Depression Meals
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@saosmash Amazon gets them in stock every so often, if you wanna track one down. It was our triumph purchase for more or less organizing the kitchen and getting rid of my grandmother's ancient things that were still there. (I defeated the drawer we called 'Tetanusland' mostly unscathed, so it was a real triumph.)
More or less everything else in there is black, stainless, or a rainbow finish (don't judge me!), but that was worthy of an exception. Also there will some day be a Star Wars waffle iron, when the husband decides which of the dozens he wants. I LOVE geek kitchen stuff, so it's just so much
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@surreality said in Depression Meals:
Star Wars waffle iron
But which Star Wars waffle iron?
ETA: It should totally be this one:
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Protein shakes are your friend
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there's a lot of cooking in this struggle meal thread
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Turn oven to 350. Get out tinfoil.
Wrap a fully frozen boneless skinless chicken breast fillet in a tinfoil pouch and top with Italian dressing, fold foil closed tight to seal in steam/juices. Wash and poke holes in a potato, wrap that bitch in foil too. Pop em in the oven.
1 hr break to smoke and watch mindlessly funny shit.
Pull packets out of oven and open them. Retrieve chicken with a fork and cut your potato open. Pour chicken juices and Italian half on the chicken, half on the potato, add butter to potato and sour cream and cheese if desired. Five minutes or less of work and you have a dish free meat and potato meal without even needing to defrost your meat. -
@Salty said in Depression Meals:
Turn oven to 350. Get out tinfoil.
Instructions too hard, eating cheese direct from the packet while curled up in front of the fridge.
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I also keep Amy's Burritos in my freezer for 'really just need to stuff my face with something but have no willpower to cook a thing'
Oh, and those steamer veggie bags. I have like, 10 in my freezer rn of various types. Good for a side dish, sure, but also a slightly healthier meal (if you're doing straight veggies vs like, broccoli and cauliflower drowned in cheese) than many other options.
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@Salty said in Depression Meals:
Turn oven to 350. Get out tinfoil.
Wrap a fully frozen boneless skinless chicken breast fillet in a tinfoil pouch and top with Italian dressing, fold foil closed tight to seal in steam/juices. Wash and poke holes in a potato, wrap that bitch in foil too. Pop em in the oven.
1 hr break to smoke and watch mindlessly funny shit.
Pull packets out of oven and open them. Retrieve chicken with a fork and cut your potato open. Pour chicken juices and Italian half on the chicken, half on the potato, add butter to potato and sour cream and cheese if desired. Five minutes or less of work and you have a dish free meat and potato meal without even needing to defrost your meat.Who is doing this when they are too depressed to eat??
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The ultimate Depression Meal: noodles and/or ramen and/or any dried cereal. Open packet. Remove contents by hand. Shove into mouth.
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@Kanye-Qwest People who are so depressed they operate on automatic pilot and just go through the motions. Because one grey, bland day is just the same as any other grey bland day in the monotony of a life without meaning, in world that is ultimately uncaring.
I've done a lot of things I honestly can't recall when it got that bad. Things bought and food made that I don't honestly remember doing the day/night before.
I still don't remember a lot from those times. It's all a colorless blur.
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@Testament said in Depression Meals:
@Kanye-Qwest People who are so depressed they operate on automatic pilot and just go through the motions. Because one grey, bland day is just the same as any other grey bland day in the monotony of a life without meaning, in world that is ultimately uncaring.
I've done a lot of things I honestly can't recall when it got that bad. Things bought and food made that I don't honestly remember doing the day/night before.
I still don't remember a lot from those times. It's all a colorless blur.
Seconded. Depression steals my ability to think, which steals my ability to consider other options, leaving me to follow the habits I've ingrained in myself; thus making cooking technically possible.
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My go to meal is Frozen Fish Filets (Gortons Beer Battered), Cheese, Instant Mashed Potatoes. Bake up the fish till crispy. Make the taters. Then throw it all in a bowl and mix it up adding in salt and pepper. I have no clue why, but it is really just both depression and comfort food.
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Depression manifests differently for different people. For me, for instance, it's me running on fumes. I can think just fine, I just cannot do. At all.
What works for one won't work for another.
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Chili mac.
Weenie mac.
Instant mashed potatoes + butter + cheap ass lunchmeat cut up, ish. + Mrs. Dash (or similar seasoning type thing). Sometimes add corn (frozen works).
Pan fried/smooshed tater tots with cheese and hamburger stirred in. Ugly-delicious-comfort food that sits like a warm rock in the gut.
Lazy ass italian wedding soup for the sick days. 2x cartons chicken broth. 1 bag italian meatballs. Two big spoons of minced garlic. Bunch of italian seasoning. Add tiny pasta (ancini de pepe ideally, but whatever. Motherfucking alphabet noodles are great). Spinach can be added to a bowl, but if you got no fucks, it's a 'dump shit in a pot, stir the seasoning in, make it boil' kind of thing. -
Breaded chicken (patties, nuggets, strips), or pizza. Those things do not fight me going down when the depression is at its worst with anti-appetite. Sometimes I can eat chocolate pudding.
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Relevant:
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That bread should be a pile of grains, in that case.
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@Sunny 's post reminded me. In addition to the steamed veggies, I usually keep chicken tendies in the freezer.
I mean sure I could keep chicken breasts and bake them but.... the tenders take less effort (a) and the breading helps satisfy the depression need for comfort food (b). So yes, lots of depressed nights tossing chicken tenders on a sheet pan and a bag of steamed veggies in the microwave.
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Sometimes I make a quesadilla which is just cheese in a tortilla with Tabasco sauce but I don't think of it as depression food because I have to be arsed to get out a pan and maybe some butter.
Also I just got a corn dog from the drive thru which probably qualifies....
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@saosmash said in Depression Meals:
Sometimes I make a quesadilla which is just cheese in a tortilla with Tabasco sauce but I don't think of it as depression food because I have to be arsed to get out a pan and maybe some butter.
I can make quesadillas in my air fryer and it is probably not great for me.
Spray basket with Pam.
Toss down one tortilla, layer with cheese and whatever else, toss down other tortilla, turn on.
Come back to it a bit later and voila, quesadilla.