I never am at lost for what to cook or eat due to many reasons the most proably is I do only half the cooking and my husband does the other half. I have to proudly say I am the much better cook; and I also have to have certain foods with each other such as Apple sauce with pork chops. With that said, I never carry a list around because I lose it. I just go into the store pick up something that interest me or is on sale and base the meal around this one item. I have an great memory for what food products are in the house and I will also buy something if I for some reason don't remeber if I have the spice. Dinner doesn't really doesn't have too much stress for me. However if it does for you make sure your meds aren't getting in the way because I could never finish or make a meal when I am taking my medications. I lost my appettie so bad that the thought of food cooking and shopping just could coudn't cross the brain barrier. I can and will go days of not really eating. Not good especially when you work 12 hour shifts. I am not oraganized enough to put up a list and menu but you could try it. Pick a day and make a number of dishes that can be stored so you can just pull it out for dinner. If you have someone at home who likes to make the menus let them and some one cooks and someone cleans up. And if it really late or a stressful keep your favorite restrauntants close by and order of course not ever day because that can very expensive. (Judi N)

Quote

Check out this website http://www.meals.com/Index/Index.aspx?Theme=0

It's free to sign up and has a lot of great ideas - it helps plan out your grocery list and everything. Hope this helps!

Quote

Holla! I'm SO glad someone else posted this! I've been very frustrated with this same issue... I'm a pretty good cook - I was making dinner for my family of 5, Japanese meals FROM SCRATCH back when I was younger... but back then, all I had to do was call my mom up and ask her what to make for dinner that night.

I can come up with ideas what to cook, but the act of trying to get organized so I can find everything (sometimes I can't find it at the grocery store down the street where we get our groceries), and the time it takes to cook - I have to organize myself for that. And then I forget that I have it... and it goes bad.

It makes me upset to think about all the food I've wasted b/c I forget to make it.

It's mostly organizing though. I've looked at books that have pre planned menus for a week, with leftovers being planned into the next day's lunch etc. I bought it before I became vegetarian though, so now things are even more complicated!

I guess the way to go about this is to break it down into steps...

1. What are foods we like to eat?

2. choose 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners

3. write out ingredients

4. check and see if we have them on hand

5. the stuff we don't have goes on a shopping list

6. keep an eye out for things that they don't sell at our usual shop

7. know when we have to be home for to start making our dinner

SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT!!!!!!!!!

Is it the decision making process?? What is it about it that makes you overwhelmed? Are you comfortable in the kitchen?

My goals are: to start making things from scratch to be able to plan ahead for the meals of a week with the fiancee (been trying to do this for a year... not entirely my fault!) to figure in days to try out new recipes

:)

Maybe start a thread about meal planning progress.

I'm often at a loss for lunch ideas too - I've never been a "sandwhich" kind of person.

Quote

It's an hour till dinner, I use take out menus. Trying to figure out what I feel like eating is my problem. I gave up cooking except a few things years ago. I can't stay focused and it would take an entire day to decide, plan, shop, cook for one meal. Instead I changed my drapes today, and got some sun.

Quote

What about setting a specific time each week to meal plan and make a grocery list? Limit yourself to 1 or 2 cookbooks you really like, so you don't get overwhelmed by choices, and reward yourself with something you really like when you are done, such as getting a magazine you enjoy from the store when you go shopping. We keep our meal plan on the fridge, so we see it and remember what we were planning to do that day.

Quote

I have these times as well. We generally have two types of meals, burning meat on the grill or casseroles in the summer, and slow cooker roasts, soups, and stews in the winter. Wednesday night is sandwich night, because I have two classes on Thursday, and I try to make sure all my work is done for them. I agree with the picking out a few meals your family likes and keeping that stuff on hand. My biggest problem is remembering to thaw the meat out.

I keep a couple of cans of canned milk on hand in case we run out of milk for cooking. As for spices, most of the time you can improvise if you don't have what the recipe calls for on hand. While I'm not a huge fan of Rachael Ray, her express lane meals book does have a list of things to keep on hand with only a few things left to pick up at the market.

for two weeks: burgers on the grill oven roasted potatoes twice, a vegie

grilled pork chops twice with skillet apples and a vegie steaks once green salad Tater tot casserole (once) with a vegie Pepper steak, with meat that's been marinating for two days squash casserole, fried rice Grilled sandwiches twice with left over vegies Chicken sauteed with brocolli, onions Tacos or Taco salad chicken or beef Summer spaghetti with bits of pork or chicken tossed with olive oil, vegies, and parmesan Dinner out or take out once

Quote

What about printing up something on a spreadsheet...with columns like this:

date main side dish#1 side dish#2 drink 1 Salisbury Steak mashed potatoes salad iced tea 2 quiche blueberry muffins fresh fruit mimosa 3 salmon, grilled penne pasta 3 bean salad lemonade 4 leftovers 5 eat out 6 chicken & dumplings etc. etc etc

You could repeat favorite meals a couple of times....

