| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 8:30:05 AM | I've recently been chatting with someone who suffers from a variety of conditions including ADHD. Her diet is mostly preprocessed microwavable meals and the additives and poor nutrition in these are very likely to be partly responsible for her illness.
-- She is a very strong and determined and smart young woman BUT she is currently exhausted from constantly battling with her health problems and anything suggested must be easy because she is so drained of energy at this time.
-- She does not like vegetables.
-- She needs to avoid artificial colours and additives/processed foods
-- She is a student and does not have much money, so food needs to be cheaper than the microwave meals she currently eats.
-- She has no confidence in her ability to cook but is both sensible and creative, so I think she just needs some easy things to get her started.
-- She's very thin and definitely does not need to lose any weight, so no weight-loss recipes please.
I wish I lived nearer her and could help, (I'm an ocean away), but I'm vegan and she hates veggies so probably wouldn't rate my cooking anyway! I thought I'd appeal to the meat-eaters out there to suggest some really easy recipes to get an unconfident beginner started. Also of interest would be any comments from anyone who has positive experience of diet and ADD or ADHD. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 11:00:44 AM | Well hun tis very nice of you to want to help your friend. It is difficult to recommend something as she doesn't care for veggies!
Chicken recipes can be great. Does she have a crockpot? She could get into that a bit?
Sorry, guess I am not much help. You say she doesn't have much money. Lot of restrictions there... | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 11:14:55 AM | I did some googling, She needs to watch what she eats as well.
http://newideas.net/adhd/adhd-diet
Some easy meals in the forums here if you do a search.
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 11:24:39 AM | Okay So i'm ADHD myself, and things that i learned over time:
- Finnally after lots of Practice i was able to stray away from the microwave, but i do still use it sometimes
-If she seems to have no time to cook, tell her to at least go to Sub-way, or Quiznos and buy something healthy (That's what i do when i forget to buy groceries, which happens very frequently, actually i have no groceries right now....)
- So You said that she doesn't eat vegetables?? Please clarify and tell me what she actually does eat.
-Try to convince her into taking multivitamins, and meal suppliments like boost (NOT AS A REPLACEMENT) Get her to eat this along with her microwave dinners or such.
-Being a guy this "Bad habit" Has been very hard on me physically and mentally, because everyone knows that women all want big husky men with big strong arms, I'm not saying i'm skinny and weak but I have to train very hard to get there.
-Tell your friend that she's definately not alone Later
Dylan P Rogers | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 11:55:23 AM | Inexpensive and simple meals. Chicken and rice, a roast in a crock pot (slow cooker) - you could probably convince her to toss in some veggies in with it. There are many other nutritious meals you could make in a crock pot, inexpensively, so that may be a good investment if she doesn't already have one. Various soups, made with home made chicken broth (stock). And there's always breakfast food, like eggs made many different ways (again, you could get her to toss in a few veggies in an omelette).
Good luck. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 12:00:27 PM | Thanks for the replies so far. She does take multivitamins (can barely afford them) and is going to give omega 3 oil a try if she can get some cheaply enough.
She described her diet as preprocessed/frozen/microwave and says she can't cook. I don't actually have more details than that.
She eats fruit occasionally and said she will try to eat it more often.
I did a lot of googling too but I thought people here might be able to give me something a bit more real-life. Websites full of information can be a little overwhelming for someone with this condition and whilst I can look, as a non-meat eater who loves veggies, I can't really pick out good recipes to point her at.
I am thinking that something like scrambled egg or cheese on toast is simple.
Or chicken and rice or chicken and pasta -- but I don't cook such *meaty* things so... how do you make it taste good without getting complicated? I doubt she has a crock pot. How about some instructions for a simple and tasty chicken and rice dish? Or anything..? Remember she does not know how to cook (yet) so just saying "chicken and rice" is not giving her much of a clue.
