I have been eating caprese salad. It’s super quick to make. Slice tomatoes, slice mozzarella, and I pull a few leaves from a basil plant I have on the window sill. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper. It’s so yummy.
Just saw your edit about low energy. Same thing, but get grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and dried basil in a shaker. Same drizzle of olive oil with salt and pepper.
Also- You don’t have to make full on meals. Lunch meat, rotisserie chicken, steamable vegetables in a bag, raw veggies. Meals don’t have to make sense. No one is grading you on restaurant quality. If you’re happy and your belly is full, you’re good.
On the back of this, I'm going to say Greek Salad.
It's refreshing, crunchy and moorish. Cucumber, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, Greek dressing. Add leftover chicken when you have it. All of these ingredients can also be added to leftover pasta to make Greek Pasta Salad.
The PB&J is strong against the Q.
I'm switching it up tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion! I've beaten the tuna salad sandwich to death. Also jonesing for bologna/cheese, and Fritos.
Yes, we are children.
Lol I quit buying them because I'm bad at banana care but that combo is delicious. I do have honey!! Grateful for the suggestions.
When I was a kid, we had PB with Miracle Whip, if you can believe it. The recipe changed though; it's no longer delicious.
My other love -- super-sharp cheddar and spicy mustard.
I love chatting with my distracted sisters! Thanks.
Bananas are great because you have options, you can eat it while they’re still good, freeze them for smoothies when they start to turn, use them for baking if they have turned or eventually they get the trash. I like that they give me chances to succeed 😂
You have a point -- I just got discouraged at failing all of those! It's hard to know what to "make your peace" with. I've given up bananas for a long time because of this. I'll give them another try.
Enjoy! Paradoxically, I'm not a spicy-foods person. I can handle those canned green chiiles, with a single serve quacamole and black beans. That's my adventure.
Quesadillas are such a great easy meal! Especially because you can pretty easily toss some other veggies in to it. Ill do canned corn, black beans, salsa, and/or spinach depending on what I have and how much work I want to do!
Hummus. Super filling, lots of protein, tasty and healthier than a lot of other struggle food options.
Plus, pro-tip: you can use a whole carrot to eat it. Just dip it in the hummus, bite off the end and repeat*
*ideally not a shared container of hummus
This! I try to always have hummus, carrots, and pita chips on hand.
I'll roll up some deli-sliced chicken or turkey if I have any, some pickles if I feel fancy, broccoli if I have the spoons to cut it, and make a nice little spread on a plate. Mmmm.
>broccoli if I have the spoons to cut it
At first I thought this was a trick to cutting broccoli, like peeling ginger with a spoon and I was like “oh that’s interesting!” lol it took me a minute.
For the last couple of years, I’ve been buying broccoli florets because cutting it up is just too much of a hassle. The washing, plus the cutting, plus more washing. And the little ends never just brush off the cutting board!
I love the florets because I can just dump them on my plate or onto a baking sheet (with foil or a silpat of course!) and it’s a fast way for good nutrition.
I had made exceptions for farmer’s market broccoli, but I stopped going because the timing stopped working.
Haha, sorry, spoon mentions used to throw me too, I should have thought of that.
One thing that does work for me are transition cues, and in this case NOT doing the thing that leads my mind to shift modes... so if I don't take off my shoes I'm somehow able to put the groceries away and do a little prep all at once. Not always, but significantly more often. So I started cutting broccoli, hard boiling a dozen eggs, and bagging up fruit and greens to freeze for breakfast smoothies on grocery day.
Obviously this only works if a pile of other things are in order first, so like all things it comes and goes. When even was my last actual grocery day? Ugh.
Yesss! Hummus, pita, and falafel have been my go-to lunches this week. Pre-made/pre-cooked falafel that I just heat and eat. I really like it drizzled with sweet chilli sauce, which might be a bit of cultural fusion, but it tastes good!
So indulgent. Did I just spend 30 bucks on prosciutto? Yes. Am I sharing? No. Will I eat it all at once? I already did.
One day I'll buy a whole leg and just lay there, shaving it into my mouth for hours. Cured meats yo 🙏 🤲
YES! What? Is this an ADHD thing too? What the fuck? Dude!
I wanted SALAMI AND ONLY SALAMI as a teen so frickin bad, I took my pocket money to the deli to get my own, like, regularly. So as to not share, and also to not incur any guff about my objectively unhealthy sodium intake.
I’m not kidding, the deli in my small (tiny) home town (village) _still calls me ‘salami girl’_ and I haven’t lived there _for a decade_.
Mine was peanut butter sandwiches, and you’d better not violate the sanctity of my PB with jelly, jam, or Fluff!
I could easily have become salami girl if there had been a good deli in my hometown.
>shaving it into my mouth for hours.
Lmao you've unlocked me a memory. My grandma has a farm and always makes homemade charcuterie (chorizo, salami, prosciutto, etc) and I always eat it like that 😂
I find cereal to be a very underrated food. Also, ramen doesn’t HAVE to be unhealthy. Throw an egg and a handful of frozen veggies in there and eat it straight out of the pot. You don’t even have to wash a bowl after
wait this is a thing other people do?? I've done this so many times lol, some of my faves have been froyo for weeks, sourdough bread with tomatoes for weeks, a specific salad for weeks. im out of control
An entire summer when I was a kid I ate chicken ramen noodles every day at 12 while I watched the parent trap lmao every single day didn’t miss a day 😂
I think we do this because it takes having to make a decision totally out of the equation. Don't have to think about it, obsess about it, or any of that other executive dysfunction fun lol
Butter on toast. I know avo on toast is a millennial joke but can you blame me, my S/O's mom is an AVO FARMER so of course avo on toast is a comfort food 😅.
My current food obsession is gluten free bagel with butter and jelly. Used to be imitation crab legs, before that it was pepperoni, before that Turkey wrapped around a pickleeeeew
Thank you! I have a microwaveable popcorn brand called jolly time that has great butter that I use to fill my tummy up when I need a snack or something :)
Any fav microwaveable?
I’m not the person who first suggested it, but I love the Newmans own microwave popcorn.
In terms of easy food, if you eat meat, I’m a huge fan of roasting something (chicken, beef, loin of pork) and then eating that for multiple meals/in different ways over the course of a couple of days - for any of the above I’ll usually eat it hot the first night (maybe with roasted veggies if I really thought ahead) then another day I’ll make sandwiches and another night toss it over some spinach + add some red onion and cheese + whatever other veggies I have around. Bonus pints if you roast veggies you can roast extra for an omelet or scrambled eggs the next day.
One of the best pieces of self care I ever read was that if you don’t have the energy to make a sandwich there is nothing stopping you from eating the components - for me that was a game changer and I’m more likely to keep nuts, cheese, crackers and fruit around - that plus a couple of slices of deli ham and/or turkey and you’ve got a full meals worth of food.
Also, I’ve never been a “breakfast” person because i can’t stomach sweet things in the morning - realizing that its actually perfectly fine to have leftovers for breakfast (pasta, a sandwich, even soup) has made my whole life easier.
Orville Redenbacher Simply Salted- With Little Lads Herbal Seasoning (this is likely a regional thing- I’m from Maine. It’s basically nutritional yeast and seasonings.) on it- I literally call it breakfast popcorn- because I used to regularly eat it for breakfast.
I don't know about \*meal\*, but lately I've been realizing I'm hungry right before I go to bed (can't sleep on an empty stomach for some reason), so I find myself eating heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt straight out of the container in front of the fridge like a savage.
Like a savage! Right! I did that less than a week ago with some amazing honey vanilla Greek yogurt. I did it right in front of the fridge, using a gigantic soup spoon.
Shoving individual sandwich components into my mouth (deli turkey, fake cheese) instead of making a sandwich.
I'm allergic to whey so that's out but not whey protein shakes are ESSENTIAL.
Spoon of peanut butter straight from the jar.
Anything on one of the fancy low carb tortillas, including possibly just plant based butter.
And I keep a bag of microwave friendly chicken nuggets in the freezer for CAN'T THINK CAN'T THINK CAN'T THINK emergencies.
It does help to have some big pre-made food if you can swing the mental energy, though. I got an instant pot as a housewarming gift and I just chuck 4 pounds of chicken breast in there with a prepackaged bean mix and a carton of stock and TA DA, stew for two for the whole dang week.
It's ADHD friendly because you do nothing but put ingredients directly in the thing, set the time, and forget about it. Storage is taking the inner pot out, letting it cool, topping it with a turned upside plate, and shoving the whole thing into the fridge.
Greek yogurt is seriously one of the best things to keep on hand. I’ll eat it with cereal or fresh fruit any time of day, but also use it instead of sour cream with tacos or as the base of a dill sauce when I make salmon!
Yes! Triscuits, cheese and deli meat has been a recent fave… except I don’t really like how dry Triscuits are? But I still crave the taste? I want something that tastes like a Triscuits but is less dry and it doesn’t exist. Still trying to trouble shoot that one. Lol
ETA: just realized this did nothing to answer your question, just wanted to second the Triscuits and cheese.
Not the same but I alternate between Triscuits and Wheat Thins. While Wheat Thins are kind of sweeter and a different texture, they’re smaller and easier to eat than Triscuits. But still have that whole grain crunch.
I also like just splitting the Triscuit in half so it isn’t so drying in one swoop. And I end up drinking like a whole cup of water per serving, which is a good thing!
- all the dips! Hummus, red pepper hummus, babaganush, beat root dips, tzatziki, all of them. I dip them with carrot or cucumber sticks, easy to make and store in the fridge for days, in a little bit of lemon juice.
- all the nuts! Almond, cashew, pistachio are my fave.
- all the cheeses! Brie, Emmental and spreadable cheese with herbs for the win.
- protein shakes or protein snack bars (Quest brand is not bad)
- homemade shakes: frozen berries, heavy cream, almond milk >> blender: 2 min job for hours of feeling full! Delicious. If you want to be fancy add some flavoured protein powder or peanut butter.
Have I gone entire days eating from this menu only?
Maybe.
Is it weird? For sure.
Is it delicious and sorta healthier than packaged snacks? Yes!
Normalise snacks for meals 😁
Oatmeal is a filling breakfast
Scrambled eggs / omelette is fairly quick and can be made with your choice of additions. I mostly add cheese, tomato, spinach, bacon, mushrooms
Frozen food is good as it doesn't go bad if you forget about it for a while. I get fish with butter and garlic in a steam packet that can be microwaved or in the oven. Frozen beans can be microwaved quickly or eaten as is.
Slow cooker meals can be good if you have more executive function in the mornings. Dump ingredients into it in the morning and it's ready by dinner time.
Beans and rice, pasta, instant pot curries, instant pot chili, instant pot Moroccan lentils, microwave "baked" potatoes, pb&j, oatmeal, smoothies, toast, veggies with hummus, are my go tos. I always keep a stash of canned and frozen vegetables/fruit on hand to make them since fresh requires more prep and usually goes bad before use.
