As someone who is neurodivergent, it can be hard to stay organized and focused.
While this can lead to issues in all kinds of areas in your life, one of the most problematic areas for it to manifest is in the kitchen.
Unstructured meal patterns can lead to unhealthy eating habits or missing meals entirely. Meal planning is a powerful tool that helps you stay organized and eat nutritiously.
The practice involves setting aside time to plan meals and snacks for a week or longer, and while it might seem like a daunting task, it can save you tons of time and money – and of course, your sanity.
Read on to discover how meal planning can improve your nutrition, health, and overall quality of life. We’ll tell you everything you could ever possibly want to know!
Click here to jump to the TL;DR summary.
What Are the Benefits of Meal Planning?
Before we dive into the best tips for meal planning, here are a few of its main benefits.
1. Saves Time and Reduces Stress
Planning meals in advance can alleviate daily struggles of decision fatigue and anxiety that come with not knowing what to eat.
By setting aside specific time for planning and meal prep, you are providing a sense of routine to your week. When rushing to make meals on the fly, unhealthy choices can become more tempting.
2. Cost-Effective
Grocery shopping can be a significant expense, especially if you find that you keep having to run to the store unplanned. Meal planning helps you avoid overspending on items you do not need and lets you focus on necessary items.
Mindfully navigating the grocery store with a prepared list helps you to avoid impulse purchases and only allows buying ingredients that are necessary for the planned meals.
3. Better Nutritional Choices
Meal planning promotes healthier food choices as you can include healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks options. When developing a meal plan, you can make healthier food selections and consider food intolerances and allergies that may apply. This planning allows for a balanced diet and a greater sense of overall nutritional awareness.
4. Increases Opportunities to Experiment with New Recipes
Meal planning broadens your culinary horizons as you scour the internet and recipe books for new and exciting meals to make. If you’re bored with the same-old, same-old, meal planning might be a good way to help you break outside of your comfort zone.
5. Enhanced Mental and Physical Health
Proper nutrition is crucial for both physical and mental health. Meal planning aims to help you replenish your body with essential nutrients to promote overall health and wellness – and of course, will improve your overall quality of life, too.
16 Tips for Meal Planning for Neurodivergent Eaters
Meal planning can help you stay on track with healthy eating and save time during the week. With a little bit of planning, you can make sure that you have nutritious and tasty meals ready to go.
Whether you are new to meal planning or you are looking for some fresh ideas, these 16 tips can help you make the most out of your meal planning efforts.
1. Use Reliable Sources for Your Recipes
When planning your meals, it’s important to use reliable sources for your recipes. Look for recipes online, in cookbooks, or from reputable sources. Make sure to read through the recipe, and make sure you have all the ingredients you need before you start cooking.
2. Once You Have Your Recipes, Block Them Out on a Calendar
Once you have your recipes, it’s important to block them out on a calendar. You can use a virtual tool for this if desired – just make sure you do it!
By blocking out your meals on a calendar, you can see what you’ll be eating for the week, and make sure you have all the ingredients you need.
3. Make Sure You Plan Ahead for Variety and Nutrition
Plan ahead for variety and nutrition. Plan theme nights, like taco night or pasta night, to make meal planning more fun. You can also plan for different types of protein throughout the week.
For example, you can have chicken on one night, fish on another, and tofu on another.
4. Make a Shopping List
Before you go grocery shopping, make a shopping list. This will help you stay organized and make sure you have all the ingredients you need for your meals. Look through your recipes and write down any ingredients you need to buy. You can also include any snacks or pantry staples you need.
5. Think Carefully About Personal Preferences
Consider not just foods you like to eat, but also how often you’d like to eat those foods as leftovers. If you don’t want to eat the same meal twice in a week, plan for different leftovers or plan for meals that can be easily repurposed.
6. Mix and Match Ingredients
When prepping for the week’s meals, try to mix and match ingredients. For example, you can prepare a side dish like a salad to go with all of the week’s meals or prep a bunch of rice to go with multiple meals. This can help save time during the week and make meal prep more efficient.
7. Let Dinner Play Double Duty
Preparing and packing up leftovers for the next day saves time, money, and energy in the kitchen. Roasted veggies, grilled meat, and grains make for perfect ingredients to repurpose into a new dish.
A roasted chicken can be shredded and incorporated into tacos, salads, or soups. A meal like chili or soup can be easily doubled or tripled and portioned out for quick and easy meals in the future.
That said, it’s not all about dinner! When meal planning, don’t forget to plan for snacks and lunches. Include healthy snacks like fruit or vegetables, and plan for easy-to-grab options for lunch during the week. This will help you stay on track with healthy eating and avoid reaching for unhealthy options.