Tell your friend that she's definately not alone Thanks for that. She's extremely hard on herself and I think she feels very alone with her struggles at times, feeling that people will condemn her for struggling with things that others find easy. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 12:06:08 PM | Key for her would be to set a timer with a buzzer to avoid over cooking anything.
Chicken breasts, lightly salted, with lemon pepper to taste. Throw in the over ~375 for ~50 mins. They are done when all of the juices around the chicken has evaporated, and the outter edges of the "juice circle" has turned black.
Microwave rice & a bag of salad.
You can do the exact same thing with Salmon. Tastes great. Doesn't need to cook as long. The longer that you cook the salmon the less fishy it will taste. (same goes for all fish)
Romain lettuce, sliced ham or turkey & cheese if you like. lettuce wraps.
Easy as pie. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 12:16:01 PM | | ^^^ Thanks for the tips, the buzzer sounds like a brainwave. Describing how you know when stuff is cooked is exactly the kind of thing a newbie cook needs, thank you. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 12:44:21 PM | With one whole chicken that she could bake she could make a few meals..
Easy Bake Chicken
Whole Chicken.. Make sure she removes the goody bag from inside...:)
Rub with butter and sprinkle seasoning....ie garlic salt , pepper, Mrs.Dash
bake at 350 for 35 -4o minutes
What chicken she doesn't eat then she can actually ziplock and freeze and warm up on the stove for later meals.....
She can pull the meat off the bones and make a few different meals.
Chicken Quesadillas----EASY
spray pan with Pam....Place flour tortilla down and place cheese down then some chicken....flip one side over the other and grill then flip.( this is also good with onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon- but you said she didn't like veggies....)
serve with salsa and sour cream.....yummy...
Chicken and Noodles
Egg noodles
Can of Cream of Chicken
Chicken
seasoning..ie salt, pepper, Mrs Dash
And she could add any veggies ( carrots, peas,corn- to be daring and add flavor- also cheddar cheese.)
Bacon, Egg, Cheese Spaghettie with Chicken
Cook a couple of slices of bacon-she actually can do this in the microwave 5 slices for about 3 minutes between paper towels....
boil spaghettie noodles - as soon as you drain them toss in a skillet and break 2 eggs over the noodles and stir in the eggs, they will will cook... then add the cheese , crumple up bacon bits and add the chicken...... serve
I hope she enjoys.... simple and easy quick meals....
Hugs Tonya | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 12:49:02 PM | You can find a lot of recipes for chicken and rice on google. Here are a few sites with some recipes.
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,baked_chicken_rice,FF.html
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/1141/0.shtml
http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickenrice/Chicken_and_Rice_Recipes.htm
http://www.grouprecipes.com/s/chicken-rice/recipe/1/relevancy
You could probably google a few simple crockpot recipes too.
In case she has trouble getting or making chicken broth, she could use water instead.
For a simple and quick chicken recipe, I usually brown the chicken, take it out of the pan/pot, toss in some diced tomatoes and seasonings/spices/herbs (salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, cumin powder, garlic, and/or whatever else you favour), let the tomatoes stew in their own juices for about 10 minutes (on medium to low heat), or add a couple of tablespoons of water to help it along, toss the chicken back in (it's a lot more fun than gently putting it back in), top with at least enough water to cover the chicken, bring to a boil, slow to a simmer, and let it cook 40-60 minutes. You could add some potatoes too. Eat with a good crusty bread, or if you prefer, rice.
You could thin out the leftover sauce, add some noodles, and turn it into a different kind of chicken noodle soup.
Simple, inexpensive, tasty, versatile, etc.
Again, good luck.
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 1:55:02 PM |
Or chicken and rice or chicken and pasta -- but I don't cook such *meaty* things so... how do you make it taste good without getting complicated? I doubt she has a crock pot. How about some instructions for a simple and tasty chicken and rice dish? Or anything..? Remember she does not know how to cook (yet) so just saying "chicken and rice" is not giving her much of a clue.
