Share your favorite depression meals

[je.suis.prêt]

I dont wanna ruin this thread, but when I'm depressed (which is always now) I just punish myself by not eating at all, like I wanna eat these delicious things, but my mind tells me not too.

Is that strange?

I think I understand you. I do something similar, whereby I'm not consciously punishing myself by not eating, but the constant anxiety and weight of depressive thought completely drain me of energy so I might be starving, but I still don't eat because I'm so exhausted.


My first depression meal is a 4 pack of KitKat.

The next one is a big juicy salmon fillet at my favourite restaurant (occasionally) as a treat for managing to do something productive.

 

[ButterflyWings]

Soup or pizza :)

 

[Lone Wanderer]

I mostly eat cereal everyday. Not good for you, but only meal that calms me. I tend to get either Mini Wheats or Captain Crunch.

 

[want2dienow]

ヒバチ&vsed

 

[theboy]

Yogurth with nuts or chips

 

[ryo the frog]

spaghetti-os
pop that bitch in the microwave for two minutes and you've got lunch. Besides being easy to fix it reminds me of childhood when I wasn't yearning for death :)

as for nutrition I just snack all day with anything that's sweat so that includes fruit

 

[brainpain2]

Meal kits. Takes thought out of planning meals/deciding what to eat, buying groceries, etc… and the cooking part in itself distracts the brain and is kinda therapeutic

 

[ConstantPain]

Cereal for me too. Dry out of the box and probably some of the worst ones like Lucky Charms, Strawberry Mini-Wheats, or my favorite, Cinnamon Toast Crunch's Dulce de leche. If the Dulce de leche gets discontinued, the day I run out could finally be the day I ctb.

Cheerios had a peach flavor that was seasonal and they haven't had it for years. Running out of it nearly put me over the edge.

 

[Celerity]

Grilled cheese with a dill pickle on the side.

Big Noosa yogurt with granola.

These two staples are what I survived on for 6 months during a deep depression.

 

[chronicallybroken]

Hummus and pita, oven chips, beans on toast, cheesy pasta

 

[Hollowillow]

I'm sure many of you here with depression understand the challenges of... actually eating. Whether you have no appetite or want to binge all day or swing between the two, maintaining a healthy diet (at least for me) seems like an impossible goal.

I'm making this thread in part to try to see what you all do and try to pick up any tips. There's the familiar problems of not having the energy to actually cook and not having the motivation to actually eat anything that counts as healthy. Extra challenges for me are that I have massive anxiety around cooking. I don't feel safe around knives and hot stovetops terrify me. I can sometimes handle an oven but only on a really good day. So it's mostly just microwave foods... My meals also tend to be heavy on carbs, dairy, and sugar and low on vegetables and protein. And I eat literally the same thing over and over and over for months until I get sick of it... It's a problem.

Earlier this year my go-to was pasta. Throw some penne or something into a bowl with water and microwave, drain the water, and microwave another bowl with milk and cheese to make a shitty sauce, then mix. Dinner. More recently I've been buying frozen microwavable burrito bowls and adding salsa.

What are your favorite go-tos? How do you manage to keep some variety and get the nutrients you need while working around the challenges of mental illness?

My mother raised me on kraft dinner. Look at the side effects of lack of vitamin c, b, magnesium and you'll understand why you wish you were dead.

Roasted chicken & frozen veggie mix might be a fast healing meal. I cooked carrots & celety in water & grinded them into baby food with ginger for nausea & salt. Amazing. With a side of beef, cheese, salad, fruit.

 

[VKVK]

a bowl of scrambled eggs made w a generous portion of cream cheese
or just beer

 

[Celerity]

Big Noosa yoghurt tub with granola is the easiest and most filling breakfast depressed me could come up with.

During that time, I also survived on grilled cheese. I would often add raspberry jam and use muenster or gouda.

 

[fairy_slime]

Adderall and alcohol

 

[lacetta]

it became easier to prepare normal meals for myself after purchasing a rice cooker. i would make GABA rice (various brain related health benefits) and add frozen vegetable, ground beef, egg, etc. 40 minutes later a complete meal would be ready with zero prep necessary beyond throwing everything into the pot.

some other low effort favorites being
cracker or toast with honey and parm cheese
avocado sandwich with good, soft bread and black pepper
roasted sweet potato, carrot, onion, garlic
sushi rice with nori
king oscar tin sardines

but the true depression meal was flour, egg, and sugar mixed into a batter and eaten uncooked. i would make 3 ingredient pancakes, but became too bed ridden to want to stand in the kitchen for the amount of time it took to turn the batter into pancakes. i ate this slop for the better part of a year and feel grateful i have not stooped this low again.

