Cooking with Tools and Recipes

This month I have teamed up with Elayne Oligschlaegar with Pampered Chef.  

One subject all my (Sheila’s) clients eventually bring to me is cooking and meal planning. With few exceptions, most of my clients find cooking boring and grocery shopping even more boring. There are as many solutions are there are clients who bring this topic but having fun tools and a resource of quick recipes may be helpful for many people.

Other ideas for making cooking fun are: 

• Prep cook with a friend for a week at a time. Many of my clients do this over Skype or FaceTime, but in person, you can have a glass of wine together or maybe enjoy one of the meals. 
• Find at least one new recipe to try to keep things new and novel. 
• Ask your mom for recipes from your childhood. 
• Listen to your favorite music or podcast while cooking.
• I cook, you clean – divide and conquer with a family member or friend. 
• Or the other way – You cook, I clean – whichever works for you. 
• Be creative – one of the greatest strengths of NDs is that they are creative so go play in the kitchen. 

Healthy eating is vital for everyone. I (Sheila) honestly believe that you will pay either at a grocery store for high-quality food with money or at doctor’s offices with your time, money, mental health, and physical health. Not eating right is one of the reasons that Russell Barkley, MD, believes that people with ADHD have a 13-year shorter life expectancy. There are other reasons as well. You can listen to a podcast by my daughter and me here where we discuss eating disorders. Healthy eating is critical for the ND brian. 

One of the reasons NDs find cooking boring is that it is time-consuming. You can make many meals quickly, easily, and healthily with the right tools.

The Pampered Chef small appliance collection includes two tools to make cooking easy.

The Multicooker is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, sous vide, and more in one. In it, you could make quick breakfast and dinners. Here are some ideas. 

• • Egg bites in a short time that you could use as a grab-and-go breakfast. Here is the recipe for Egg Cups. 
  • Pressure Cooker Carnitas This carnitas recipe comes together quickly using the pressure cooker option, which makes it a great weeknight option. Here is the recipe for Carnitas. 

The Deluxe Grill and Griddle, along with the Waffle plates (sold separately), allow you to make quick and easy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The grill has a temperature probe that will enable you to cook your food to the exact temperature without monitoring the grill. It will

automatically turn off when cooked to the desired temperature. The plates are interchangeable so that you can cook eggs on the griddle and bacon on the grill on the other. You can make fun and delicious recipes quickly, such as 

• Pizza Grilled Cheese -It’s grilled cheese. It’s pizza flavors. It’s a match made in heaven. Here is the Pizza Grilled Cheese recipe. 

Eating protein, vegetables, and fiber is integral to self-care for the ND brain. Pampered Chef can help if you are finding this to be a challenge. 

Their Enrichables make your dishes more nutritious. They are all soy-free, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, dairy-free, and nut-free. There are three types: Super Veggie, Kale, and Fiber and Pea Protein. You can add a scoop to any meal to make it more nutritious. But here is a meal idea: 

• You can make our Black Bean Veggie Burger which gives you extra veggies in your meal. Get your veggies in with this simple black bean veggie burger made with simple-to-find ingredients. Here is the Black Bean Burger recipe. 

You will need at least one piece of cookware to make your meals. That one piece is different for everyone. It is determined by what you like to cook and how you want to cook. Take this quiz to find out what cookware is best for you. Once you find the right cookware, you can make this fun recipe that may become a weeknight favorite. 

• Egg Roll in a Bowl – This fast, healthy version of an egg roll (in a bowl!) has serious potential to become your next weeknight favorite. Here is the Egg Roll recipe. 

You can use our microwave pasta bowl for those days when you need a quick meal for one. Here is a great idea: 

• Minestrone Pasta Bowl -Inspired by classic Italian minestrone, this all-in-one meal is perfect for lunch on the go or a simple dinner for one. Here is the Pasta Bowl recipe. 

Remember that eating healthy is excellent self-care and one of the best ways to help your brain function. There are many more recipes on Elayne’s website.