That's the best suggestion I can think of for a meat eater right off the top of my head. You can find crock pots, new, in the ads for as low as 9 bucks around here.
Any meat into them, a cup of water or milk, any seasoning one likes and let it go overnight or while away at work. Sometimes a can of cream of soup.
Easy to add potatoes and carrots -- both are great nutritionally. Inexpensive. Tell her to get a vegetable peeler, number one item.
The other way is to get her to get an old cast iron skillet with lid. Brown the meat on med high on the stove -- pork, beef, chicken -- doesn't matter what really. Then add a cup of water and some veggies and cover. Put that into a 350 degree oven for 30-45 mins till done. Again, any seasonings one likes.
Hint -- Avoid "Natural Flavorings" on bottles which often hide large amounts of MSG.
When it comes out, take out the meat and veggies, set aside and cover. Add flour/water or cornstarch/water on top the stove to the pan and there is the homemade gravy. Cornstarch is far more foolproof for a beginner.
Adding a can of cream of soup is even more foolproof.
For instance say you are going to do chicken thighs -- which you can get like 10# of bone-in ones on sale for $5.99 you put 1-3 of them fat side down, fry til they look yummy golden brown. Then drain off most of the grease, Add a cup of rice, 2.5 cups water, 1 tsp season salt, cover then put into the 350 degree oven. 45 minutes later it's done .
Carrots or onions can be added when it goes in the oven.
PS -- You can do any slow cooker recipe in a cast iron skillet. Just brown the meat on the stove, add the rest, cover and put it in a 325 degree oven. There are oodles of threads here on slow cooker recipes. If she has internet I'd suggest she watch cooking videos. But the cheap/healthy way to do it all is to start by peeling your own fresh veggies.
Buy a bag of basmati rice, too. I picked up a 15# one the other day for $13.99 -- which shocked me because I had been paying $1.50 a pound so I saved almost ten bucks right there compared to buying it by the pound.
It's gourmet rice, too -- the texture is heavenly! I can barely stop myself from eating the whole batch when I make a cup. I never did that with regular rice. Comes out way better than even converted/instant rice.
I like the asian cooking for easiness. All the premade sauces make tasty healthy cooking a no brainer for a beginner. Sauces, videos, etc
http://www.lkk.com/ | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 2:08:01 PM | My daughter is ADHD and cooking for her as a child was not difficult but the shopping was time consuming as every label has to be checked for additives. It was made easier for me by the fact that she loved vegetables, fruit and salad. I can't add much more than the other replies because they're all good but can I just add that she has to watch cheese - a lot of cheeses contain artificial colourings.
Good luck | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 2:37:29 PM | PPS -- For chicken and rice I love adding lipton's onion soup. But due everything having MSG and its rising cost I find it healthier & cheaper now just to use onion powder. Walgreens often has these on sale 3/$1 and that's usually when I stock up. Use 1 T of onion powder and a tsp of regular salt or season salt.
Also get her into eating bagged salad. It's inexpensive, super easy, and there are many varieties now. Spinach.... european blends(love those!) Making your own dressings is both better/cheaper -- I even found some of the first wine vinegar I used in the dollar store. Otherwise Apple Cider Vinegar should be used -- high in potassium and trace minerals it's very healthy and about the right acidity replacement for any recipe requiring wine vinegar.
I use the above mentioned onion powder in my own salad dressings, too. It's easier and a lot more flavorful than real onion. I've left recipes all over in various threads for various dressings. Once you switch to a GOOD homemade dressing recipe it's really hard to go back -- since I started making my own french I haven't bought it in well over five years though I still buy some of the creamy ranch dressings.
Plus this allows one to control the oil they use -- canola oil is light, super healthy, and a decent very inexpensive source of omega 3s compared to buying supplements.
