Healthy food is good for our general health and well-being, plus it helps ADHD symptoms.
While convenience food is tempting for ADHDers because it’s quick and requires little or no forward planning, the downside is, you have no control over the quality of the ingredients used.
Even in fancier restaurants where they pride themselves on fresh ingredients, there are drawbacks. For example, one of the reasons restaurant food tastes so delicious is the extra fat, salt or sugar they use.
When you cook at home, you know exactly what is in your food so it tends to be healthier.
Home cooking can feel overwhelming when you are living with ADHD because it involves meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.
A website that takes the pain out of cooking is ElanasPantry.com
Elana doesn’t have ADHD but she does have a few health issues such as MS and celiac disease. These health challenges prompted her to create healthy, simple and easy recipes that don’t compromise on taste, flavour or style.
What makes Elana’s recipes ADHD-friendly?
Straightforward
All the recipes are simple and easy to make! Even if you are new to cooking, you will be able to make them. Elana doesn’t make a big deal out of how simple they are. She just tells you what to do, using straightforward matter of fact language.
Elana has a knack for creating delicious recipes while making them feel do-able.
Use Few Ingredients
Elana uses as few ingredients as possible. That means food shopping is quick. Plus, you don’t need to buy lots of items that you will only use once. It also makes cooking quicker. I don’t know about you, but when I look at a recipe that has an extensive list of ingredients, I feel overwhelmed and my desire to cook vanishes.
This doesn’t happen at Elana’s pantry. If anything, you are wondering how something so seemingly basic on paper tastes so good.
Gluten-Free
All the recipes on the site are gluten free. That’s great if you follow a gluten free diet, because you don’t need to figure out how to make substitutes. If you don’t follow a gluten free diet, it is still helpful to reduce your gluten intake when you are living with ADHD.
Refined Sugar-Free
All the main dishes on the site are sugar-free. YAY! Plus, if you have a sweet tooth and feel like baking, Elana uses alternatives to refined sugar in her dessert recipes.
Dairy-free
Some ADHDers find that going dairy-free helps their ADHD symptoms. The recipes are mainly dairy free.
Here are some of my favourite recipes from Elana’s pantry.
Chicken dishes
I make both of these several times a month and always feel like a very clever cook.
Chicken with Cauliflower and Olives
Salmon
These Sesame Salmon Burgers are a great way to include some Omega 3 into your day.
Salad
I became totally addicted to this salad ever since I discovered it. Even salad skeptics will love it.
Arugula Cucumber Salad with Lemon Dressing
Dessert
Whenever friends invite me to dinner I take a batch of this. Like all the recipes it’s easy, yet tastes impressive. It’s called, Christmas Chocolate Bark but you can make it year round.
This week, check out http://www.elanaspantry.com for yourself.
What are your favourite ADHD friendly recipes?
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