Discussion What do you eat? (Help me understand how to meal plan through my depression)

[Fire&Ash]

Ok so here it is. I've started this job that gives us food for lunch. I wake up, have my coffee, I don't eat breakfast(like nothing) and wait till noon for my lunch that my job provides. When I get home, I will most likely not eat anything, maybe a bagel or ramen. And that's it. So I'm basically surviving off of my lunch meal for the whole day. I just DO NOT have it in me to cook. I have to be in some peppy mood to make a proper meal for myself, even if that means oatmeal or some pasta dish. I'm just dead inside and don't even eat.
MY PROBLEM/ AND HOW IM ASKING FOR HELP!:
I have always been interested in meal planning, but I overthink it so much and it seems so complicated that I just give up because my brain shuts down. I want to at least eat dinner.
1) Thus, I've been thinking of frozen prepared meals I can buy at the store to live on for like 3 weeks. What are your favorites? I've always steered away from frozen prepared meals/dishes because of the unhealthy ness, but I need something and I can't get myself to cook.
2) What is your meal plan, if you have one? Like a meal plan that centers around the same ingredients but can be prepared differently..
3) How do you survive eating in your deep depression that can last for weeks to months, without screwing up your body? Eating healthier I mean…
4) I read some posts about some people grillin/steaming vegetables with rice and other nutritious ideas and I can't get myself to understand how to do it too. Like my brain just doesn't want to comprehend. I hate it. I make everything hard for myself.

Ugh please help me I'm so incompetent with cooking and problem solving my way through anything. I can't even think of what to eat. ):

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

I only eat like once a day (junk food). Pizza or subs or whatever. I have an addictive personality and if I allowed myself more meals, I think I'd just eat myself straight to My 600lb Life.

Why does the unhealthiness as such bother you? I know some people here eat healthily and prepare meals the right way, but I think many of us go for comfort food and convenience given where we're at in life. Either way, frozen / ready-made meals don't have to be unhealthy, there are lots of options, even low carb stuff with meat and vegetables. If that's the most you can manage to come up with right now, no big deal. Be kind to yourself.

 

[Manaaja]

Cook? What the hell is cooking? Is it something you can eat? Hahaha! Sorry...

I just eat ready-made foods. Today I bought vegetarian lasagna and spinach soup etc. Though instant meals are healthy in my country, so if they are not healthy in your country... I rarely buy freezer food unless it's pizza or that corn-pea-carrot stuff. All my instant-meal foods are fridge foods. Just pour hot water or just laser them with microwaves.

Vegetables and fruits I just wash and eat raw, of course I'll peel bananas and such. I eat a lot of bananas because they are so easy to eat.

I have no meal plan. I'm home all day and alone so I just eat whenever I'm hungry or because I suffer from emotional eating sometimes I eat when I feel emotions. It's very chaotic in a way. I have no idea how much I eat. And a lot of my food like carrots mold before I get to eat them because I have no plans about when to eat and what.

My body just wants food so I couldn't go without food. I also have a huge phobia of fainting and I fear I'll faint if I don't eat. I suffer from low bloodpressure so when ever I feel fainty I get this panic to eat.

I take vitamin tablets daily and fishliveroil (tastes awful) to get vitamins and other good stuff like magnesium.

I used to cook carry in my old home because I played Persona 5 and it was just a game disguised as a carry advertisement. I wish I still lived at my old home. I used to make salads too.

I really should eat more. Vegetarian food is so low-calorie.

 

[Fire&Ash]

Well in America there is the unhealthy foods lead to obesity so I don't really want to live on pizza pockets and chips all the time lol and I don't want to gain an extra 20 lbs that would not be convenient for me. So eating healthy will be make me feel less guilty. I always grab prepared foods like pizza pockets as I said but then I remember I can't eat these every single day it's not good for me.

 

[everydayiloveyou]

Do you like latin food? If so, all you need is ground pork, turkey, chicken, or beef and 4 packs of Goya seasoning. It is soo yummy and soooo versatile.

1. Tacos - hard or soft
2. Tostadas (or enchiladas as we call them in my country)
3. Baleadas con todo, usually you put some kind of steak inside but there's no rules for these. Think of them like burritos but with simpler ingredients.
4. Nachos
5. Burritos
6. Add a can of tomato sauce and you have spaghetti, lasagna, and other kinds of pasta

Latin food in general is perfect for depression meals. It's cheap, easy to cook, filling, and delicious. Catrachitas, desayuno tipico, anafrito, sopa de frijoles ... usually there is a central ingredient that is reused in a variety of dishes.

I eat twice per day -- usually a small breakfast cafecito con tostaditas (a sugary biscuit) and then my dinner is something from the above. I'm gonna learn to make other dishes for variety, but so far I do just fine with some kind of ground meat.

The hardest part of cooking is cutting the vegetables. If you want, just use your hands to make little pieces. I like lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and green peppers most, so I will sometimes just rip up a bunch of them with my fingers, mix it with some dressing -- kardashian style where you put it all inside tupperware and shake it -- and use it to make tacos. The rest goes into the fridge for the rest of the week.

There's no way to eat healthy without eating vegetables, so always be stocked up on your favorites so you can have an easy snack when you feel down. Some people love celery, others like salad greens or carrots. Don't buy any junk food if you lack self-control. I don't buy any chips or candy, so when I feel tempted to eat I have to go and grab a pepper or cucumber.

hope this helps! Cooking can be so fun and homecooked meals are better than constant fast food imo. Plus you can get up from bed and feel accomplished. The shitty part is actually doing it, but once you start it's very fun.

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

My "cooking" is easier than going to a store and picking out microwave garbage, since I eat more or less the same things every day. Most of the cognitive fatigue is from having to think and make decisions, I'm assooming. The cooking itself can be very easy, I never do anything difficult when I cook.

Breakfast: 2 eggs with milk, maybe throw something random in (piece of hard bread, whatever). Some salt and pepper for seasoning.
Lunch: One frozen chicken breast, boil it up then fry it. Some oatmeal and some spinach (and/or other veg). Salt and pepper, again.
Dinner: Live in mom's basement so usually the family decides what to eat, which is usually ok-ish in terms of at least macros.

Meal prep would just be to make two or three chimken + oatmeal + veg and put in containers. Can take those with u 2 work. Not too many at once since chimken can get bad and kill u wif posien.

Edit: chimken for dinner, since u get food from work.

 

[Makko]

a. Salads. Premade salad boxes are ok but the greasy dressings are gross. I sometimes make my own salads with ready-cut fresh vegetables and cold cuts, parmesan and/or smoked salmon. You can also add fruits, legumes, herbs etc. It's very customizable and low-effort, you just buy stuff and mix it in a bowl. I prefer to season with oil or vinegar. The big appeal is that you can buy lots of things that are already cut so you don't even have to use any kitchen utensils and it doesn't feel like you're "cooking".
b. Sushi. Also eaten cold so you can buy it and eat it anywhere with minimum effort. I used to make sushi but can't be bothered anymore.
c. Stir fries. It's "cooking" but like with salads you just buy ready- cut vegetables and chicken or whatever, and canned stuff (bamboo shots etc) and poke it around in a wok pan for 3 minutes. Season with random stir-fry sauce, there are thousands to choose from in asian grocery stores.
d. Meal bars. Just shove it in your mouth to postpone malnutrition.