6 Easy Meals to Make For When You're Feeling Overwhelmed

Getting overwhelmed and not eating

Because it's not just emptying the dishwasher. You have to take out the plates and put them where they belong; you have to organize the food containers that you have and then put them away. It's a series of simple steps that if you have something like ADHD or mental health issues, it can be a lot.

A lot of times that executive dysfunction can lead to you maybe not eating or not cooking anything, because even the idea of cooking dinner is just too much for you. Bad mental health days plus not eating equals not good at all because when you have food in your body, your brain just functions better, and you can think better.

A list of easy meals and snacks

Have you ever been super hungry and realized that you couldn't think at all, but once you eat something, it's like, oh, I can think clearly again. I struggle with that too, so I put together a short list of easy meals to make and snack ideas that you can easily pull out of the fridge, put on a plate, and be done.

Now, these food ideas are meant to help you make things easier and are not necessarily cost-effective. I've also got frozen pancakes and pre-cubed cheese on the list, so you can do all that stuff yourself and make it a lot cheaper. However, this is about convenience and ease rather than saving money. So with all that in mind, check out these ideas.

Canned soup

The first easy meal idea is canned soup. Soup has come a long way from the standard tomato soup that we used to have way back in the day. There are so many different flavors now. There are a lot more vegetables in these.

I bought Campbell's Home Style Chicken Tortilla soup, and it's only 300 calories for one can. 

There is plenty of protein in the chicken. You have rice, which is carbs. You've got vegetables in there. 

All you have to do is put it into a microwave-safe bowl, microwave it for a couple of minutes, and then it is done. You could serve it with some cornbread if it's not enough, but this is amazing. 

Yogurt and granola

Next, we have yogurt and granola, which could be a good breakfast or snack idea. 

I like to buy individual cups of yogurt, preferably Greek, because it has a lot more protein, and granola has some fiber and whole grains in it. 

You could also buy protein granola if you wanted extra protein. Now the yogurt I have is Greek yogurt. It's got about 15 grams of protein. The granola has whole grains; it has a good amount of carbs in it and a little bit of added sugar. I like to buy the kind that just has oats and raisins.

Cheese and crackers

I bought the pre-cubed cheese. You can honestly cube it yourself, but this was more convenient. With cheese and crackers, you get fat and protein from the cheese, and you get carbs from the crackers. I use whole wheat woven crackers, which are really good. These are also excellent to take with you on the go. 

I had to be somewhere earlier that day, so I had to put them in little containers, which was so simple. 

Frozen pancakes

Frozen pancakes are cheaper to make yourself, but this is so convenient. I use the protein pancakes from Aldi. Super good. 

All you do is microwave it, and you can slice a banana on top and add maple syrup. 

As I said, this was a protein pancake, so you got extra protein in there as well. You could also serve it with cottage cheese or eggs if you need more food. 

Apples and peanut butter

Lastly, we have an apple and peanut butter for a snack. Like the classic combination, apples have a ton of vitamins in them. They also are a good source of fiber and a carb. For peanut butter, I use the Jif to Go Naturals. 

Peanut butter has fat and a little protein, so combining those two makes an excellent combo. 

I use my apple slicer, the best thing I ever bought, to make sliced apples and a peanut butter snack. 

It is a really good combination for the on-the-go, especially with the little peanut butter cups.  

Easy meals to make for when you're overwhelmed

What meals or snack ideas do you easily put together? What are some of your favorites for those days when you're overwhelmed? Share in the comments below.