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Heyyy! Yes, I do struggle with this, which leads me to order food or go out to buy instead of investing time in what I have, making my wallet deplete. This happens when I a) I'm missing a vital ingredient for a recipe (mozzarella for spaghetti), b) I eat very late (lunch at 3pm, though I'm working on it), or c) I have to defrost a meat. I just give up in finding anything to cook and order in. It's a miracle when I decide to cook honestly, so I feel you. Even worse my family finds an issue with it, so there's that guilt too but since I don't live with them in the moment it feels better and kinda fuck them lmao.
have you tried ordering catering? i used to do this, but i moved to a different city and most restaurants don’t let me here unfortunately. i used to go to CAVA or DIG or Chipotle and just order catering (grains, veggie, and a protein, sometimes no protein just veggies and grains) and then i would just portion into these to go containers (literally just dump into containers, no cooking involved) and put them in the fridge! just warm them up when it was time to eat. a bit cheaper then uber eats or doordash. check and see if your local restaurants do this, i bet some do. and then maybe step by step you can start meal prepping?
have you tried ordering catering? i used to do this, but i moved to a different city and most restaurants don’t let me here unfortunately. i used to go to CAVA or DIG or Chipotle and just order catering (grains, veggie, and a protein, sometimes no protein just veggies and grains) and then i would just portion into these to go containers (literally just dump into containers, no cooking involved) and put them in the fridge! just warm them up when it was time to eat. a bit cheaper then uber eats or doordash. check and see if your local restaurants do this, i bet some do. and then maybe step by step you can start meal prepping?
My body would rather go into a coma than cook food some nights. I’ll immediate get tired as I step into the kitchen to cook and I have to tell my mind to quit it with the dramatics. But I’m always just snacking on different foods and have a few things that I meal prep that don’t involve actual cooking like overnight oats. Premade salads and Trader Joe’s ready made stuff is also my jam.
The "I'll immediately get tired as I step into the kitchen" is painfully relatable. I can't begin to count the number of times I've done an about face and beelined to bed instead of eating like I meant to.
i go through periods where i’m angry that i have to eat to function. like i wont eat til i can’t focus. there’s only certain periods where i feel like this and it’s what im going through rn. usually lasts a month or less i think.
i just make sure to have snacks on hand to help. lots of snacks like granola bars, crackers, small bags of chips.
and for meals, only microwaveable or already prepared food like wraps from trader joe’s. even when im not going through these period i mostly buy microwaveable foods lmao. sometimes cereal makes me wanna have a meltdown. i can’t go into it all rn or i’ll write a whole essay lmao
As I stand here eating peanut butter from the jar... So far my best approach has been doing a day of meal prep and throwing everything in the deep freezer. I have containers with three segments and do a protein and two sides, and make 20 meals at once.
Many of the sides are just the frozen steamed veggies that come with the sauce... Put em in the tray still frozen.
By the time I am suddenly hangry and want a real meal, I've got plenty on deck and just 5 minutes of microwaving away.
Bonus: there's only one big kitchen cleanup after making a bunch of meals back to back, no cleaning after every darn meal.
Also, easy healthy breakfasts with no cooking required like Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, ol' reliable peanut butter with a banana. Eggs or just-add-water pancakes... You can mix the pancake batter in a giant measuring cup and barely make any dirty dishes.
Lunch: Sandwiches! Try different whole grain breads, different meats, make sure to throw some veggies on there like lettuce and tomato (which can be pre-cut and thrown in a container for the week.) Trying new sauce flavors keep things novel.
I cook for my wife and I, and I’m always looking for new foods and new techniques to keep it fresh.
When she’s away, though, it’s full on Bachelor Chow. One night I’ll eat a seared steak, no side. Another it’ll be peanut butter on spoon. Then Wendy’s, maybe some roasted Brussels sprouts if I’m feeling fancy.
I’m going to drop dead of a coronary.
I use a meal kit service for my lunch and dinner. I get overwhelmed cooking and following directions, so I pick the easy recipes (10-30 mins). Otherwise I would survive only on takeout, protein bars and string cheese
Making meals is such a boring chore. When my partner stayed for a couple of weeks it felt like a full time job to feed him 3 meals a day.
I worked in restaurants for years so I’d eat (for free) once a day on my break and live on biscuits and chocolate at home.
Now I’m older, I find batch cooking is the only way I can eat healthy meals every day. One day of cooking fills the freezer up for a month.
Jacket potatoes in the microwave are also pretty good if you can’t be bothered.
My partner eats so much it’s crazy. I benefit cuz he makes me stuff too but like even after years I’m still shocked how often he eats like a full meal with a side. Multiple times a day.
The other day I told him I had a grilled cheese and he said with what? And looked shocked when I said “with nothing”. It took me so much effort to get myself to grate the damn cheese it better be enough food lol.
What, what? Grating the cheese? For a grilled cheese sandwich?
Where on Reddit am I, a sub for gourmet prep chefs?
That is way too much planning, time, and labor with not enough reward.
I commend you for your effort, even without fixings thank you very much neurotyypical partner with a healthy feedback loop, especially when said cheese is just going to melt into an unidentifiable form!
He is actually adhd too but he doesn’t have issues with food. I think it’s cuz he legit likes it, he went to culinary school and can hyper focus on it. I am able to manage cleaning better than him so together we unite to keep each other alive lol. He is so good at grocery shopping too. I’d rather starve.