OR...

have a 'mix & match' system with envelopes. Write main dishes on slips of paper & place in one envelope, side dishes in another envelope, and other side dishes/salads/soups in a 3rd envelope...then just reach in and grab slips of paper--voila--there's your dinner!!

Quote

First of all, I should say I love Flylady! She has a partner website called Saving Dinner that will email you your week's worth of menu's for a small fee. It even has a shopping list!

I liked the idea, but since my family are all such picky eaters, I did my own version. I set aside one day a month for meal planning, and plan each night's meals for the next month right then. I am able to see what nights need to be crockpot meals, and when we need a fast meal and when we have time to have a nice meal. Then I go to my trusty list of meal favorites, and plug one in for each night. Then for the rest of the month, I just look at the calendar to see what we are having.

It means I can't be spontaneous, but since that usually means meals nobody likes, this is a good thing.

I also use a program called PDA Cookbook from Wakefield Software that lets me do my menu planning on my PDA. It comes with a bunch of recipes, but you can add your own favorites. I use it to plan my meals, then click a couple of buttons and it will create my shopping list in seconds. This means I'm much more effecient in the groery store and usually don't buy as much food that gets wasted since we don't eat it. AND, I'm in and out of the store in under and hour which is usually impossible with my ADHD. I love this software, and think everybody who has a PDA and hates cooking/meal planning should have it. I am NOT affiliated in any way, just a happy user.

I hate grocery shopping, I hate cooking, I hate meal planning. But I'm a mom with 3 kids, so I HAVE to cook. This is the only way I can stand it.

Quote

Quote:

Wishful Spirit said: What about setting a specific time each week to meal plan and make a grocery list? Limit yourself to 1 or 2 cookbooks you really like, so you don't get overwhelmed by choices, and reward yourself with something you really like when you are done, such as getting a magazine you enjoy from the store when you go shopping. We keep our meal plan on the fridge, so we see it and remember what we were planning to do that day.

This is what works for us, only I do two weeks worth, so I only have to shop twice a month. Small trips to the store for produce, milk, etc, are done by DH, otherwise I'll blow our budget out of the water! I start by asking everyone what they are in the mood for having. That gets me two or four meals. I also check the freezer for any items that need to be used and aren't accounted for in the current menu, and build a meal around a roast or chicken breasts or whatever. For the days I work, I ask the designated cook, either my mom or husband, what they want to make, since I don't get home until 8 or 8:30pm. We try something new from a cookbook on the last day, or fall back on an old favorite. If we are planning on eating out, I just cross out that day and that is one less day to plan! Same goes for parties. Before I started, I always hated the thought! Not me, I'm a free spirit, I don't live by rules, but by whims! How am I going to know what I'm going to want to eat in a week?! But now that I'm actually doing it, it has brought back the family meal, instead of the pit-stop, we spend less on groceries and don't eat out nearly as much, also a waistline and budget-saver! For the price of two hours a month, we've gained a lot! Also, the first few times, it takes a little longer, but I'm getting a system down and it gets even faster! HTH

Quote

I have so many problems with this and nothing I do seems to work long-term. I always find excuses for deviating from my plan, or I have a bad day and just don't have the energy to deal with it. Just a little thing like forgetting to put frozen chicken in the fridge to thaw can derail me. But there are some things that have helped when I do follow them, so I thought I'd share them. I'm a single person, picky, and sensitive to the balance of sugar/carbs and timing of meals so this has added extra difficulties. (I'm also a very poor judge of how much food I need at a time. Does anyone else have that problem? I end up with way too much or too little).

1. "Theme" weeks. When I follow this plan it works wonderfully. I plan at least one week at a time, sometimes two. The goal is mix and match ingredients. I don't buy all the ingredients to make a great italian meal, plus the ingredients to make a great mexican meal the next day, and meatloaf the third. I have a week of American or Mexican, or some other kind of theme that works well.

2. Taking an hour to prepare certain food for the week. It usually doesn't even take an hour, but I often feel like preparing food is wasting time I could be doing something else, so I tell myself one hour a week to make life easier is worth it in the end. I chop up an onion in my mini chopper because I like onions on almost anything. I clean a head of lettuce and put it in a ziplock bag. I divide up anything I can into serving sizes and put it in ziploc bags or containers so I can just grab one. If I'm doing an Italian type week I chop up tomatoes with spices and olives for an easy pasta topping or pizza crust topping. I prepare my peanut butter sandwiches for the week. Etc.