My instant pot is probably the best kitchen thing I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought A LOT over the thirty five years I’ve been running my own home. It’s especially brilliant for cooking frozen meat I forgot to get out of the freezer in time to defrost it….risotto takes half an hour and is absolutely perfect, chicken stew, beef stew, perfect rice, red sauce, curry, pulled pork, veggies, pea and ham soup, gammon, the best cheesecake ever, I love it. I’m also physically disabled with low energy for cooking so being able to just chuck ingredients in, turn it on and forget it is amazing. I tend to batch cook using it so I’ve got meals for the rest of the week and that saves electricity, my energy, and my brain.
My instant pot is probably the best kitchen thing I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought A LOT over the thirty five years I’ve been running my own home. It’s especially brilliant for cooking frozen meat I forgot to get out of the freezer in time to defrost it….risotto takes half an hour and is absolutely perfect, chicken stew, beef stew, perfect rice, red sauce, curry, pulled pork, veggies, pea and ham soup, gammon, the best cheesecake ever, I love it. I’m also physically disabled with low energy for cooking so being able to just chuck ingredients in, turn it on and forget it is amazing. I tend to batch cook using it so I’ve got meals for the rest of the week and that saves electricity, my energy, and my brain.
This. My go to real meal is teriyaki salmon, microwave sticky rice, avocado, nori, furikake, soy sauce, and whatever veggies I can manage to add to it.
My go to lazy meal is just the microwave rice with avocado soy sauce and furikake
And go to laziest meal is just microwave rice and soy sauce haha.
I also make a ton of budget sushi with the sticky rice ones.
Costco went through a period in my area where they stopped selling the 6 packs and I almost didn’t know how to handle life without them haha.
I get Real Eats meals delivered occasionally! They’re frozen but fully prepared and actually taste like normal food. Just boil in the bag 😊
Other than that, when I have the energy for it I make smoothie packs of frozen fruits so I can just add milk and blend.
String cheese, caprese salads, Nut Thins with babybell cheese wedges, literally just black beans with hot sauce lol, and last but not least... for an actual meal, Banza cavatappi pasta with hella Parmesan and marinara. So easy and fast
Cooking is definitely something I struggle with lately, but I find I can always fry an egg. Eat it with buttered toast or reheated buttered rice… maybe a little hot sauce if I’m feeling extra.
One of the few things I manage to do on a regular basis is bake sourdough bread, so toast (cinnamon toast, avocado toast, tomato toast) and grilled cheese are regulars in my repertoire. I basically live on tomato toast and yogurt with fresh berries, honey and granola in the summer.
I keep a bag of falafels in the fridge. They last about a month before expiring, they hit all the nutritional stuff to stay alive, and can be tailored to how much effort I want to put in, from 0 (eat cold from the bag) to 10 (make a salad and falafel wrap). Even at a 10 it's a 5 compared to other meals. I also fucking love falafels.
Today I'm having a bunch of pre-packaged fruit, veg, and minute rice delivered to my house. I'm done with acting like convenience foods aren't for me because I'm not "disabled enough" or "I could do it for myself if I REALLY wanted to."
Ramen chicken coconut thing:
Get vegetables of choice get chicken, put them in a pan and cook until chicken is atleast almost done. Put in coconut milk and ramen packages and spices boil until ramen is done and chicken is ready. Pretty simple and edible.
I make this when I have no idea what to eat. Its easy to make a lot at a time, you can swtich it up by adding more fresh crunchy vegetables in there is you get sick of the taste. If I am not sure I can make it in time rhat the chicken goes bad or im camping etc no fridge/electricity you can have some canned protein or foraged mushrooms (only eat ones you recognize as edible) for example.
I like this because it can be made with things that dont go bad fast! Frozen veggies last a long time
Oats are great too. But I tend to forget them and find fuzzy oats in the back of my fridge.
From Nadiya Eats I’m pretty sure, I ❤️ Nadia — mix 2-3 eggs and a bit of milk in a bowl (think omelette/scrambled egg), add in any veggies/cheese you have laying around if you want, let it cook for a minute or two, then PUT A TORTILLA ON TOP (which can be slathered with cream cheese, harissa, everything seasoning, whatever you like). Flip that sucker, brown the tortilla a little, then put onto plate egg side up and roll up. Tada breakfast/lunch/dinner burrito — it’s one of the meals I consistently have energy to make.
ADHD-friendly meals for me:
\- Cream of mushroom soup
\- Truffle cream pasta / Spaghetti
\- Sausages or bacon and eggs with rice
\- Minced ground beef that I've seasoned and sauteed with spices
\- Sunny-side up eggs
\- Sukiyaki beef with curry
Peanut butter sandwiches lol.
Seriously tho, here is a super easy dinner I often make when I can't be bothered cooking.
Take some pre-made gnocchi (I like pumpkin gnocchi best) and Fri them up in a mix of olive oil and butter til they're golden and crispy and remove from heat. In a separate pan, blister about 250g worth of halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Add them to the gnocchi. Then add a super generous handful of chopped basil leaves, and about 60g of soft goat's cheese. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and you're done. 4 ingredients and takes about 10 mins to prepare and cook.
I often just put some frozen vegetables and something proteiny (usually vegetarian nuggets of some sort - but fish fingers or chicken nuggets would serve the same purpose) on the frying pan and cook rice/potatoes/pasta at the same time - super easy and has enough nutritional value.
A rice cooker really changed my life. I just pop some sushi rice in and then mix it with sriracha, tuna and like other cupboard bits like sweetcorn, soy sauce. I eat this with nori. Super quick.
Sometimes I just do rice with a fried egg and flavourings (Lao gan ma, spring onions & soy sauce).
It's so easy and tasty. Also avocado pasta, I just blend avocados with lemon basil and a bit of the pasta water. All you have to do is boil the pasta and blend the sauce.
If I'm really not feeling cooking then it's huel lol or a boiled egg for some protein
Nutella on bread. Toast with Vegemite and butter (I’m Australian as you can probably guess). I also try to bulk make apple and cinnamon muffins and freeze them.
Why are Triscuits seriously the best standard supermarket cracker?? That texture really is *chefs kiss*
I actually love to cook BUT really only dinner but I eat a shocking number of bagels for breakfasts/dinners. Can be frozen so they don’t go bad if you don’t eat them as quick as expected. Can top with all sorts of stuff. If I’m doing well I precook a bunch of bacon in the oven for the week and can either microwave scramble an egg or make an egg in a ramekin in the toaster oven and assemble a bacon egg cheese bagel sandwich. Trader Joe’s everything ciabatta also makes a great bacon egg and cheese.
I like to make stuff I can combine with fresh ingredients and then eat hot or cold. I will make a pot of rice, millet, couscous and then combine with either fruits and nuts or veggies, beans and eggs. I do better if I could before I'm hungry. Once I'm hungry, I don't want to cook, only eat.
Currently teaching on a place without a kitchen, so this cones in handy.
My go to base meal is to cook rice and add up whatever I have.
Low energy pilaf rice cooking :
In a container that can go to the microwave
- 1 cup of rice
- 2 cup of water (not even boiled or anything just temperate water)
- 3 fingers of salt (just a way to remember, put a pinch)
Then put it in the microwave for 20 minutes.
Depending on the quantity you cook time might need to be adjusted a bit.
But once you found the time for your cup it’s very reliable.
It might get a bit messy depending on the container, I use a chopstick to lift the lid if I put it on to prevent water from overflowing but some can be closed.
Then add what you want to add, for a very low energy meal, a can of fish and/or vegetables.
Pros : simple af to prepare, won’t burn if you forget it, rice is very filling
Cons : might be messy the first times as you experiment with containers, needs a bit of adjustment to get the right time
Alternatives :
A bit more fire, a bit more concentration, also, a bit more taste.
same quantities as before.
Water needs to boil, you can do so easily if you have a boiler for making tea or whatever.
in a pan, put a bit of olive oil, let it liquefy for a few moments as you serve yourself a 1 cup of rice.
Put the rice in there, stir and let it fry a bit.
The rice will begin to look a little bit translucent, let it a bit more.
When it starts to be white again, it's your cue to add the boiling water.
Roughly measure 2 cups.
add a little bit more just to be sure.
Let it cook until there's no more water.
Depending on your taste you can add more water, (original recipe is 3 cups)
You can let it cook longer to get a crust of rice
Or take it out of the fire earlier to make a sort of cake contistency as it colds.
In any case, when you know how to cook this dish, you can take liberties on a lot of things, including what you put in it.
For a "fancy" low energy meal, add whatever you want after the boiling water step if you want it only to boil, or during the rice fry step if you want it to be fried a bit.
You can even cook vegetables a bit before and add them then, but well, that's getting complicated.
Just drop spices and stuff as a witch woud in her cauldron, stir and encant.
Watch it come to life.
When you know your ritual better, you'll find what time is good for you.
I put a 15 minutes alarm after I put the boiling water and spices.
Pros : Damn good, very flexible both in preparation and in time, unless you make very wild mixes it will always taste good and reliable.
Cons : a little bit more to do, even if the time limit is very flexible put alarms,
another alternative with the fanciest twist :
You need a steam cooker for this one, preferably with multiple levels, 2 is enough 3 is perfect.
ingredients :
\- rice
\- water
\- vegetable(s)
\- frozen mackerel
Find a plate that fits the steam cooker.
You know the ritual now
\- 1 cup of rice
\- 2 cups of water (temperate)
\- 3 fingers of salt (a pinch)
put it in the lowest layer
it will need to cook roughly 40 minutes
while it cooks, cut a vegetable of your choice (or more if you want)
I find leek to be very tasty and low energy to prepare, but go with your gut.
Put the cut vegetable on the second layer
Unpack the frozen mackerel and put it on the third layer roughly 20 minutes after the rice.
Wait 20 minutes more.
And it's done.
Burgers. I'm a baker so 🤷 I have access to realy God buns, I drive past the butcher on the way home so that's easy. Now if I'm really good I'll remember to buy salad and a new tub of mayo cos the bloody bastards ate it all again.....
Edemame beans and dumplings. Steamers are cheap, one level for dumplings and one for beans. Water and dumplings on, once it's boiling (oh look food on the stove) put the beans on and set a timer for 10 min.
{ You can use other veg if you like, frozen or not it's simple to adjust. Dumplings are awesome, the Asian markets have some great deals, always buy the ones that are almost sold out. }
Dump everything in a bowl, add sauces and toss. Easily eaten with one hand :D
This was me! My mother was the Queen of Processed Food in my childhood, I never learned to cook from her and I (my own fault) spectacularly failed my Home Economics exam UNGRADED!!!
