The 'No-Spoons' Meal Planner: Designed for Executive Dysfunction
Some days you are a master chef. You chop vegetables with precision. You simmer sauces. You garnish with fresh herbs.
And then there are the other days. The days when the thought of deciding what to eat feels like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. The days when opening the fridge is too much. The days when you have no spoons left.
If you know you know. This is for the neurodivergent brains. The ADHDers. The autistic folks. The people dealing with burnout. This is the "No-Spoons" guide to feeding yourself.
The Enemy is Decision Fatigue
The hardest part of cooking is not the cooking. It is the deciding. What do I want? Do I have the ingredients? Will it take too long? Will I hate the texture today?
By the time you answer these questions you are exhausted and ordering takeout again. We need to remove the decision.
Strategy 1: The Dopamine Menu
Create a list of meals that give you joy. Not "healthy" meals. Not "impressive" meals. Meals that make your brain light up. Mac and cheese. Dino nuggets. Breakfast cereal.
Keep this list in EpuloWeek. When you cannot decide just pick one. Do not overthink it.
Strategy 2: The "Cook Now" Button
This is why we built the "Cook Now" feature. It is your external brain. You tell it what you have and it tells you what you can make. It bypasses the executive dysfunction circuit entirely.
It says "Hey look you have pasta and cheese. Make mac and cheese." And your brain says "Okay I can do that."
Strategy 3: Safe Foods are Valid
There is no shame in eating the same thing three days in a row if it is safe and easy. Nutrition is cumulative. You do not need a balanced meal every single time. You just need to eat.
Strategy 4: The "Doom Pile" Prevention
We all have that doom pile in the pantry. The random ingredients we bought for a recipe we never made. They sit there mocking us.
Use the Quick Add feature in EpuloWeek to catalog them. Once they are in the system they are not clutter anymore. They are data. And data is manageable.
Low Energy Meal Ideas
- Girl Dinner / Boy Dinner / Human Dinner: A plate of random things. Cheese. Crackers. Grapes. Salami. No cooking required.
- Bagged Salad + Rotisserie Chicken: The ultimate hack. Buy the salad kit. Buy the pre-cooked chicken. Mix. Eat.
- Toast: Toast is a vehicle for anything. Peanut butter. Avocado. Beans. Eggs. It is warm and crunchy and comforting.
Be Kind to Your Brain
The most important tool in your kitchen is self-compassion. If you struggle to meal plan it does not mean you are lazy. It means your brain works differently. And that is okay.
EpuloWeek is designed to be the bridge. To handle the boring stuff so you can save your spoons for the things that matter.
Need an external brain? Download EpuloWeek. It is free. It is simple. And it does not judge you for eating cereal for dinner.