 

[NotGonnaLast]

Oh man I have the same problem. It doesn't help that I have other issues with food (thanks mum yah bitch) due to childhood, IBS and unknown allergies and/or intolerances

There have been days where the only thing I've eaten is a can of soup stuck in a bowl and microwaved sometimes with bread sometimes not.

Poundland currently does £2.50 for a meal deal and the 'snacks' are a ginsters steak slice and that means two days worth of food for me.

Do you get the missing time too? I woke up late last night/early this morning (Saturday into Sunday) and realised I hadnt eaten anything apart from a few ice lollies since the Wednesday morning when I had a bowl of cereal at my brother's place.

Always remember though that if you have to have your antidepressants with food that even a biscuit will count - that's what a therapist I had once said.

 

[Shinju]

Dark chocolate

 

[willitpass]

my current diet because of both mental illness, basic laziness, and a fucked up work schedule is usually ice cream during work and then at home either a bagel, chips, or those mini bagel bite pizza things

 

[Celerity]

it became easier to prepare normal meals for myself after purchasing a rice cooker. i would make GABA rice (various brain related health benefits) and add frozen vegetable, ground beef, egg, etc. 40 minutes later a complete meal would be ready with zero prep necessary beyond throwing everything into the pot.

some other low effort favorites being
cracker or toast with honey and parm cheese
avocado sandwich with good, soft bread and black pepper
roasted sweet potato, carrot, onion, garlic
sushi rice with nori
king oscar tin sardines

but the true depression meal was flour, egg, and sugar mixed into a batter and eaten uncooked. i would make 3 ingredient pancakes, but became too bed ridden to want to stand in the kitchen for the amount of time it took to turn the batter into pancakes. i ate this slop for the better part of a year and feel grateful i have not stooped this low again.

I am too unreasonably paranoid about salmonella to eat raw eggs. Every recipe that calls for it has me using a bain-marie.

 

[sewercide]

Free pizza from the pizza place by using many, "first pizza is free coupons"

 

[Foresight]

When I'm really low and not able to cook I'll eat a cheese sandwich with mayonnaise on soft bread and chips shoved inside. Absolutely a guilty pleasure.

I usually order out on bad days. Chipotle or burger king.

 

[Wilting Daisy]

Hot sauce on popcorn
I love the initial sssssssss sound it makes when you dribble it on

 

[GelatinaRouse]

I don't feel like consuming food, but if I get the chance to try something... I enjoy the taste.
I am someone with a lot of patience and I already take it as something normal not to eat or eat... only if I get hungry like...

French fries and sauces.
Chopsuey
I don't know, I'm very indecisive... but I like French fries.

 

[imcurious]

This is gonna sound so..basic. The iced matcha at Starbucks with SF vanilla. It isn't a meal but I used them as meal replacements in college. Definitely not the best nutritionally. But I love it so much. A good old chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle is great too.

If I'm looking for something quick and nourishing, vanilla Greek yogurt, coconut granola (high protein Kind variety), and a teaspoon of natural peanut butter, topped with whatever berries I have on hand. It's easy on my stomach too which is good. It also offers a ton of protein too.

 

[Leech]

Kimchi instant ramen or a big mac easily

 

[Funeralprincess]

I make a very expensive Mac and cheese dish and use the nicest cheeses. It's worth the splurge. I'm also a huge spaghetti fan so I make variations of spaghetti too. Pasta has always been my go to for depression eating.

When I'm not eating pasta, I'll make some yummy mashed potatoes home made. I like to have the skin in my mashed potatoes and I use yellow
Potatoes as I like the taste. I'll boil them then mash them, add sea salt, butter, sour cream, some chives, cheese, and if I'm feeling fancy I'll make a nice side dish of meat to go with them.
I pretty much go between those three, but sometimes I'll order a huge stuffed crush pizza, eat the whole thing in one sitting, then throw it up to avoid gaining the weight.

 

[y'ffre]

Every kind of junk food.
I combine them differently every time there is no favorite single meal for me.

 

[Mixo]

Beans on toast is depression as a meal for sure.
*waits for British/UK people to come after me*

 

[Bitterman1996]

Instant noodles, candy/any snacks, water

Takeaways (and then regret it because i was stress eating, blowing off my little money on food with excess calories) aka fast food. I like fatty fried chicken and there's one place that sells it for cheap

 

[nys]

Normally I don't eat when I'm depressed since I'm too tired and not hungry. If I am hungry I eat something that doesn't require any preparation, like sometimes I eat ice cream or Nutella out of the container