Visual Cooking 1.10 Operating Instructions: One Shared Base, Many Ways to Eat It

Visual Cooking 1.10 operating instructions are a ten-step, picture-friendly method for planning and cooking a week of meals when executive function is limited and people at the table like different foods. You cook one shared base. Each person then finishes it with a different preparation, a topping or a separate component that suits the textures and flavours they prefer. Shared ingredients appear in two or three meals in different forms. The week needs fewer decisions, and the plates still look different from day to day. Nobody has to eat the same plate as everyone else.

What are Visual Cooking 1.10 instructions?

Visual Cooking 1.10 is the name this guide gives to a meal-planning method written like a user manual. It has ten numbered instructions, 1.1 to 1.10, and each one is a single action you can follow without holding the whole plan in your head. It suits people who find planning, sequencing, switching between tasks or remembering steps hard. That includes many people with ADHD, autism, brain injury, depression, fatigue-related conditions or simply an overloaded schedule.

These are planning instructions, not appliance controls. If you own a cooker or multicooker sold under a similar name, read the manufacturer's operating instructions for its settings and safety guidance. The method below works with any hob, oven, air fryer, rice cooker or slow cooker.

What are the ten operating instructions?

The ten instructions run in order from understanding preferences to serving and reviewing the week. Each one is a short task with a clear end point.

1. 1.1 Map textures. Note which textures each person accepts, likes or avoids, not only which foods.
2. 1.2 List safe foods. Write down three to six foods each person reliably eats, even on hard days.
3. 1.3 Find shared ingredients. Circle the ingredients that appear on more than one person's list or that can be prepared to suit several lists.
4. 1.4 Choose three or four bases for the week. A base is the main component everyone shares, such as rice, pasta, potatoes, chicken, eggs, beans or tortillas.
5. 1.5 Pick a finishing method for each base. Use a different preparation, a topping or a separate component, as explained below.
6. 1.6 Plan carryover. Let each cooked ingredient appear in no more than two or three meals, and change its form each time.
7. 1.7 Make the plan visible. Put the week on a board, a fridge sheet or a phone photo with pictures or icons for each meal.
8. 1.8 Prep in single-task sessions. Do one kind of task at a time, for example all chopping, then all roasting, then all portioning.
9. 1.9 Serve build-your-own style. Put components out separately and let each person assemble a plate without comment or pressure.
10. 1.10 Keep fallback meals and review weekly. Have two no-cook or low-effort meals ready, and spend five minutes each week noting what worked.

How do you map texture preferences? (Instruction 1.1)

Texture mapping means recording how a food feels in the mouth, such as crunchy, smooth, soft, chewy or mixed, alongside whether each person accepts it. Texture often explains food preferences better than ingredient names do. Someone who refuses cooked carrots may eat raw carrot sticks happily, because the problem is softness, not carrot.

A simple way to map texture is a grid with each person's name across the top and texture types down the side. Mark each box with a tick, a cross or a question mark. Use the same three marks every time so the chart reads at a glance.

Texture group	Common examples	Preparations that create it	Who it often suits
Crunchy and crisp	Raw vegetables, toast, crackers, roasted chickpeas	Raw, roasted at high heat, air-fried, toasted	People who dislike soft or slippery food and prefer predictable bites
Smooth	Soups, mash, yoghurt, hummus, sauces	Blending, mashing, simmering until soft	People who find chewing tiring or dislike lumps and bits
Soft and tender	Steamed vegetables, slow-cooked meat, omelette, ripe fruit	Steaming, braising, slow cooking, poaching	People who prefer easy chewing without fully smooth food
Chewy	Pasta, bread, rice, grilled chicken, dried fruit	Boiling to al dente, grilling, baking	People who like a substantial, steady bite
Mixed textures	Stews with chunks, casseroles, salads with dressing, stir-fries	Combining components in one dish	People who enjoy variety in one mouthful; often the hardest group for sensory-sensitive eaters

Mixed-texture dishes are where conflicts usually happen. The method works by keeping textures apart until the last moment, so each person can choose how mixed their plate becomes.

How do you find shared ingredients? (Instructions 1.2 and 1.3)

A shared ingredient is a food at least two people will eat in some form, even if not the same form. Shared ingredients let you buy, store and cook less while still meeting different preferences.

1. Write each person's safe foods on one sheet, one column per person.
2. Circle any ingredient that appears in two or more columns.
3. Look for hidden overlap. Plain pasta, pasta salad and baked pasta all share the same base ingredient, even if they appear as different foods on the lists.
4. Check whether a texture change creates overlap. For example, one person eats potatoes only as chips and another only as mash. Both still share potatoes.
5. Choose the three or four circled ingredients that are easiest to buy and cook. These become your bases for the week.