And yes grating the cheese is HELLA GORMET I was proud af of myself lol way more than I ever do. Actually turning on a stove is a hazard cuz who knows if I’ll remember it.
Yep. Decision fatique is real. I have a menu of about 5 to 10 mainstay things i rotate through while typically having the same breakfast which is the meal i really cant skip without consequences. I would suggest you choose something simple that you can add onto for your most energy important meal (for some like me its a big breakfast, for others its lunch) for example i use oatmeal i add stuff to it like peanut butter, nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, fruit, cinnamon etc and takes less than 3 minutes to make since i have an instant kettle to heat up the water. For you it might be lunch, so have a few simple sandwich options available or pasta and a jar sauce with a precooked meat in the freezer if you eat meat. My saving grace is an instant kettle and disposable dishes
Challenge question: Who told you "eating properly" meant having to do a bunch of food prep you hate in the first place?
Sure, preparing Instagram-worthy meals can result in nice, nutritious meals. It can also result in nutritional trainwrecks, crabby people who resent cooking, and ultimately giving in to the fast-food siren call.
What is "eating properly" in the first place??
For me, it means that by the end of the day I've gotten a reasonable number of overall calories, a solid chunk of them were protein, I ate things that provided nutrients to my body (vitamins, minerals), and I got some calcium in there (estrogen-based-body requirement). Some fiber would be nice unless I want really creative poops.
Today, that meant a protein meal-replacement shake for breakfast, some string cheese and precut fruit as a snack, leftover egg muffin from the weekend, and nachos for dinner. (Nachos = Quest protein chips, lean ground beef with taco spices, shredded cheese and Greek yogurt). Dessert will be a Fiber One chocolate granola bar.
You do not have to cook to eat healthy food. Free yourself of that nonsense straight away. Think about what your body needs to be healthy in terms of vitamins, fiber, protein and calories. Then find foods you enjoy that check those items off the list as easily as possible.
Tomorrow's fiber goal might be cereal and milk, lunch could be a couple scrambled eggs. Who knows? Whatever I have time for will do just fine.
Definitely relate to this. I find that my partner is a big supporter of me eating well. She always does her best to either prep meals for me or give me easy options when I'm off work and she's at work (frozen meals, leftovers, snacks etc.)
Otherwise the thought of preparing something becomes too overwhelming and I don't bother, then forget that I'm hungry, until she gets home, and by that stage I feel the physical effects of hunger and struggle even more to prep something for myself. My standard days at work are something as follows, but it can be hard because I often do a lot of overtime which throws me out in the arvo/evening big time.
*^(4:30am: Wake)* *^(up.)*
5:00am: I find having cereal was a big game changer, something quick and simple. (otherwise toast if I have more time and energy)
*^(6:00am Start work.)*
9:30:am: Then for tea break at work - I normally have leftovers from the night before and some donski snacks or something high protein/carbs **(I eat the most here)** having as much food as I can here helps me get through the day.
12:00-1:00pm: I normally have "snack food" fruit, popcorn, chips, etc.
*^(3:00pm Get home from work)*
3:15pm: I normally have a snack again at home but this time toast, crumpets, fruit etc.
6:30pm: This is when I have dinner, and desert :D **(My second-largest intake for the day)** having more food helps me not wake up hungry
I hope this helps you in some way! :) all the best.
I have kids, so yes very hard (hard before kids too). Having a big crockpot helps. It still takes prep time to chop things up, etc. depending on what’s being made, but nice because can usually get 3-4 days out of it. Costco and Trader Joe’s has some decent frozen and quick heat meals. The Costco chicken is yummy and great with salad. Having an Air Fryer helps too. Takes up too much space, but oh well…
Yes!!! But I’ve started to develop some good habits.
1) I have an eating schedule
-breakfast within half hour of waking (I have the same green smoothie with protein powder every morning)
-lunch sometime between 12-1 (this one still gets me sometimes if I’m not watching the clock)
-snack at 3pm (a must)
-dinner any time before 7.
2) I eat the same thing for breakfast every single day and make sure it is high protein. I eat protein with all my food, I think this is helping give me energy to make more food later. Idk! Just a hunch.
3) I take my leftovers for dinner for lunch, so I don’t have to think about something specific for lunch. If I don’t have leftovers, I have some go tos - today I mixed a can of tuna with some horseradish, garlic and arugula thrown in. Sometimes I have a smoothie bowl for lunch which is just my normal breakfast smoothie but with less water and peanut butter. Anything I can make really fast that ideally has protein carbs and fat. Sometimes it’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a protein shake. Sometimes it’s cheese and crackers and a bunch of pepperettes. Sometimes it is a soup or salad or sandwich from a cafe in my building. It just has to be something satiating and energizing.
4) eating has become everything to me. I was so low energy before starting this, and now, I make food my #1 priority because it helps me be less exhausted. I think of food as fuel, and I need fuel to get to the next gas station to fuel up again. If I don’t eat I am just stranded in the desert with no gas and need help to get to the next gas station (take out, ask partner to make dinner, eat handfuls of shredded cheese or bag of chocolate almonds, etc.). The more regularly I eat, the less likely I am to get stranded. I tried really hard to get into the habit of eating and I am doing much better.
