of stuff mixed in - vegetables, mushrooms, etc., with some chicken or otherwise if you eat meat. put some pesto or hot sauce or whatever you want and spoon it in :)

also - if you have an air fryer, frozen curly fries are really good in there.

 

[Conker]

i really want to eat better, but cooking can be really difficult when things get hard ;w; i know salad is easy, but i struggle with eating it all before it goes bad. i dont want to survive on slices of cheese and club soda mixed with juice anymore ;~;

does anyone have any healthy meals they eat for when things are tough? im not a picky eater, but id prefer things with minimal prep, and maybe more veggies and whatnot for nutrition •3•

Do you have Amazon where you're at?

 

[dyingalone123]

Fried chicken tbh from kfc

 

[bed]

oatmeal is decent, i usually add fruit and almonds to mine.
Takes like 2-3mins to make and that's just mainly waiting for it to cook in the microwave.

 

[motel rooms]

Take your protein pills & put your helmet on
Check ignition & may God's love be with you
3,2,1... Liftoff

 

[Pure]

Meal box delivery services

 

[Manaaja]

I think tortilla is an easy and good food and you can make it as healthy as you want. Just buy a tortilla packet (for example: https://www.santamariaworld.com/optimized/product-large/globalassets/_products/tex-mex/102116.png ), microwave a tortilla or two, put whatever you want on it (tomatoes, onions, garlic, chicken, fish, pork, cucumber, peppers, chili, salad, potatoes, rice, sour cream etc.). They only take 5-30 minutes to prepare depending on what you put in them, you can make a vegan or vegetarian or any kind of version you want, and they are really easy to make. At simplest, you take a tortilla out of its packet, microwave it for 15 seconds. Wash and cut a tomato, pepper bell, onion, and salad and put a spoonful of sour cream and tada, tortilla made in 5 minutes.

By tortilla I mean these kinds of things: https://www.kotikokki.net/media/cac...6dba6d074a9ec0e06e9d2/original.jpg?1297433452 and https://public.keskofiles.com/f/recipe/KR1_19_Jauhelihatortill?w=1440&h=640&fit=crop&q=60&fm=webp

 

[bed]

Take your protein pills & put your helmet on
Check ignition & may God's love be with you
3,2,1... Liftoff

i'm in the stratosphere, what now?

a bowl of rice with a bunch of stuff mixed in - vegetables, mushrooms, etc., with some chicken or otherwise if you eat meat. put some pesto or hot sauce or whatever you want and spoon it in :)

also - if you have an air fryer, frozen curly fries are really good in there.

rice cooker can also help with this, barely any prep and you can just leave it idle.

 

[CFLoser]

Uh, actually Fish.

I remember I used to always make these huge green smoothies with a bunch of crazy shit that was supposedly healthy. It would never work and make me feel better EXCEPT the times where i took Fish oil amongside drinking that smoothie.

idk if the fat content made the vitamins and stuff absorb easier, idk, but it was a very clear difference in mood.

Don't try to chase certain feelings with food though, that is silly.

 

[motel rooms]

i'm in the stratosphere, what now?

Float in the most peculiar way...

 

[Sanva]

I like to make whole grain pasta and dump some tomato sauce with no added sugar on there. doesn't take too long.

 

[OrcWitch]

I've been pretty depressed this year, I'm not sure how to quantify it but everything like hygiene and eating feels like a massive chore. I usually eat 1 meal a day, not to lose weight but just because that's easier to do.

Lately I've been roasting frozen chicken thighs, throwing mixed veggies in the same pan when there's 30 minutes left and putting 2 strips of bacon on top of the veggies and dousing it all in soy sauce. Then starting a cup of white rice to throw this on top of. It comes out to like 1500-1600 calories or so and feels low effort to me, it's just roasting things in an oven. The fat mixed with soy sauce on the bottom of the pan is really good mixed into the rice, and the vegs soak a lot of it up too.

 

[NumbItAll]

protein shakes :)

 

[Remember-Me-Not]

I feel the same. When I can't be bothered to cook or eat, I just eat icecream because it satisfies me emotionally.

But one pot meals are great because it also means clean up is less of a hassle. (I consider cereal a one bowl meal... haha... I just stock up on almond milk because their expiration date lasts super long as long as they haven't been opened. Once opened: 2 weeks is what the carton says). For me, cleaning up is the main hurdle of cooking.

My family never used a dishwasher, but I'm starting to understand why it exists.

 

[bettyboop40]

My go to us always chicken noodle soup. Chicken broth, veggies, noodles and usually buy frozen cooked chicken pieces and just chuck that in as well. Dead quick and easy to make and good when your feeling depressed.

