ADHD quick food options - trying to expand my repertoire

May 30, 2024 3:58 AM

I generally have my ADHD reined in, but in times of stress I both forget to eat (so when I actually get hungry it's urgent) and don't have the executive function to assemble more than three ingredients or, sometimes, turn on the stove at all. Basically the kind of mood that has people using ready meals and delivery, but trying to eat healthier than that. What's your favourite ten-minutes-or-less simple meal?

My personal constraints: access to European supermarkets (so few American brands and Mexican ingredients, limited Asian ones). I eat very little meat. Ingredients need to last at least two weeks in the fridge or be usable within ten minutes of taking out of the freezer.

(Nope, food prep isn't a solution - I already do it, but it stops looking like food. Brains are strange.)

Examples of meals I already have in my rotation for those times:
- bread, cheese and ketchup (like, literally - not even butter)
- handful of olives and nuts
- microwave a potato, add butter and salt, maybe chives or shredded cheese or smoked salmon if I'm feeling fancy
- tamago kake gohan (with frozen rice)
- PB&J
- microwave a sweet potato, add salt, eat
- scrambled eggs (eat with bread and tomato)
- pickled herring on dark bread
- silken tofu with soy sauce and chives
- raw carrots with prosciutto

posted by I claim sanctuary to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Two slices of toast. Rub a clove of garlic into them. Squish tinned sardines on them. Finish with salt then olive oil.

Well under ten minutes and even healthy. Not dissimilar to your herring but variety helps.
posted by deadwax at 4:16 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]

Tinned sardines mashed up with a little mustard, salt and pepper, on toast or crackers with optional shredded cabbage, lettuce, or thinly sliced red onions or radishes, basically whatever is crunchy that you have in the fridge

Miso soup made with hondashi, scallions, frozen shelled edamame, and whatever color/type of miso you have access to

If I have leftover rice I microwave it with a bit of extra water so it’s steamy, and then I like to sauté scallions in toasted sesame oil and then scramble a couple eggs in there to top the rice, making sure to pour any sizzling oil on the rice too. Also good with cherry tomatoes, and if you can find it furikake seasoning of course.

Premade spreads like hummus or baba ganoush eaten with cucumbers, olives, carrots, snap peas, and whatever pita or flatbread you have, or with plain pretzels

Pickles, hard boiled eggs, an apple or pear, and a nice snacking cheese like a cheddar or Gouda

Microwave-steamed little potatoes, halved and tossed in a dressing of olive oil, paprika, s&p, whole grain mustard, enjoyed warm, easy to make a small amount if you are hungry but not hungry for a whole meal

I like to keep easy to grab food. Apples, pears, grapes, (peeling citrus is too much to bother with when my brain is not cooperative so I tend not to have satsumas and the like but you might like them), snap peas, cucumbers, olives, pre-washed lettuce, radishes, carrots, different kinds of pickles (right now I’m really into pickled green beans), smoked jarred sprats, tinned sardines, different kinds of crackers and lower-grease crunchy stuff like pretzels and bagel crisps, different kinds of unsalted nuts (I’m in a walnut phase right now) and seeds (idk if pumpkin seeds are a thing where you are, do give them a try), and a rotation of snackable cheeses of medium hardness are all things that I endeavor to keep around. Then when I’m in the kitchen hemming and hawing about wanting to eat but not wanting to cook and wah and meh and argh I can grab something to snack on while I complain and by the time I’ve gesticulated my feelings out I’ve had nearly a full meal of stuff anyway.
posted by Mizu at 4:32 AM on May 30

Tuna salad with whatever pickle/relish/chilis I have in the fridge.
Frozen ravioli with butter or jarred sauce.
Migas - basically I just scramble eggs, add cheese and crumbled up corn chips, top with salsa or hot sauce or veggies if I've got them.
Cheese, dried fruits, and nuts.
Black beans, seasoned and mashed, with a fried egg on top. Veggies, sauces, etc optional.
Similarly, a cheater ful medames; fava beans (or chickpeas), mashed with cumin and some olive oil. Topped with lemon juice and whatever green sauce I have on hand (chimichurri, salsa verde etc).
posted by specialagentwebb at 4:56 AM on May 30

Your scrambled egg with tomato will be a lot different but still taste great if you make Chinese style tomato-egg stir fry and eat it with (leftover) rice! You can make it in 10 min once you are used to it.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:57 AM on May 30

Can of beans drained preferably seasoned and rice from frozen. Frozen onions and pepper mix if you have it if not on its own it's simple and filling enough
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:08 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]

Add an apple to the bread and cheese and you have a very bare-bones version of a Ploughman's Lunch.

Tinned fish of your choice on a bed of rice with a piece of fruit would also work.

If you have access to a rice cooker, my roommate does this thing where he throws a bunch of other veg in with the rice and adds some random premade sauce, and then lets it run. It's totally random and improvisational, but he shared some with me once and it was surprisingly good.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:44 AM on May 30

Frozen stir fry mix with tofu.

Pasta of all persuasions - boil and add pesto/a jar of tomato sauce or toss in some butter, garlic and either a dash of tabasco sauce or some grated parmesan.

Tinned beans/chickpeas are basically ready to eat. Drain and rinse them, you can add them to soups or turn them into a salad. You can add veg to this or not and drizzle with some vinaigrette.

Baked beans go nicely with bread, baked potatoes or even pasta. They can also replace the bread with your scrambled egg.