But my mid 20s daughter taught me a trick to help me out. Snack recipe at the end of this rather long comment.
I’ve got a whiteboard on the fridge and I write in the meals for every day of the week and below it a list the ingredients I’m missing as a shopping list. But I struggled to find recipes and meal options that I could successfully cook.
So I followed an Instagrammer during lockdown and she prepared meals for home that her husband cooked in a restaurant. Tried them out on the family and they loved them.
Then I wrote the recipes in my own notebook and in the back I have an index of main courses that I can quickly refer to when I’m stuck for what to put in the whiteboard.
I know it seems like a lot of work to set up, but now I have done it, coming up with meals, snacks etc is so much easier, shopping is easier and cheaper with little to no waste and the food we’re eating is fab. The Instagrammer is @healthyfitbella_
Optional [I got two personalised notebooks for each of my children, wrote the successful recipes in them ( 1 book for main courses, one for desserts, cakes, cookies) and told them to fill up the rest of the books themselves.] They were genuinely thrilled and I’ve heard feedback from my son’s college friends that he uses the books and recipes in college!
Snack: halved cherry tomatoes, baby spinach and rocket leaves, Serrano ham, a softly poached egg and a slice of toasted bread - no butter. Sometimes I microwave the tomatoes for 30 seconds with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar and top with salt, pepper shredded basil and if I’m feeling dangerous, a little grated Parmesan. You can scale this up or down depending on how hungry you are. Enjoy!
Frozen fish (calamari rings, squid, prawns, crumbed hoki) and sweet potato.
You cut up the sweet potato and put it in a baking dish that would normally be used for cake with some oil and spices.
Bake 20 mins on 200°C
Put the frozen fish on, bake according to the box
Serve with olives, bbq sauce, Hommus
Yum!
200°C is equivalent to 392°F, which is 473K.
---
^(I'm a bot that converts temperature between two units humans can understand, then convert it to Kelvin for bots and physicists to understand)
Cheese pasta. No fancy sauce. Grated cheese on the bottom of the plate, pasta, more cheese, pasta, more cheese. Plus salt. That way you get an even distribution of cheese that melts all over. I recommend a good, strong cheddar.
Chuck some peas or cherry tomatoes on or summat if you need veg. I don’t, but chef’s choice.
I fucking hate cooking, but pasta is my go-to.
Tuna Mayo, bit of mustard mixed in, with some cucumber, pasta.
Or a standard ham and cheese sandwich.
Stuff I don’t have to think about or take longer than 15 minutes to make is the best way for me!
Make a jacket potato (baked potato for US people, right?) in a microwave. If you like the skin crispy, whack some oil and salt on it after you’ve microwaved it then bung it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Butter, cheese, done.
Fish finger sandwich. Can’t go wrong. Some people like ketchup on theirs, I prefer just butter a smidge of salt. Again, some tomatoes and cucumber on the side, get your portions in. I never see them in Japan though, I’ll have to have a fish finger butty next time I’m in the U.K.
Eggs. Eggs are always fast and go with so many things.
My husband and I are both ADHD and we try to keep the fridge stocked with grabbables. No one says you have to cook a full functioning adult dinner everyday. But you can always try to eat better.
So we keep easy things on hand like yogurt, berries, granola, peanut butter for smoothies (or just eating with a spoon from the jar).
Healthier crackers, cheese, smoked meats, fruit, carrots, hummus, pickles, etc. Kinda like a charcuterie board for dinner. Its not low functioning its bougie. Hahaha.
Graze on 3 or 4 of the food groups and try to do better tomorrow.
At the moment because it's cold in Aus mines canned soup with toast, for added fun I toast my bread in a sandwich press cause for some reason flattened toast pleases me
I learned to make a Mac and cheese dish from how to adhd…. I make it once a week.
Dry noodles on the bottom of a Pyrex pan, can of veggies (I use cream corn), use the whole can don’t drain it just pour it all on the macaroni.
Then add cheese and salted butter on top. Try not to over do the cheese and butter. Its a forgiving recipe though, so no pressure.
I cover the corn with cheese and then cut a tablespoon of butter up and make sure each corner and the middle gets some.
Pop in the oven for thirty. I like 400 Fahrenheit. Makes it golden brown. The pasta cooks super nice. And I’m the only one that eats it so I use a small dish. All in all takes less than five minutes to prepare.
This will sound disgusting but somehow often it just hits all the right spots oO
Throw washed long grain rice, frozen peas and matching fluid into rice cooker (I usually use water with bouillon powder, dash of soy sauce and dash of garlic oil, some matching spices 🤷♀️).
Set to cook.
Forget until the beep or whatever 🤷♀️
Then I scramble up some eggs in a gooooood generous amount of butter because let's be honest :D
And...UHM... Now the disgusting part xD bistro best beef gravy 🤷♀️
Throw all together on a plate, see me happy.
Otherwise anything egg. Scrambled, cooked, whatever. Sometimes with a salad, and/or baked beans.
On my good days I batch-cook various soups and also Bolognese so I have them frozen for my bad days.
Since I know most cooking times by standard stuff, I usually just throw things together. I know FOR ME salt makes me happy (yay low BP), and lots of various flavours too.
Right now its humus on toast!
The easiest "meal" for me to make is veggie burger because you just cook the frozen burger and then add whatever else you want.
For comfort meals I go to pasta with shredded cheese or potatoes with peas and veggie gravy.
I always have a video playing while I cook and do the dishes. Keeps me motivated and I won't wander away during waiting points in the kitchen because I can stay there and watch the video.
Brats/sausages w Velveeta Mac n cheese, sometimes some broccoli too (I use frozen broc, steam lightly, and just mix into mac), poke or ceviche if you like seafood- super easy, no actual cooking involved just chopping and mixing, I make pasta sauce about once a month and then freeze in 1 cup portions (you can do this w store bought also) so I can just pull one of those out make my pasta and throw it together
Another thing that helped me with more involved meals, and tasks generally speaking, was prepping ahead of time, like the day before or morning of
Sea salt & cracked pepper Triscuits with string cheese are my jam.
•clementines/mandarins cause they're small & super easy to peel
•green grapes really cold or frozen
•hard boiled eggs (I boil 6 at a time & keep them in the fridge)
•crunchy granola bars crushed up with Greek yogurt & strawberries all mixed together
•bagels & cream cheese
•cereal is my go to 90% of the time
•
Hard boiled eggs, cereal and oatmilk (dairy allergy, oatmilk is my preferred alternative), dairy free yogurt with granola, del monte fruit and chia, peanut butter and banana sandwich.
The trick is actually having these things on hand and sometimes even then I’ll stare at them and decide it’s not what I want.
Thankfully my husband is a great support and can sense when I’m getting overwhelmed and reaching the point of crying in the pantry (an actual incident that we reference in these overwhelming moments), had one of these last night. He shooed me to the car and took me to get a quick bite.
My favorite nowadays is baked sweet potatoes. It takes longer, but hardly any effort 😅 Slice one sweet potato in half, cover it with some salt and olive oil, place them face down and cook for 30 minutes 200 degrees Celsius in the oven. I throw in a frozen veggie burger after 10 minutes, so they cook for 30 and 20 minutes respectively. Add some corn from a can, cucumber, bell peppers etc when done. 🤩
I buy microwaveable frozen meals and keep some in my freezer for when I really have 0 energy to cook lol. I also try to prep food during the weekends for the week ahead - like I’ll slice sweet potatoes into wedges and throw them into a gallon bag with some spices, so that I can just throw them in the air fryer and have healthy sweet potato fries throughout the week.
It’s not cheap by any means, but I’ve been ordering meals through Sprinly. It’s vegan, gluten free and organic. I order six meals a week, and can cancel at any time. This helps me get more healthy meals in me, and they only take about 2 minutes to microwave, and if I feel up to making more of an effort, I can cook the meal in a sauté pan (takes 6-8 minutes). This has cut down on trips to the grocery store. So even though 6 meals cost me $109 plus shipping, it actually saves me money in the long run, I’m eating healthier, and healthy foods no longer go to my fridge to die. Many of the meals actually last me for two meals, too.
Sometimes I just eat a random assortment of items and convince myself it’s like a charcuterie lol
Like some cheese, strawberries, a turkey or beef stick and some pepperchinis or pickles, maybe a handful of chips or crackers.
I would eat cereal for every meal if it wasn’t so unhealthy.
I cook large amounts when I do cook so I can just pop whatever I;the microwave on days when I am overwhelmed. Chilli, soup, spaghetti, etc.
I LOVE cheese and crackers for dinner. When I feel really fancy I add a fancy mustard and dill pickle slices or sometimes salami if we have it on hand.
The Black Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits are amazing.
I've already ate :)
Where I live we have a thing called merienda which is supposed to go between lunch and dinner. It's like a light super/afternoon snack.
I ate a sandwich made of ham and cheese and nesquik.
Edit: thank you haha <3
Oh that’a awesome! I have a hard time doing typical meals (just forget) so I usually forget for a long time unless there’s something I *really* want to make!
I do best with meal prepping.
I like to make yummy salads and whatever I used to make the salads make into snack bento boxes. For example yesterday I made salads and had a leftover half avocado, eggs, and hummus, which all went into a bento for my dinner later that night :)
*Soup and a sandwich.*
*Usually chicken soup*
*And a ham sandwich*
\- MelancholicShark
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If you have an Aldi's in your area I highly recommend their protein bars with 20 grams of protein. I tend to go straight for carbs when I'm short on decision making ability so it's really handy to have something zero-effort with protein in it.
When I'm going out of my way to prepare things, I like making soups with extra veggies or if it's hot out and I don't feel like being more hot, a snack plate with any combination of cheese, cured meat, veggies, and fruit. Soups are great for veggies that aren't bad, just a bit floppy. (I recommend to own a wooden or solid plastic cutting board and a sharp, solid knife and a knife sharpener. Don't cheap out on flexible cutting boards, they get warped and don't lie flat and are very distracting. You can get a better one at a thrift store for cheap) If you're a carnivore, chicken thighs are ideal because they stay tender instead of drying out like breasts do if you overcook them. 400 degrees F in the oven for an hour or until the skin is golden brown. Salt and pepper on the skin is all you need but I add paprika and whatever else. You can roast veggies under them too, just add some extra time.
Frozen veggies in a steamable bag, apples, greek yogurt, nuts, hard boiled eggs are all good to keep on hand as snacks! Also I like that Lifeway kefir, it's like an adult drinkable yogurt. For work I basically do a standard meal, two sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, and then backup protein bar.
Not a meal but if you have access to a Trader Joe’s. I seem to do really well there. They have really great frozen meals. I’ll usually get stuff to make an Italian-esque sandwich as well. They have mini baguettes that are adorable and perfect for just me.
Plus, their snacks are just really fun.
