Meal Planning with ADHD
“What’s for dinner?”
How many of you inwardly cringe when you hear that question, knowing you don't have an answer?
Now, how many of you inwardly cringe when I say the words "meal planning"? I would imagine there are quite a few of us that would just rather not.
Why should you consider meal planning?
While you may feel like the act of meal planning is a chore to ignore, I have a few reasons that might help change your mindset.
It saves time
Creating and executing a weekly meal plan may take some time to set up at first, but in the end, you no longer waste time digging through your pantry each day, trying to find something to feed yourself and your family. Creating a detailed grocery list also eliminates the time spent staring at shelves, wondering what you should buy.
It saves money
A study published in 2020 from William and Mary showed on average, Americans spend $1,300.00 per year on food that ultimately never gets eaten. That’s more than the average person spends on gas for their car in a year! Food waste can be a big problem if you don't start with a plan.
It saves your sanity
When you start each day knowing that the evening meal has already been planned and you took care of the necessary groceries for that meal, you can take that task of your worry list.
Meal planning doesn't work for me
I have had many clients and listeners of Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast come to me over the years and tell me there isn't a system for meal planning that works with their ADHD. I agree that a lot of the popular meal planning systems and strategies are overly complicated and hard to stick with long-term.
That's why I decided to put together an ADHD-friendly meal planning guide that gives you the basic tools you need to start meal planning and stick with it.
This meal planning guide breaks everything down into simple, easy-to-follow steps with a few extra tips and strategies along the way.
The guide has been updated for 2023 to include digital options for meal planning as well as meal delivery services.
Ultimately, you should start your meal planning journey with what you know. Use the meals and recipes you know your family likes and plan what days to make them. Once you start to get the hang of weekly meal planning, feel free to get a little more adventurous with your recipes and try cooking new things.
I hope you can find a little more joy and a lot less stress at dinnertime with meal planning.
Meal Planning Resources
Download the ADHD-Friendly Meal Planning Guide
Ep 2601: Smart ADHD-Friendly Meal Planning
Thank you for your time and attention,
-Nikki