8. Plan With Your Schedule in Mind
Planning a hearty meal on a night where you have limited time or a busy schedule can turn into takeout or last-minute fast food options.
Consider a make-ahead crockpot meal with simple instructions to prep in the morning and return home to a ready dinner option. Another option would be a one-pan meal cooked in the oven, such as sheet pan fajitas or roasted vegetables with sausage. These meals require minimal prep, cook time, and clean-up.
For a sample meal plan, download our free .pdf Real Life Executive Functioning Meal Plan
9. Plan for Ingredients’ Optimal Freshness
When planning for meals, it’s essential to take a look at the shelf life of your ingredients. Fresh herbs and greens like spinach or arugula have a shorter shelf life than root vegetables like sweet potatoes or onions.
Consider using a meal prep calendar to keep track of the best day to use perishable items. For example, purchase fish mid-week and plan for it to be cooked as soon as possible for maximum freshness.
10. Clean the Fridge Before You Prep
Finding outdated veggies and spoiled leftovers in the depths of your refrigerator can be catastrophic when meal planning. Take time before grocery shopping to empty and clean out your fridge.
Make a list of the items you have left over and plan to use them up before they spoil. Create a priority meal plan around the ingredients you have on hand and check off items as you use them throughout the week.
11. Plan for Leftovers
When planning your meals, it’s important to plan for leftovers. You can use leftovers for lunch the next day, or you can freeze them for later. If you don’t want to eat the same meal twice in the same week, plan for different leftovers or plan for meals that can be easily repurposed.
12. Prep Ingredients at the Beginning of the Week
One of the best ways to make meal planning easier is to prep your ingredients in advance. Chopped onions, minced garlic, and sliced peppers are some of the ingredients that you can prepare at the beginning of the week.
Doing this early in the week, like on a Sunday afternoon, allows you to spend less time in the kitchen during the week and helps you avoid the temptation to order takeout.
13. Don’t Be Afraid of Machines
Machines like slow cookers, pressure cookers, blenders, and food processors make meal prep faster, more efficient, and more fun. If you’re starting with meal planning, investing in one or two machines is a good idea.
For example, a slow cooker could do most of the work for you, from cooking oatmeal to making stews, soups, and casseroles. A pressure cooker, on the other hand, cuts down the cooking time by almost half, and blenders make perfect smoothies, sauces, and dips in seconds.
14. Cook in Batches
One of the biggest time-savers in meal planning is to cook in batches. Cook double or triple recipes of your favorite meals and freeze the extra portions.
This will save you time in the long run and make it easier to stick to your meal plan.
15. Understand the Basics of Food Safety
Understanding food safety is essential for every meal planner. It means knowing how to store, thaw, and reheat food safely.
For example, when storing food, always remember to refrigerate perishable foods, such as meat and eggs.
When reheating, do not leave food at room temperature for more than two hours to prevent bacterial growth. When thawing, use a refrigerator or microwave instead of the countertop to avoid cross-contamination. Ignoring food safety rules can lead to food poisoning and serious health issues.
16. Stay Flexible
Meal plans should be about your preferences, not rigidity. You do not have to eat chicken and rice every day to be healthy. Being flexible means allowing room for fun, spontaneity, and creativity.
One of the best ways to stay flexible is to have a backup plan.
For example, if you’re too tired to cook on a particular day, have a frozen meal or two available. Also, don’t forget to include snacks and desserts in your meal plan.
TL; DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)
In this blog post, we explore the benefits of meal planning for neurodivergent individuals and provide 16 practical tips to make the process easier.
Meal planning is especially important for those who struggle with organization and focus, as it helps establish routines and promotes healthier eating habits.
The benefits of meal planning include:
- saving time and reducing stress
- being cost-effective
- making better nutritional choices
- increasing opportunities to try new recipes
- and enhancing mental and physical health.
The tips we recommend include:
- using reliable recipe sources
- blocking out meals on a calendar
- planning for variety and nutrition
- making a shopping list
- repurposing leftovers
- and planning with your schedule in mind.
Although meal planning requires effort, the benefits outweigh the workload and offer significant time, money, and energy savings. Start with one tip at a time and explore the provided resources for further assistance.
Still feeling overwhelmed?
Check out our free EF meal plan and our Real-Life Executive Functioning Cookbook. We’ll help you get off on the right foot for the most productive week possible!
Further Reading
- Amy Sippl: Helping Your Child Overcome Decision Fatigue (part 2)
- Amy Sippl: 10 Ways To Make Cooking Executive Functioning Friendly
- Jeff Grabmeier: Diet plays key role in ADHD symptoms in children
- Harvard University: Meal Prep Guide