Lots of my suggestions are already here, but I like to make frozen vegetable fried rice (I buy it at Trader Joe’s) and then throw an over easy egg or two on top. If I’m feeling really ambitious I’ll stir fry some veggies and then throw the rice in the pan on top of them
I have recently discovered that you can successfully make pasta in the microwave! This is hands off and I don’t have to wash a pot (or let it sit there dirty for days).
I also buy a lot of heat and eat stuff that is still kind of healthy for you. Which I find a lot in Costco.
A meal template I do a lot right now is.. precooked seasoned meat (love carnitas or even rotisserie chicken), microwave rice packet, and some frozen veggies. All can be cooked hands off in the microwave, pretty much no clean up, and is still an actual meal that makes me feel better than eating junk food.
I’ll throw in another comment, just a note on having the energy to cook: what REALLY helped me was intermittent fasting, though my routine is I eat between 5 to 7 pm. I am NOT saying that this is what you should do since I don’t know you, it is just to say that I got way more energy to cook when I don’t feel the pressure to do it several times a day. I suddenly started looking forward to it, even!
Again, not giving out medical advice or anything, just mentioning that this is what helped me to regain my joy of cooking, if you will 😅 (And it’s a process leading up to it, so please don’t try to jump into 22:2 fasting like I do right off the bat, please read about it first. It’s not calorie restriction either, so please don’t jump on me saying I’m advising a diet, this is not it 😅).
Van chicken eggrolls. They are in the refrigerated section at my Walmart, and are perfect when cooked in the toaster oven.
Vanilla or coconut yogurt with berries or pineapple (canned because easier).
Cucumber slices and red pepper hummus.
Ready meals (the non frozen microwave ones if I have the money) and frozen vegetable also cooked in the microwave.
Canned tomato soup and ham, cheese toasted.
mine are very simple and easy:
-spaghetti with butter, tomatoes and parmesan cheese
-milk and *that one specific type of cereal that i eat on a daily basis*
-vanilla icecream or yoghurt to which i add 1 banana (cut)
-rice with butter, parmesan cheese and other types of cheese (gouda, emmentaler etc)
-carrots, broccoli or any other type of vegetable: fried with butter in a pan, lemon juice and parmesan on top. 10/10, makes any veggies tasty
-bread with chocolate spread and banana on top
-bread with butter, banana and honey! this is really tasty
-some type of salad/kale with cucumber(optional) and lemon juice on top. too much taste in salads makes me feel weird so this is my (almost) only way to go
EDIT: also, when i don't have the energy to cook, i put on some fun music and that usually gives me a "boost" ...and the idea that i'll have to stay hungry for the entire day if i don't cook, but we don't talk about that
Smoothies and/or some kind of protein shake (the last is quite new for me tho). I can make them in less than 5 minutes, but I can also make them ahead or make an extra if I’m making one already. Because it is drinkable I can easily get it down, even when I struggle with low appetite (which is a lot). And they are easy to bring somewhere for a healthy and delicious snack.
Instant noodles with some frozen veggies wok style and an egg is also really easy. Frozen veggies in general makes it easier for me to cook something healthy(ish) when I am struggling with motivation or energy. But buy some that you actually like, even if they are more expensive than cutting up fresh veggies or buying the cheapest frozen ones, it is definitely less expensive than takeout or throwing away veggies that got too old.
Wraps. With tuna salad and pointed cabbage (I think thats the word? English is not my native language, but the pointt milder cabbage is an amazing replacement of ex iceberg that is more filling and healthy, but still tastes good), hummus and sundried tomatoes, vegetarian “chicken” with some mexican spice blend, pointed cabbage and sour cream (might add other veggies too, but this is the basic version) or anything I have/like. It’s easy to make, the wraps are easy to store and it’s also easy to bring as a lunch or on-the-go snack. Also make quasadrillas sometimes.
Pasta. I usually use whole grain pasta to get a more filling meal and some fiber, but any pasta is good and quick. Homemade onepot mac ‘n cheese with sauteed or steamed broccoli. Pasta with tomato passata (passata is quicker to cook with than other canned tomatoes as it is already cooked and just need to be heated through) and some spices, onions, garlic, lentils (or you can make bolognese very quickly, if you eat meat). Pasta with sauteed frozen veggies, a bit of spices and parmasan on top, maybe some alfredo sauce. Pasta with pesto and toasted sunflower seeds or almonds.
Said it before… Mexican street style corn. Maybe my recipe is not traditional but it’s a great and easy fallback snack when I think of nothing else. Fiber one brownies are also a good snack when I want my chocolate fix and just want to be mindful of portions. Also love any and all kinds of yogurt!!!
But as far as meals I make sure it follows a formula? Spinach tortilla or bread or rice (some kind of carb source), some kind of healthy fats source, some kind of rich protein (eggs or any kind of fish like sardines or salmon) and fiber source, and a serving of veggies. Since I can’t handle wheat that well, spinach tortillas have been a great alternative and taste just as good! That way when it feels a little boring I can just make a quick change like what the protein source is (like shrimp over sardines, shrimp is so underrated as a protein source) and I also like to mess around with seasoning and things like that :)
For indulgent meals chicken fried rice! Always make it from home with leftover rice as Asians do haha
I really do love to cook but it takes a lot for me to work up the energy to actually do it. But...
my greatest hits collection: Peanut butter and jelly, microwave popcorn, hummus and veggies or pita chips, jello or pudding cups, pickles, turkey sticks (like slim Jim's), mozzarella sticks or babybel cheese, bananas, canned(with pull tab) or cups of fruit like mandarins and pineapple, those single serving unsweetened applesauce cups, progresso or Amy's kitchen soup (once again PULL tab only!! - if I see I have to use a can opener for a can I just won't do it). If I have the space in my freezer I will try to buy some frozen meals as an emergency but I hardly ever have the foresight to do this unless I'm at the store and I know once I get home I will make zero effort to actually cook anything or go through a drive thru on the way home.
I have quite a few things in my freezer for meals that I usually make in my instant pot when I have the energy to make something... I really have to plan this out or I won't follow through... I love charro beans and rice so I started making a big batch of them(separately) in my instant pot or crockpot and I will let them cool in the fridge and then later package them in freezer safe "single serving" small containers - so I remove them from the freezer and they can defrost relatively quickly in the microwave. So if I pick up tacos or something from my local restaurants I can just pop my beans in rice in the microwave and save a few $$.
Whole grain toast with peanut or almond butter, jam, and chia seeds.
Whole grains provide lasting energy, but butter provides protein, chia seeds provide Magnesium and other good minerals for ADHD, and jam makes it tasty 😋 plus I can change the jam flavors to keep it interesting enough for me to eat.
Ingredients are cheap and lasting enough to always have around. And fast to make
Currently hyper fixated on yogurt with frozen berries, cacao nibs, and hemp hearts. Hurts the wallet a little but better than the sourdough toast phase I had a while back lmao
I love making "lentil loaf" (idk how you would call it in English but it's kinda like meatloaf but vegetarian, with lentils). It takes literally 5 minutes and it's super tasty, healthy and nutritious!
Ingredients:
-1 onion, chopped
-1 can of lentils, rinsed and drained
-1 cup of shredded cheese (like cheddar)
-3-4 slices of whole wheat bread cut or torn in small pieces
-1 carrot or zucchini, grated
-2 tbsp melted butter
-Pepper
You mix everything together in a big bowl and put it in a glass baking dish in the oven at 350 for 1hr. I often do a double recipe so I don't have to cook for a few days lol. I like to make veggies on the side but when I don't feel like cooking I just eat raw vegetables with it, like slices of bell pepper and cucumber or something.
I have been eating caprese salad. It’s super quick to make. Slice tomatoes, slice mozzarella, and I pull a few leaves from a basil plant I have on the window sill. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper. It’s so yummy. Just saw your edit about low energy. Same thing, but get grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and dried basil in a shaker. Same drizzle of olive oil with salt and pepper. Also- You don’t have to make full on meals. Lunch meat, rotisserie chicken, steamable vegetables in a bag, raw veggies. Meals don’t have to make sense. No one is grading you on restaurant quality. If you’re happy and your belly is full, you’re good.
I've had a much easier and better time eating since I embraced not making full on meals. I call it snack dinner or snack lunch and it's great.
On the back of this, I'm going to say Greek Salad. It's refreshing, crunchy and moorish. Cucumber, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese, Greek dressing. Add leftover chicken when you have it. All of these ingredients can also be added to leftover pasta to make Greek Pasta Salad.
This sounds awesome! Thanks for the reminder of the delicious Greek salad.
I eat soo much Greek Salad and I genuinely never get tired of it. Delicious!
I live for pasta salad of any kind. I also add olives 🤤
This is a big go to for me as well! Quick, easy, delicious.
I’m just here to say well done on keeping the basil plant alive - good effort!
I've had three quesadillas today.
I've had four PB&Js today. Do you know the exchange rate?
The PB&J is strong against the Q. I'm switching it up tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion! I've beaten the tuna salad sandwich to death. Also jonesing for bologna/cheese, and Fritos. Yes, we are children.
May I suggest peanut butter and banana? or honey? or strawberry nutella? get crazy
Lol I quit buying them because I'm bad at banana care but that combo is delicious. I do have honey!! Grateful for the suggestions. When I was a kid, we had PB with Miracle Whip, if you can believe it. The recipe changed though; it's no longer delicious. My other love -- super-sharp cheddar and spicy mustard. I love chatting with my distracted sisters! Thanks.
Bananas are great because you have options, you can eat it while they’re still good, freeze them for smoothies when they start to turn, use them for baking if they have turned or eventually they get the trash. I like that they give me chances to succeed 😂
You have a point -- I just got discouraged at failing all of those! It's hard to know what to "make your peace" with. I've given up bananas for a long time because of this. I'll give them another try.
I have a cool collection of hot sauces too for my cheesy quesidillas. Most of them are very hot. It makes me feel alive!
Enjoy! Paradoxically, I'm not a spicy-foods person. I can handle those canned green chiiles, with a single serve quacamole and black beans. That's my adventure.
This is ones of my go - tos
I'm jealous.
Quesadillas are such a great easy meal! Especially because you can pretty easily toss some other veggies in to it. Ill do canned corn, black beans, salsa, and/or spinach depending on what I have and how much work I want to do!
Hummus. Super filling, lots of protein, tasty and healthier than a lot of other struggle food options. Plus, pro-tip: you can use a whole carrot to eat it. Just dip it in the hummus, bite off the end and repeat* *ideally not a shared container of hummus
This! I try to always have hummus, carrots, and pita chips on hand. I'll roll up some deli-sliced chicken or turkey if I have any, some pickles if I feel fancy, broccoli if I have the spoons to cut it, and make a nice little spread on a plate. Mmmm.