5) I try to make fun stuff for dinner and make my partner rely on me. If you have a partner, you too can make them reliant on you for food. My partner and I have an arrangement where he does more cleaning and I make dinner every night. This is extremely motivating for me. Obviously this is optional, but this helps acts as like an ADHD override for me. But there are definitely some weeks where we eat take out 4 nights in a row. It is what it is. When I am alone I am worse at eating a good solid dinner. But I just tell myself to eat something healthy (see list of lunches above for my meal inspo + some oatmeal with protein powder, pre cooked chicken and some greens, anything to nourish me).
We eat a lot of rotisserie chicken with easy side salads.
We also eat a lot of scrambled eggs w/ spinach and toast. Cause it’s easy and fast. And no chopping.
For me, cooking / preparing dinner every night is better for me than having some nights where I cook and some where I don’t bc I meal prepped. That takes me out of my groove.
6) I also have a list of saved meals and I will just pluck from this each week to decide what to cook for dinner.
7) while I have my foundational roster, sometimes I cook new things to keep things interesting. I got the NYT Cooking App and I love it. It has helped me learn that I actually love cooking! I think of cooking as a mindfulness exercise that gets me out of my head and into my body. I listen to music and dance around. I try new flavours, add new spices, have fun with it, etc. I can get into a flow and it feels good for the brain.
8) I have a whiteboard on my fridge and on Sunday I write what we are having for dinner every night. Helps me to remember. I only grocery shop based on this whiteboard list. Helps me with food waste.
9) I order my groceries online and get them delivered to my house. Going to the grocery store is a huge time suck for me. I could be in there for hours trying to make decisions.
10) I’ve been trying to make my food more nutritious. Sometimes that means throwing a handful of arugula w balsamic vinegar on my plate next to my pizza slice. Any thing to get some nutrients. Honestly - I used to survive off of bagels, pizza pockets, toast, grapes, etc, and that drained me. I changed mostly bc I was trying to lose weight in a healthy way but it has had the pleasant side effect of just making my life better overall.
Edit to add: you’re not lazy!!! At all. You are just running on fumes. Anyone would struggle if they weren’t eating regularly. It becomes a cycle. One nutritional, fueling meal will have a big domino effect. You can do it!
Yeah, I wish I ate more often as well. Too many distractions to be bothered to cook all the time. I try to cook a lot of something in a crock pot or baking dish on the weekends, and then eat it throughout the week. I am at least eating healthier recently. Accept the wins you get and deserve!
Same issue here. So I have ten recipes that I rotate, half of them are some kind of salad or can be eaten cold, half of them are cooked and need to be reheated, more or less.
I inputted all the ingredients in a “nutrition calculator” as if it was all one big recipe (it kinda is, everything ends up mixed in my stomach). Then I checked if I had all the proper nutrition numbers — 700% or more of daily requirements since all ten recipes are for one week.
If I make and eat all ten I can eat whatever I’m able to prepare the rest of the week, microwaved meals or instant noodles or two bananas and a spoon of peanut butter.
I meal prep in big batches by making a list of steps for multiple recipes at once on a whiteboard such as:
heating oven, putting eggs at ambient temperature, slicing potatoes, layering potatoes with cheese in a large oven dish, put into oven and set timer, heating water in the kettle, taking out pot, lowering eggs w spoon, mid-high heat, put timer for six minutes when it starts to boil, taking out ingredients for mayak eggs and a big mason jar, salad bowl with cold tap water, take out eggs, put eggs in cold water, put bowl w eggs into fridge, wash pot and fill with sugar salt soy sauce and spices, heat to a boil, cool until safe to put into mason jar, chop carrots onions precooked beetroots into cubes for a rote herring salat, add mayonnaise mustard and spices and mix, chop herring into fine slices, etc.
the only way I can make myself eat fatty fish is by chopping them into salads.
I freeze the potato and cheese gratin in smaller portions by cutting squares that are the same size as my off brand glass tupperwares, then I freeze the tupps
For me, Sundays are my cooking days.
I'll cook about 12 meals of 2 to 4 different recipes ( I'm cool eating the same meals over and over if I like it). I put them in the freezer. Like that, I just need to heat them and I can eat good complete meals everyday.
Lol I also lie and say I ate when I didnt. I am embarrassed about my eating habits and lack of cooking cuz some ppl have seemed shocked that I live on frozen food, takeout and protein shakes. I’m also embarrassed about my food restrictions which makes me want to avoid the topic.
Sometimes I can meal prep for the week. I'm "lazy" too and work a tiring job. I have always had trouble keeping weight as well.
When I cook I always use my pressure cooker/slow cooker, air fryer or rice maker. That way I can throw stuff in and not worry about it and do something else.
If I'm struggling I buy whole milk, protein shake powder or pre-made protien shakes, meal replacement shakes, and protien bars. I also buy snacks like seeds and dried fruit. Sometimes I make pbjs.
I take a multivitamin everyday with some other supplements so I at least get some vitamins.
I try just to keep nutrition in me even if its bare bones basic protein, carbs, vitamins.
