Honestly just reduce the rate at which energy drains by like half as much and Iām happy.
Or just make soups.
1x water + 3x tier 1 raw food (raw meat / raw earthyam / raw starberries) in a furnace with Food Crafting 1 and you can ignore energy drain for 15-20 minutes (buff duration + time that it takes for the energy bar to drain again) as long as youāre not using a better buff food.
There are more expensive versions that last longer (extra 10 minutes per tier) but Iāve never bothered with those.
I do, but thats like mid game for new people and those buffs need to be doubled if you donāt cut the energy drain in half.
If one considers spending a single skill point on a skill available at level 0 āmidgameā I wonder what āearly gameā looks like. 
Looks like gathering basic materials only with no skills or working only on crafting skills before cooking.
So early game lasts about thirty seconds, since thatās about as long as it takes for you to get your first skill point. 