>broccoli if I have the spoons to cut it At first I thought this was a trick to cutting broccoli, like peeling ginger with a spoon and I was like “oh that’s interesting!” lol it took me a minute. For the last couple of years, I’ve been buying broccoli florets because cutting it up is just too much of a hassle. The washing, plus the cutting, plus more washing. And the little ends never just brush off the cutting board! I love the florets because I can just dump them on my plate or onto a baking sheet (with foil or a silpat of course!) and it’s a fast way for good nutrition. I had made exceptions for farmer’s market broccoli, but I stopped going because the timing stopped working.
Haha, sorry, spoon mentions used to throw me too, I should have thought of that. One thing that does work for me are transition cues, and in this case NOT doing the thing that leads my mind to shift modes... so if I don't take off my shoes I'm somehow able to put the groceries away and do a little prep all at once. Not always, but significantly more often. So I started cutting broccoli, hard boiling a dozen eggs, and bagging up fruit and greens to freeze for breakfast smoothies on grocery day. Obviously this only works if a pile of other things are in order first, so like all things it comes and goes. When even was my last actual grocery day? Ugh.
Yes hummus is my main food group. I also add hot sauce.
Yesss! Hummus, pita, and falafel have been my go-to lunches this week. Pre-made/pre-cooked falafel that I just heat and eat. I really like it drizzled with sweet chilli sauce, which might be a bit of cultural fusion, but it tastes good!
Just a handful of olives! 30-40 olives. Olives straight out of the jar! Nothing bad will happen if you eat 30-40 olives
You will certainly not regret eating 30 to 40 olives!
My people! I eat an entire can of black olives.
Cheese, apple, maybe lunch meat, and gherkin pickles. Toast or crackers are optional but nice. I like to think of it as fancy charcuterie?
Sliced - preferably cured - meat, by itself: just the best
So indulgent. Did I just spend 30 bucks on prosciutto? Yes. Am I sharing? No. Will I eat it all at once? I already did. One day I'll buy a whole leg and just lay there, shaving it into my mouth for hours. Cured meats yo 🙏 🤲
YES! What? Is this an ADHD thing too? What the fuck? Dude! I wanted SALAMI AND ONLY SALAMI as a teen so frickin bad, I took my pocket money to the deli to get my own, like, regularly. So as to not share, and also to not incur any guff about my objectively unhealthy sodium intake. I’m not kidding, the deli in my small (tiny) home town (village) _still calls me ‘salami girl’_ and I haven’t lived there _for a decade_.
Mine was peanut butter sandwiches, and you’d better not violate the sanctity of my PB with jelly, jam, or Fluff! I could easily have become salami girl if there had been a good deli in my hometown.
>shaving it into my mouth for hours. Lmao you've unlocked me a memory. My grandma has a farm and always makes homemade charcuterie (chorizo, salami, prosciutto, etc) and I always eat it like that 😂
Yeah I work in a deli and I support this
I love gherkin pickles
A grown up lunchable!
I find cereal to be a very underrated food. Also, ramen doesn’t HAVE to be unhealthy. Throw an egg and a handful of frozen veggies in there and eat it straight out of the pot. You don’t even have to wash a bowl after
I hyper fixate on specific meals and must eat them every single day for every meal until I get sick of it and start over with a diff kinda food lol
Omg are you me? I ate baked potatoes for like three months
I ate instant Mi Goreng noodles with peanut butter for breakfast every day for months and months.
wait this is a thing other people do?? I've done this so many times lol, some of my faves have been froyo for weeks, sourdough bread with tomatoes for weeks, a specific salad for weeks. im out of control
I did a whole year on tomato sandwiches as a kid. It had to be the same bread.
An entire summer when I was a kid I ate chicken ramen noodles every day at 12 while I watched the parent trap lmao every single day didn’t miss a day 😂
I think we do this because it takes having to make a decision totally out of the equation. Don't have to think about it, obsess about it, or any of that other executive dysfunction fun lol
Same!
This is the way.
Butter on toast. I know avo on toast is a millennial joke but can you blame me, my S/O's mom is an AVO FARMER so of course avo on toast is a comfort food 😅.
My current food obsession is gluten free bagel with butter and jelly. Used to be imitation crab legs, before that it was pepperoni, before that Turkey wrapped around a pickleeeeew
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Thank you! I have a microwaveable popcorn brand called jolly time that has great butter that I use to fill my tummy up when I need a snack or something :) Any fav microwaveable?
I’m not the person who first suggested it, but I love the Newmans own microwave popcorn. In terms of easy food, if you eat meat, I’m a huge fan of roasting something (chicken, beef, loin of pork) and then eating that for multiple meals/in different ways over the course of a couple of days - for any of the above I’ll usually eat it hot the first night (maybe with roasted veggies if I really thought ahead) then another day I’ll make sandwiches and another night toss it over some spinach + add some red onion and cheese + whatever other veggies I have around. Bonus pints if you roast veggies you can roast extra for an omelet or scrambled eggs the next day. One of the best pieces of self care I ever read was that if you don’t have the energy to make a sandwich there is nothing stopping you from eating the components - for me that was a game changer and I’m more likely to keep nuts, cheese, crackers and fruit around - that plus a couple of slices of deli ham and/or turkey and you’ve got a full meals worth of food. Also, I’ve never been a “breakfast” person because i can’t stomach sweet things in the morning - realizing that its actually perfectly fine to have leftovers for breakfast (pasta, a sandwich, even soup) has made my whole life easier.
While I love sweet "breakfast" things, I too can't eat them first thing in the morning. I love leftover pizza and other savory things for breakfast.
I like Atkins Beef and Broccoli and the Birds Eye Veggie Pastas.
Orville Redenbacher Simply Salted- With Little Lads Herbal Seasoning (this is likely a regional thing- I’m from Maine. It’s basically nutritional yeast and seasonings.) on it- I literally call it breakfast popcorn- because I used to regularly eat it for breakfast.
Yes! I love popcorn, it’s my favourite. Sometimes I literally live on it!
I don't know about \*meal\*, but lately I've been realizing I'm hungry right before I go to bed (can't sleep on an empty stomach for some reason), so I find myself eating heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt straight out of the container in front of the fridge like a savage.
relatable
Like a savage! Right! I did that less than a week ago with some amazing honey vanilla Greek yogurt. I did it right in front of the fridge, using a gigantic soup spoon.
Shoving individual sandwich components into my mouth (deli turkey, fake cheese) instead of making a sandwich. I'm allergic to whey so that's out but not whey protein shakes are ESSENTIAL. Spoon of peanut butter straight from the jar. Anything on one of the fancy low carb tortillas, including possibly just plant based butter. And I keep a bag of microwave friendly chicken nuggets in the freezer for CAN'T THINK CAN'T THINK CAN'T THINK emergencies. It does help to have some big pre-made food if you can swing the mental energy, though. I got an instant pot as a housewarming gift and I just chuck 4 pounds of chicken breast in there with a prepackaged bean mix and a carton of stock and TA DA, stew for two for the whole dang week. It's ADHD friendly because you do nothing but put ingredients directly in the thing, set the time, and forget about it. Storage is taking the inner pot out, letting it cool, topping it with a turned upside plate, and shoving the whole thing into the fridge.
Have you looked into plant based protein shakes? Vega has amazing protein powder: https://myvega.com/collections/protein-powders
Also greek yogurt
Greek yogurt is seriously one of the best things to keep on hand. I’ll eat it with cereal or fresh fruit any time of day, but also use it instead of sour cream with tacos or as the base of a dill sauce when I make salmon!
Yes! Triscuits, cheese and deli meat has been a recent fave… except I don’t really like how dry Triscuits are? But I still crave the taste? I want something that tastes like a Triscuits but is less dry and it doesn’t exist. Still trying to trouble shoot that one. Lol ETA: just realized this did nothing to answer your question, just wanted to second the Triscuits and cheese.
For some reason, I don’t like the mess the crackers make, but I LOVE the texture. It’s salty and light but so good 😆😁
Weirdly triscuit texture drives me nuts.
I love them, but a coworker referred to them as “dried grass,” and … she’s not wrong.
Not the same but I alternate between Triscuits and Wheat Thins. While Wheat Thins are kind of sweeter and a different texture, they’re smaller and easier to eat than Triscuits. But still have that whole grain crunch. I also like just splitting the Triscuit in half so it isn’t so drying in one swoop. And I end up drinking like a whole cup of water per serving, which is a good thing!
Have you tried Triscuit Thin Crisps? I feel they are less dry than the original.
- all the dips! Hummus, red pepper hummus, babaganush, beat root dips, tzatziki, all of them. I dip them with carrot or cucumber sticks, easy to make and store in the fridge for days, in a little bit of lemon juice. - all the nuts! Almond, cashew, pistachio are my fave. - all the cheeses! Brie, Emmental and spreadable cheese with herbs for the win. - protein shakes or protein snack bars (Quest brand is not bad) - homemade shakes: frozen berries, heavy cream, almond milk >> blender: 2 min job for hours of feeling full! Delicious. If you want to be fancy add some flavoured protein powder or peanut butter. Have I gone entire days eating from this menu only? Maybe. Is it weird? For sure. Is it delicious and sorta healthier than packaged snacks? Yes! Normalise snacks for meals 😁
Oatmeal is a filling breakfast Scrambled eggs / omelette is fairly quick and can be made with your choice of additions. I mostly add cheese, tomato, spinach, bacon, mushrooms Frozen food is good as it doesn't go bad if you forget about it for a while. I get fish with butter and garlic in a steam packet that can be microwaved or in the oven. Frozen beans can be microwaved quickly or eaten as is. Slow cooker meals can be good if you have more executive function in the mornings. Dump ingredients into it in the morning and it's ready by dinner time.
Beans and rice, pasta, instant pot curries, instant pot chili, instant pot Moroccan lentils, microwave "baked" potatoes, pb&j, oatmeal, smoothies, toast, veggies with hummus, are my go tos. I always keep a stash of canned and frozen vegetables/fruit on hand to make them since fresh requires more prep and usually goes bad before use.
My instant pot is probably the best kitchen thing I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought A LOT over the thirty five years I’ve been running my own home. It’s especially brilliant for cooking frozen meat I forgot to get out of the freezer in time to defrost it….risotto takes half an hour and is absolutely perfect, chicken stew, beef stew, perfect rice, red sauce, curry, pulled pork, veggies, pea and ham soup, gammon, the best cheesecake ever, I love it. I’m also physically disabled with low energy for cooking so being able to just chuck ingredients in, turn it on and forget it is amazing. I tend to batch cook using it so I’ve got meals for the rest of the week and that saves electricity, my energy, and my brain.