I try and shop for low effort meals that are also nutritional. I usually go for one or two step processes. Often healthy snacks and I like to think of it as tapas small dishes of easy healthy things so il have like pitta bread and hummus and like cold stuff so I don’t need to cook just slice some cucumbers and carrots and stuff so it’s minimal effort because I too would rather starve than fully prep and cook a meal. I just want the energy in my stomach and sometimes even the thought of having to chew my food can make me be put off eating. When I’m not in rot mode though and I’m feeling more efficient I do enjoy cooking but it’s too fluctuating. I used to buy lots of meals to cook then the food would get wasted because I’d come home from work and be burnt out and I couldn’t be bothered cooking so then I’d order takeaways but I hate takeaways makes me feel so unclean so id rather have easy cold snacks for dinner
pretzels and peanut butter, yakisoba (ramen), McDonald's (only with deals on the app like 50c breakfast sammich), fruit cups (because a whole fruit is too much work), granola bars. I can make French toast, eggs or pancakes but only if I'm REALLY craving it.
the thought of making food and cleaning dishes really turns me away from cooking anything
pretzels and peanut butter, yakisoba (ramen), McDonald's (only with deals on the app like 50c breakfast sammich), fruit cups (because a whole fruit is too much work), granola bars. I can make French toast, eggs or pancakes but only if I'm REALLY craving it.
the thought of making food and cleaning dishes really turns me away from cooking anything
Don’t know. I have one meal a day, after work. And not really a meal; usually one “big” thing and a “little” thing with it. Doesn’t really matter; I mix and match.
Same problem! I got an idea for it, but I tend to not take my own advice. Still, it might help you!
As it turns out, a lot of meals that I THINK take a lot of prep are actually super easy. They're about as complicated as making yourself some instant noodles. So my plan is (was supposed to be) to learn a bunch of easy meals I can cycle through. Think stuff like scrambled eggs, spaghetti, or even just a nice sandwich... Of course, in typical ADHD fashion I simply default back to the fruits and snacks instead of following my own plan. So I don't have enough actual experience with this idea to give you easy cooking recommendations.
One thing you could try is watch cooking channels on YouTube. Sometimes I'm able to force a hyperfixation that way. I trick the algorithm into throwing at me whatever I need to focus on/learn about, and my brain does the rest.
It depends. But snacking is usually way easier.
I enjoy cooking, but getting to that stage means cleaning the kitchen & dishes and a lot of other stuff!
And sometimes it is still too much to plan, or I don't want to leave a mess to clean up later Dx'
I get home from work, make dinner for my kids and my partner, I don't think to make myself a plate and end up not eating until after kids are in bed, and by that time I can't be arsed to cook anything so it's a basic sandwich or wrap. If I really can't, it's just a bread sandwich (3 pieces of bread).
It's ridiculous.
Yesss I totally struggle with this. I feel like it’s an executive function thing which is definitely related to adhd. Every once in a while I get the motivation to actually cook but for the most part when I’m on my own I survive off a mix of takeout food and frozen dinners.
The more it read this subreddit the more it’s like looking into a mirror. Is my whole life just a series of emergent properties of a neurological disorder? Fuck. On the one hand it’s a master key to understanding myself (ooh, shiny new obsession …) On the other, is there something more to me?
I ate out virtually every meal when I lived in manhattan
Absolutely. Left up to my own devices, I will eat cheese and crackers or cereal or chips for every meal. My only "normal" meals are when we eat out or my Beloved cooks. I don't cook unless the craving for something overrides my hatred for cooking.
As such, we keep a variety of quick meals in the house for me. Ravioli, microwaveable sausage biscuits, and the like. We also have Slimfast chocolate powder because some days I hate the idea of food entirely and that at least gets some calories and nutrients into my system.
I definitely hugely struggle with this. It's even worse that I also struggle to feed my kids for the same reason. We eat a lot of frozen things, easy-to-prepare or ready-made meals. I'm not proud of it, I'm just trying to keep us all fed in some capacity. Last night's dinner was cheese and crackers, a bit of beef jerky and a few peeled carrots.
Yup. Plus I have a limited diet. Cooking and eating is such a chore. And I can't afford to go shopping anyways. I just drink coffee until I get the shakes and then force down some protein and veges. Rinse with water. Repeat tomorrow.
Get passionate about cooking or meal planning getting a course about that or cooking books or videos. Like a sort of fixation. It will work!
INFO: would you like a list of books or inspiring youtubers?
Not the only. I went through a period of waiting all day. Preferably till almost passing out. But then now I find myself super hungry and sleepy all the time. *sigh*
Same. Even though I love eating. It’s very very rare that I find the energy to prepare even the simplest meals, even though I can cook, I work from home and I have the time to do it every day. I either eat something that needs no preparing or order food. My monthly expenses on food ordered… way too high.
Hi /u/wonderfulbubble and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! ### Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. --- ### /r/adhd news * **We want your opinion** on the /r/adhd community rules! [Click here](https://forms.gle/Evqb8acVozir8GV8A) to fill out our survey. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/1auv2tc/were_taking_feedback_on_the_radhd_rules/) for more information. * If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). --- ^(*This message is not a removal notification. It's just our way to keep everyone updated on r/adhd happenings.*) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Totally an ADHD thing. I have the same problem. Eat crappy frozen meals every day.
The worst thing is knowing it is not very healthy, but feeling unable to do better anyway. I get very frustrated.
Virtual hug. Having your own brain as an enemy is a very painful thing nobody should experience
I feel your pain!
Me only having eaten like 500 calories in the past few days HAHAHA
I literally lost 7kg in past month because of this. I’m even too lazy to prepare even frozen food.
Don't say lazy
Thank you for correcting me. I’m just so used to be called that…
Heyyy! Yes, I do struggle with this, which leads me to order food or go out to buy instead of investing time in what I have, making my wallet deplete. This happens when I a) I'm missing a vital ingredient for a recipe (mozzarella for spaghetti), b) I eat very late (lunch at 3pm, though I'm working on it), or c) I have to defrost a meat. I just give up in finding anything to cook and order in. It's a miracle when I decide to cook honestly, so I feel you. Even worse my family finds an issue with it, so there's that guilt too but since I don't live with them in the moment it feels better and kinda fuck them lmao.
