The Ultimate ADHD Food Hack ☀️🥑🌿 (never miss a meal again)

Tell me some of the foods you would put in your menu for each tier!! Maybe we make a neurodivergent cook book this way? Haha

I recently came to videos of ADHD nutritionist and she said: if you can't prepare a meal you can still eat the parts. You can eat ham and bread and maybe some cucumber without making a sandwich. Straight from the package. Amazing my mind blows up.

I’m autistic and I do 3 tiers with EVERYTHING. To do lists, skincare, food, even leisure activities for when I’m in burnout. Works like a charm!

Also for tier 3, I use “strategic takeaway” to help. I know that by Wednesday each week I will not be able to cook a meal to get through the rest of the work week. So I plan to get takeout on Wednesday night that will also include lunches for Thursday and Friday. By planning ahead I choose options that fit in my budget, and I make sure I have the money set aside for it. So it’s a no guilt option that anticipates my low energy days.

As someone with physical disabilities who thinks tier two is definitely tier one, I have to recommend tier four. A lot of the time I can't even get myself to the kitchen, and for anyone who is the same I would really recommend keeping non-perishable food in your most occupied room. For me it's my bedroom, and I have a whole shelf of food in there so that I can just reach over for it. I would suggest crackers, dried fruit, cereal bars, really anything that can be kept on a shelf where the biggest step between you and eating it is the packaging. If you can afford it a mini-fridge is also an incredible asset, as you can keep fresher stuff in there and it also really expands your no cook protein options. Most of this stuff will last forever so you really don't have to be on top of the shopping if you stock up when you have the energy. It also doesn't really require utensils or plates, which is a lifesaver for me, I can't imagine not having the energy to eat but being able to do the washing up.

So many times I would forget to eat until I started to feel dizzy, but what helped was putting my dog on a 3 meal schedule. He'll come get me when it's time for lunch, which is enough motivation to stop what I'm doing to feed him and a good reminder to feed myself. It's easier to take care of him than remembering to take care of myself 🫣

They say this to moms a lot, and I think about it a lot: FED is best. You need to be fed. It’s great if you have energy to make amazingly balanced meals all the time, but if you’re just eating ramen, just know you are feeding yourself and that’s better than not ❤

The Sad Bastard Cookbook by Zilla Novikov and Rachel A. Rosen is free to download and full of tier 2.5-3 food, including variations on most recipes for different preparation based on availability, ways to make them vegan, ways to bump them up to tier 2 ("God tier") if you have the energy, etc. From my own experience, I highly recommend getting an air fryer if you're able. Many of those tier 3 microwaveable foods and almost everything that goes in an oven come out way more tasty in an air fryer. Hint: you don't actually have to preheat the air fryer, just add 2ish more minutes to the cook time.

And here I’m realizing that for years I’ve been learning to cook specifically in ways that turn tier 1 foods into tier 2 and 3 foods. When the inspirations strikes I take like 8 hours going down a rabbit hole learning or perfecting a new dish. This used to fuck me up but now I make it in batches of 24. 6 meals get containerized into tier 3 meals for the week. Literally just making my own microwave meals. The other 18 get partially done. I do all the hard parts in a monstrously massive batch (I just made two gallons of salsa from scratch I kid you not). Then when I have tier 2 energy to meal prep, I just do stuff like boil some pasta and chuck in a frozen hunk of sauce before putting in Tupperwares to become tier 3. I’ve also started freezing sauces in ice cube trays. For tier 2 days I can just chuck tofu or seitan in the air fryer and microwave a single serving cube. ADHD is a bitch but I seem to be able to average a random day of culinary hyperfocus about once a month. So four weeks of freezer food work I guess. And when it’s longer than that? Trader Joe’s squiggly noodles will always be there for me

Tier 3: A can of chickpeas. Drain them, add a little salt/pepper/garlic powder (if ya want). Give’s protein, can be in pantry forever, & it’s a fun poppable food to eat (like it’s popcorn). Tier 2: Rice (can be minute rice), made with chicken or veggie bouillon’s cubes added to water, butter, spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic, paprika for heat). Warm and cozy rice dish, can add shredded rotisserie chicken or any veggie for added nutrition. Tier 2: White/Jasmine Rice (minute or leftover rice works), milk, sugar, raisins, butter. Heat until warm. Great for breakfast, it’s like a cozy rice pudding soup almost.

My go-to Tier 3 meal (though I never thought of it that way but that's genius) is a can of soup, usually like a chunky soup with chicken and veggies, and I make sure I buy kinds with at least 15 g of protein to keep me full. Dump in a bowl, microwave, done. Works great when I cannot even imagine cooking.

