Welcome to my newest series, Food for Thought, where I’ll share about real-life nutrition for busy humans with busy minds. You’ll find posts with eating tips, personal stories, lived experiences, and a little bit of nutrition education thrown in. Food for Thought is for everyone, but especially for my fellow neurospicy friends who want eating to feel less complicated.
I don’t know about you, but this time of year is always a struggle for me when it comes to eating. Life can be busy enough balancing work, family, friends, self-care and everything in between. Then the holidays show up like an unexpected guest to a party – everything gets busier, our routines get thrown off, and on top of it, many of us struggle with our mental health this time of year. That’s why this is the perfect time of year to introduce this series; so many people struggle with eating and nutrition during the holidays.
For me, my ADHD-related food struggles get louder:
- Not being able to decide what to eat
- Spending time meal prepping and then when it comes time to eat what I’ve prepped, everything sounds terrible
- Going out to eat frequently, which isn’t kind on my wallet
- Getting distracted while eating and not finishing meals
- Forgetting to eat altogether
I’m kicking off my Food for Thought series with practical strategies to stay nourished through the holidays, especially if your brain is like mine with too many tabs open and not enough bandwidth. Balanced eating and good nutrition matters, but being fed matters more. Some days you’ll eat all of your fruits and veggies, and other days you’ll rely on takeout or graze through party food. Both are completely okay. The goal isn’t perfection – it’s supporting your body and brain through a season that already asks so much of you.
Try Meal Patterns Instead of Meal Planning
Meal planning sounds great… until it’s meal prep day, nothing has gone as planned during the week, and your executive function has left the chat. A meal pattern, on the other hand, gives structure without pressure. I love the examples used by dietitians Jackie Silver and Libby Stenzel – they emphasize flexible, repeatable meal and snack patterns instead of rigid meal plans. Be sure to check out their sites for more practical eating advice for people struggling with their relationship with food and neurodivergent people.
Example of a Balanced Meal Formula: Protein + Carbohydrate + Fruit and/or Veggie + Fat
Example of a Balanced Snack Formula: Protein or Fat + Carbohydrate or Fruit
You don’t have to follow these patterns perfectly at every meal – this is just a simple framework that gives your brain something to grab onto when decision fatigue is high, or you’re on-the-go or at a holiday party.
Easy, Real-Life Examples for Each Food Group
You’re busy. You’re tired. You’re human. These low-effort, grab-and-go, holiday party friendly options help you stay nourished even on your busiest days:
PROTEINS
- Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Rotisserie chicken
- String cheese or Babybel
- Tuna packets or chicken salad cups
- Peanut butter or nut butter packets
- Hummus
- Deli turkey
- Holiday party wins: meatballs, cheese boards, shrimp cocktail, deviled eggs
CARBOHYDRATES
- Bread, bagels, tortillas
- Crackers or pretzels
- Instant rice or microwave grains
- Pasta or boxed mac and cheese
- Granola bars
- Holiday party wins: rolls, stuffing, crackers, chips, dips, potatoes
FRUITS
- Fruit cups
- Applesauce
- Grapes, apples, clementines
- Frozen berries
- Smoothies (store-bought or homemade)
- Holiday party wins: fruit trays, chocolate-covered fruit
VEGGIES
- Baby carrots
- Bagged salads or slaw mixes
- Pre-cut veggie trays
- Frozen veggies (steam in the bag = zero effort)
- V8 or vegetable soups
- Holiday party wins: veggie trays, roasted vegetables, salads, green bean casserole
FATS
- Avocado or guacamole cups
- Nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts)
- Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, chia)
- Nut butters (including single-serve packets)
- Cheese (a crossover food: fat + protein!)
- Olives
- Salad dressings or vinaigrettes
- Hummus (another crossover: fat + protein)
- Full-fat yogurt
- Holiday party wins: cheese platters, mixed nuts, creamy dips, charcuterie boards
Plug foods from these groups into a meal pattern to build balanced meals fast, even when your brain is not cooperating.
Outsource When You Need To
You do not have to cook every meal for yourself, especially during the holidays. “Outsourcing” is a tool that helps you stay fed, not a failure.
There is zero shame in:
- grabbing takeout
- using the grocery store hot bar
- stocking frozen meals
- using meal delivery or grocery pickup
- buying pre-cut or pre-prepped ingredients
- splitting cooking responsibilities with someone else
- accepting food gifts or leftovers
Feeding yourself is the goal. You’re not “cheating” when you make eating easier. You’re supporting your mental health and saving energy for the things that actually matter to you.
Remove the Guilt and Shame Around Holiday Eating
Busy seasons come with disrupted routines, extra stress, and emotional exhaustion. Your eating patterns might reflect that, and that’s normal. Your worth isn’t tied to how “good” you ate this month. Your health won’t crumble because you had cookies or mashed potatoes.
A few reminders:
- Eating more some days is normal.
- Eating less some days is normal too.
- Food is connection, celebration, comfort, culture, and nostalgia — not just calories.
- You don’t need to “make up for” anything you ate.
- Your body knows how to handle fluctuations.
If your meals look different this month, or you lean on convenience foods more, or you fall off your routines entirely… you’re not failing. Restriction → binge → guilt → restriction is a cycle we’re not doing this year.
Challenge the Common Holiday Thinking Traps
So many of us, especially those of us who are neurodivergent, have all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to food. Let’s re-write some of the narratives we convince ourselves of this time of year:
Trap 1: “I blew it today. I’ll start over in January.”
Reframe:
One meal or day doesn’t define your eating habits for the holiday season, month, or year. The next thing you eat is just the next thing, there’s no need for a reset.
Trap 2: “Holiday food is ‘bad’ so I shouldn’t have it.”
Reframe:
Food doesn’t have moral value. Santa’s cookies didn’t commit any crimes. Holiday treats have emotional and cultural importance. You’re allowed to enjoy them.
Trap 3: “I should eat perfectly the rest of the day to balance out the treats.”
Reframe:
You don’t need perfect meals all the time to be healthy. Balanced eating is a result of your eating patterns over time.
Trap 4: “I shouldn’t be hungry again, I already ate at the party.”
Reframe:
Hunger is normal. Parties often have snacky foods that don’t keep you full. It’s okay to eat again.
Trap 5: “Everyone else seems to have it together.”
Reframe:
No one has perfect holiday eating habits. Many people struggle, they just don’t talk about it.
Final Food for Thought
You never have to be a perfect eater, especially during the holidays. At the end of the day, eating enough is what matters most, particularly for neurospicy folks who deal with inconsistent appetite cues, low executive function, or sensory shifts. Whether you’re using simple meal patterns, leaning on grab-and-go options, outsourcing when life gets busy, or challenging those familiar holiday thinking traps, the goal is the same: find small, sustainable ways to stay nourished when life gets busy. If even one of these ideas helps you move through December with a little more ease and a lot less guilt, that’s a win in my book.
If you enjoyed this post, leave me a comment to let me know what you thought of this series. Share any Food for Thought topics you’d love to see in the future. I’d truly love to hear from you.
Here’s to nourishment that fits real life.
RD on the Run 