Teen Looks For Meals To Help His Parents Suffering With Depression And The Internet Delivers

Redditor legaladvicethrowaway9 hit up his fellow Redditors and asked: "What foods can a teenager cook for his parents to help their depression?" a question which kicked off one of the most wholesome community responses on the internet.
"Literally anything."
Literally anything. Depression can be so draining that it's exhausting to do daily activities, like cooking dinner. Just simply supporting them in the way you are is bound to help. You sound like a great kid - I hope you're well and that your parents start feeling like themselves soon.
"It's different for everyone..."
Something they consider comfort food. It's different for everyone, but start with the classics. Chicken pot pie for instance.
"But I would also be a little bit worried..."
Ok, so, I'm a parent and I struggle with depression and mental health problems, and honestly, I think even if i just knew my kid had asked this question and was trying to think about how to take care of me, it would mean the world to me. (Well, at the moment he's only 13 months old so I would also be pretty astonished, but you know what I mean.)
But I would also be a little bit worried, and I would want my kid to know that it's not their job to fix, or even help, my mental illness. And I'd want to make sure that they were okay, and not taking on too many responsibilities that they weren't really old enough to cope with.
So, since you already have a bunch of good suggestions and recipes in this thread, I'm going to just suggest that you make sure you're looking after yourself as well as your parents, and that you ask for help if you need it. Good luck with everything.
(Also, pasta. It's easy, it's good comfort food, most people like it, and you can vary the sauce/sides to include protein and veg.)
"I wish I had an answer for you..."
This post breaks my heart. I wish I had an answer for you, but the truth is we can't fix someone else's depression at any age.
Good on you for trying (that's what humans do). But if it doesn't work, don't blame your chicken soup. Depression is a bear.
"Do you have a crock pot?"
Do you have a crock pot? Slow cooker recipes are really easy to make, and they can eat as much or little as they want. Some of my favorites are chicken tacos, chicken and biscuits, and chicken tortilla soup.
Chicken tacos are very simple. Buy your favorite salsa (mine is Newman's Own medium, for this particular recipe). Add salsa, taco seasoning (packet or make your own), chopped cilantro, and 1 lb boneles, skinless chicken breast. If you want it spicy, add jalapenos and/or cayenne pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, shred the chicken (you can use 2 forks to do this) and mix it all together. Put it in taco shells with some cheese and avocado and it's delicious!
"If they ever told you..."
If they ever told you about something their parents made for them. They would definitely appreciate you taking a stab at a family recipe.
"I'm gonna guess..."
I'm gonna guess you're not usually the one cooking? Honestly a nice slow cooker meal will help the house smell great! Also very easy prep if you're unfamiliar with cooking. I'd suggest something like pot roast: get a cheap roast (chuck is always tasty), potatoes, carrots, beef broth and throw them in the slow cooker. Super easy! You can always add more/different ingredients like mushrooms, onions, rosemary, etc if you want to get fancier
Greens, healthy fats and some lean meat. The link between gut flora and mental health is real.
"Depression is a hard thing."
Depression is a hard thing. I have had it in the past and it can be a struggle just to get out of bed in the morning. The fact you want to help and be there is strong. It is not easy to help provide for people in the first place let alone the change in power dynamic that depression can cause. It isn't what you make that matters. It is that you are willing to help them in anyway you can. Just be there to talk if they want to talk or just hang out with them and BS about the weather or about what the dog did today.
Your presence matter that most. You being able to go I want to help you because I care about you THAT is what matters. Make them anything and sit down and eat it with them because being there matters more than anything else. It might be weird at first but as time goes on it will become easier. Showing someone with depression that you consistently care is one of the strongest things you can do to help with the maintenance of depression. Best of luck and you can do this! If this is about you and you need someone to talk to about this PM me!
"With love..."
With love, it's not your job to care for your parents. Your job is to be a kid and have a childhood. Part of being a parent is taking good enough care of yourself so you can be an effective parent. Do you have enough support yourself? Do you have a family member/family friend/someone that is aware that you are parenting your parents? Source - am a mother myself and had a mother with more than a few mental health issues.
Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MomForAMinute/
Here are some easy recipes for you to have a look at, to round them out chuck in a side of garlic bread and a bag of salad (Taylor Farms do excellent bags o' salad with the crunchy toppings and dressing so it's dead easy and there's zero chopping). These are in regular rotation at our house and are easy and inexpensive to make.
- One pot mac n cheese - https://www.budgetbytes.com/miracle-mac-n-cheese/
- Carrot and coriander soup
Take 500g of carrots and boil them. If you have a potato, you could chuck that in to boil as well. Fish the carrots out of the hot water and shove them in to the blender. Blitz until smooth, adding some of the water you used to boil the carrots if needed. Meanwhile, chop around 150g of cream cheese into cube and chuck in a mug. Add enough hot carrot cooking water to make the cheese soften and encourage this process with a fork. Chuck softened cheese and carrot water mixture in to blender and blitz. If you're feeling fancy chuck some garlic in to the mix. Chop up some fresh coriander and chuck in the blender and blitz - alternatively, a couple of pinches of dried coriander from a packet is grand. Optional - crispy bacon on top/ bacon sandwiches on the side. Nom nom nom. - Fishcakes - you can sub out the maltzo meal for bog standard breadcrumbs and the salmon for tuna. They are a bit fiddly but yummy and they freeze well. https://www.nigella.com/recipes/salmon-fishcakes
- Creamy mushroom herb pasta - this is delicious https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-mushroom-herb-pasta/
"I hope this helps you..."
Fruit salad for breakfast, with yogurt and granola (I like grape nuts, personally, but whatever you/they like). Tea and lots of water. Maybe eggs if you're feeling up to it.
Lunch: sandwiches on wheat/multigrain bread - make sure to have veggies on there, lettuce and tomato for a traditional sandwich, but you can get creative here depending on your skill level, lots of water.
Dinner: a salad kit with the dressing inside makes a pre-dinner salad easy. I like to make Rice a Roni and throw in some chopped up spinach and roasted red peppers with some Italian sausage, but you can put literally anything in there. Load up on the veggies and pick you favorite protein (chicken/ground beef/sausage). SO easy and takes me less than 20 mins to make.
You got this. Keep it easy. For me and my depression, having a ritual (same breakfast every morning) was so helpful and became important, because it felt like I had something I could rely on.
I hope this helps you - both these comments as well as the ability to do this, and the ritual of it. Just don't put too much pressure on yourself. Keep it easy.
"I had psychotic depression."
I had psychotic depression. The idea is to boost your serotonin and dopamine production. You want protein which boosts the production of both dopamine and serotonin. This means meats, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, etc. The amino acids found in meats cannot be produced anywhere. You have to eat it to get it. I know I didn't offer any specific meals for depression but just looking at the ingredients offers a world of possibilities. All you have to do is make a dish with protein as the star of the show.
"Like a lot of other people said..."
Like a lot of other people said, they'd love anything. Get a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese and I bet they'd be happy with you!
I'll give some easy bare-bones ideas though if you wanna actually take time to cook. I recommend looking up actual recipes though if you wanna try these, because I don't wanna make a visually overwhelming post with super intricate instructions haha
Chicken Parmesan Boil a big pot of water. Bread and fry chicken breasts with Italian bread crumbs (I buy mine from target) in a separate on, pour your chosen spaghetti or marinara sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish, put the fried chicken breasts in it, top with a bit more sauce and sprinkle lots of mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese. I like using mozz more. As that's baking, you should cook some spaghetti noodles. Drain the noodles and after the chicken is done, you serve the noodles, spoon out some of the sauce from the dish on top of the noodles, and top with the super crispy chicken breast that has all this melty cheese on top. It's super good and very easy if you're new to cooking!!
Beef Stew If you have a crockpot, this is even easier than the last. Go out and buy some beef stew tips (should be by the other packaged meat), carrots, red potatoes, and other veggies you like. Onions maybe! I don't like mine with onions lol. Campbell's makes pre-made beef stew sauce in packets like this and it literally has the instructions on this packet. It's really easy. Throw the beef in, top that with the veggies, and then pour this on top. 4h on high or 8h on slow :)
Potato Soup A vegetarian option if you or your family does not like meat, but this dish is super customizable where you can add in pretty much anything you want. Bacon, carrots, celery, onions, cheddar cheese, whatever you'd like. For the sake of being quick though I'll just explain with only potatoes.
