Author loves to cook, but she has struggled to eat during bouts of depression.
The thought of chopping an onion or even boiling water was too much for her 鈥� something many people deal with when they鈥檙e just too tired, anxious or depressed to cook a meal.
That鈥檚 what inspired Eby to write her book, 鈥�.鈥�
鈥淚 would be so depressed or anxious that food sounded horrible, and just the idea of figuring out what to eat got so overwhelming that my husband would come in and bring me an apple or a banana and say, 鈥極K, well you do have to eat something, and I鈥檓 gonna stay here until you eat a couple of bites of something,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚 really needed that sometimes. Even as someone who loves eating, it鈥檚 not always the thing that I want to be doing when I鈥檓 feeling that low.鈥�
Below are some simple recipes and tricks from Eby to inspire you to eat something when you really don鈥檛 want to get into the kitchen.
The 鈥榩arty鈥� meal
鈥淚 think one of the main things that helps, or it鈥檚 helped me a great deal when I鈥檓 in a position where food sounds horrible, is to kind of release yourself from the idea that meals have to be a certain thing.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e at a party, for example, and you have a couple nibbles of cheese and crackers and you have maybe some smoked fish or maybe some tiny hot dogs or just a few chips and dips, that counts as a meal. You鈥檙e not walking out of that party thinking, 鈥業 didn鈥檛 eat,鈥� and you can do that at home, too. You don鈥檛 need to have a party to have a kind of snack dinner or just assemble what you want on a plate.鈥�
Think like a kid
鈥淎nother trick I always have is to lean into the things that have given me comfort, perhaps as a child or as a teenager. I love a tuna melt. I couldn鈥檛 have gotten through college and high school without tuna melts. So when I鈥檓 feeling really low, I know that that鈥檚 something that I can execute and make kind of in my sleep, and I think rather than putting so much pressure on yourself to make this fabulous new meal, just lean into getting yourself fed however you can and whatever feels good to you in that moment.
鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 a tuna melt, maybe it鈥檚 Triscuits and cheese, maybe it鈥檚 apples and peanut butter. Don鈥檛 feel ashamed and don鈥檛 feel guilty for not having something that鈥檚 [an] 鈥榓ssembled meal.鈥� A disassembled meal is still a meal.鈥�
Don鈥檛 be afraid of the microwave
鈥淚 love the microwave actually. In this book, I think I sound like a 1950s appliance evangelist because I rely on them so much, but I think microwaves have gotten a little bit out of fashion; but they鈥檙e wonderful. They鈥檙e essentially just steam ovens in your home, and you can whip together things so, so quickly in a microwave, including making your own scrambled eggs without ever taking out a pan.鈥�
Find joy in nourishment
鈥淣ourishment is so important, and I think it can be something you really neglect when you鈥檙e going through a hard time. But if you have something that sparks even a little bit of joy or creativity or delight 鈥� like for me, crumbling up Doritos and putting them on random meals gives me a lot of delight -鈥擨 think that spirit of playfulness and creativity goes out the window when you鈥檙e having a hard time.
鈥淏ut if you can harness it even a little bit in what you鈥檙e eating, my advice is to lean into that all the way, whether that鈥檚 playing with spices, whether that鈥檚 just cooking the same meal over and over again because that鈥檚 what鈥檚 bringing comfort, whether it鈥檚 just throwing a handful of frozen peas into a box of macaroni and cheese. Whatever you have to do to get through a hard time in the kitchen, do it.鈥�
Embrace shortcuts
鈥淚 mean, chopped garlic in a jar is a nemesis of many chefs, mostly because when you process it to put it in the jar, it cooks it slightly so there鈥檚 less garlic flavor. But the truth is, sometimes you just don鈥檛 have it in you to cut up garlic. So if you want to use more chopped garlic, that鈥檚 also fine.
鈥淥ne of the shortcuts I have in my book is using a jar of salsa as cut-up vegetables, and that is something that I recommend all the time. I have a recipe in there that鈥檚 black bean soup in a blender. You put a jar of salsa with some cans of black beans. Because what is a jar of salsa? All it is is cut-up tomatoes and peppers and onions and spices. So rather than finding all those things and cutting them up, you could just use a jar of salsa.鈥�
The Super Bowl
鈥淢y husband and I have a thing called the Super Bowl, which comes several times a year [and] sometimes it coincides with the actual Super Bowl. All it is is that we鈥檙e having dip for dinner. We鈥檒l just look at each other and say, 鈥業s it the Super Bowl?鈥� We鈥檒l say, 鈥榊es, it鈥檚 the Super Bowl.鈥欌��
This interview was slightly edited for clarity.
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produced and edited this interview for broadcast with . Raphelson also adapted it for the web.
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Book excerpt: 鈥榊ou Gotta Eat鈥�
By Margaret Eby
This article was originally published on
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