If you’ve ever stood in front of an open fridge, completely unable to decide what to eat, even though there’s plenty of food in there, you’re not alone. New research from So Nutrition found that 91% of neurodivergent people find it difficult to plan or prepare meals.
That’s not a small number. It tells us something important: this isn’t about willpower, organisation apps, or trying harder. It’s about how the neurodivergent brain works.
Why meal planning is so demanding
Planning and preparing a meal sounds simple, but it actually asks a huge amount of your executive function all at once.
You need to:
– Remember what’s already in the fridge and cupboards
– Decide what to make, often from an overwhelming number of options
– Sequence the steps in the right order
– Manage timing, so nothing burns while something else isn’t ready
– Follow through, even if energy or focus has dropped by that point
For an ADHD or neurodivergent brain, that’s several demanding tasks stacked on top of each other. If working memory, decision-making, or follow-through are already under strain, it makes complete sense that meal planning becomes one of the first things to fall apart.
It’s not a discipline problem
One of the most unhelpful things we can do is treat this as a discipline issue. When eating turns into an impulsive, last-minute scramble, it’s easy to feel guilt or frustration – but that response misses what’s actually going on. The brain isn’t failing to try hard enough. It’s being asked to do too many complex things in a row, without enough support built in.
Once you understand it that way, it opens the door to a different approach: one that works with your brain instead of demanding your brain work differently.
What actually helps
1. Reduce decisions, not effort.
A rotating list of five or six meals you already know how to make takes the “what shall we have” decision off the table entirely. It’s not boring, it’s restful.
2. Batch the thinking, not just the cooking.
Plan on a day when your capacity is higher, not when you’re already hungry and depleted. Decision-making on an empty tank rarely goes well for anyone.
3. Keep the plan visible.
A note on the fridge or a whiteboard often works better than an app buried in your phone. Visual, in-the-room reminders reduce the memory load.
4. Build in a backup plan.
Have a genuinely low-effort option ready for the days when capacity is low. Using it isn’t a failure. It’s the plan working exactly as intended.
A kinder way forward
If this is something you recognise in yourself, please know it isn’t a flaw to fix. It’s a pattern to understand and work with. Small, brain-friendly adjustments can make a real difference to how manageable mealtimes feel.
If you’d like support building an approach that actually fits how your brain works, I’d love to help.
*Statistic source: So Nutrition, independent research conducted with 500 UK adults with ADHD.*