Peel, dice to bite size chucks, and boil 5-7 golden potatoes. Put the potatoes in the water before you boil though so they can start to cook as the water temp gets hotter. Once the potatoes feel soft enough by poking with a fork (or even eating a bite), drain half of the water and add in your choice of milk. I grew up with regular 2% but my boyfriend is vegan so we use unsweetened almond milk. Add in instant mashed potato flakes slowly. I know this sounds bad but it makes the broth/soup part thicker and tastes better.
Just add in a bit and stir it, add in a bit more, and stir it until you're happy with the consistency so you don't end up with...well...mashed potatoes lol. I add in butter (again, your choice) and season with whatever I'm feeling that day. Usually salt and pepper, onion powder, celery salt, white pepper, and chives. My bf adds red pepper flakes and his vegan sour cream.
These should all be pretty easy! Otherwise, dude, just go out and get a rotisserie chicken and some Bob Evans mashed potatoes hahaha. They'll love the hell out of you. I think your parents raised you well and if I had a kid like you, I'd feel so so happy that they turned out so amazing and caring
"CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP!"
Chicken noodle soup! You can buy chicken stock, egg noodles, a rotisserie chicken, and some frozen veggies, throw it all together in a big pot on medium high heat and let the noodles cook through. It turns into very comforting "homemade" soup and saves very easily in the fridge or freezer for leftovers.
"Common sense treatment aside..."
Common sense treatment aside (ie seeing a doctor), just pretty much avoid junk food. There might also be a benefit in trying either adding or cutting out certain foods to see if they're problematic or beneficial. Each body is different and will tolerate some foods better than others. Figuring that out for me helped with my depression.
Any changes you'll want to give at least a couple of weeks, so just be patient. Make sure the nutritional benefits are balanced out somewhere else too (ex. Dairy = calcium + vitamin D; research alternatives for those things)
Also, I'm sorry for the situation that led to this question. You're clearly doing your best. Please take care of yourself too.
"Lasagnas and pasta with meatballs..."
Lasagnas and pasta with meatballs or sliced sausage are simple recipes with great results. The resulting dish looks like you spent double the time and effort, it's filling, and toss a salad and a loaf of Italian bread in and it looks like a restaurant meal.
"Anything would be amazing..."
Anything would be amazing, I'm sure. Just, do the dishes when you're done lol.
I'm a mom and I suffer from depression, if my boys were old enough, and asked how they could help, I'd just say "do the dishes". Honestly a full sink or dirty kitchen is such a terrible thing to come home to, or wake up to. It literally defeats me. Yet it's so simple. But it's not.
You're awesome for just recognizing that she suffers, and amazing for wanting to help.
"Your parents..."
Your parents have done an excellent job for you to even ask this question!
As for my answer, its already been said; but stick to the classics and keep your meals filled with veggies and food with nutrients just for that little boost. Your effort alone will kick it out of the park and even if the first couple meals dont go well, you'll know how to improve time and time again.
"As a chef..."
As a chef, I can whole heartedly say that whatever it is, as long as you put effort and care into it, it should that your trying to help, not just dinner meals, something simple like a Roulade or lemon tarts as snacks between meals just makes people feel better because it proves your thinking of them and making things for them.
- The 10 Most Powerful Foods for Fighting Depression with Diet ›
- Mood-Boosting Recipes - EatingWell ›
- The Food That Helps Battle Depression - WSJ ›
- How To Feed Yourself When You're Depressed ›
- 10 Foods I Eat Every Day to Beat Depression | Everyday Health ›
- Mood Food: How to fight depression naturally with nutrition ›
- 5 Healthy and Delicious Recipes To Help Fight Depression ›
- Diet for Depression | Foods that Help Depression ›
- Here's What These Women Ate to Treat Their Anxiety and Depression ›
- Food to Fight Depression and Anxiety and Boost Your Mood | Greatist ›
Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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