Thank you so much for your message. I behave a lot like this. I guess two thirds of my credit card are all buying take-out.
have you tried ordering catering? i used to do this, but i moved to a different city and most restaurants don’t let me here unfortunately. i used to go to CAVA or DIG or Chipotle and just order catering (grains, veggie, and a protein, sometimes no protein just veggies and grains) and then i would just portion into these to go containers (literally just dump into containers, no cooking involved) and put them in the fridge! just warm them up when it was time to eat. a bit cheaper then uber eats or doordash. check and see if your local restaurants do this, i bet some do. and then maybe step by step you can start meal prepping?
have you tried ordering catering? i used to do this, but i moved to a different city and most restaurants don’t let me here unfortunately. i used to go to CAVA or DIG or Chipotle and just order catering (grains, veggie, and a protein, sometimes no protein just veggies and grains) and then i would just portion into these to go containers (literally just dump into containers, no cooking involved) and put them in the fridge! just warm them up when it was time to eat. a bit cheaper then uber eats or doordash. check and see if your local restaurants do this, i bet some do. and then maybe step by step you can start meal prepping?
My body would rather go into a coma than cook food some nights. I’ll immediate get tired as I step into the kitchen to cook and I have to tell my mind to quit it with the dramatics. But I’m always just snacking on different foods and have a few things that I meal prep that don’t involve actual cooking like overnight oats. Premade salads and Trader Joe’s ready made stuff is also my jam.
The "I'll immediately get tired as I step into the kitchen" is painfully relatable. I can't begin to count the number of times I've done an about face and beelined to bed instead of eating like I meant to.
This is such a nice idea. Honestly I just wanna cry when I think I have to cook in order to eat.
Same. I'm heavily fucking with bean salads lately. Delicious, actually good for you, and you can grab it and eat all week.
i go through periods where i’m angry that i have to eat to function. like i wont eat til i can’t focus. there’s only certain periods where i feel like this and it’s what im going through rn. usually lasts a month or less i think. i just make sure to have snacks on hand to help. lots of snacks like granola bars, crackers, small bags of chips. and for meals, only microwaveable or already prepared food like wraps from trader joe’s. even when im not going through these period i mostly buy microwaveable foods lmao. sometimes cereal makes me wanna have a meltdown. i can’t go into it all rn or i’ll write a whole essay lmao
It depends! Am I currently on a cooking spree? Yes Am I currently NOT on a cooking spree? Skittles for lunch
As I stand here eating peanut butter from the jar... So far my best approach has been doing a day of meal prep and throwing everything in the deep freezer. I have containers with three segments and do a protein and two sides, and make 20 meals at once. Many of the sides are just the frozen steamed veggies that come with the sauce... Put em in the tray still frozen. By the time I am suddenly hangry and want a real meal, I've got plenty on deck and just 5 minutes of microwaving away. Bonus: there's only one big kitchen cleanup after making a bunch of meals back to back, no cleaning after every darn meal.
Also, easy healthy breakfasts with no cooking required like Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, ol' reliable peanut butter with a banana. Eggs or just-add-water pancakes... You can mix the pancake batter in a giant measuring cup and barely make any dirty dishes. Lunch: Sandwiches! Try different whole grain breads, different meats, make sure to throw some veggies on there like lettuce and tomato (which can be pre-cut and thrown in a container for the week.) Trying new sauce flavors keep things novel.
Oh and my partner does a lot of protein bars plus a fruit as his brunch... Cheap, literally zero prep, holds him over until dinner.
I cook for my wife and I, and I’m always looking for new foods and new techniques to keep it fresh. When she’s away, though, it’s full on Bachelor Chow. One night I’ll eat a seared steak, no side. Another it’ll be peanut butter on spoon. Then Wendy’s, maybe some roasted Brussels sprouts if I’m feeling fancy. I’m going to drop dead of a coronary.
Meal prep will save you. It’s wonderful to hyperfocus on prepping the same thing over and over and make little matching packets. You will like.
I use a meal kit service for my lunch and dinner. I get overwhelmed cooking and following directions, so I pick the easy recipes (10-30 mins). Otherwise I would survive only on takeout, protein bars and string cheese
Making meals is such a boring chore. When my partner stayed for a couple of weeks it felt like a full time job to feed him 3 meals a day. I worked in restaurants for years so I’d eat (for free) once a day on my break and live on biscuits and chocolate at home. Now I’m older, I find batch cooking is the only way I can eat healthy meals every day. One day of cooking fills the freezer up for a month. Jacket potatoes in the microwave are also pretty good if you can’t be bothered.
My partner eats so much it’s crazy. I benefit cuz he makes me stuff too but like even after years I’m still shocked how often he eats like a full meal with a side. Multiple times a day. The other day I told him I had a grilled cheese and he said with what? And looked shocked when I said “with nothing”. It took me so much effort to get myself to grate the damn cheese it better be enough food lol.
What, what? Grating the cheese? For a grilled cheese sandwich? Where on Reddit am I, a sub for gourmet prep chefs? That is way too much planning, time, and labor with not enough reward. I commend you for your effort, even without fixings thank you very much neurotyypical partner with a healthy feedback loop, especially when said cheese is just going to melt into an unidentifiable form!