I discovered that no matter how low energy or nauseous I get, I can always eat potatoes, and that task initiation is the hardest part for me. So I keep some frozen hash browns in the freezer. Heat them in a skillet with oil. While waiting for them to brown, I'm in the kitchen anyway, and that gets me to chop some onion, add some ham/shrimp/cooked chicken, green vegetable, cheese. I don't try to figure out first whether I feel like cooking or whether I have the energy to cook - I just lower the bar by saying potatoes, and the rest just follows because it's a habit. Sometimes what gets me into the kitchen is the thought, I could have some milk, then when I'm drinking it, I remind myself that it's not a meal, but it has settled my stomach enough that I'm not nauseous and can think enough to start potatoes. I also have friends that I call on the phone - that little bit of social engagement gets the gears in my brain engaged, and we've trained each other to ask questions like "what are you having for protein?" A specific question like that cuts through the noise in my brain when I'm looking inside my fridge and just feeling overwhelmed. Another option is to microwave frozen peas, add butter or oil and ham, optional pistachios or cashews. An avocado and a handful of romaine lettuce (no need for dressing), maybe a handful of nuts, dried berries.

Tier 4: Snacks with protein! Bonus points if they don't require clean dishes. CLIF bars, cheese sticks and premade smoothies are go-to items for me. They work well for breakfasts, when I need to leave but realize I haven't eaten much, or if I'm hungry and want to buy myself extra time while I figure out a larger meal.

If you're not a bean person, try different beans! They are all VERY different! My partner's daily thing is a smoothie of frozen fruit, spinach, flax seeds, almond milk. It has transformed their health and digestion to finally eat whole foods. For protein try a powder or stay with me silken tofu. It's pudding textured and great for sweet things that you want to be better for you!!

I was recently stuck in the cycle of not having food in the house and perpetually ordering expensive takeaways, and In the process, wringing my bank account dry. I have found a system that works for me recently, but it may not work for everyone. I actually love cooking, but I just don't always have the energy or am often unprepared and have no motivation to go to the shops. How I changed it was to a. I started ordering my food shopping online, it's slightly more expensive than going to the store, but in the long run I save money because it means I always have lots of food available. B. On a day when I have energy for cooking, I imagine that I'm hosting a party for 30 people and I cook as many dishes as I can, usually things like, lasage, Mac n cheese, soups, stews ECT... I put most of the food in the freezer, that way I can eat it over time and always have nice meals ready when I'm hungry I do realize however that if you don't enjoy cooking, this probably won't work for you x

I like the idea of having a binder of some kind to flip through. I find that i forgot what even is a food option, but when i stick the ingredients in a "recipes by ingredients" website, browsing the recipe options tends to motivate me to actually seek out something in my kitchen. I think a binder tailored to my shopping habits and tiered is a great tool.

Learning in a college nutrition class that FROZEN VEGGIES often have MORE nutrients than fresh was game-changing for this non-cook who hates dishes. ; - D The freezer is Tier 3 magic! 🤩 Healthier Favorites: Open-faced cheese toast on frozen sliced bread in toaster oven (can add a microwaved cup or bowl of prepared soup for a hearty meal with no pan to wash. : - ) TASTY veggies: Microwaved frozen broccoli or other veggies with Italian dressing (delicious!) or butter, salt, & pepper or cheese sprinkles. (Mostly) non-perishable gourmet salad with ZERO chopping!: (Great for potlucks, date nights, or a luxurious dinner for one : - ) - frozen blue cheese crumbles (can pre-portion & freeze a brick or tub of crumbles to keep on hand) - dried cranberries - toasted sliced almonds - bagged pre-washed greens - Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette or your favorite So good! 😀 Alternative with a little chopping (also a crowd-favorite : - ): - Fuji apples instead of cranberries - Toasted or candied pecan pieces instead of almonds ---- Non-perishable lower-sugar smoothie: (easy to adapt to special diets/allergies yet still delicious!) spoonful of frozen juice concentrate instead of juice to taste frozen fruit  frozen kale or spinach unsweetened protein powder water I periodically disassemble and clean the blender's pitcher, but for quick washing, I just rinse and add soap & warm water then blend. : - )

My go to quick meal is hot dogs. So simple. Not the healthiest but it's better than nothing.

To reduce the number of decisions I have to make, I have assigned a type of food to each weekday, I've found it very helpful! There's still a lot of variety available in each category. Monday - some kind of rice dish. Tuesday - tacos. Wednesday - noodles or soups. Thursday - Sandwich. Friday - pasta. The weekend is free to allow for experimenting with new foods.

Tier 3: Instant smashed potato jars. Batches and measures into mason jars for quick use. Instant mashed potato flakes, powdered milk (protein and fat to make it last in my system longer), butter powder (Molly McButter, etc), seasonings (sour cream & onion popcorn seasoning, Mrs Dash, black pepper, cayenne, whatever you like, but ground fine cause you’re not really cooking it), nutritional yeast (for the B vitamins, not available to everyone, but has a delicious cheesy flavor), dried chives, and flavorless fiber supplement. 2/3 cup mix into a pint mason jar. Seal, label (cause memory sucks), and put in a drawer at work or pantry/sick food cabinet at home. Add 2/3-1 cup boiling water from microwave, kettle, or coffee machine. Stir, add lid, and let steam/cool for 1 min. It has carbs, protein, fat, and frankly on tier 3 day, I don’t have it in me to chew. Add a little water or more milk, and you got something closer to cream of potato soup.