Tinned tuna - I buy the stuff in brine, not oil. I drain it and add a spoon of mayo, salt and pepper, any pickles I have on hand, green or red onion (or onion powder), peas and/or sweetcorn (tinned and drained or I have mixed in peas straight from the freezer). Again - works as sandwich filling, add cold pasta and you have a pasta salad, also nice with baked potatoes.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:49 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

Forgot rice - cooked rice freezes surprisingly well. Do a whole pot and portion it out and freeze in individual portions. Can be reheated from frozen in the microwave in 2 mins.

If you don't own a rice cooker to facilitate this, I cannot recommend my
microwave rice cooker highly enough. I have the first one on the list, it makes perfect rice, nothing boils over and every part goes in the dishwasher.... It does take 12 mins though between having to heat the water as part of the boil and having to let it sit a couple of mins when the microwave is done.

That then opens up the world of fried rice as well. Tossing some veg, a couple of eggs and a portion of rice together takes less than 10 mins.
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:03 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

I’ll add that keeping a list of food/meal/snack options on the fridge helps me find something to actually eat besides my go tos
posted by raccoon409 at 6:05 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

If you have access to kimchi - I've added a bare-bones-basic version of kimchi fried rice to my personal "I'm too brain dead to cook" rotation:

1. Chop up a slice of bacon and fry it up.
2. Dump in a cup of cooked rice and a healthy scoop of kimchi (chopped up a bit if you want, otherwise who cares). Fry everything up until the rice and kimchi are heated through and the bacon is mixed in well.

You're done, go eat.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:11 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

Wheat tortilla wrap with hummus, sliced tomatoes and/or cucumber. I like to add onion powder and oregano.
posted by Glinn at 6:25 AM on May 30

Stuff a pita with tuna, feta, olives, cucumbers, drizzle a little tahini or green goddess on it. Or dump those things over some pre-washed greens.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:50 AM on May 30

Welcome to my daily lunch, eaten at my desk:

• Apple sliced thinly and garnished with peanut butter.
• Mini cucumbers sliced with hummus.
• Crackers and cheese.

posted by number9dream at 6:52 AM on May 30

One of my favourite tricks — if you take a can of old-fashioned baked beans, drain away fully half of the sauce, and fry everything that remains in butter/oil on a non-stick pan (until it forms a crispy crust on the bottom), it morphs from gloopy "canned food" into something that seems like an actual, prepared meal.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 7:26 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

Might want to download a copy of the The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make so You Don't Die. Pay what you can, including $0.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:08 AM on May 30 [5 favorites]

Adding some crumbled goat cheese to that sweet potato will make it even better.

Boil a serving of egg noodles (any regional variation), drain and scoop into a bowl; put some butter/tasty oil back into the pot and swish some garlic (minced jarred/frozen is FINE) around, add some leafy greens if you have them (frozen is fine!). Add salt, add noodles back, mix, turn off heat, and eat. Or turn off heat, add noodles back, add grated parmesan or other dry crumbly cheese, mix, and eat.

Whatever type of oat gruel is standard where you are, plus whatever kind of nut/seed butter is available, plus honey or brown sugar or something, and dried fruit. Put the fruit in while the gruel is still cooking and there's still water left if you want it to plump; otherwise put it in at the end.
posted by wintersweet at 1:00 PM on May 30

I recently learnt this recipe for beans and tuna salad. It is really, really delicious. You can make it with canned beans and I used the normal cheap tuna, not the expensive variations they recommend. Pickled red onion is a great thing for the fridge, it keeps well, and is good as a relish on all sorts of things.
One of my favorite go tos for this type of situtation is Catalan tomato bread. It has saved many a stressful situation. It would go very well with the bean and tuna salad.
posted by mumimor at 1:26 PM on May 30 [1 favorite]

I add an extra tablespoon of fat to pretty much all my meals to help with satiety. Olive oil by default.. avocado or safflower if I need a neutral oil.. coconut oil or grass fed butter if I want a really rich flavor or just need to eat a spoonful and run (!)
posted by lloquat at 4:51 PM on May 30

Hummus plate.

If I'm feeling fancy, then it's hummus, felafel, tomato, cucumber, cheese, pickles, baby spinach displayed artistically on a plate.

At a basic level it's Hummus + carrot + crackers or bread.
posted by kjs4 at 7:50 PM on May 30

Tuna and couscous.

Cook couscous in a noodle bowl in the microwave. Mix in flavoured can of tuna and some crunchy vegetables. I like diced carrot, celery and red capsicum.
posted by kjs4 at 7:52 PM on May 30

Omelette. 3 eggs for me, fry a can of tuna first to get a little bit of a toast on it and then add the beaten egg and pepper (doesn't really need salt). Cook till firm, turning once (usually in pieces because it never turns elegantly). I usually throw in veg too - onion and garlic is a safe bet for flavour, oregano and/or thyme if you have herbs in the cupboard, and oddly a good handful of finely shredded white cabbage is good and adds a nice crunch (store bought dry coleslaw is fine if you aren't about to shred a cabbage; just throw it in as you add the egg). Add sriracha while eating.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:49 PM on May 30 [1 favorite]

You said limited Asian options. Does this preclude things like instant ramen? Or miso? A long shot; here in the States, you can buy Indian curries and rice in microwaveable pouches, a lifesaver when my own executive function crumbles.

Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil = caprese salad. Put that on toast (rub garlic on the bread) and now it’s bruschetta.

Speaking of toast, avocado toast is fast and tasty. Marinated artichoke hearts on toast as well.
posted by Eikonaut at 12:11 PM on May 31

Canned tuna and beans served with rice. If you are lucky, you'll be able to find a can of tuna and beans together.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:15 AM on June 1