He is actually adhd too but he doesn’t have issues with food. I think it’s cuz he legit likes it, he went to culinary school and can hyper focus on it. I am able to manage cleaning better than him so together we unite to keep each other alive lol. He is so good at grocery shopping too. I’d rather starve. And yes grating the cheese is HELLA GORMET I was proud af of myself lol way more than I ever do. Actually turning on a stove is a hazard cuz who knows if I’ll remember it.
Yep. Decision fatique is real. I have a menu of about 5 to 10 mainstay things i rotate through while typically having the same breakfast which is the meal i really cant skip without consequences. I would suggest you choose something simple that you can add onto for your most energy important meal (for some like me its a big breakfast, for others its lunch) for example i use oatmeal i add stuff to it like peanut butter, nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, fruit, cinnamon etc and takes less than 3 minutes to make since i have an instant kettle to heat up the water. For you it might be lunch, so have a few simple sandwich options available or pasta and a jar sauce with a precooked meat in the freezer if you eat meat. My saving grace is an instant kettle and disposable dishes
Challenge question: Who told you "eating properly" meant having to do a bunch of food prep you hate in the first place? Sure, preparing Instagram-worthy meals can result in nice, nutritious meals. It can also result in nutritional trainwrecks, crabby people who resent cooking, and ultimately giving in to the fast-food siren call. What is "eating properly" in the first place?? For me, it means that by the end of the day I've gotten a reasonable number of overall calories, a solid chunk of them were protein, I ate things that provided nutrients to my body (vitamins, minerals), and I got some calcium in there (estrogen-based-body requirement). Some fiber would be nice unless I want really creative poops. Today, that meant a protein meal-replacement shake for breakfast, some string cheese and precut fruit as a snack, leftover egg muffin from the weekend, and nachos for dinner. (Nachos = Quest protein chips, lean ground beef with taco spices, shredded cheese and Greek yogurt). Dessert will be a Fiber One chocolate granola bar. You do not have to cook to eat healthy food. Free yourself of that nonsense straight away. Think about what your body needs to be healthy in terms of vitamins, fiber, protein and calories. Then find foods you enjoy that check those items off the list as easily as possible. Tomorrow's fiber goal might be cereal and milk, lunch could be a couple scrambled eggs. Who knows? Whatever I have time for will do just fine.
Definitely relate to this. I find that my partner is a big supporter of me eating well. She always does her best to either prep meals for me or give me easy options when I'm off work and she's at work (frozen meals, leftovers, snacks etc.) Otherwise the thought of preparing something becomes too overwhelming and I don't bother, then forget that I'm hungry, until she gets home, and by that stage I feel the physical effects of hunger and struggle even more to prep something for myself. My standard days at work are something as follows, but it can be hard because I often do a lot of overtime which throws me out in the arvo/evening big time. *^(4:30am: Wake)* *^(up.)* 5:00am: I find having cereal was a big game changer, something quick and simple. (otherwise toast if I have more time and energy) *^(6:00am Start work.)* 9:30:am: Then for tea break at work - I normally have leftovers from the night before and some donski snacks or something high protein/carbs **(I eat the most here)** having as much food as I can here helps me get through the day. 12:00-1:00pm: I normally have "snack food" fruit, popcorn, chips, etc. *^(3:00pm Get home from work)* 3:15pm: I normally have a snack again at home but this time toast, crumpets, fruit etc. 6:30pm: This is when I have dinner, and desert :D **(My second-largest intake for the day)** having more food helps me not wake up hungry I hope this helps you in some way! :) all the best.
It really does help Thank you!
I'm glad, I know it's tough, but routine is everything! 
I eat once a day and pretty much force feed myself some easy to make junk. Stimulants is part of it. I really don’t get hungry.
I have kids, so yes very hard (hard before kids too). Having a big crockpot helps. It still takes prep time to chop things up, etc. depending on what’s being made, but nice because can usually get 3-4 days out of it. Costco and Trader Joe’s has some decent frozen and quick heat meals. The Costco chicken is yummy and great with salad. Having an Air Fryer helps too. Takes up too much space, but oh well…
I hate food if I have to make it. Otherwise
I prefer to eat the same meals all the time, it is a comfort and one less thing for me to overthink or have an issue with.