If almost nothing overlaps, choose the most accepted starch, such as rice, pasta, bread or potatoes. Starches are usually the easiest base to share, because flavour and texture can be added separately afterwards.

How do you adapt one common base for different preferences? (Instruction 1.5)

You adapt a common base in three ways: change how part of it is prepared, add toppings at the table, or serve components separately so nothing touches. Each option takes a different amount of effort and suits a different kind of preference.

Option 1: Different preparations of the same ingredient

A different preparation means cooking one ingredient two ways from the same shopping and prep. For example, cut one batch of potatoes. Roast half until crisp at around 200–220°C (400–425°F) and boil the other half for mash. This suits texture-driven preferences, because the ingredient stays the same while the mouthfeel changes. The extra effort is usually one more pan or tray, not a whole second recipe.

Option 2: Toppings and finishes

A topping system means the base stays plain, and flavour, sauce, crunch or spice are added at the table from small bowls. A plain rice bowl can become mild with butter and cheese, spicy with chilli sauce, fresh with chopped herbs and lime, or crunchy with seeds and fried onions. This suits flavour-driven preferences such as spice tolerance, liking or disliking sauces, or a strong preference for familiar tastes. It also reduces cooking decisions, because the cook prepares one base and the choosing happens at the table.

Option 3: Separate components

Separate components means serving each element of a meal on its own: the protein, the starch, the vegetable and the sauce, rather than combining them. A stir-fry becomes plain noodles, plain chicken strips, raw or lightly cooked vegetables, and sauce in a jug. This suits people who dislike foods touching, avoid mixed textures or need to see exactly what they are eating. It is also the lowest-pressure format, because anyone can take only the parts they want.

Adaptation option	What changes	Best for	Extra effort	Example
Different preparation	Texture of the same ingredient	Texture-sensitive eaters	Medium: one extra pan or tray	Crispy roast potatoes and soft mash from one bag of potatoes
Toppings	Flavour, sauce, spice, crunch	Flavour or spice differences; people who like control	Low: small bowls of ready-made or quick extras	Plain pasta with butter, grated cheese, pesto or tomato sauce on the side
Separate components	Whether foods are mixed	People who avoid mixed textures or foods touching	Low to medium: more serving dishes, simpler cooking	Taco night with every filling in its own bowl

How can ingredients carry across meals without every meal feeling the same? (Instruction 1.6)

Ingredients carry across meals well when each reuse changes at least one of three things: texture, format or flavour direction. Cooking once and eating twice saves planning energy. Repeating the same dish three nights running often leads to food fatigue, especially for people who already have a narrow range of safe foods.

• Change the texture. Roast chicken on day one becomes shredded chicken on day two and blended chicken soup on day three.
• Change the format. Rice served as a side becomes rice in a bowl, then fried rice, then rice stuffed into a wrap.
• Change the flavour direction. Plain cooked beans can go Mexican-style with cumin and salsa one night and Mediterranean-style with olive oil and lemon another night.
• Limit repeats. Let each cooked ingredient appear in no more than two or three meals in one week, and avoid placing the same form on consecutive days.

Food safety sets a practical limit on carryover. Refrigerate cooked leftovers within about two hours of cooking, and use them within three to four days. Freeze anything you plan to eat later in the week. Plan carryover meals for the two or three days after a big cook, not the end of the week.

How do you build a manageable week of meals? (Instructions 1.4, 1.7 and 1.8)

A manageable week for executive function challenges usually means five planned dinners, two flexible or fallback nights, and one or two short prep sessions. Each planned dinner uses a base you have already chosen. Fewer bases mean fewer shopping items, fewer recipes to remember and fewer decisions on tired evenings.

Steps to set up the week

1. Pick three or four bases from your shared ingredients list.
2. Assign each base to one or two days, so that big-cook days come early in the week.
3. Choose one finishing method for each meal: preparation, toppings or separate components.
4. Write the carryover in the plan, for example, "Monday chicken → Tuesday bowls".
5. Make the shopping list straight from the plan, grouped by shop section.
6. Draw or print a picture for each meal and put the week where everyone can see it.
7. Block one prep session of about 30–60 minutes, and do one task type at a time.

