It's Okay to Keep Food Simple

You don't have to spend hours meal planning or reading food blogs for the perfect recipe.

Aug 02, 2023

Pre-baby, I enjoyed cooking and baking. I still do, but it’s not quite as fun with a toddler destroying the kitchen by emptying the handful of cabinets and drawers without baby locks.

I had the time and could cook recipes from cookbooks or food blogs, or could bake fun things that took a few hours and had several different parts to it. My husband loves to cook too, so we enjoyed getting creative in the kitchen. I know I’ll get there in the future again, but for now, we stick to pretty simple things at home.

It’s okay to keep food simple.

Everyone has different food values, and they may change as your go through your recovery journey or just different stages of life. Different values may include time, convenience, creativity, specific nutrients or a type of eating style, family/social time, health, money, taste, variety, type of food (like local or organic), or more. You’ll likely find yourself having a few of these values at a time.

Some people - like me - are totally fine with eating leftovers several days while others want different things each day. Some value or may need to value convenience due to time contraints if they have kids, a busy job or more than one job, or for other reasons.

You don’t have to create Instagram picture-perfect meals, spend hours in the kitchen, or spend money on expensive ingredients that are hard to find. If that’s something you do, like, and find it helpful to your recovery, great. Many people really find joy, creativity, and pleasure from cooking, baking, or celebrating food in recovery. However, many also find it helpful to spend less time creating ‘perfect’ meals in the kitchen during recovery and more time living life. As you may be able to tell from this post, everyone’s recovery will be different, and that’s okay.

I often brainstorm meal and snack ideas with clients during sessions, and typically people end up choosing and preparing the simpler ones vs following a lot of recipes. Having a handful of simple ideas can reduce the overwhelm from food decisions, especially when life and anxiety is so busy already. They can also be items you keep in your fridge, freezer, or pantry for a go-to if you haven’t had a lot of time to grocery shop or prepare food lately.

How to Plan

Generally, I tend to think of having a carbohydrate, protein, fat, and fruit and/or vegetable at meals, as well as 2+ food groups or food items at snacks. You may need to adjust this based on your meal plan or individual nutrition needs, but for most people, this can be a useful guide.

From there, you can think of foods and combinations you like. If you’re not sure what foods you like - very normal in the recovery process - ask your family what you liked as a kid, or ask family/friends what they like for different meals or snacks. If you haven’t eaten a food in a long term due to eating disorder rules or fears, it’s easy to completely forget about a food. Asking others can help you discover or re-discover a food or meal idea.

Discovering meal/snack ideas will be an experiment. You may notice that you crave or like different foods baed on the day or time of year - I know I tend to want warm, nourishing soups in the winter and more fresh fruits in the summer. Having variety can be helpful, but this doesn’t mean you have to mix things up every single meal or day. Sometimes keeping things simple can help reduce the decision paralysis and allow you to keep nourishing yourself consistently.

Meal Plan or Not?

There’s a big difference to following an online meal plan (probably low-calorie) and creating a flexible meal plan for the week. Generally, having some type of plan is useful, so you know that you’ll have groceries in the house and food available when you need it.

A simple meal plan could mean buying/keeping a few different types of proteins in the house, a few fruits and/or veggie options, some carbohydrate options, and some fats, as well as snack options (buying them pre-made or making them). Having a pantry with some herbs/spices you like, cooking fat, grains, beans/lentils, nuts/seeds, and other items can be useful too.

From there, maybe you write out a few meal ideas, or maybe you plan a day or two in advance. I recommend planning in leftovers, or if you plan to eat out or get takeout. This may look like having 1-3 different breakfast ideas, leftovers or a few lunch ideas, and a few dinner ideas. Some people thrive on having more structure and knowing what they’ll have to eat each day while others, like me, need the flexibility. Having flexibility also gives you the chance to move things around if you’re not in the mood to cook or want something else that night.

When creating meal ideas, think about different flavors or combinations you like. Some may work, others may not. Every meal does not have to be a big event - sometimes you eat, nourish yourself, and move on with your day. I do encourage you to add flavor, which could mean using herbs/spices, a cooking fat, or a sauce (or all of the above).

You can also use similar components in different meals for the week. For example, you could make a batch of rice and use it in several meals. If you’re not a fan of cooking every night, incorporating some meal prep like cooking a batch of a carbohydrate and protein, chopping up some fruits/veggies for snacks, or making a big batch of oats for breakfast can be very helpful to save time.