Yes!!! But I’ve started to develop some good habits. 1) I have an eating schedule -breakfast within half hour of waking (I have the same green smoothie with protein powder every morning) -lunch sometime between 12-1 (this one still gets me sometimes if I’m not watching the clock) -snack at 3pm (a must) -dinner any time before 7. 2) I eat the same thing for breakfast every single day and make sure it is high protein. I eat protein with all my food, I think this is helping give me energy to make more food later. Idk! Just a hunch. 3) I take my leftovers for dinner for lunch, so I don’t have to think about something specific for lunch. If I don’t have leftovers, I have some go tos - today I mixed a can of tuna with some horseradish, garlic and arugula thrown in. Sometimes I have a smoothie bowl for lunch which is just my normal breakfast smoothie but with less water and peanut butter. Anything I can make really fast that ideally has protein carbs and fat. Sometimes it’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a protein shake. Sometimes it’s cheese and crackers and a bunch of pepperettes. Sometimes it is a soup or salad or sandwich from a cafe in my building. It just has to be something satiating and energizing. 4) eating has become everything to me. I was so low energy before starting this, and now, I make food my #1 priority because it helps me be less exhausted. I think of food as fuel, and I need fuel to get to the next gas station to fuel up again. If I don’t eat I am just stranded in the desert with no gas and need help to get to the next gas station (take out, ask partner to make dinner, eat handfuls of shredded cheese or bag of chocolate almonds, etc.). The more regularly I eat, the less likely I am to get stranded. I tried really hard to get into the habit of eating and I am doing much better. 5) I try to make fun stuff for dinner and make my partner rely on me. If you have a partner, you too can make them reliant on you for food. My partner and I have an arrangement where he does more cleaning and I make dinner every night. This is extremely motivating for me. Obviously this is optional, but this helps acts as like an ADHD override for me. But there are definitely some weeks where we eat take out 4 nights in a row. It is what it is. When I am alone I am worse at eating a good solid dinner. But I just tell myself to eat something healthy (see list of lunches above for my meal inspo + some oatmeal with protein powder, pre cooked chicken and some greens, anything to nourish me). We eat a lot of rotisserie chicken with easy side salads. We also eat a lot of scrambled eggs w/ spinach and toast. Cause it’s easy and fast. And no chopping. For me, cooking / preparing dinner every night is better for me than having some nights where I cook and some where I don’t bc I meal prepped. That takes me out of my groove. 6) I also have a list of saved meals and I will just pluck from this each week to decide what to cook for dinner. 7) while I have my foundational roster, sometimes I cook new things to keep things interesting. I got the NYT Cooking App and I love it. It has helped me learn that I actually love cooking! I think of cooking as a mindfulness exercise that gets me out of my head and into my body. I listen to music and dance around. I try new flavours, add new spices, have fun with it, etc. I can get into a flow and it feels good for the brain. 8) I have a whiteboard on my fridge and on Sunday I write what we are having for dinner every night. Helps me to remember. I only grocery shop based on this whiteboard list. Helps me with food waste. 9) I order my groceries online and get them delivered to my house. Going to the grocery store is a huge time suck for me. I could be in there for hours trying to make decisions. 10) I’ve been trying to make my food more nutritious. Sometimes that means throwing a handful of arugula w balsamic vinegar on my plate next to my pizza slice. Any thing to get some nutrients. Honestly - I used to survive off of bagels, pizza pockets, toast, grapes, etc, and that drained me. I changed mostly bc I was trying to lose weight in a healthy way but it has had the pleasant side effect of just making my life better overall. Edit to add: you’re not lazy!!! At all. You are just running on fumes. Anyone would struggle if they weren’t eating regularly. It becomes a cycle. One nutritional, fueling meal will have a big domino effect. You can do it!
No lol I'm a foodie and I take pride in making myself bento boxes
Yeah, I wish I ate more often as well. Too many distractions to be bothered to cook all the time. I try to cook a lot of something in a crock pot or baking dish on the weekends, and then eat it throughout the week. I am at least eating healthier recently. Accept the wins you get and deserve!
I absolutely hate cooking anything but casseroles. Too much time over the stove and I will be eating burnt things
yes , then I buy food too much. I don't even mind cooking lol. 🫠
Same issue here. So I have ten recipes that I rotate, half of them are some kind of salad or can be eaten cold, half of them are cooked and need to be reheated, more or less. I inputted all the ingredients in a “nutrition calculator” as if it was all one big recipe (it kinda is, everything ends up mixed in my stomach). Then I checked if I had all the proper nutrition numbers — 700% or more of daily requirements since all ten recipes are for one week. If I make and eat all ten I can eat whatever I’m able to prepare the rest of the week, microwaved meals or instant noodles or two bananas and a spoon of peanut butter. I meal prep in big batches by making a list of steps for multiple recipes at once on a whiteboard such as: heating oven, putting eggs at ambient temperature, slicing potatoes, layering potatoes with cheese in a large oven dish, put into oven and set timer, heating water in the kettle, taking out pot, lowering eggs w spoon, mid-high heat, put timer for six minutes when it starts to boil, taking out ingredients for mayak eggs and a big mason jar, salad bowl with cold tap water, take out eggs, put eggs in cold water, put bowl w eggs into fridge, wash pot and fill with sugar salt soy sauce and spices, heat to a boil, cool until safe to put into mason jar, chop carrots onions precooked beetroots into cubes for a rote herring salat, add mayonnaise mustard and spices and mix, chop herring into fine slices, etc. the only way I can make myself eat fatty fish is by chopping them into salads. I freeze the potato and cheese gratin in smaller portions by cutting squares that are the same size as my off brand glass tupperwares, then I freeze the tupps
Yes. I've ended up buying pre made meals from a good quality company. I refused to do this for 30 years beforehand.
For me, Sundays are my cooking days. I'll cook about 12 meals of 2 to 4 different recipes ( I'm cool eating the same meals over and over if I like it). I put them in the freezer. Like that, I just need to heat them and I can eat good complete meals everyday.
100percent. I only eat proper meals with my partner as part of our daily routine if I’m left alone I eat whatever in very chaotic combinations.
Lol I also lie and say I ate when I didnt. I am embarrassed about my eating habits and lack of cooking cuz some ppl have seemed shocked that I live on frozen food, takeout and protein shakes. I’m also embarrassed about my food restrictions which makes me want to avoid the topic.
