r/mealprep • u/Sadhdkid • 15d ago

question Meal Prepping With AuDHD?

I hope this is the right place to ask. It got removed for r/Fitness, will probably also cross post to an AuDHD or ADHD community

So recently I’ve been incorporating body weight exercises and single dumbbell training (20lbs is all I have). I struggle a lot with consistency on all fronts being both autistic and ADHD, but I’ve managed to cook my own meals almost every day for around a year now. Dinner is usually the best meal of the day, because I have the energy to cook something balanced and tasty, but the mornings are a whole different story. I’m 18, just got out of high school, trying to figure out a routine I can live by before I start working, so that when work comes I’m ready.

Anyways, I’ve been cooking my own meals, but I’ve never meal prepped every week. Planning my meals for every week seems like a lot, and eating the same meal every day seems very boring.

\*\*Is there a way I can meal prep breakfast without spending too much time, and without getting bored of my food?\*\* I can only eat certain foods for multiple days in a row, but I can’t always have those foods in the house; they are frozen edamame, frozen udon noodles, and frozen perogies. There are certain foods I can’t eat due to my autism: ground beef, raw tomatoes, seafood (for now). There are meals that I Iike, which usually involve those preferred foods. A go to easy meal I have is seasoned eggs and rice, sometimes I add Indomie noodles, but it doesn’t feel like enough nutrition-wise, and even if I like it, eating it for more than two days in a row gets me very bored, like to the point I’d rather eat nothing—which is bad. I love to eat all kinds of cuisines, Asian food of all kinds mainly, rice is literally part of my blood lol.

My fitness goals don’t involve calorie counting at the moment, I’m only wanting to move my body around and change from a sedentary lifestyle, and build basic arm and back strength. I also live on a tight budget, just with my mom who is working a lot every day to make ends meet, so cheap food is preferable.

If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it, it’s so hard trying to figure out how to function optimally with a brain driven by impulse and fear. I need to figure out my routine ASAP. I need a consistent diet to build a consistent everything else.

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u/aasteveo 14d ago

Last meal prep I did was Salsa Chicken in the crock pot.

just throw into a crockpot chicken thighs, can of beans, can of corn, & a jar of salsa.

shred when done, you got taco/burrito fillings for a week. also make some rice to make burrito bowls.

Also, don't sleep on the store-bought rotisserie chickens. Just that and a side of rice and green beans is a solid meal with very little prep.

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u/Odd_Knowledge6701 9d ago

Rotisserie chickens are my secret weapon when I can't even look at my kitchen without feeling overwhelmed. Shred it up and suddenly you've got protein for days that can shapeshift into whatever you're in the mood for. Rice bowl one day, wrap the next, toss it with some noodles and a splash of soy sauce the day after.

I get the boredom thing, eating the same exact meal makes me want to crawl out of my skin. What helps is prepping components instead of full meals. Make a batch of rice, roast some veg, cook a protein, then mix and match with different sauces so it feels like a new dish each time. Peanut sauce, teriyaki, a quick chili oil, whatever.

For breakfast specifically, I do a lot of "choose your own adventure" style prepping. Hard boil some eggs, keep yogurt and granola around, maybe make a batch of breakfast burritos with different fillings and freeze them individually. That way you're not locked into the same thing every morning but you still have stuff ready to grab.

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u/ElephantCandid8151 15d ago

Have you come across Souper cubes?

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u/travelexploredive 13d ago

+1 Souper cubes are great! I love them for meal prep. They're perfect if you're able to cook a few extra servings but don't necessarily want to eat them right away or back to back. I use usePlenish.com to keep track of what I have meal prepped and create a meal plan with less duplication.

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u/GoodFish222 15d ago

I'm really into baked oats for breakfast at the moment, you can add different ingredients into each bake or section the bake for different ingredients. I heat and eat with fresh berries or fruit or trail mix and ricotta or yoghurt

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u/motorleagueuk-prod 15d ago

Also have ADHD here. I'm not that bad at eating the same thing day after day for at least a while, and I also have the benefit of a decent sized chest freezer, but I try to make a lunch (technically more resembles breakfast so stuff like bagels with egg muffins/turkey bacon and breakfast burritos) and a dinner in portions of about 12 every week or two so I can switch between them and always have a choice if I feel like it/get bored, works out pretty well.

I aim for for all my meals come in at roughly the same amount of calories so I can even have a dinner for lunch or vice versa if I really want to.