My lil corner of the universe
Not always happy but always trying
Reblog to make a white gay big mad
Reblog to make black queer people feel visible and supported (and also to make a white gay big mad)
Reblogging this as a white gay to make the racist white gays mad
are you an adult who has to make your own food? do you find planning meals to be one of the hardest parts of adulting? do you find yourself going to the grocery store and coming back with barely anything useful because you didn’t have a plan? then i may have something you can try!
**TL;DR: make a meal rotation! choose healthy but realistic options, and have easy alternate meals for the days when you CAN’T bring yourself to make whatever is next in rotation. make the rotation long enough that you won’t get bored of the meals. periodically include “something new” to push yourself outside your comfort zone.**
what is a meal rotation? it’s just a list of meals that you go through sequentially.
the main draw of meal rotations is that you don’t have to THINK. you are told what to make every day - this removes the executive functioning barrier to planning meals. it helps with groceries - you use the list to determine what groceries to buy, so then you always have the right ingredients available for the meals you have planned.
i’ve come up with a few extra ideas to make meal rotations work better for adhders or anyone else with executive functioning difficulties. use what works for you, and disregard what doesn’t!
#1. have easy alternates. sometimes your brain won’t let you make whatever is next in rotation, even if you bought all of the ingredients for it on your last grocery run. maybe you just don’t have time. that’s ok! alternates are quick, easy meals you can usually make with whatever you have lying around. my go-tos are nachos, french toast, and canned fish, but i have a whole bunch on my alternates list. alternates don’t have to be super healthy - boxed mac & cheese is fine if it gets the job done. alternates can also be fast food or delivery.
#2. make meal ideas realistic. include meals that you enjoy and that aren’t too much work for you on an average day. don’t include meals you don’t like or you know will be way too much work, because these are huge executive barriers.
#3. make meal ideas healthy. if you write “pasta with vegetables” instead of just “pasta”, you’ll be way more likely to eat vegetables - that’s just how our brains work. try including meals (that you enjoy) that incorporate vegetables and protein in them.
#4. have extra lists. easy ways to get extra calories if you find your meal hasn’t filled you up. (hopefully this will let you choose something healthier than half a pack of oreos.) easy ways to get extra protein if you struggle with that, or extra vegetables if your meal didn’t have any. whatever you need ideas for, make an extra list. these don’t have to be rotations, you can just pick whatever you want from them.
#5. make the rotation long enough that you won’t get bored. i get bored of eating the same thing over and over and it makes me not want to eat. make it long enough that that doesn’t happen.
#6. include “something new” at least once in the rotation. this is again to keep you from getting bored. i personally follow a bunch of food blogs, and i save recipes that look good so when i get to “something new” i have stuff to pick from. sometimes cooking new things goes horribly wrong, but sometimes it goes great and you can add a new meal to your rotation!
#7. don’t continue to the next meal in rotation if you still have leftovers. i like to make meals in big batches that will last me 2-3 days. i’ll eat the same thing until it’s done before moving on to the next meal - otherwise my leftovers will go bad.
#8. mix up the order. if you’ve been through the rotation a few times and the order is starting to get too familiar/boring, change it up. also, try to space out similar meals - e.g. don’t put 5 rice-based meals in a row.
#9. if you have favourites, you can include them twice!
as a final note i encourage everyone to check out this book called Cooking is Terrible by Misha Fletcher. it has lots of ideas for easy, mostly healthy meals that you can make in 10-15 minutes, and the writing style is witty and hilarious. not sponsored or anything, i just like this book! (it’s only $5+!)
if you struggle with executive functioning and also do meal rotation, feel free to add your strategies!
14th century doctors be like “i don’t know what’s wrong with you but you’re a woman so i diagnose you with witchcraft”
19th century doctors be like “i don’t know what’s wrong with you but you’re a woman so i diagnose you with hysteria”
21st century doctors be like “i don’t know what’s wrong with you but you’re a woman so i don’t believe anything is wrong with you and won’t diagnose you”
Start the shower with the water as hot as you can stand it, and step inside. Once inside the shower, let the water run over you from head to toe. As you breath, watch the water going down the drain and picture it in your wind as a gray color. Next, visualize the water removing all your anxieties and any issues you had from the day before.
Begin to wash your hair with shampoo. In your mind’s eye, see the stress and anxiety leaving your body and entering int the shampoo bubbles.
Repeat the visualization process with the conditioner. Take the soap or shower gel and, starting with your face, wash your whole body several times, cleaning from head to toe. As you lather say these words over and over: “Water, water, wash away. Water, water, cleanse today.”
Once you are clean, rinse off all the suds. The lather will absorb your troubles and wash them down the drain. Cool the shower temperature slightly, and bathe for a few more minutes in the refreshing water. When you feel comfortably cleansed and refreshed, step out and dry off with a towel from top to bottom while repeating these words:
“By the earth in the soap,
By the air in the steam,
By the fire which heats the water,
By the water that washes,
I am cleansed, clean, and ready for the day.”
-
“The Good Witch’s Guide: A Modern-Day Wiccapedia of Magickal Ingredients and Spells,” by Shawn Robbins & Charity Bedell
i need!!! to be in the forest. run my hand through a little stream. climb over a fallen tree…maybe sit down on a stone and forget about society for a bit
I tried to watch the Ted Bundy Tapes because my friend was telling me how good it is, but I’m just so over how these stories are framed, its all the same.. it’s like this man is an evil genius! lets explore! but really its just some dude who hates women.. like congratulations it doesnt take a genius to exploit the way women are conditioned to be respectful to men no matter what the situation and then bash them in the head with a 2x4. just because some man butchers women in inventive ways before he gets caught by police does not make him a genius? And everyone is like he doesn’t seem the type! have you ever even spoken to a woman whose suffered violence at the hands of a man… he seems like exactly the type. it’s also shocking that the fact that he wasn’t caught right away is seen as proof of his genius and not the ineptitude of the criminal justice system. There could be a conversation about cultural forces and who get the privilege of the presumption of innocence… or who is allowed to be seen as an evil genius and not representative of their entire demographic.. but this isn’t conversation that is happening. is there anything more trite and boring than some man with a narcissism complex who hates women. when will we as a culture see this as a weakness and not some twisted genius.
Stop being so afraid to be confident. There’s actually a lot of great things about you. Don’t deny those things, embrace them. You’re beautiful and smart and kind and you need to stop punishing yourself for acknowledging it and trying to believe it.
