Key Takeaways
- People with ADHD may have trouble knowing they’re hungry until it’s too late, making meal prep tough.
- Simple meals with short prep times and a few steps are easier for those with ADHD.
- It’s important to focus on eating enough and not stress over having the perfect balanced meal every time.
Many ADHDers struggle with consistent and healthy eating habits. In fact, approximately 12% of those with ADHD also experience an eating disorder. There are numerous interacting variables that contribute to this phenomenon, and there are some connections between the symptoms of ADHD and disordered eating.
In particular, ADHDers struggle with interoception, or the ability to tune into and be aware of our body’s signals and cues, which has been found to contribute to eating disorders in people with ADHD. In other words, if you have ADHD, you might have difficulty recognizing that you are hungry until you are starving. It is more difficult to prepare food when you are so hungry that you feel lightheaded or are in pain. Additionally, many ADHDers struggle with starting tasks, especially if they do not particularly find cooking to be engaging or rewarding. This can lead to disordered eating, not consuming sufficient calories, or not taking in the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.
As a psychologist with ADHD myself, I understand both professionally and personally the food-related challenges that come with ADHD. Here are my go-to low-effort meals.
A Note About Food
As an aside, we are constantly inundated with diet culture, with messages of shame around choosing the “right” foods, “good” versus “bad” foods, et cetera, leading to disordered eating. It is essential to be aware of internalized shame around food choices to avoid a toxic relationship with food. No food is inherently good or bad, and “fed is best” has no age limit.
Dr. Katelyn Campbell, PsyD, is a psychologist who has ADHD and specializes in recovery from disordered eating. She shared, “I encourage my clients to develop a flexible and adaptive relationship with how they nourish themselves. A key part of this process is moving away from the morality of food and rigid rules about eating. Most of us have been immersed in messaging that tells us that there are right and wrong ways to feed ourselves. The morality that is portrayed about food can create unnecessary stress and guilt.”
Additionally, “Many of us have been taught that a meal needs to include every food group to be considered ‘valid.’ However, I encourage clients to prioritize getting enough food first. Once you’ve addressed the volume your body needs, you can focus on variety if you have the energy and resources to do so. Nourishment doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s about giving your body the energy it requires first.”
Criteria for ADHD-Friendly Meals
Since every single person with ADHD is a unique individual, there is no one set of criteria for what makes a meal ADHD-friendly. Some ADHDers love to cook and find the activity enjoyable, so very elaborate and in-depth meal preparation and planning is something they do regularly.
At the same time, many of us struggle with completing tasks that have a lot of steps, as is often the case when cooking. We might also become bored and lose interest in cooking if a dish takes a long time to make or requires a lot of waiting for different parts to be ready.
For this article, my criteria for an ADHD-friendly meal included:
Dr. Campbell said that it can help to break meals down into categories: “1. No Energy: Meals that require little to no effort, such as frozen or pre-prepared options. 2. Low Energy: Simple meals with 2-3 ingredients that require minimal prep or cleanup. 3. Higher Energy: Creative or more complex meals for days when you feel motivated.”
Meal Planning Strategies for ADHD
There are some general considerations that can be helpful when creating meal plans when you have ADHD. First, ADHD brains tend to exist in either “now” or “not now.” By definition, what I will eat tomorrow falls under “not now,” so it is difficult to imagine what I will want to eat then because the time does not currently exist.
Usually, it is recommended to shop for groceries and meal plan when you are not hungry, but for some of us ADHDers, that means not buying anything at all. Why would I want food for next week? I am not hungry right now. At the same time, if you are very hungry, it will be difficult to focus on the task at hand. Find a middle ground that works for you.
Identify a Routine That Works, But Don’t Get Stuck
Second, ADHD brains do not usually follow the schedule or routine even if it is set out in advance. You might decide you simply do not feel like a certain meal that day. It helps to give yourself options so that you can easily deviate if your brain decides to abandon the plan.
I advocate for choosing the path of least resistance when it comes to food preparation. That often means using pre-cut or pre-prepared produce and keeping frozen vegetables on hand, which last much longer. It’s important to be honest about the energy and resources you truly have.
Third, if you notice that certain routines and patterns work better for you, lean into that. Many people get stuck in the idea of what they “should” be doing around meal planning and food without realizing that some of these concepts are arbitrary. For instance, breakfast food is any food you eat for breakfast–it does not have to be eggs and bacon if you do not like those foods.
To Leftover or Not to Leftover?
Finally, it can be tempting to make a large portion of something so that you have leftovers for later. If that works for you, then it is a great strategy to reduce the overall amount of time spent preparing food. However, if you find that you get bored with the meal before you run out of leftovers, or you simply do not like the taste or texture of food that has been reheated, it is okay to acknowledge that you are not a leftovers person and take a different approach.
