Physical Nourishment

How to nurture yourself

A big issue when going through Depression is the fact feeding oneself on a purely physical level.
When nothing is easy, nothing is enjoyable and nothing has importance (not even self care) preparing a nourishing meal becomes an impossible task.
I don’t recall how much cereal and muesli and peanut butter I went through myself. Support from the outside can be the key to this situation.
Stews and soups which can be cooked in large quantities are a great solution for the ‘feeding time again’ anxiety. I used to do a proper cook-up when I was in the mood. Portion and freeze what’s left over, ready to go for the next wave.

Some simple recipes I have up my sleeve.

THICK VEGETABLE SOUP

Carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, parsnip, snow peas, onion, garlic or whatever you feel like. Fry some chopped onion, add water and other vegetables according to their cooking time.
Throw in some bay leaves, salt & leper to taste and add soup stock.
For thickening heat about a soup spoon full of butter/margarine and add some flour. Keep stirring until colour changes and blend into soup. If you like to avoid the flour you can also grate a potato into the soup early on or simply leave it clear.

PS.: Cooked potato doesn’t freeze well 🙁

2 MINUTE NOODLES Deluxe

Instant noodles, the ones that come in a soft pack, instead of a cup.
Chop whatever you feel like to ‘Pimp you Ramen’ :
Onion, Carrot, Spring Onion, Garlic, Meat, Lettuce, Egg, Chilli, Sprouts …
and add to your soup at the right time to achieve the wanted cooked-ness.

To give the broth an extra protein boost I sometimes add a teaspoon of MISO paste.

GOULASH – BEEF or POTATO

Use roughly the same amount of onion as beef/potatoes. Chop onion fine, fry until glassy then add diced beef/potatoes. Keep frying until meat is sealed or potatoes have taken on some colour. Top up with water so it covers the chunky bits.
Add Marjoram, salt and pepper to taste. When closer to being ready add the Sweet Paprika powder until the colour seems right. It ads a little bit of spiciness so you may want to be careful the first time.

PS.: My experience with freezing cooked potato wasn’t too good. Try a small portion, as
I find the defrosted spuds go ‘grainy’.

FURTHER NOURISHMENT TIPS

Get yourself a nice vitamin supplement. Some Goji, Blueberry, Acai or whatever you favour. I use a powder which is a mixture of 3 ground up berries and take a small glass in the morning.
When I prepare food I take my time and make it as pleasant as possible. It’s like a little work-meditation, Me-Time.
Side effect is also that I can say I have done something for me today – great start.

Nuts and berries
Muesli or Protein bars
Menu plan for your week
Your personal Feel-Good hot drink