Do you have ADHD and struggle to have meals available? Try these easy freezer meal tips, made for the ADHD brain!
Cooking is definitely harder when you have ADHD. When it comes to planning, cooking, and even remembering to eat.
What’s an easy way to make sure you have food readily available? Especially food that’s somewhat nutritious?
One thing that’s helped me is making freezer meals! Whether it’s doing a whole freezer cooking session or just making one at a time, my whole family has benefited.
How can you make freezer meals when you have ADHD? I’ve got my top tips below, along with some helpful freezer meal plans!
How can freezer meals help with ADHD?
Freezer meals have saved my sanity over the years!
There have been days where I realize I have nothing planned for dinner, and no leftovers in the fridge. So I’ll get out a freezer meal the night before or the morning of, and it’ll be ready to cook or heat in the evening.
People with ADHD tend to struggle with executive dysfunction, which affects our decision-making. My brain gets overwhelmed easily, so knowing I have food in the freezer takes away one big decision for the day. And that lessens my ADHD symptoms quite a bit.
What kinds of recipes freeze well?
I’ve frozen all types of meals before! Here are my favorites that do pretty well in the freezer:
- Soups and chili
- Casseroles with pasta, rice, or eggs
- Sandwiches
- Burritos and enchiladas
- Individual ingredients like meat, pasta, and sauces
A lot of these meals are already cooked, so all I have to do is heat them. Some are cooked partially, like casseroles that have pasta and meat.
How long do meals last in the freezer?
In general, freezer meals stay fresh for about 3 months. They’re still safe to eat after that. But the longer they stay in the freezer, the bigger chance they have of getting freezer burn.
I recommend labeling each meal that goes in the freezer, with the name of the recipe and the date you froze it. If it needs to be cooked, add cooking instructions as well.
Easy ways to make freezer meals
The great thing about freezer meals is that you can customize cooking sessions to your needs.
You can spend 3 hours in the kitchen making a month’s worth of meals; or you can simply double what you’re making for dinner and call it a day.
It all depends on your energy levels and what you’re physically able to accomplish!
Here are 3 ways you can make freezer meals:
Double and freeze
This method doesn’t take much extra time or money! Just double the ingredients for a dinner you’re already making, and freeze half of it.
This is super easy to do with casseroles and soups. If I’m already cooking pasta in a big pot, I may as well throw in another batch. Same goes for if I’m cooking a pound of ground beef.
On days when you have low energy but still want to accomplish something, this is the best method!
Use a pre-made plan
Doing a long freezer meal session is great for having a month’s worth of meals. But putting together a plan can take a couple hours in itself! You have to think of all the following:
- Put ingredients on your grocery list (And combining all the multiples from each recipe: 1 cup of rice here, 1/2 cup of rice from another recipe, etc.)
- All the recipes you want to make, and print them out
- Write down your cooking plan: What goes in the oven first, what vegetables need chopped, etc.
- Go to the grocery store and buy all the things
Seriously, that can get overwhelming. And that’s one reason I don’t do huge sessions often.
But you can find tons of pre-made freezer cooking plans online! Someone else has done all the hard work for you; all you have to do is buy the ingredients and cook according to the plan.
Just think: You’ve shaved off at least 2 hours because most of it is already planned.
Need a few meal ideas? Here are some of my pre-made freezer meal sessions you can use for yourself:
Freeze individual ingredients
Maybe you don’t use a lot of recipes, but you like having multiple ingredients made to throw together.
You can most definitely cook and prepare ingredients and freeze them individually! It’s a little less hassle and won’t take up as much time as making actual recipes.
Here are examples of ingredients you can prep and freeze:
- Meat (Chicken, ground meat)
- Rice
- Pasta
- Fruits (Strawberries, blueberries, sliced bananas)
- Vegetables (Bell peppers, onions)
- Bread (Sliced bread, dinner rolls, muffins)
Easy Freezer Friendly Recipes
Do you need some beginner-friendly recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
- Freezer Pasta Microwave Lunches
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Freezer Meatballs
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
If you want a ton of recipes in one convenient place, check out my 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer e-book!
Jaime is a Nutrition Coach through the ISSA and professional writer. She has 4 years experience coaching and 9 years experience in writing. She enjoys cooking easy meals, running, and learning more about food.
Jaime specializes in helping women with ADHD learn to meal plan and cook healthier meals without getting overwhelmed.