Example week with shared bases

Day	Shared base	Ways to finish it	Carryover
Monday	Tray-roasted chicken thighs, rice, roasted vegetables	Separate components; sauce on the side; raw veg sticks for anyone avoiding soft vegetables	Extra chicken and rice cooked for Tuesday
Tuesday	Chicken and rice bowls	Toppings: cheese, sweetcorn, mild or spicy sauce, cucumber, seeds	Leftover rice set aside for Wednesday fried rice or frozen
Wednesday	Pasta	Plain buttered pasta, tomato sauce in a jug, grated cheese, peas served separately	Extra tomato sauce kept for Friday
Thursday	Potatoes	Different preparations: oven wedges and mash from the same batch; beans, cheese and yoghurt as toppings	Leftover mash for Sunday soup or potato cakes
Friday	Tortillas or flatbreads	Build-your-own: beans, grated cheese, lettuce, tomato sauce from Wednesday, plain chicken or egg	Uses up the remaining sauce and vegetables
Saturday	Fallback meal	Toast with eggs, cheese or beans; freezer meal; cereal or yoghurt bowls	No cooking required
Sunday	Eggs or soup	Omelettes with fillings in separate bowls, or smooth vegetable soup with bread and crunchy toppings	Reset day: note what was eaten and what was wasted

This example is a template, not a prescription. Swap any base for one from your own shared list, and keep the pattern: early big cook, mid-week carryover, end-of-week fallback.

What flexible swaps support different food preferences?

A flexible swap replaces one ingredient or preparation with another that does the same job in the meal, such as providing crunch, protein or a familiar taste. Swaps keep the shared base intact while giving each person a version they can eat.

If someone avoids	Try this swap	Why it works
Soft cooked vegetables	Raw vegetable sticks or vegetables roasted until crisp	Same food group, firmer and more predictable texture
Lumpy sauces	Blended sauce, or sauce served in a jug	Removes surprise lumps and leaves the amount up to the eater
Mixed dishes such as casseroles	The same ingredients served as separate components	Each texture stays identifiable
Spice or strong flavours	Plain base with spice offered as a topping	Spicier eaters still get heat; mild eaters are not left out
Meat textures	Eggs, beans, tofu, cheese or minced meat instead of whole pieces	Provides protein with a different chew
New foods next to safe foods	A small separate dish for the new food, away from the main plate	Exposure without contaminating a safe food
Long cooking on low-energy days	Pre-cooked rice, tinned beans, rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables	Keeps the shared base while cutting steps

How do you support choice without pressure? (Instruction 1.9)

Choice without pressure means every person can build a plate they will eat, and nobody is asked to eat the same thing, taste something new or finish a portion. Pressure tends to make eating harder for people with sensory sensitivities or anxiety around food. It also adds emotional load for the cook, who then has to negotiate as well as cook.

• Include at least one safe food for each person at every planned meal.
• Put new or less familiar foods on the table without comment, so they are available but not required.
• Use neutral serving language, such as "Everything is on the table", rather than "Just try one bite".
• Let people serve themselves where possible, so portions and combinations are their own decision.
• Treat different plates as normal. A shared base already makes the meal shared, even when the plates look different.

How do visual cues make the instructions easier to follow? (Instruction 1.7)

Visual cues reduce the working memory a plan needs, because the next step can be seen rather than remembered. In the Visual Cooking 1.10 method, the plan lives outside your head.

• Meal picture cards: a photo or simple drawing for each meal on a fridge board, moved to a "done" column after eating.
• Colour coding: one colour per base, so you can see at a glance whether rice or pasta is planned too often.
• Step strips: three to five picture steps for each recipe, taped near the hob, instead of a full written recipe.
• Labelled containers: leftovers marked with the meal they are for and the date they were cooked.
• Timers: one visual or audible timer per task, so you do not have to track several cooking times in your head.

What should you do when the plan breaks down? (Instruction 1.10)

When the plan breaks down, switch to a fallback meal and treat it as part of the plan, not a failure. Executive function varies from day to day, so a workable meal system needs a built-in low-effort option.

1. Keep two fallback meals stocked at all times, such as eggs on toast, a freezer meal, or pasta with cheese.
2. Move the skipped meal one day later, if its ingredients will still be safe to use. Otherwise, freeze the ingredients.
3. Remove the hardest meal from next week's plan rather than repeating a meal that keeps getting skipped.
4. Spend five minutes at the end of the week noting what each person ate, which finishing method worked best and which carryover felt repetitive.

Over a few weeks, these notes show which bases, textures and swaps your household relies on. Planning then becomes mostly a matter of choosing from a list you already trust.