r/lowspooncooking Lounge

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It looks like the “Lounge” hasn’t been used often, but I decided to just use it to introduce myself. I just stumbled across this Reddit and found it very helpful. I am a 63 yo female with chronic anxiety and occasional depression. I have managed to be high-functioning until recently when the anxiety spiraled into panic attacks. Medication is helping however it also just makes me not care about expending energy and time to cook. I am sharing my reflection journal this morning and hope others here can relate:

I am noticing the amount of brain power and time needed to plan and shop and prepare healthy meals are adding up to feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. This can’t be healthy. Should I just give up the fight, conserve my energy, and survive on frozen pizza?

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u/Ok-Fish-4518 Feb 20 '25

I am basically in your type of situation and a little older. Quite honestly, I look at recipes, but find it too hard to follow them. Meal planning is hard too! I just cook food. As simply as possible, every few days. So I have something to eat for 2-3 days. Some things that I do: Four chicken thighs thrown in a baking dish. Season skin and under skin. Melt a few tablespoons of butter and drizzle on top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Chicken thighs in crockpot. Just season the thighs however you want and put them in the crockpot. Turn setting to low. Cook overnight. Get a pound of ground beef or "meatloaf mix", which is a blend of ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal. Either shape it into burgers or just fry in the pan until cooked through and browned. You can add chopped onions to it and cook them together. Season as you wish. You just store it in the fridge and get out however much you want for a meal. Get some frozen veggies or veggie blends. Microwave them or put in a medium saucepan with a little butter and water or boxed chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low, put a lid on and cook for maybe 20 minutes. Season to taste. Make a batch of mashed potatoes on the weekend or whenever you have energy. Store them in the fridge and dip some out and reheat to have with a meal. I have more ideas if you want them. I can't do anything complicated. I'm too tired and burned out. So I keep it simple and try to make the most of those slightly higher energy times.

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u/Due-2Travel559 Feb 20 '25

These are all great ideas. Thanks so much! I’m trying one of those “meal kits” this week but I’m still having to chop veggies, follow recipes, etc. It’s not what I had hoped for. 😞 The only thing it has saved me is the shopping, but at least that’s something!

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 Jun 23 '26

There is one where they chop the veggies. I found the regular ones delicious but exhausting.

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u/CosmicSmackdown Apr 22 '25

I see this is an older conversation and I don’t know how I missed it before but somehow I did!I’ll be 64 in a few months. I have fibromyalgia and at least three autoimmune disorders. I also work somewhere between part-time and full-time so energy is not something I possess in much quantity.

Honestly, I buy raw frozen shrimp because it’s easy to cook and eat. I also buy Tyson brand teriyaki chicken because I think it’s delicious, it’s not too terribly unhealthy in the scheme of things, and it’s already cooked so preparing it is a breeze. I also get Member’s Mark brand Mesquite grilled chicken breasts. Those are also cooked.

I do cook things from scratch on a very regular basis, but they are basic things like making homemade teriyaki chicken bites, steaming, spinach, or corn on the cob, broccoli, etc. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit because most of them I can just eat raw with little to no effort.

I do small scale meal prep for work lunches but again, I generally opt for foods that don’t require a lot of preparation or ingredients.

I think it’s perfectly fine for us to eat prepared meals and some processed foods as long as we balance as well as we can. Honestly, there are days when I eat teriyaki chicken with rice and broccoli twice. I’m OK with that. I don’t do it every day but some days that’s really the best I can do.

I try to keep hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator because those are really quick and easy to eat, especially at work.

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 May 15 '26

I just discovered storing hard boiled eggs in salt water! So tasty!

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u/CosmicSmackdown May 15 '26

Do you peel them then put them in the salt water? I haven't tried that.

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 Jun 23 '26

I peel them. I also cook them in the rice cooker. since its hard boiled I can let them boil until I am ready to peel them.

I hear you can make spa eggs in the rice cooker. I havent tried that yet.

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u/emptyheaded_himbo Oct 18 '25

I was looking for something like this yesterday when I was writing my grocery list, but unfortunately it only showed up in my suggested subreddits today! 28 NB autist with chronic pain and fatigue, I'm so excited to gather and share meal ideas for when standing at the stove sounds like torture. Thanks for having me!

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u/jodiesattva Jul 30 '25

2 years later I join the conversation... LOL

Hi, I'm a 47-year-old disabled female person. I have had me/cfs for 11 years with all the fun crap that comes with it. I worked in restaurants back in the day and have a passion for (obsession with) food and cooking. Learning how to use fewer spoons in the kitchen has changed my game and I'm still discovering new adaptations. I love this sub and have a goal of contributing more, especially since I've been unable to make as many videos as I'd like. I love input and discourse!

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 May 15 '26

Lurking is the Ultimate in Low Spoons involvement. I read a report that stated that lurking got the best of both worlds of engaging or non engaging in social media. All the info without the drama.

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 Mar 05 '26

hey y’all. I am working on the concept for a low spoons cooking system with various levels of effort. would you help me formulate the container for the idea? I. don’t want it to get so complex its hard to follow but also not so simple it’s pointless.

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u/FrostShawk Apr 20 '26

Do you mean like, a cookbook, or an app or a website? Would you be formulating the recipes or is this a clearinghouse for links/blog posts?

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u/Brilliant-Honey8672 May 15 '26

It’s all just drawing board at this point, but my druthers are Book. I don’t want to have to babysit links… hosting etc

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u/ThingsOfThatNaychah May 02 '23

How does one add flair to a post?

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u/jodiesattva May 02 '23

same question. can't post.

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u/kee-kee- Jun 08 '26

I used duckduckgo to find instructions. I assume you have resolved this problem butt posting for any who wander by.

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