Eating With ADHD and Food Sensory Struggles with Jackie Silver

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Jun 16, 2025

Jackie Silver, a Registered Dietitian and founder of Accessible Wellness, discusses the unique challenges of eating with ADHD. She highlights issues like low appetite, executive dysfunction, and sensory aversions. The conversation offers practical strategies for meal planning and managing cravings, while also addressing the emotional complexities of mealtime. Jackie shares insights on accommodating picky eating and encourages mindful eating practices, emphasizing the importance of self-compassion and support for neurodivergent individuals.

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INSIGHT

ADHD Hinders Eating in Many Ways

Executive dysfunction severely impacts meal planning and preparation in people with ADHD.
Appetite suppression from stimulants and food aversion complicate eating further.

ADVICE

Try Liquid Meals for Low Appetite

Use liquid meals like smoothies or nutrition supplement drinks if appetite is low.
Simple, familiar, starchy foods can feel safer and easier to eat with low appetite.

INSIGHT

Eating Is a Lifelong Complex Task

Eating is one of few lifelong tasks we must do multiple times daily, requiring significant planning and effort.
This reality makes feeding ourselves especially challenging for those with ADHD.

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Hey Team!

On today's episode, we're breaking down one of the most frustratingly simple yet hard ADHD challenges, eating, because come on, we have to do it every day, but also, we have to do it everyday. We've got a returning guest, Jackie Silver, a Registered Dietitian with a Masters of Health Science in Nutrition Communications. She's built her practice, Accessible Wellness, around making food and nourishment doable, even on the days when executive function is nowhere to be found.

In our conversation, we dig into why eating with ADHD can be so difficult, from executive dysfunction to low appetite, forgotten meals, and food aversions. We also explore practical strategies for eating, managing dopamine-seeking snacking, handling picky eating, and finding low-effort meals that still meet at least some of those nutritional requirements. Plus, we talk shame, sensory preferences, and how to stop making mealtimes harder than they need to be.

Website: https://jackiesilvernutrition.com/

Free Download "Neurodivergent Grab & Go Foods List": https://jackiesilvernutrition.com/grab-and-go-foods-list/

Free 15-minute Discovery Call Bookings: https://l.bttr.to/htZ1u

Blog: https://jackiesilvernutrition.com/blog/

Meal Prep Made Easy Course: https://jackiesilvernutrition.com/meal-prep-made-easy/

If you'd like to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/227

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This Episode's Top Tips

1. When needed, you can try out mechanical eating, where you are eating on a schedule, regardless of hunger cues, to compensate for poor interoception or appetite suppression from meds.

2. Try creating a grab-and-go food list. Having a list of foods that are easy to prep, safe to eat, and require minimal effort (like string cheese, baby carrots, or pre-cooked rice packs) can help reduce friction when deciding what to eat.

3. Work on acknowledging emotional and sensory triggers for eating. Sometimes we crave specific foods because of their texture, taste, or comfort, rather than hunger. Recognizing the why behind the urge can help you make more aligned choices, and remember it's okay to fill those other needs as well.

4. Give yourself permission to eat without shame. There's nothing wrong with sticking with your safe foods when you need them. The idea that adults should eat a certain way can be unhelpful and ableist. Focus on doing what works best for you.