Total Omega-3 fatty acids 19921 mg per cup
Total Omega-3 fatty acids 1279 mg per tablespoon
(that's 1.279 grams -- so say you use 3 T salad dressing on a large salad and 2 T of that is canola oil that over 2.5 grams of omega 3s added without the cost of buying any expensive supplement -- this would take 2-3 capsules of most supplement oil capsules to accomplish)
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20A1.html
Is she likes bread encourage her to start window shopping for a bread machine -- or ask for one as a christmas present. First one I bought was $300 and now I've seen them as low as $29. Often $50 with an electric knife -- cost of the most recent one I bought. Anyway this would be an easy way for her to include some of the healthier grains, especially those including omega 3s.
You should ask her what MODES her microwave has. Some have modes like rice which are superhandy and some can be used for other things. My old standby for easy cooking:
In a large glass bowl nuke a cup or two of frozen veggies on the frozen veggie mode. Then dump in a whole can of progresso soup and nuke 2 mins more til hot. Done. Healthy, somewhat processed, but still a great super easy supper. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 3:15:35 PM | As a student, it sounds like she needs more time, and sometimes being organized helps save time. I highly recommend Flylady to help. Flylady is experienced in helping people with ADD to function more effectively. The site is geared to people like this. She sends daily e-reminders for you to keep on track.
http://www.flylady.com/
She has a cooking dinner department done by Leanne at:
http://www.savingdinner.com/
There are hundreds of easy, healthy, simple recipes for meals on this site. There are menus tailored to various eating styles. And it works! I have gone to cooking almost completely from scratch with hardly any extra time involved. People with ADD often react strongly to food additives and preservatives. Using whole, unprocessed foods (or rather, foods you process yourself) is a great start in getting your brain healthier.
Flylady's site is free, and includes some of Leanne's recipes, though her site is not free, but is really reasonable for everything you get--and it really works!
You can hear her on BlogTalk Radio weekly, also, for free.
Here's a good easy recipe I use:
1. Brown chicken breasts. (You can brown in a Nesco, then use it to slow cook.)
2. Put in a slow cooker.
3. Cover with a jar of organic salza, cook about a half-hour, or set to slow cook until you get home.
4. Serve over rice.
If she eats no vegetables, I would consider that she has some form of food sensitivity which can cause a mild addiction to the sensitized food. She could try doing an elimination diet to discover the offending foods, which can also be typically the foods she eats most often.
Since ADD is on the Autism spectrum, (as its mildest form), and about 30% of people with Autism who try it improve on a Gluten-free/Wheat-free diet, she could try this diet for a month (it is not designed as a loose-weight diet), and see how she feels. There are many online resources for this diet.
I hope this helps. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 3:36:15 PM | What about throwing in a can of tuna with a box of mac and cheese...maybe a can of peas too for some veggies?
There is lots of protein in eggs...what about adding some chopped ham (it can be bought pre chopped) to scrambled eggs and eat a banana. She can cook those in the mivrowave if she wants.
Instant mashed potatoes are quick too.
a can of carrots with maple syrup on them will make them taste better to get them down,
V8 juice maybe. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 4:12:16 PM | I'd also suggest a George Foreman grill, you can get them for very little used or even new, they're almost always on sale somewhere or at garage sales, etc. You can just throw in a steak, burger (turkey or beef), fish, boneless chicken - even a grilled cheese sandwich. And it's so fast, you literally don't even walk away with most things, they're done in just a few minutes. I find some things are even quicker than in a microwave! When she's ready to try some veggies, many of them can be grilled as well.
Also, I was thinking you could google, or she could go to the library, for cookbooks for children. The recipes will be quick and easy and really spelled out! They're not all written in a babyish way, and can often be quite interesting if you look at international foods or cultural or ethnic traditions. This one popped up for kids with dietary restrictions:
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/
Good luck!
Debbie
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/18/2008 9:43:41 PM | Wow, thanks for all the suggestions and information. That looks really helpful. I will link her up to this thread when I next see her online. It's funny, DebbieC but that website was the one I pointed her to the other day! :)
Thank you all so much for taking to time to think about this problem and to give your advice and recipes. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/21/2008 11:56:25 AM | My kids have always loved bagel sandwhiches.
