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KikiKitty678
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18 Oct 2020, 12:48 pm

Here are some tools I thought of using for executive-function-deficit-friendly cooking when I’m back on my own:
1. Worst-case scenario: readymade. Still better than eating out. Choosing healthier ones like Amy’s.
2. Air fryer.
3. Blender
4. Electric stove—I’m staying with my parents during the pandemic and they have a gas stove, but thankfully I have an electric one at my apartment!
5. Meal prep containers

Anything else you use for an EF-deficit-friendly kitchen? I’m new to cooking so I’ve only used the electric stove so far. I don’t cook on my parents’ gas stove anymore after some close calls—yikes! I just have them make me food and use the microwave when I make it myself.

I would also like to know if plant-based foods that can be eaten cold exist so I can have a smaller chance of mishaps in the kitchen and still phase out meat.



AuroraBorealisGazer
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18 Oct 2020, 2:07 pm

I like the Amy's meals too :) . I wish they were a bit cheaper.

What sorts of things do you make with your blender and air fryer?

Other things I do is try to make realistic weekly food plans when I go to the store. Buying things for lunch that take very little effort to make saves me a lot of frustration and wasted food. Things that I can just snack on like tomatoes, cheese, and pretzels. Or things that require only basic assembly, like a caprese (sliced tomatoes, with mozzarella, basil leaves, and olive oil) take very minimal effort.

For things I have to make I try to limit it to one dinner that will last most of the week, and then for that me and Fey work together to make sure it gets made before the produce spoils. This could be done with a someone you don't live with too. We used to cook the same thing on Skype together. It helped motivate me.



KikiKitty678
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18 Oct 2020, 8:14 pm

AuroraBorealisGazer wrote:
I like the Amy's meals too :) . I wish they were a bit cheaper.

What sorts of things do you make with your blender and air fryer?

Other things I do is try to make realistic weekly food plans when I go to the store. Buying things for lunch that take very little effort to make saves me a lot of frustration and wasted food. Things that I can just snack on like tomatoes, cheese, and pretzels. Or things that require only basic assembly, like a caprese (sliced tomatoes, with mozzarella, basil leaves, and olive oil) take very minimal effort.

For things I have to make I try to limit it to one dinner that will last most of the week, and then for that me and Fey work together to make sure it gets made before the produce spoils. This could be done with a someone you don't live with too. We used to cook the same thing on Skype together. It helped motivate me.


Lol I don’t have my own blender or air fryer yet. I was asking for advice, sorry if I wasn’t clear. It was a plan for what I wanted to do. I just moved in to my apartment only to move back in with my parents because of the pandemic.



AuroraBorealisGazer
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18 Oct 2020, 8:41 pm

Woops I might have read wrong :lol: . I have a nice blender that I hardly ever use because I can't seem to make myself follow through with smoothies. I can't seem to meal prep to the extent that they do on blogs (multiple meals made all in one day, portioned out), but I do like to make things like a big pot of chili or soup and then freeze half of it. It's nice to have waiting when I need something easy.



NeilM
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28 Oct 2020, 7:10 am

Let me suggest the multi-function cooker, more specifically, the Instant Pot. It primarily does pressure cooking but also functions as a slow cooker and a rice cooker among others. I have had mine for about 3 years now it is such a life saver. The general procedure is you put your ingredients in, set the cooking parameters, and then let it do its thing for an hour or whatever. As for what to make, there are tons of videos on YouTube that walk you thru preparing everything you can think of. And there are printed cookbooks devoted entirely to the Instant Pot.

I do recommend you go for the Instant Pot brand tho. I first bought a cheaper knock off and it was defective out of the box. It took me about 8 months working with the manufacturer to get it working right. While I was going thru that process, I got the Instant Pot and have not had the first problem with it.

I do admit that there is somewhat of a learning curve to become proficient with the Instant Pot but its the kind of thing that is generally right up an Aspie's street. Things like keeping notes or records of what you put in something you made, how long and at what level you cooked it, and so forth. That way the next time you make it you can do the same thing again and fine tune the process as you go.


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starkid
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13 Nov 2020, 2:02 pm

KikiKitty678 wrote:
I would also like to know if plant-based foods that can be eaten cold exist so I can have a smaller chance of mishaps in the kitchen and still phase out meat.

Nuts and nut butters, seeds and seed butters, fruit, some raw veggies (like carrots, salad greens, and salsa), canned beans and canned cooked veggies, bean dips.