Food recipes to try out when cooking feels impossible
Reading Length: 5-10 mins
When you’re feeling depressed, anxious or just generally low, doing tasks like making yourself food can feel like mission impossible. However, keeping yourself fuelled is essential to making yourself feel better. Here are some affordable and easy food ideas you can try out when making a lavish meal seems a distant reality.
Breakfast
Getting up and out of bed can feel really difficult, especially when you’re already feeling low. Therefore, having breakfast ingredients in the house is a great way in helping you feel motivated to get out of bed.
Porridge
Porridge is a great way to start your day, as it provides slow-releasing energy, so you will feel full and energetic all morning right up until lunch.
Tip: You can buy individual porridge pots from most supermarkets, which is handy if you want to eat but avoid the washing up. Want to jazz it up? Why not add some fruit or spices like apples and cinnamon?
Beans on toast
If you’re fancying something a little heartier for breakfast, beans on toast is a good old classic that will take you less than 5 minutes to whip up.
Want to jazz it up? Feel free to add cheese to your hearts delight. Or why not add some spices, like curry powder or chilli flakes for some new flavours?
Muffins
If you’re someone who has high energy in the evenings and enjoys baking, perhaps making breakfast muffins the night before is a great way for you to have a successful breakfast? Here is BBC’s ‘Basic Muffin Recipe’.
Muffins are an easy recipe for baking lovers and allow you to be creative with your fillings. Here’s some filling ideas to start off with:
- Cinnamon
- Banana
- Blueberries/frozen berries
- Chocolate
- Apple
- Cheese
Cereal bars
Or if you’re like me and like to roll out of bed and head straight out the door, having some cereal bars in your cupboard are a great way to ensure you are still having breakfast while on the go. You can get them from most supermarkets or if you fancied making your own, here is BBC’s cereal bar recipe.
Lunch/Dinner
Having 3 meals a day can be a great way to encourage routine in your life. Here are some recipes you can scale up or down depending on the time of day or your appetite.
Jacket potato
Jacket potatoes are an easy recipe that you can customize depending on what filling you fancy. Here are some filling suggestions:
- Cheese
- Beans
- Tuna
- Chilli con Carne
- Grilled Vegetables (peppers, aubergine, courgette.
Tip: if you fancy an extra kick of nutrition, why not replace it with a sweet jacket potato?
Pizza baguette
If you don’t fancy a whole pizza or are trying to save a bit of money, this is a great and affordable alternative while still getting that pizza fix. Here is Tesco’s pizza baguette recipe.
Tip: to save some money you can buy part-baked bread rolls instead of a fresh baguette.
Here’s some topping ideas that are tasty while also being nutritional:
- Vegetables (pepper, courgette, mushroom, olives, spinach)
- Ham or chicken
- Tuna
Sausage rolls
Of course, you can buy these pre-made, however if you are someone who enjoys cooking and enjoys more ‘rustic’ food, this recipe is for you.
Most supermarkets sell pre-rolled puff pastry and sell sausages (or veggie sausages) at affordable prices. And that is pretty much all you will need for this recipe… Here is BBC’s sausage roll recipe.
You can also add some extra flavours such as; marmite, chutney or cheese.
Noodles
If your go to meal is instant noodles, why not try your own DIY ramen? A warm broth is a great way to not only get your water intake, but a lovely warm meal on a cold evening.
Here’s some ingredients you can add to your noodles for extra nutrition:
- Egg (boiled or fried)
- Chicken
- Vegetables (mushroom, spinach, frozen peas, onion)
Green mac and cheese
We all love the home comfort of a good old mac ‘n’ cheese, however, here is a great way to get your veggies in while still enjoying a classic. Here is BBC’s green mac and cheese recipe.
Some bits you could add to your mac and cheese to jazz it up:
- Spinach
- Frozen peas
- Cauliflower or broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Pesto
- Grilled Vegetables (peppers, aubergines, courgettes)
Snacks/sides
Salad bags – bags of pre-made salad are a great way to add some nutrition to your meals with minimal effort.
Rye Crackers – are a great and healthy way to get a source of protein while still filling that hole of hunger. Or you can have them for lunch by adding some, cheese, vegetables or other fillings.
Switching to brown rice/wholemeal – a simple change such as changing to wholemeal pasta or brown rice are an easy way to increase your fibre and vitamin intake, which are all great in helping improve your overall health.
Fancy more recipes to get your tastebuds inspired?
- BBC: Easy recipes
- BBC: Student recipes
- BBC: Kids’ cooking recipes
- Jamie Oliver: Cheap and cheerful recipes
- Tesco: Student recipes
By: Daisy Wakefield
