Meal Planning for ADHD Brains

It is not easy to properly nourish your body and your brain when you have your nose to the grinder and you are in survival mode. Yet, nourishment is so important, especially for sensitive and strained neurodivergent bodies and systems.

So how does an adult with ADHD feed herself?

I’ll share some meal ideas below that work for me and my capabilities. I understand you may have different access, different food tastes, and different dietary requirements or restraints. It is meant to be a guide and offer up some ideas and strategies that work for me. Feel free to tinker and tweak to your heart and belly’s content. I’m not a dietitian, I’m a psychiatric nurse practitioner who can get bogged down by tasks with too many steps sharing some things that help me.

My Goals = around 30 grams of protein at each meal, some source of probiotic daily, some source of prebiotic daily.
My Needs = Mealtime food sources should be palatable, easy to grab and go, and/or not spoil quickly.
Backups = Protein bar or protein shake if I have a low-protein meal or decide to/need to skip a meal.
Half a kombucha, a single serving of yogurt, or half a Bubbie’s pickle for my probiotic.

Meal 1) Rotisserie chicken + bag of frozen vegetables + loaf of fresh bread or some cooked rice
Steam veggies in microwave, pick off some hunks from the fully cooked rotisserie chicken, and break off a hunk of fresh, crusty bread. Feast! Work in a probiotic serving of your choice - kombucha, yogurt, or pickle are mine.

Meal 2) Kielbasa + bag of store bought sauerkraut (beet or cabbage) + can of Bush’s baked beans
Cut and fry fully-cooked kielbasa in a frying pan. Add in the can of beans and warm to preference. Warm up the sauerkraut in the microwave. Plop it all on a plate. Garnish with mustard if you want to be fancy.

Meal 3) Bag of frozen Trader Joe’s grilled chicken strips + bottle of Trader Joe’s Thai Style Yellow Curry Sauce + cooked rice. You may cook your rice like I do in an Instant Pot or you can buy it frozen and just nuke it in the microwave.
Warm up everything and mix altogether.
Work in a probiotic serving of your choice - kombucha, yogurt, or pickle are mine.