What To Eat When You Don’t Know What To Eat

Standing in front of the fridge or in front of a food cabinet, unsure what to eat. We’ve all been there. We may not have all the ingredients to make the meal we want or enough time to prepare something, but we know we’re hungry. If we sit and wait and don’t do anything, we’re only going to grow hungrier, and with that level of appetite, you’re more likely to overindulge and overeat. So here are a few approaches you can take on what to do when you’re hungry but don’t know what to eat.

1. Warm Up A Can

Many cans of soup, pasta, and vegetables can be cracked open anytime and heated. They’re fairly cheap at the grocery store, although they’re packed with sodium at sometimes-uncomfortably high levels. If you’re on a low-salt diet, be careful with these. They’re a nice lunch or snack when you don’t know what to grab.

2. Make A Snack Plate

You may want something substantial to eat, but all you see in front of you are snacks. No worries! Make a snack plate. Combine three or four healthy-ish snacks – a fruit, a vegetable, and a treat. Even if the foods don’t fit together, it doesn’t matter so long as they’re not unhealthy. It’s a great way to quickly get some food in you without much prep.

3. Make A Scramble

A pan scramble, or a stir fry, is easy to throw together. You can use a little bit of olive oil or make a homemade sauce if you prefer. You can cut up some potatoes and toss in some vegetables. If it’s a breakfast scramble, crack an egg or two. This is another quick meal that’s healthy, nutritious, and packed with protein.

4. Register For A Meal Delivery Service

When you want pre-prepared and pre-portioned meals, a meal plan delivery service is your answer. You don’t have to think about what to eat when you don’t know what to eat. It’s already. All you’ve got to do is heat it, mix it, and cook it. A lot of these meal kits are extremely well-balanced though some aren’t. Select a meal delivery service per your personal preferences and health goals.

5. Make A Shake In A Blender

If you have a blender or food processor, you can combine a few items and blend them into a shake. There are recipes for fruits and veggie shakes all over the Internet but don’t feel like you need to stick with any one recipe. All you need is a base like almond milk, and then dump in what you have in terms of healthy, nutritious foods. Have fun with it.

6. Fast Food Delivery

Fast food is a great choice if you have the money and are looking for something you won’t be preparing yourself. The downside to ordering fast food delivery is that it’s more expensive than ever. You can sometimes make the same food at home for 25% of the cost, if not cheaper, depending on what it is. There’s also not a very healthy fast food culture, which can mean consuming more calories than you may want to.

7. Make A Pan In The Oven

Take out a cookie sheet or pan while preheating the oven. Line it up with some French fries, breaded meat like nuggets or fish sticks, and anything else you may want to cook up. Roughly a half-hour later, you’ve got a hot meal ready to be eaten. Add a little spice and oil, and you can put together a restaurant-quality plate of food from your oven.

8. Make Pizza In Advance

Pizza is a diverse dish that can be prepared at home. A lot of people make the dough in large batches and freeze it. Then, take it out, thaw it over the day from morning to late afternoon, and then it’s ready to roll out, sauce, top, and cook. If you have premade dough, preparing a pizza can take time, so you may want to have something else to hold that appetite down.

9. Toast A Sandwich

Make a toasted sandwich. This can be anything from eggs on toast to grilled cheese or even a burger. There are all sorts of sandwiches out there, and they’re easy to customize. A simple toast can even be with a bit of butter or margarine, which is very inexpensive and will help satisfy one’s appetite. It’s a perfect little plate to prepare if you’re in between lunch and dinner and don’t want to overeat.

10. Have A BBQ

Here’s another option. Invite a few friends over and have a BBQ. This is great if you have some meats you need to cook or vegetables that are about to go bad. BBQing is fun and communal. If you’ve got friends coming over, let them know they can bring food they may want to cook. Summer’s a great opportunity to hang out with friends. Though it takes effort, food cooks quickly once the BBQ is going.