3. Keep the refrigerator cleaned out and neat. (Probably an even bigger challenge with families!) I am naturally messy, but find clutter incredibly distracting and frustrating. When my fridge is stocked only with usable things and all the expired/moldy things are cleaned out it is much easier for me to deal with. Similarly, when my kitchen area is clean I have a much better attitude toward cooking. It is easier to focus on a task when I enjoy my surroundings.

4. LAPTOP. When I got my diagnosis I finally let go of some of my frustration with myself for needing constant stimulus, and feeling disconnected or anxious when i was away from something I wanted to do. I got a wireless router and I put my laptop where I can see it and easily reach it while I am preparing food or cleaning the kitchen. That way I don't feel the need to run back and forth between the kitchen and the computer room, where i get distracted. It's also been handy for looking up recipes or watching cooking tips on Youtube while I'm in the kitchen. How does this help me think of things to cook? Well, so often I avoid cooking things that are complicated or take too long because I can't stand taking that time away from other things. This has helped with that and I feel less anxious about cooking things that take more attention.

Quote

I think the biggest thing that helps me with cooking dinner every night is using my Palm/cell phone organizer. I use it for everything. Every day at 5:00 I have "Start Dinner and Laundry". That way as soon as I get home I put in a load of laundry and then I start dinner. Then it keeps reminding me every 15 minutes if I happen to get distracted. I also have on my planner every Sunday - "Dinners for the week???". That forces me to get meats out of the deep freezer on Sundays for the week so that they are thawed out and I don't have to think about it last minute. Then it helps to trigger in case I might need something at the grocery store. I set timers in the kitchen all the time - so I don't forget and burn things or forget to turn off the grill. I also have a "running" grocery list. That way it's not just my responsibility if we start running low on something. Even my young kids put things on the grocery list. I guess the biggest thing is that sometimes CEREAL is an option for dinner! :)

Quote

Some of the things that have helped my meal and shopping planning IMMENSELY! 1. Know what you have: After cleaning out the freezers, we found we had 9 lbs of hamburger! (we use maybe one a week.) And of course, we had just bought two more last week. I usually use this for Holiday planning, but have decided to use it everyday. http://organizedchristmas.com/sites/organizedchristmas.com/files/christmas_countdown_food_freezer_inventory.pdf By putting what goes into and what comes out of the freezer, I know what we have and what we need for each meal. There is also a pantry list at http://organizedchristmas.com/sites/organizedchristmas.com/files/christmas_countdown_food_pantry_inventory.pdf 2. Clip the coupons, don't be shy! I only clip the ones that are going to be worth my while, nothing less than 50 cents unless it is for something free. And I only clip the ones that I will actually use or may try, if it is a new item. They are all in an index card box with dividers. I have them divided into about 10 general categories. No alphabetizing of coupons allowed! LOL Because I only shop twice a month, I can remember to bring them with me, especially if my pen and master shopping list are tucked inside. A reminder on my Blackberry doesn't hurt, either. 3. Master shopping list: Since I don't read minds, I don't know if my teen is out of zit cream, or if my son needs index cards. Need 'em? Put 'em on the list! Did you use the last one? Add more to the list! The list is on the fridge with a pen attached. The list is from MS Works, customized with the things we most often buy, and room for new things. All they have to do is circle most items. After I have finished my biweekly menu, I add needed items for dinners are added, along with items found wanting from a quick check of the panty and freezer lists. I also check the outside cupboard and quiz family members if they can think of anything else. Paper products and personal products included. This is my list and I'm stickin' to it! Anything not on the list is an impulse purchase. I'm trying to cut down on those, they get me into trouble, and wreak havoc on my budget. 4. Plan meals around what is on sale: Checking out the weekly grocery store ads the week that I do my meal-planning saves us money and has resulted in some really good dinners! I'm a big fan of Reynold's Oven bags. Put everything inside, bake a couple of hours, and it looks like I've slaved. Mrs. Cleaver, eat your heart out, perfec Pot roast with red potatoes and carrots on a Wednesday night! On the back of my Master List, I jot down the name of the store and what we'll be getting at that store. I usually hit three stores, Walmart or Target, for toiletries and other stuff, Costco, and a grocery store. Each week it changes, depending on what we need. I take two days to do the shopping, in the morning, while my meds are fresh. That way I still have my afternoons. 5. Don't expect perfection: I do the best I can. That is all I can do. If I forget something, then I forgot. Usually because it never got on the List. I limit my time in each store, otherwise I'd go crazy. And I try not to hyperfocus, just decide! So I didn't save an extra penny! I saved my insanity. My mom will go to five stores to the get the best prices. Not me. Three is my max! Two is better. Taking someone who is non-ADHD with me is helpful, as well. My mom frequently shops with me, as she lives with us. 6. Don't forget to have some fun! Chores are icky, but lucky you, you have ADHD! You can have fun in a pay toilet! So I don't forget to have a little fun, and as a reward, I'll buy myself a book I've been wanting to read, a new shade of eyeshadow or lipstick, just a little something to reward myself for a job well-done! (Yes, it's on the list.)