Meal & Snack Ideas:

I hesitate to share a lot of ideas because everyone’s needs are so different, but here are some general meal and snack ideas that you could modify or adjust for your needs. Of course, this is a very small list of options out there, but it coudl be a starting place if you need ideas.

Eggs with a carbohydrate (toast, potatoes, hashbrown), fruit and/or veggie, and a fat (avocado, cheese, butter, a mix of these). You could cook eggs with spinach and butter with a hashbrown and berries on the side or make scrambled eggs with cheese on toast and an apple.
Yogurt bowls with yogurt, granola, nuts/seeds, fruit, chocolate chips.
Smoothies for a snack or with a meal can be a great way to experiment with different flavors. Some ideas - frozen bananas to make it creamy, frozen or fresh fruit, nut/seed butters or seeds (flax, chia, hemp), yogurt and/or milk (dairy or non-dairy), can add veggies if you’d like, cocoa powder, frozen or fresh avocado to make it creamy, honey, etc. You can also add ice cream to make it more of a milkshake. One of my favorite combinations is banana, frozen cherries, hemp seeds, milk, and cocoa powder for a chocolate-cherry flavor.
Bowls or salads. You can make a lot of simple, easy to prep bowls or salads, especially ones with pre-prepared items. I’d recommend a carbohydrate like rice, quinoa, sweet potato/potato, fruit and/or veggie, protein, fat, and sauce. For example, a burrito style bowl with chicken, peppers, and onions (you could cook the chicken, peppers, and onions ahead of time with spices), avocado, and cheese. Or a salad with a salad kit mix, chickpeas or beans, roasted sweet potatoes (can be prepped in advance), sunflower seeds, and a salad dressing.
A sandwich or wrap with sides. You could use deli meat, cooked meat, cheese, a spread like mayo, hummus, avocado, or a sauce, veggies. You may find yourself needing a one or more sides to meet your needs, such as fruit, veggies/dip, nuts or trail mix, or a salty or sweet snack. For example, a sandwich with an apple and chips.
For dinner, a protein, carbohydrate, veggie, and fat. For example, a baked potato with butter or sour cream, grilled meat, and grilled asparagus. Or baked chicken thighs with lemon and dried herbs with side salad with dressing and wild rice.
Snacks - apple/banana with nut butter, snack platter with items like nuts, crackers, hummus, veggies, tzatziki, or cheese, apple and cheese, an energy bar, smoothie or shake, chips and guacamole, hard or soft boiled egg, chocolate, a dessert, or salty snack like pretzels, crackers, chips. I typically recommend having 2 or more food groups for energy and satiety. You can also have leftovers or typical ‘meal’ foods as a snack too - there are no rules here.

Tips to Keep Things Simple:

Use pre-packaged fresh or frozen items, such as salad kits, frozen rice/quinoa/grain blends, salad dressings or sauces, frozen fruits or vegetables. I’m a big fan of Trader Joe’s because they have a good variety of different frozen items.
Use pre-chopped vegetables to save prep time. Some stores also sell pre-marinated meats.
Have a mix of meal ideas that involve cooking and some minimal prep ones. For example, you could have a stirfry meal with rice, veggies, meat or other protein, then the next night plan for an minimal prep meal like a sandwich with a side salad or carrots and hummus.
If you have an Instapot or crockpot, use it! You can cook a lot in a crockpot or Instapot, and it saves you time in the kitchen.
Work to get rid of rules around when you’re allowed to eat certain foods. We tend to think of ‘breakfast foods’ in our country, but you can eat whatever in the morning. Other countries eat soups or what we may call meal time foods in the morning. You can have leftovers or a sandwich in the morning. You can also have ‘breakfast for dinner.’
Use the freezer. If you’re cooking for 1 or 2, a lot of unadjusted recipes may make more than you need in the moment. You can certainly have leftovers for a few days, but many items can also be frozen for future days when you don’t want to cook. For example, a lot of soups or chilis can be frozen, shredded meats (especially with a little broth), rice or other grains, steelcut oats, bread (especially if you don’t use a full loaf right away), breakfast burritos, and more.

Regardless of your love for cooking, there may be times in your life where you want food to be simple and less overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to step back from the cookbooks, blogs, or extensive time meal planning and prepping to make food a less stressful part of your life. You can still eat and nourish yourself, so you have time and energy for other parts of your life.