22 Easy Meals to Make While Depressed

Credit to flickr.com user Rool Paap. Used with permission under a Creative Commons license.

It’s an unfairness of the universe that, even while depressed, you still have to eat. Cooking is a useful skill to have, but who has the energy to cook when you don’t even have it to shower? Here’s some tips and a list of  22 meals to try when depressed.

Basic Tips

• First, I recommend purchasing paper bowls and plates. You won’t feel like washing dishes when you’re down in the dumps.
• Next, if it’s not overwhelming, print out this entry and stick it to the fridge so you have a list to refer to when you’re zoning out and can’t figure out what to eat.
• Now is the time to decide whether ordering groceries online for delivery is worth it.
• Think about setting alarms on your phone for when it’s time to eat. I recommend 9am, 12pm, and 5:30pm.
• Assess whether meeting weight loss goals is doable, and consider letting them go temporarily, until you feel better.
• And consider locking up your alcohol. It does no one good when depressed.

Hopefully, this list of meals will help make cooking easier.

Baked Chicken Breasts

Baked chicken can be the foundation of many meals. And the preparation is incredibly easy: simply place the chicken breasts in a casserole dish and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Top with the condiments of your choice and serve with microwave veggies for a quick meal. Other options are to add chopped chicken to pasta, a bowl of spinach, eggs, tortillas, or rice.

Tortellini Soup

Tortellini Soup is one of the easiest recipes out there. It takes three ingredients, one of which is optional. I often make this meal for my family when I don’t feel like cooking.

Ingredients:

• cheese-filled tortellini
• 4 cups chicken broth
• cheese (optional)

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil.
2. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-high and boil for seven minutes.
3. Top with cheese, if desired. Serve with microwave vegetables or salad.

Mexican Rice

This is an easy meal which only involves one pot, if you don’t use a rice cooker.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 jar of salsa
• cheese, optional
• sour cream, optional

1. Bring water to a boil. Add rice and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and steam rice for twenty minutes without removing the lid. Fluff with a fork.
2. Add other ingredients and stir. Heat on medium-high.
3. Top with cheese and sour cream if desired.

Everyday Cassoulet

Everyday Cassoulet is a French bean stew which is tasty and hearty. It takes about twenty minutes cook time and very little brain power to prepare. The longer you cook it, the better it tastes. Make this recipe when you’re feeling slightly ambitious.

Ingredients:

• kielbasa sausage
• one can of black beans, undrained
• one can of great northern beans, undrained
• one can of red kidney beans, undrained
• 3 tsp of thyme
• one can of tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp of brown sugar
• cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

1. Chop the kielbasa sausage. Add to pot.
2. Add other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes.
3. Top with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Five-Minute Meals

Here’s a quick and dirty list of meals found around the web that require only five minutes of prep time. These are level 0 meals, when you’ve just dragged yourself out of bed and are tempted to go back.

• Peanut butter + banana + toast. Yes, that counts as a whole meal.
• Scrambled eggs + salsa + cheese. Add chopped pepper if you’re feeling up to it. Serve with toast to round out the meal.
• Guacamole + salsa + cheese + tortilla. Premade guac is more expensive but can be worth it.
• Ensure meal replacement shake.
• Cheese + crackers.
• Cashews + dried fruit + chocolate.
• Toast + hummus + avocado.
• Microwave bags of vegetables.
• Premade salad kit.
• Microwave sweet potato (five minutes on each side) + one can of black beans + salsa + cheese.
• Can of tuna + mayo + toast.
• Peanut butter + jelly + toast.
• Toast + mayo + turkey + cheese.
• Cottage cheese + toast.
• Greek yogurt.
• Hummus + baby carrots.
• Instant oatmeal.
• Blend Greek yogurt + frozen fruit + milk for a delicious smoothie high in protein.

I hope this list of tips and meals helps you when you find yourself in the middle of a flare up. Remember to be kind to yourself. Depression is no joke, and self-care is critical, especially eating–even when you’d rather do anything else.

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