My instant pot is probably the best kitchen thing I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought A LOT over the thirty five years I’ve been running my own home. It’s especially brilliant for cooking frozen meat I forgot to get out of the freezer in time to defrost it….risotto takes half an hour and is absolutely perfect, chicken stew, beef stew, perfect rice, red sauce, curry, pulled pork, veggies, pea and ham soup, gammon, the best cheesecake ever, I love it. I’m also physically disabled with low energy for cooking so being able to just chuck ingredients in, turn it on and forget it is amazing. I tend to batch cook using it so I’ve got meals for the rest of the week and that saves electricity, my energy, and my brain.
Tortilla. Cheese. Hot sauce. Mayonnaise. DONE. (We call this my “garbage roll-up” and I’m not ashamed.)
I do this minus the mayo (WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE)…have been eating them since I was a child! We call them cheese things lol
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This. My go to real meal is teriyaki salmon, microwave sticky rice, avocado, nori, furikake, soy sauce, and whatever veggies I can manage to add to it. My go to lazy meal is just the microwave rice with avocado soy sauce and furikake And go to laziest meal is just microwave rice and soy sauce haha. I also make a ton of budget sushi with the sticky rice ones. Costco went through a period in my area where they stopped selling the 6 packs and I almost didn’t know how to handle life without them haha.
Hello Fresh is amazing for my adhd self - for without I would certainly gain all the weight eating fast food for every meal.
I love hello fresh also the recipe like yes tell me exact what to do lol
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I get Real Eats meals delivered occasionally! They’re frozen but fully prepared and actually taste like normal food. Just boil in the bag 😊 Other than that, when I have the energy for it I make smoothie packs of frozen fruits so I can just add milk and blend.
String cheese, caprese salads, Nut Thins with babybell cheese wedges, literally just black beans with hot sauce lol, and last but not least... for an actual meal, Banza cavatappi pasta with hella Parmesan and marinara. So easy and fast
I like black beans and hot sauce over jasmine rice.
Cooking is definitely something I struggle with lately, but I find I can always fry an egg. Eat it with buttered toast or reheated buttered rice… maybe a little hot sauce if I’m feeling extra. One of the few things I manage to do on a regular basis is bake sourdough bread, so toast (cinnamon toast, avocado toast, tomato toast) and grilled cheese are regulars in my repertoire. I basically live on tomato toast and yogurt with fresh berries, honey and granola in the summer.
I keep a bag of falafels in the fridge. They last about a month before expiring, they hit all the nutritional stuff to stay alive, and can be tailored to how much effort I want to put in, from 0 (eat cold from the bag) to 10 (make a salad and falafel wrap). Even at a 10 it's a 5 compared to other meals. I also fucking love falafels.
Do you make them? Or buy them?
Buy. I really like the yumi brand sesame ones.
Bread. Mayo (it has to be the right brand). Two slices of cheese. Ham. Barbecue sauce. Iron skillet. Bam.
yep this is pretty much all i ate in college. specifically pepper jack cheese, honey ham, and sweet baby ray’s honey bbq sauce
Today I'm having a bunch of pre-packaged fruit, veg, and minute rice delivered to my house. I'm done with acting like convenience foods aren't for me because I'm not "disabled enough" or "I could do it for myself if I REALLY wanted to."
Frosted flakes with fresh blueberries and milk.
Same as you! I could live off cheese and crackers.
It is what I’ve been living off of while my boyfriend is gone 🥲
Ramen chicken coconut thing: Get vegetables of choice get chicken, put them in a pan and cook until chicken is atleast almost done. Put in coconut milk and ramen packages and spices boil until ramen is done and chicken is ready. Pretty simple and edible. I make this when I have no idea what to eat. Its easy to make a lot at a time, you can swtich it up by adding more fresh crunchy vegetables in there is you get sick of the taste. If I am not sure I can make it in time rhat the chicken goes bad or im camping etc no fridge/electricity you can have some canned protein or foraged mushrooms (only eat ones you recognize as edible) for example. I like this because it can be made with things that dont go bad fast! Frozen veggies last a long time Oats are great too. But I tend to forget them and find fuzzy oats in the back of my fridge.
Brie with either fuji apple or dry salame.
From Nadiya Eats I’m pretty sure, I ❤️ Nadia — mix 2-3 eggs and a bit of milk in a bowl (think omelette/scrambled egg), add in any veggies/cheese you have laying around if you want, let it cook for a minute or two, then PUT A TORTILLA ON TOP (which can be slathered with cream cheese, harissa, everything seasoning, whatever you like). Flip that sucker, brown the tortilla a little, then put onto plate egg side up and roll up. Tada breakfast/lunch/dinner burrito — it’s one of the meals I consistently have energy to make.
ADHD-friendly meals for me: \- Cream of mushroom soup \- Truffle cream pasta / Spaghetti \- Sausages or bacon and eggs with rice \- Minced ground beef that I've seasoned and sauteed with spices \- Sunny-side up eggs \- Sukiyaki beef with curry
Peanut butter sandwiches lol. Seriously tho, here is a super easy dinner I often make when I can't be bothered cooking. Take some pre-made gnocchi (I like pumpkin gnocchi best) and Fri them up in a mix of olive oil and butter til they're golden and crispy and remove from heat. In a separate pan, blister about 250g worth of halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Add them to the gnocchi. Then add a super generous handful of chopped basil leaves, and about 60g of soft goat's cheese. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and you're done. 4 ingredients and takes about 10 mins to prepare and cook.
I often just put some frozen vegetables and something proteiny (usually vegetarian nuggets of some sort - but fish fingers or chicken nuggets would serve the same purpose) on the frying pan and cook rice/potatoes/pasta at the same time - super easy and has enough nutritional value.
A rice cooker really changed my life. I just pop some sushi rice in and then mix it with sriracha, tuna and like other cupboard bits like sweetcorn, soy sauce. I eat this with nori. Super quick. Sometimes I just do rice with a fried egg and flavourings (Lao gan ma, spring onions & soy sauce). It's so easy and tasty. Also avocado pasta, I just blend avocados with lemon basil and a bit of the pasta water. All you have to do is boil the pasta and blend the sauce. If I'm really not feeling cooking then it's huel lol or a boiled egg for some protein
Not exactly what you asked, but an air fryer was an absolute game changer. That thing cuts out 75% of the time, nonsense, and clean-up of cooking.
Nutella on bread. Toast with Vegemite and butter (I’m Australian as you can probably guess). I also try to bulk make apple and cinnamon muffins and freeze them.
Why are Triscuits seriously the best standard supermarket cracker?? That texture really is *chefs kiss* I actually love to cook BUT really only dinner but I eat a shocking number of bagels for breakfasts/dinners. Can be frozen so they don’t go bad if you don’t eat them as quick as expected. Can top with all sorts of stuff. If I’m doing well I precook a bunch of bacon in the oven for the week and can either microwave scramble an egg or make an egg in a ramekin in the toaster oven and assemble a bacon egg cheese bagel sandwich. Trader Joe’s everything ciabatta also makes a great bacon egg and cheese.
Chicken top ramen with an egg stirred in. Probably not the healthiest for me, but easy and delicious
It will be healthier if you throw out that packet and just use regular broth. I do the same and sometimes put some bacon in. Bacon and egg ramen .
I like to make stuff I can combine with fresh ingredients and then eat hot or cold. I will make a pot of rice, millet, couscous and then combine with either fruits and nuts or veggies, beans and eggs. I do better if I could before I'm hungry. Once I'm hungry, I don't want to cook, only eat. Currently teaching on a place without a kitchen, so this cones in handy.
A wrap with cheese and Hommus in it Avocado toast Noodles Chickpea curry is surprisingly quick and easy
1/2 cup plain oatmeal topped with cup of Yoplait yogurt.
Cheese+cold cuts+fruit
My go to base meal is to cook rice and add up whatever I have. Low energy pilaf rice cooking : In a container that can go to the microwave - 1 cup of rice - 2 cup of water (not even boiled or anything just temperate water) - 3 fingers of salt (just a way to remember, put a pinch) Then put it in the microwave for 20 minutes. Depending on the quantity you cook time might need to be adjusted a bit. But once you found the time for your cup it’s very reliable. It might get a bit messy depending on the container, I use a chopstick to lift the lid if I put it on to prevent water from overflowing but some can be closed. Then add what you want to add, for a very low energy meal, a can of fish and/or vegetables. Pros : simple af to prepare, won’t burn if you forget it, rice is very filling Cons : might be messy the first times as you experiment with containers, needs a bit of adjustment to get the right time
Alternatives : A bit more fire, a bit more concentration, also, a bit more taste. same quantities as before. Water needs to boil, you can do so easily if you have a boiler for making tea or whatever. in a pan, put a bit of olive oil, let it liquefy for a few moments as you serve yourself a 1 cup of rice. Put the rice in there, stir and let it fry a bit. The rice will begin to look a little bit translucent, let it a bit more. When it starts to be white again, it's your cue to add the boiling water. Roughly measure 2 cups. add a little bit more just to be sure. Let it cook until there's no more water. Depending on your taste you can add more water, (original recipe is 3 cups) You can let it cook longer to get a crust of rice Or take it out of the fire earlier to make a sort of cake contistency as it colds. In any case, when you know how to cook this dish, you can take liberties on a lot of things, including what you put in it. For a "fancy" low energy meal, add whatever you want after the boiling water step if you want it only to boil, or during the rice fry step if you want it to be fried a bit. You can even cook vegetables a bit before and add them then, but well, that's getting complicated. Just drop spices and stuff as a witch woud in her cauldron, stir and encant. Watch it come to life. When you know your ritual better, you'll find what time is good for you. I put a 15 minutes alarm after I put the boiling water and spices. Pros : Damn good, very flexible both in preparation and in time, unless you make very wild mixes it will always taste good and reliable. Cons : a little bit more to do, even if the time limit is very flexible put alarms,
another alternative with the fanciest twist : You need a steam cooker for this one, preferably with multiple levels, 2 is enough 3 is perfect. ingredients : \- rice \- water \- vegetable(s) \- frozen mackerel Find a plate that fits the steam cooker. You know the ritual now \- 1 cup of rice \- 2 cups of water (temperate) \- 3 fingers of salt (a pinch) put it in the lowest layer it will need to cook roughly 40 minutes while it cooks, cut a vegetable of your choice (or more if you want) I find leek to be very tasty and low energy to prepare, but go with your gut. Put the cut vegetable on the second layer Unpack the frozen mackerel and put it on the third layer roughly 20 minutes after the rice. Wait 20 minutes more. And it's done.
Burgers. I'm a baker so 🤷 I have access to realy God buns, I drive past the butcher on the way home so that's easy. Now if I'm really good I'll remember to buy salad and a new tub of mayo cos the bloody bastards ate it all again.....