Quote

My son has adhd and he is overweight and picky. It took me hours to look up recipes, shopping, preparing, etc. All of this while I have a 13 year old demanding my full attention. What we ended up with was tired, stressed momma who cannot cook a decend meal. I thought cooking was suposed to be relaxing. I have found a few places (Denver) where you can get once a month cooking done. Here is how it works. google prepared meals (with your city). You make an appointment at your convience, prepare for two hours (or you can have them do it, sometimes free or around $15 extra, some deliver). When you make your apointment (online) you are given menu selcions for the month, usally around 15 choices. You pick what you want and how much. You go to your appointment with a cooler and assemble you recipes. They have shopped for you in bulk, chopped, diced, and prepared everything, and give you the spices you need. You can put in what you do not want or add extra of what you want. You pack it all home, throw it in the freezer, pll it out, throw it in the oven/grill and you have dinner done! The cost is very comparable to regular shopping because they buy in bulk. This allows you more time to keep the yourself/adhd person on a regulated schedule which is most beneficial and cuts down some stress. I hope you a least look into it. It is delicious and can be healthy to.

Quote

I can and will go days of not really eating. Not good especially when you work 12 hour shifts. I am not oraganized enough to put up a list and menu but you could try it. Pick a day and make a number of dishes that can be stored so you can just pull it out for dinner. If you have someone at home who likes to make the menus let them and some one cooks and someone cleans up. And if it really late or a stressful keep your favorite restrauntants close by and order of course not ever day because that can very expensive. (Judi N) [url="http://www.drugstrategies.org/Treatment/Rhode-Island"rel="DoFollow"]Rhode Island Drug Treatment Centers[/url]

Quote

The suggestion of using only a few cookbooks to reduce the number of choices is useful to me. Too many cookbooks (not to mention the web) can be overwhelming.

I'm the ADHD male spouse and I do virtually all the cooking. I keep a three-ring binder in the kitchen of the recipes that we enjoy. I also write any comments that might be useful next time I prepare the dish. I often re-write the recipe because I need it in a format that works for me.

The binder also has a list of dishes that I feel we should be able to prepare at any time, without a trip to the grocery store. From these recipes, I've generated a list of ingredients that we should always have in our kitchen. The first step in generating my shopping list is to check that we have all these ingredients in the kitchen.

Then I choose one or two recipes from the binder, or look for something new from my cookbooks (or epicurious.com) and add the ingredients for those recipes to my grocery list. In some cases, I will wait on buying the perishables because my ambitions are often greater than my ability to fill them, but I now have almost everything I need in place for various meals.

Quote

This is such an ADHD moment. I am reading through these threads on page 2, thinking these are some good ideas. I printed some stuff, then went to page 1, thought wow, this thread is really about the things that are hard for me! Then I looked at the initial post, and lo and behold, I am the one that wrote it! I had completely forgotten about it! Thanks to everyone for their ideas. Keep them coming!

Sue

Quote

Thank you for posting that you had forgotten that you posted the original.

I showed it to my wife and she got a really good laugh from it. It was funny on it's own, but she saw a lot of myself in it as well. I think it helped her appreciate that my lapses aren't personal slights nor uncommon among people with ADHD.

Quote

Yes, I can relate to you. I dread dinner hour, because I do not plan what is for dinner. I do not have ADD or ADHD. My husband who does have ADD, is a great cook. He can whip up dinner in no time, and everyone likes it. When the kids were little, I would plan dinner, and cook it, and there was always someone who didn't like it, and let it be known. I think I gave up trying to please anyone., and I got tired of the complaints. Yesterday I found out from my daughter who lives on her own now, that she did like Tuna Casserole, just not lasagna. I thought she didn't like either. Sometimes my family just hasn't been in the mood for whatever I have made for dinner. I am the only one in my family without ADD or ADHD. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Quote