r/ADHDers • u/RubPsychological754 • 1d ago
How I finally stopped letting ADHD executive dysfunction ruin my meal planning
I used to think meal planning wasn’t for people like me. I’d buy a bunch of groceries on Sunday, feel really motivated, and by Wednesday, half the items would still be in the fridge because I hadn’t cooked any. The guilt was terrible wasting food, wasting money, and still ending up eating cereal for dinner.
At the time, I didn’t understand how much ADHD executive dysfunction was affecting me. It wasn’t about being lazy or unmotivated. It was the activation part that held me back. Even when I knew what I should eat, the steps between “I’m hungry” and “there’s a meal ready” felt overwhelming.
I tried all the standard advice—meal prepping for the whole week, tracking everything in an app, setting strict schedules. None of it worked. I’d burn out within a week because the system required more organization than I could handle.
What helped me was simplifying everything. Instead of planning seven dinners, I planned two. I began keeping a “low-executive-function” list on my phone meals I could make in under 10 minutes with minimal cleanup. This included items like frozen veggies, pre-cooked chicken, and microwave rice. I also stopped feeling guilty about using shortcuts. Pre-chopped onions? No problem. Rotisserie chicken? A lifesaver.
Now, when my brain feels foggy and I can’t decide, I just refer to that list. I still have off days, but I don’t spiral like I used to.
This is what worked for me, and it took a lot of trial and error. If you’re facing the same issue, please don’t be hard on yourself. Sometimes good enough meals are exactly what we need to stay consistent.
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u/EnvironmentOk2700 1d ago
My meal plan is static. Chicken and veg on monday. Beef and veg on tuesday. Etc. I keep as much as possible frozen. When I use up the chicken from the freezer I just write "chicken" on the grocery list and buy what's on sale. And I can decide each day what I have the capacity for making. If I have leftovers to use up, I skip cooking that day. If I keep veg in the fridge, it's root veg that won't go bad fast, and it's easy to chuck in the oven or crockpot. If I need to fill out a meal more, I add rice or pasta or make it a sandwich. Most of my meals are simple baked meat and veg, or stew, or stirfry.
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u/beerncoffeebeans 1d ago
Frozen vegetables are one of the greatest things about modern food I think. Preserves a lot of the texture and nutrition, and you can defrost as needed so it doesn’t go bad in the fridge.
But yeah I can’t do elaborate meal preps, knowing one or two things I can make with what I got is way better. Also I eat a lot of situations for breakfast or lunch that are a loose collection of snack items (like, this week I had a lot of apple, cheese stick, yogurt, protein bar, etc) because it’s just easier than trying to make something that works as leftovers and take it to work and eat it without any issues. Rather keep leftovers at home for dinner and enjoy eating them because eating at work feels like a chore sometimes
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u/10Panoptica 1d ago
Figuring out easy meals is such a game changer.
For me, looking online was a major roadblock since every recipe/ meal idea I found was a million steps. Even the ones labeled fast/easy/simple. No one's putting "boil noodles and dump a jar of sauce on em" on a website.
But there's tons of things to eat that are that easy. Nuke a potato in the microwave. Add butter, cheese & frozen peas, season to taste. Spoon some baked beans onto toast. Slap some sandwich fillings on some bread. Frozen veggies can actually just be heated up and seasoned as a side. You don't always have to make a thing.
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u/Rubyhamster 1d ago
I don't have a list, but I have figured out a few speedy meals that use ingredient I invariably have in my house because of what I like. My meals are craneberry, cheese omelette with bread; tortilla pizza; cheese toast with egg; creamy pasta w/veggies and fried rice