Zero-Steps Depression Meals™
AKA alternatives to fueling yourself with empty calories
Everyone experiences depression a little bit differently, but for me, when I'm in a low point, I have no desire to eat. Or at least, no desire to prepare food. (i’ll totally eat a family size bag of Doritos tho) So this is a list of things that are easy to buy, store, and eat when you cannot bring yourself to boil water for ramen or pull out a pan to fry an egg.
Non-Perishable:
Buy in bulk and store these in a cupboard so you can pull them out when you’re feeling it.
Protein/granola bars (lots of sugar, but better than straight-up candy)
Nuts (almonds are personal fave, but mixes give better variety in nutrition)
Trail mix (slightly better than chips but still salty)
Peanut butter (no shame in eating from the jar)
Oatmeal Packets (you will need to boil water, but they have flavor and healthy stuff, so put down the Saltines you were about to have for breakfast)
Dry cereal (or get nuts and add milk. only god can judge you)
Fruit snacks
Anything found in the aisle that has fruit snacks. This aisle will be full of stuff to put in kids lunches, and those prepacked 100 calorie packs of will make your heart leap with joy. Avoid chips and cookies though; this list is literally just alternatives to that stuff.
Frozen food/TV dinners (potentially full of cancer, but also usually involving a vegetable or two) (also technically perishable I guess but it looked wrong in the other section) (also usually requiring multiple steps, but they can be life savers so I wanted to include them anyway)
Perishable:
For when you can get yourself to a store and get an ounce of honest to god nutrition.
Fruit (bananas, apples, and oranges last a long time and are super easy)
Yogurt
Cheese sticks (doesn’t have to be string cheese! they make all kinds of cheese sticks now. it’s a magical world.)
Salad in a bag (it’s okay that the thought of chopping up a head of lettuce exhausts you. you’ll get through this)
Lunch meat? (I’ve been vegetarian for a long time, but I remember just eating cold baloney and hot dogs in my youth, so maybe give that a go?)
Carrot sticks/apple sticks/anything plant based and now in a stick
Whole wheat/grain bread (eat it dry, slap on butter, toast, Nutella, whatever suits you)
Baby carrots (an acquired taste, but I used to hate them and can now mindlessly eat them the same way I eat goldfish crackers, so it’s worth trying)
Lunchables/grown up versions of Lunchables (more expensive than making your own lunch, but more likely to cover multiple food groups)
Feel free to add your own suggestions! Someday I’ll make another post that features one-step and two-step meals, for you ambitious go-getters.