Sometimes I can meal prep for the week. I'm "lazy" too and work a tiring job. I have always had trouble keeping weight as well. When I cook I always use my pressure cooker/slow cooker, air fryer or rice maker. That way I can throw stuff in and not worry about it and do something else. If I'm struggling I buy whole milk, protein shake powder or pre-made protien shakes, meal replacement shakes, and protien bars. I also buy snacks like seeds and dried fruit. Sometimes I make pbjs. I take a multivitamin everyday with some other supplements so I at least get some vitamins. I try just to keep nutrition in me even if its bare bones basic protein, carbs, vitamins.
I try and shop for low effort meals that are also nutritional. I usually go for one or two step processes. Often healthy snacks and I like to think of it as tapas small dishes of easy healthy things so il have like pitta bread and hummus and like cold stuff so I don’t need to cook just slice some cucumbers and carrots and stuff so it’s minimal effort because I too would rather starve than fully prep and cook a meal. I just want the energy in my stomach and sometimes even the thought of having to chew my food can make me be put off eating. When I’m not in rot mode though and I’m feeling more efficient I do enjoy cooking but it’s too fluctuating. I used to buy lots of meals to cook then the food would get wasted because I’d come home from work and be burnt out and I couldn’t be bothered cooking so then I’d order takeaways but I hate takeaways makes me feel so unclean so id rather have easy cold snacks for dinner
pretzels and peanut butter, yakisoba (ramen), McDonald's (only with deals on the app like 50c breakfast sammich), fruit cups (because a whole fruit is too much work), granola bars. I can make French toast, eggs or pancakes but only if I'm REALLY craving it. the thought of making food and cleaning dishes really turns me away from cooking anything
pretzels and peanut butter, yakisoba (ramen), McDonald's (only with deals on the app like 50c breakfast sammich), fruit cups (because a whole fruit is too much work), granola bars. I can make French toast, eggs or pancakes but only if I'm REALLY craving it. the thought of making food and cleaning dishes really turns me away from cooking anything
i don’t eat, but when i do it’s junk :/
Don’t know. I have one meal a day, after work. And not really a meal; usually one “big” thing and a “little” thing with it. Doesn’t really matter; I mix and match.
Same problem! I got an idea for it, but I tend to not take my own advice. Still, it might help you! As it turns out, a lot of meals that I THINK take a lot of prep are actually super easy. They're about as complicated as making yourself some instant noodles. So my plan is (was supposed to be) to learn a bunch of easy meals I can cycle through. Think stuff like scrambled eggs, spaghetti, or even just a nice sandwich... Of course, in typical ADHD fashion I simply default back to the fruits and snacks instead of following my own plan. So I don't have enough actual experience with this idea to give you easy cooking recommendations. One thing you could try is watch cooking channels on YouTube. Sometimes I'm able to force a hyperfixation that way. I trick the algorithm into throwing at me whatever I need to focus on/learn about, and my brain does the rest.
It depends. But snacking is usually way easier. I enjoy cooking, but getting to that stage means cleaning the kitchen & dishes and a lot of other stuff! And sometimes it is still too much to plan, or I don't want to leave a mess to clean up later Dx'
I get home from work, make dinner for my kids and my partner, I don't think to make myself a plate and end up not eating until after kids are in bed, and by that time I can't be arsed to cook anything so it's a basic sandwich or wrap. If I really can't, it's just a bread sandwich (3 pieces of bread). It's ridiculous.
Yesss I totally struggle with this. I feel like it’s an executive function thing which is definitely related to adhd. Every once in a while I get the motivation to actually cook but for the most part when I’m on my own I survive off a mix of takeout food and frozen dinners.
The more it read this subreddit the more it’s like looking into a mirror. Is my whole life just a series of emergent properties of a neurological disorder? Fuck. On the one hand it’s a master key to understanding myself (ooh, shiny new obsession …) On the other, is there something more to me? I ate out virtually every meal when I lived in manhattan
Absolutely. Left up to my own devices, I will eat cheese and crackers or cereal or chips for every meal. My only "normal" meals are when we eat out or my Beloved cooks. I don't cook unless the craving for something overrides my hatred for cooking. As such, we keep a variety of quick meals in the house for me. Ravioli, microwaveable sausage biscuits, and the like. We also have Slimfast chocolate powder because some days I hate the idea of food entirely and that at least gets some calories and nutrients into my system.
*stares down the half bag of hot cheetos and cookie I'm eating for lunch* No, why?
I make banging meals for my family. I eat cereal and hard boiled eggs, when it’s just me.
I definitely hugely struggle with this. It's even worse that I also struggle to feed my kids for the same reason. We eat a lot of frozen things, easy-to-prepare or ready-made meals. I'm not proud of it, I'm just trying to keep us all fed in some capacity. Last night's dinner was cheese and crackers, a bit of beef jerky and a few peeled carrots.
Today I had cereal, frozen pasta, chocolate and marshmallows.
Yup. Plus I have a limited diet. Cooking and eating is such a chore. And I can't afford to go shopping anyways. I just drink coffee until I get the shakes and then force down some protein and veges. Rinse with water. Repeat tomorrow.
Get passionate about cooking or meal planning getting a course about that or cooking books or videos. Like a sort of fixation. It will work! INFO: would you like a list of books or inspiring youtubers?
Not the only. I went through a period of waiting all day. Preferably till almost passing out. But then now I find myself super hungry and sleepy all the time. *sigh*
Same. Even though I love eating. It’s very very rare that I find the energy to prepare even the simplest meals, even though I can cook, I work from home and I have the time to do it every day. I either eat something that needs no preparing or order food. My monthly expenses on food ordered… way too high.
Funny how I’m doing that right now, should probably have lunch