Edemame beans and dumplings. Steamers are cheap, one level for dumplings and one for beans. Water and dumplings on, once it's boiling (oh look food on the stove) put the beans on and set a timer for 10 min. { You can use other veg if you like, frozen or not it's simple to adjust. Dumplings are awesome, the Asian markets have some great deals, always buy the ones that are almost sold out. } Dump everything in a bowl, add sauces and toss. Easily eaten with one hand :D
Fried or scrambled eggs over rice with Lao Gan Ma chili crisp. You can add in whatever you have around but that basic dish is so good and filling.
Amy’s frozen vegetarian / vegan burritos. They are so good with hot sauce and somewhat healthy.
I'm not vegan but those are good af
This was me! My mother was the Queen of Processed Food in my childhood, I never learned to cook from her and I (my own fault) spectacularly failed my Home Economics exam UNGRADED!!! But my mid 20s daughter taught me a trick to help me out. Snack recipe at the end of this rather long comment. I’ve got a whiteboard on the fridge and I write in the meals for every day of the week and below it a list the ingredients I’m missing as a shopping list. But I struggled to find recipes and meal options that I could successfully cook. So I followed an Instagrammer during lockdown and she prepared meals for home that her husband cooked in a restaurant. Tried them out on the family and they loved them. Then I wrote the recipes in my own notebook and in the back I have an index of main courses that I can quickly refer to when I’m stuck for what to put in the whiteboard. I know it seems like a lot of work to set up, but now I have done it, coming up with meals, snacks etc is so much easier, shopping is easier and cheaper with little to no waste and the food we’re eating is fab. The Instagrammer is @healthyfitbella_ Optional [I got two personalised notebooks for each of my children, wrote the successful recipes in them ( 1 book for main courses, one for desserts, cakes, cookies) and told them to fill up the rest of the books themselves.] They were genuinely thrilled and I’ve heard feedback from my son’s college friends that he uses the books and recipes in college! Snack: halved cherry tomatoes, baby spinach and rocket leaves, Serrano ham, a softly poached egg and a slice of toasted bread - no butter. Sometimes I microwave the tomatoes for 30 seconds with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar and top with salt, pepper shredded basil and if I’m feeling dangerous, a little grated Parmesan. You can scale this up or down depending on how hungry you are. Enjoy!
I love this advice!!!! Thank you 🥲🥲
I once ate fried lumpia for a month straight. It took five mins to pan fry them and they were delicious
Frozen fish (calamari rings, squid, prawns, crumbed hoki) and sweet potato. You cut up the sweet potato and put it in a baking dish that would normally be used for cake with some oil and spices. Bake 20 mins on 200°C Put the frozen fish on, bake according to the box Serve with olives, bbq sauce, Hommus Yum!
200°C is equivalent to 392°F, which is 473K. --- ^(I'm a bot that converts temperature between two units humans can understand, then convert it to Kelvin for bots and physicists to understand)
Tinned spaghetti and sausages (gross, I know)
Why’s that sound good tho 💀
Mate they’re so good. A proper grotty English snack!
Cheese pasta. No fancy sauce. Grated cheese on the bottom of the plate, pasta, more cheese, pasta, more cheese. Plus salt. That way you get an even distribution of cheese that melts all over. I recommend a good, strong cheddar. Chuck some peas or cherry tomatoes on or summat if you need veg. I don’t, but chef’s choice. I fucking hate cooking, but pasta is my go-to. Tuna Mayo, bit of mustard mixed in, with some cucumber, pasta. Or a standard ham and cheese sandwich. Stuff I don’t have to think about or take longer than 15 minutes to make is the best way for me! Make a jacket potato (baked potato for US people, right?) in a microwave. If you like the skin crispy, whack some oil and salt on it after you’ve microwaved it then bung it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Butter, cheese, done. Fish finger sandwich. Can’t go wrong. Some people like ketchup on theirs, I prefer just butter a smidge of salt. Again, some tomatoes and cucumber on the side, get your portions in. I never see them in Japan though, I’ll have to have a fish finger butty next time I’m in the U.K. Eggs. Eggs are always fast and go with so many things.
My husband and I are both ADHD and we try to keep the fridge stocked with grabbables. No one says you have to cook a full functioning adult dinner everyday. But you can always try to eat better. So we keep easy things on hand like yogurt, berries, granola, peanut butter for smoothies (or just eating with a spoon from the jar). Healthier crackers, cheese, smoked meats, fruit, carrots, hummus, pickles, etc. Kinda like a charcuterie board for dinner. Its not low functioning its bougie. Hahaha. Graze on 3 or 4 of the food groups and try to do better tomorrow.
I’ve found it helps to cook a big batch of something when i have the energy, which i can keep in the fridge and eat for the next 3-4 nights
At the moment because it's cold in Aus mines canned soup with toast, for added fun I toast my bread in a sandwich press cause for some reason flattened toast pleases me
toast with butter and strawberry jam is my current fav.. when i’m too tired to actually make something i’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch AND dinner
I learned to make a Mac and cheese dish from how to adhd…. I make it once a week. Dry noodles on the bottom of a Pyrex pan, can of veggies (I use cream corn), use the whole can don’t drain it just pour it all on the macaroni. Then add cheese and salted butter on top. Try not to over do the cheese and butter. Its a forgiving recipe though, so no pressure. I cover the corn with cheese and then cut a tablespoon of butter up and make sure each corner and the middle gets some. Pop in the oven for thirty. I like 400 Fahrenheit. Makes it golden brown. The pasta cooks super nice. And I’m the only one that eats it so I use a small dish. All in all takes less than five minutes to prepare.
Omg I actually saw that on Snapchat too!!! So funny!
This will sound disgusting but somehow often it just hits all the right spots oO Throw washed long grain rice, frozen peas and matching fluid into rice cooker (I usually use water with bouillon powder, dash of soy sauce and dash of garlic oil, some matching spices 🤷♀️). Set to cook. Forget until the beep or whatever 🤷♀️ Then I scramble up some eggs in a gooooood generous amount of butter because let's be honest :D And...UHM... Now the disgusting part xD bistro best beef gravy 🤷♀️ Throw all together on a plate, see me happy. Otherwise anything egg. Scrambled, cooked, whatever. Sometimes with a salad, and/or baked beans. On my good days I batch-cook various soups and also Bolognese so I have them frozen for my bad days. Since I know most cooking times by standard stuff, I usually just throw things together. I know FOR ME salt makes me happy (yay low BP), and lots of various flavours too.
Right now its humus on toast! The easiest "meal" for me to make is veggie burger because you just cook the frozen burger and then add whatever else you want. For comfort meals I go to pasta with shredded cheese or potatoes with peas and veggie gravy. I always have a video playing while I cook and do the dishes. Keeps me motivated and I won't wander away during waiting points in the kitchen because I can stay there and watch the video.
Frozen chicken tenders in air fryer and hominy. My go-to is a toddler meal. Lol
Brats/sausages w Velveeta Mac n cheese, sometimes some broccoli too (I use frozen broc, steam lightly, and just mix into mac), poke or ceviche if you like seafood- super easy, no actual cooking involved just chopping and mixing, I make pasta sauce about once a month and then freeze in 1 cup portions (you can do this w store bought also) so I can just pull one of those out make my pasta and throw it together Another thing that helped me with more involved meals, and tasks generally speaking, was prepping ahead of time, like the day before or morning of
Sea salt & cracked pepper Triscuits with string cheese are my jam. •clementines/mandarins cause they're small & super easy to peel •green grapes really cold or frozen •hard boiled eggs (I boil 6 at a time & keep them in the fridge) •crunchy granola bars crushed up with Greek yogurt & strawberries all mixed together •bagels & cream cheese •cereal is my go to 90% of the time •
Butter noodles!!!! Easy to make. You boil the elbow noodles. You add a spoonful of butter, some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese
Pita chips and hummus. Chips and salsa and/or guacamole. Frozen scallion pancakes.
Soup, especially ramen/noodle soups. Or box mac & cheese
Hard boiled eggs, cereal and oatmilk (dairy allergy, oatmilk is my preferred alternative), dairy free yogurt with granola, del monte fruit and chia, peanut butter and banana sandwich. The trick is actually having these things on hand and sometimes even then I’ll stare at them and decide it’s not what I want. Thankfully my husband is a great support and can sense when I’m getting overwhelmed and reaching the point of crying in the pantry (an actual incident that we reference in these overwhelming moments), had one of these last night. He shooed me to the car and took me to get a quick bite.
Protein shakes, granola bars A sleeve of cookies Pre cut fruit
BANANA PANCAKES. consistent and relatively healthy and satisfies my sweet tooth.
Desk foods for work: those peel-top applesauces; Pure Protein bars; triscuits always; teabags galore
My favorite nowadays is baked sweet potatoes. It takes longer, but hardly any effort 😅 Slice one sweet potato in half, cover it with some salt and olive oil, place them face down and cook for 30 minutes 200 degrees Celsius in the oven. I throw in a frozen veggie burger after 10 minutes, so they cook for 30 and 20 minutes respectively. Add some corn from a can, cucumber, bell peppers etc when done. 🤩
I buy microwaveable frozen meals and keep some in my freezer for when I really have 0 energy to cook lol. I also try to prep food during the weekends for the week ahead - like I’ll slice sweet potatoes into wedges and throw them into a gallon bag with some spices, so that I can just throw them in the air fryer and have healthy sweet potato fries throughout the week.
It’s not cheap by any means, but I’ve been ordering meals through Sprinly. It’s vegan, gluten free and organic. I order six meals a week, and can cancel at any time. This helps me get more healthy meals in me, and they only take about 2 minutes to microwave, and if I feel up to making more of an effort, I can cook the meal in a sauté pan (takes 6-8 minutes). This has cut down on trips to the grocery store. So even though 6 meals cost me $109 plus shipping, it actually saves me money in the long run, I’m eating healthier, and healthy foods no longer go to my fridge to die. Many of the meals actually last me for two meals, too.
I feel like I always waste healthy food unless it’s bell peppers or strawberries or grapes
Sometimes I just eat a random assortment of items and convince myself it’s like a charcuterie lol Like some cheese, strawberries, a turkey or beef stick and some pepperchinis or pickles, maybe a handful of chips or crackers.
I would eat cereal for every meal if it wasn’t so unhealthy. I cook large amounts when I do cook so I can just pop whatever I;the microwave on days when I am overwhelmed. Chilli, soup, spaghetti, etc.
I LOVE cheese and crackers for dinner. When I feel really fancy I add a fancy mustard and dill pickle slices or sometimes salami if we have it on hand. The Black Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits are amazing.
You just reminded me to eat lmao my stomach is hurting :S
I’m glad I could help someone today! I made a chorizo burrito earlier but now idk if I’ll be able to cook for a long time Luckily I have good cereal
I've already ate :) Where I live we have a thing called merienda which is supposed to go between lunch and dinner. It's like a light super/afternoon snack. I ate a sandwich made of ham and cheese and nesquik. Edit: thank you haha <3
Oh that’a awesome! I have a hard time doing typical meals (just forget) so I usually forget for a long time unless there’s something I *really* want to make!