 

[dustbiter]

Do you have Amazon where you're at?

yes :3

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I tend to eat McDonald's because something about it always hits and makes me feel like garbage in just the right way.

 

[Sherri]

Deserts like pies, chocolate mouse and Hagen Dazs. Doritos, peanuts anything with sugar except coconut.

 

[dustbiter]

half of you meowtherfuckers dont read (HEALTHY), but i thank you for your contwibutions nonetheless (◕ ω ◕)

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

half of you meowtherfuckers dont read (HEALTHY), but i thank you for your contwibutions nonetheless (◕ ω ◕)

Sorry, but this is basically impossible for me since eating healthy directly makes me feel even worse than eating unhealthily would and I imagine it's the same for many other people. If healthy food was really so great it wouldn't taste like garbage and add to a feeling of worthlessness for not eating it anyway.

 

[Julgran]

I have started a strict meal plan for myself, which basically incorporates 2 dl of boiled red lentils - those are rich in protein, and is also the cheapest protein per currency value (Dollars, Euros, or whatever you currency is) - and a bouillon cube for extra taste if you make a soup, or one big spoon of mayonnaise for extra fat if you want a bit more sturdy meal. Then, I eat whatever I want on one of the weekend days.

 

[kappa]

I've never been a breakfast person.. but I tend to eat a lot of English Muffins for a quick and easy breakfast. I like to have it with a cup of tea (also min. work). I like cream cheese on them but if you want healthier a mashed up avocado is really good on a toasted one. They go bad quickly.. so I'll only buy a few avocados at a time.

Are you ok with leftovers? On my days off I like to cook something that will last me a few days. Chilis, homemade soups, Shepard's Pie.. Baked fish is pretty easy and if you like rice you could have that with it.

If money isn't an issue I tried Hello Fresh for a few weeks and it's really overpriced but it is nice. Easy to just pick from a list instead of trying to come up with your own ideas.. it does get shipped to your door- but very pricey.

What kind of foods do you like? If you use Reddit, sub to r/budgetfood or r/budgetcooking for some ideas.

 

[myopybyproxy]

i really want to eat better, but cooking can be really difficult when things get hard ;w; i know salad is easy, but i struggle with eating it all before it goes bad. i dont want to survive on slices of cheese and club soda mixed with juice anymore ;~;

does anyone have any healthy meals they eat for when things are tough? im not a picky eater, but id prefer things with minimal prep, and maybe more veggies and whatnot for nutrition •3•

Soup - prepare a large pot at the start of the week, chop up any frozen (has higher nutrients due to temperature preservation) or fresh produce, herbs or spices or seasoning mixture, broth, add lentils or rice - let it cook slowly for several hours. Takes one burst of motivation and after that you are set.

Porridge - another base with much opportunity for variety - include whichever dried fruit, seeds, nuts, spices etc. Savoury is good too.

Packages of prepared produce - fruit pieces, carrot sticks, celery or pepper etc. Alternatively can be batch prepped en masse along with soup ingredients.

Frozen berries and snap peas. Buy only a few (not more than 4) green bananas to eliminate the pressure of eating the lot before they spoil - keep the tops covered in aluminum wrap. When you want to eat one, separate it from the others and let it sit out in a plastic or paper bag with other ripening fruits - they will 'communicate' with ethylene and ripen the banana.

Yoghurt - unsweetened and unflavoured is best - try to get the sort with active probiotics for best nutrition. Versatile as well, similar topping as porridge. Or can batch cook extra lentils so you can alternate between eating soup and curry.

If you eat animal products or substitutes and you can exert the same initial effort as the soup requires - but then you're set for the week - prepare a large batch of whatever sort (eg soya cutlet, quorn, sausage, fish steak) and freeze it.

 

[IsThisTheEnd?]

add protein powder to cereal.

 

[Onkyo74893]

Cook up a pot of dried Lentils or dried split peas. Both are full of protein, fiber and other nutrients. And you don't need to pre-soak them! Cook it with garlic, onion, powdered ginger and a dash of chili pepper. After it's cooked, add a small can of tomato paste and a regular size can of diced tomatoes (pre-seasoned). A big pot will last you a week, especially if you mix it with rice and some meat before re-heating. I'm suprised at all the good meal suggestions here!

 

[Dragon's Heart]

Meh, depression food for me is just cereal.

 

[Silenos]

does anyone have any healthy meals they eat for when things are tough?

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The shakes and bars are my backup food for when depression fucks me too hard. Been a lifesaver many a time.