Dr. Campbell had additional advice around meal prepping: “One of my best meal prep tips is to be honest with yourself. For example, I know I don’t have the motivation to meal prep during the week. Because of this, I’ve made peace with the fact that if I don’t do it on a Saturday or Sunday, I’ll have to do low-effort meals that week. This self-awareness has helped me let go of guilt and focus on realistic solutions.”
She also shares, “I advocate for choosing the path of least resistance when it comes to food preparation. That often means using pre-cut or pre-prepared produce and keeping frozen vegetables on hand, which last much longer. It’s important to be honest about the energy and resources you truly have.”
Low-Effort Breakfast
Yogurt and Granola with Fruit
Dr Campbell recommended this simple classic breakfast. She said, “I love this breakfast because it’s quick, satisfying, and requires no prep,” and she makes it with blueberries (option to use frozen) but you could also do raspberries, blackberries, banana etc. Mix the three ingredients together and enjoy.
Put an Egg On It
One of my favorite easy breakfast options is to cook up last night’s leftovers and crack an egg on top. Veggie stir fry? Add an egg. Pasta sauce? Add an egg and some crusty bread for an easy Shakshuka. Steak and potatoes? Add an egg.
Smoothie or Protein Shake
Smoothies are a great way to get all the nutrients you need without having to think too hard about it. Obviously, it’s necessary to have the ingredients on hand, but most of what you’d need just lives in the freezer or is shelf stable. My go to recipe is soy milk (or whatever milk you like), frozen blueberries, frozen spinach, a banana, a big scoop of protein powder, a scoop of vanilla yogurt. But you can change the berries or add peanut butter etc.
Low-Effort Lunch and Dinner
Chicken and Rice
You can make chicken and rice in a single pan, for minimal effort both in cooking and cleanup. Here is what you need:
- Chicken breasts
- Two tablespoons butter
- One cup white rice
- Two cups chicken broth
- Two tablespoons lemon juice
- Your favorite spices for chicken (I like Italian seasoning)
Melt the butter, then brown the chicken for about two minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan, add the broth, lemon juice, and rice, and stir. Place the chicken on top, cover, and wait about 25 minutes.
Pasta
Pasta is fast and easy to make, and you can change up how you prepare it if you like a variety of flavors. Pick up a box of whatever kind of pasta you like best, a jar of whatever sauce you prefer. Cook the pasta, heat up the sauce, add spices as desired. Dinner is ready within 10 minutes. You can heat up frozen meatballs if you are feeling fancy.
Slow Cooker Chili
If it is helpful for you to have leftovers, slow cooker meals are a great way to make a lot of food without working too hard. In the winter, I like to make chili. You will need:
- Two pounds of ground beef or turkey
- Two cans of red kidney beans
- Two cans of diced tomatoes with chilis
- Whatever combination of spices you like in your chili
Brown the ground meat, and then put everything in the slow cooker. Set it to low and wait eight to ten hours.
Frozen Food Is Your Friend
I’ve always found that one of the best ways to alleviate concerns about what to eat is to have lots of frozen options on hand. So for me, that might be frozen chicken tenders, frozen broccoli, and frozen sweet potato fries. On nights when I don’t have the mental energy to do much prep I just toss these foods onto a sheet pan and dinner is ready in 15 minutes.
Rice and Beans
Dr. Campbell recommends rice and beans as a low-effort dinner. She said, “they’re simple, nourishing, and versatile.” Use canned beans and tomatoes for an easy, fast dinner. Put water, rice, beans, tomatoes, and any other ingredients you want to add into a single pot and cook until the rice is tender.
Low-Effort Snacks
Chips and Dip
Keep your favorite salsa and bag of chips on hand for a zero-effort snack. You can keep things interesting by having different dips available.
Pre-Packaged Snacks
Single-serve chips, gummy snacks, pudding cups, granola bars, and other non-perishable, ready-to-eat snacks are great to have on hand for when you cannot slow down enough to prepare food or need a quick snack in between meals.
Pre-Cut Produce
Dr. Campbell shared that pre-cut fruits and vegetables are her favorite snacks because “They’re convenient and eliminate the need for additional prep when you’re hungry or low on energy.”
Convenience Foods
Sometimes, even the lowest effort recipe feels like too much. It is perfectly acceptable to keep frozen dinners or meals on hand, such as Trader Joes or Annie’s frozen dinners, a frozen lasagna, frozen chicken tenders, or frozen pot pie. If it fits in your budget, takeout makes a perfectly fine dinner.
It can help to make a list of convenient foods to have on hand for when you do not have the energy to cook even a simple recipe.
Keep in Mind
Meal preparation is an area in which many people with ADHD struggle because of executive dysfunction, distractibility, and poor interoception. It can lead to disordered eating and medical issues if not appropriately supported. Fortunately, it is possible to find recipes that take very little effort without sacrificing taste. Remember that there is no shame in needing low-effort meals, and “fed is best” has no age limit.