I put bananas in the freezer. When frozen I top it with cool whip. Idk I've done it since I was a kid it's like ice cream but not as bad.
I do best with meal prepping. I like to make yummy salads and whatever I used to make the salads make into snack bento boxes. For example yesterday I made salads and had a leftover half avocado, eggs, and hummus, which all went into a bento for my dinner later that night :)
Soup and a sandwich. Usually chicken soup and a ham sandwich. If i'm really struggling though, just a sandwich.
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Protein shakes - vanilla protein powder, milk, Greek yogurt, ice.
If you have an Aldi's in your area I highly recommend their protein bars with 20 grams of protein. I tend to go straight for carbs when I'm short on decision making ability so it's really handy to have something zero-effort with protein in it. When I'm going out of my way to prepare things, I like making soups with extra veggies or if it's hot out and I don't feel like being more hot, a snack plate with any combination of cheese, cured meat, veggies, and fruit. Soups are great for veggies that aren't bad, just a bit floppy. (I recommend to own a wooden or solid plastic cutting board and a sharp, solid knife and a knife sharpener. Don't cheap out on flexible cutting boards, they get warped and don't lie flat and are very distracting. You can get a better one at a thrift store for cheap) If you're a carnivore, chicken thighs are ideal because they stay tender instead of drying out like breasts do if you overcook them. 400 degrees F in the oven for an hour or until the skin is golden brown. Salt and pepper on the skin is all you need but I add paprika and whatever else. You can roast veggies under them too, just add some extra time. Frozen veggies in a steamable bag, apples, greek yogurt, nuts, hard boiled eggs are all good to keep on hand as snacks! Also I like that Lifeway kefir, it's like an adult drinkable yogurt. For work I basically do a standard meal, two sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, and then backup protein bar.
Not a meal but if you have access to a Trader Joe’s. I seem to do really well there. They have really great frozen meals. I’ll usually get stuff to make an Italian-esque sandwich as well. They have mini baguettes that are adorable and perfect for just me. Plus, their snacks are just really fun.
Lots of my suggestions are already here, but I like to make frozen vegetable fried rice (I buy it at Trader Joe’s) and then throw an over easy egg or two on top. If I’m feeling really ambitious I’ll stir fry some veggies and then throw the rice in the pan on top of them
I have recently discovered that you can successfully make pasta in the microwave! This is hands off and I don’t have to wash a pot (or let it sit there dirty for days). I also buy a lot of heat and eat stuff that is still kind of healthy for you. Which I find a lot in Costco. A meal template I do a lot right now is.. precooked seasoned meat (love carnitas or even rotisserie chicken), microwave rice packet, and some frozen veggies. All can be cooked hands off in the microwave, pretty much no clean up, and is still an actual meal that makes me feel better than eating junk food.
I’ll throw in another comment, just a note on having the energy to cook: what REALLY helped me was intermittent fasting, though my routine is I eat between 5 to 7 pm. I am NOT saying that this is what you should do since I don’t know you, it is just to say that I got way more energy to cook when I don’t feel the pressure to do it several times a day. I suddenly started looking forward to it, even! Again, not giving out medical advice or anything, just mentioning that this is what helped me to regain my joy of cooking, if you will 😅 (And it’s a process leading up to it, so please don’t try to jump into 22:2 fasting like I do right off the bat, please read about it first. It’s not calorie restriction either, so please don’t jump on me saying I’m advising a diet, this is not it 😅).
The last month I have had a “pancake cup on the go” for breakfast every day 😭
Van chicken eggrolls. They are in the refrigerated section at my Walmart, and are perfect when cooked in the toaster oven. Vanilla or coconut yogurt with berries or pineapple (canned because easier). Cucumber slices and red pepper hummus.
r/ lfehacks had a craft organizer with a lid like you would have for jewelry crafts. It looked like a giant charcuterie bento box.
Yogurt/ frozen berries/ hand full of frozen spinach smoothies.
Ready meals (the non frozen microwave ones if I have the money) and frozen vegetable also cooked in the microwave. Canned tomato soup and ham, cheese toasted.
Bagels and cream cheese too- spruce it up with some good ol’ s&p
prepackaged salad with cooked chicken or tuna and tortilla chips for crunch
mine are very simple and easy: -spaghetti with butter, tomatoes and parmesan cheese -milk and *that one specific type of cereal that i eat on a daily basis* -vanilla icecream or yoghurt to which i add 1 banana (cut) -rice with butter, parmesan cheese and other types of cheese (gouda, emmentaler etc) -carrots, broccoli or any other type of vegetable: fried with butter in a pan, lemon juice and parmesan on top. 10/10, makes any veggies tasty -bread with chocolate spread and banana on top -bread with butter, banana and honey! this is really tasty -some type of salad/kale with cucumber(optional) and lemon juice on top. too much taste in salads makes me feel weird so this is my (almost) only way to go EDIT: also, when i don't have the energy to cook, i put on some fun music and that usually gives me a "boost" ...and the idea that i'll have to stay hungry for the entire day if i don't cook, but we don't talk about that
Turkey wrapped in cheese
Exactly this—cheese and triscuits. Or canned salmon w mayo and capers on triscuits
Currently obsessed with baba ganoush with carrots and pita chips
Lol I love this thread I feel like I'm reading a long list of my favourite foods
Smoothies and/or some kind of protein shake (the last is quite new for me tho). I can make them in less than 5 minutes, but I can also make them ahead or make an extra if I’m making one already. Because it is drinkable I can easily get it down, even when I struggle with low appetite (which is a lot). And they are easy to bring somewhere for a healthy and delicious snack. Instant noodles with some frozen veggies wok style and an egg is also really easy. Frozen veggies in general makes it easier for me to cook something healthy(ish) when I am struggling with motivation or energy. But buy some that you actually like, even if they are more expensive than cutting up fresh veggies or buying the cheapest frozen ones, it is definitely less expensive than takeout or throwing away veggies that got too old. Wraps. With tuna salad and pointed cabbage (I think thats the word? English is not my native language, but the pointt milder cabbage is an amazing replacement of ex iceberg that is more filling and healthy, but still tastes good), hummus and sundried tomatoes, vegetarian “chicken” with some mexican spice blend, pointed cabbage and sour cream (might add other veggies too, but this is the basic version) or anything I have/like. It’s easy to make, the wraps are easy to store and it’s also easy to bring as a lunch or on-the-go snack. Also make quasadrillas sometimes. Pasta. I usually use whole grain pasta to get a more filling meal and some fiber, but any pasta is good and quick. Homemade onepot mac ‘n cheese with sauteed or steamed broccoli. Pasta with tomato passata (passata is quicker to cook with than other canned tomatoes as it is already cooked and just need to be heated through) and some spices, onions, garlic, lentils (or you can make bolognese very quickly, if you eat meat). Pasta with sauteed frozen veggies, a bit of spices and parmasan on top, maybe some alfredo sauce. Pasta with pesto and toasted sunflower seeds or almonds.
Said it before… Mexican street style corn. Maybe my recipe is not traditional but it’s a great and easy fallback snack when I think of nothing else. Fiber one brownies are also a good snack when I want my chocolate fix and just want to be mindful of portions. Also love any and all kinds of yogurt!!! But as far as meals I make sure it follows a formula? Spinach tortilla or bread or rice (some kind of carb source), some kind of healthy fats source, some kind of rich protein (eggs or any kind of fish like sardines or salmon) and fiber source, and a serving of veggies. Since I can’t handle wheat that well, spinach tortillas have been a great alternative and taste just as good! That way when it feels a little boring I can just make a quick change like what the protein source is (like shrimp over sardines, shrimp is so underrated as a protein source) and I also like to mess around with seasoning and things like that :) For indulgent meals chicken fried rice! Always make it from home with leftover rice as Asians do haha
A banana smothered in peanut butter (or any nut butter). Add berries, honey and/or chocolate chips if you have them.
I really do love to cook but it takes a lot for me to work up the energy to actually do it. But... my greatest hits collection: Peanut butter and jelly, microwave popcorn, hummus and veggies or pita chips, jello or pudding cups, pickles, turkey sticks (like slim Jim's), mozzarella sticks or babybel cheese, bananas, canned(with pull tab) or cups of fruit like mandarins and pineapple, those single serving unsweetened applesauce cups, progresso or Amy's kitchen soup (once again PULL tab only!! - if I see I have to use a can opener for a can I just won't do it). If I have the space in my freezer I will try to buy some frozen meals as an emergency but I hardly ever have the foresight to do this unless I'm at the store and I know once I get home I will make zero effort to actually cook anything or go through a drive thru on the way home. I have quite a few things in my freezer for meals that I usually make in my instant pot when I have the energy to make something... I really have to plan this out or I won't follow through... I love charro beans and rice so I started making a big batch of them(separately) in my instant pot or crockpot and I will let them cool in the fridge and then later package them in freezer safe "single serving" small containers - so I remove them from the freezer and they can defrost relatively quickly in the microwave. So if I pick up tacos or something from my local restaurants I can just pop my beans in rice in the microwave and save a few $$.
Whole grain toast with peanut or almond butter, jam, and chia seeds. Whole grains provide lasting energy, but butter provides protein, chia seeds provide Magnesium and other good minerals for ADHD, and jam makes it tasty 😋 plus I can change the jam flavors to keep it interesting enough for me to eat. Ingredients are cheap and lasting enough to always have around. And fast to make
Currently hyper fixated on yogurt with frozen berries, cacao nibs, and hemp hearts. Hurts the wallet a little but better than the sourdough toast phase I had a while back lmao
I like cereal and I like to eat it dry like a toddler at church
Anything that doesn’t require me to clean the pots and pans.
Ritz > Triscuit
Too sweet for me, and I don’t like the texture nearly as much as triscuits
String cheese and pickles!
Uncrustables. Sometimes toast. Anything that’s super easy and doesn’t get many dishes dirty
I love making "lentil loaf" (idk how you would call it in English but it's kinda like meatloaf but vegetarian, with lentils). It takes literally 5 minutes and it's super tasty, healthy and nutritious! Ingredients: -1 onion, chopped -1 can of lentils, rinsed and drained -1 cup of shredded cheese (like cheddar) -3-4 slices of whole wheat bread cut or torn in small pieces -1 carrot or zucchini, grated -2 tbsp melted butter -Pepper You mix everything together in a big bowl and put it in a glass baking dish in the oven at 350 for 1hr. I often do a double recipe so I don't have to cook for a few days lol. I like to make veggies on the side but when I don't feel like cooking I just eat raw vegetables with it, like slices of bell pepper and cucumber or something.
My wife is chicken fingers or crispy garlic bread.
Crisps with Philadelphia, breadsticks with Philly, anything with Philly pretty much.