Take a whole wheat bagel and add some creme cheese and throw some of that chicken on top, you can also use Turkey or Roast beast. (meat from the deli to avoid the processed lunch meat)
It's easy and portable. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/25/2008 10:08:48 AM | damn this girl screwed if shes a picky eater then cause i'm a picky eater and wouldn't make any of those meals or eat them at all...lol....guess the meds will have to do the trick for her then  | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/25/2008 9:28:42 PM |
I've recently been chatting with someone who suffers from a variety of conditions including ADHD. Her diet is mostly preprocessed microwavable meals and the additives and poor nutrition in these are very likely to be partly responsible for her illness.
I am severely ADD. I have a degree is Special Education and used to teach independent living skills to adults so I am somewhat familiar with the abilities and needs of people with ADD and ADHD.
You do not specify what her other conditions are so I will just comment on the ADHD aspect. ADD and ADHD people tend to blow off things that are not interesting to us however we will devote a great deal of time and energy into things which we do find interesting. If she does not like to cook she is probably not going to be interested in doing much more than convince foods. But if she spends some time cooking and discovers that she likes it, she will likely find that she can cook anything.
The one thing that is a common cooking issue for us is distractibility. We are constantly walking away from the stove and forgetting about it until the smoke alarm goes off. I have learned that while I am cooking I need to restrict myself to the kitchen in order to avoid wandering off and starting on another project. Timers are a must.
As for recipes, most of us don't follow them. Like many other activities, we tend to "wing it" rather than following step by step instructions. The only time I ever use a recipe is when I am baking from scratch and need to pay close attention to things like the amount baking powder or a critical cooking temperature.
Regarding special diets, the internet is full of sites claiming that this or that will cause or aggravate ADD. For the most part, that is BS. None of that has been scientifically proven. There is one study which indicates some food additives might aggravate symptoms with a small sub-group of ADHD children, but the study has not ruled out other causes.
She needs to follow a diet suitable to her other medical conditions and not worry about doing anything special for the ADHD. Depending on where she is and what her other issues are, she may be able to get some training or assistance with kitchen skills. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/26/2008 8:43:19 AM | Try starting with REALLY BASIC cookbooks. Books written specifically for beginners. They have explicit instructions that typically don't involve a lot of jargon. Very straightforward. You can find them in the cookbook section of most chain bookstores and sometimes in young adult or childrens sections. Then practice, practice practice. Here are a couple of great cookbooks for beginners, available on Amazon.com. They are REALLY cheap if you buy them used.
The Starving Students' Cookbook - easy instructions and explanations, good do-it-yourself food for college kids on a budget, away from home for the first time without Mommy.
Better Homes and Gardens His Turn to Cook - easy instructions, simple but much more fancy food than the Starving Student cookbook.
There are a number of crockpot cookbooks out there. Crockpots have the advantage of being uber simple, and typically can be forgotten about for several hours without ruining everything or torching the house. You can probably find one cheap in almost any thrift store. By contrast Foreman-type grills are so fast you can't walk away from one, and you can also find them in thrift stores.
If your friend doesn't eat veggies, one easy way to add fiber is to add dried fruit (cheap and easy to find) and a little curry powder to rice. Very tasty. | |
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| super-easy recipes for a beginner with ADHD
Posted: 2/27/2008 12:18:59 PM | This has got to be the CHEAPEST and EASIEST meal ever!!
cheap lazymans spanish rice!
Fry 1lb hamburger, with onion(that's the veggie) could add green pepper too
seasoning of her choice,
cook up some 5min rice very easy,
in a large pot add hamburger and rice and a can of tomato soup, one can of water and let simmer! Once water has obsorbed its DONE
It makes alot so she could freeze some and then nuke it when not feeling like cooking! | |
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