Tl;dr: I highly recommend this book. It is the most useful I’ve read in 27 years for managing the ups and downs of energy-limiting chronic illness, because it is not a “system.” It’s a set of thought processes designed to help you where you are right now.
Who this book is for: The Lazy Genius Kitchen is probably primarily useful for people whose abilities or lifestyle have recently changed, and whose old routines aren’t working; new cooks; and people who have lost their “groove” in the kitchen.
Why I read it: I had been at a stuck place with my meals—they were nutritious and easy (i.e., I would just eat raw spinach or whole grain bread straight from the package) but didn’t satisfy me (huh). But cooking routines failed me as my symptoms waxed and waned and I adjusted to my van.
The LGK appealed to me because its focus is on thought processes and strategies rather than recipes or systems. It helped me identify problems and steered me toward solutions that worked for my body, lifestyle, and tastes.
Overview: Adachi separates all aspects of meals into six categories:
- Space (Your kitchen, including tools)
- Meals (The general kinds of things you make and eat)
- Menu Planning (How you narrow those generalities into daily food choices)
- Food (subdivided into Groceries, Shopping, and Storage)
- Prep (How you get into and maintain a work flow)
- Gathering (What the “table” means for you)
For each category, you go through the following steps:
- Prioritize: Identify the top three priorities for your current season of life and name the #1 priority (Adachi offers a list of starting suggestions)
- Essentialize—Get rid of anything in the way of the #1 priority
- Organize—Put everything that remains in its place
- Personalize—Figure out what makes you feel at home, keeping in mind your personality, people, priorities, proficiency, process, pleasure, and peace
- Systematize—Find ways to stay in the flow
What worked for me: A) Thinking of each category separately rather than lumping things like “Meals” and “Menu Planning” together; and B) identifying my #1 priority in each.
(The rest of this section shows examples of how I am putting the LGK into practice. Skip it if it’s TMI.)
For example, I had been thinking of “meals” in a way that lumped them together mentally with menu planning, groceries, shopping, and preparation. The menu/meals dictated everything else. If I hit a snag in one area—if I couldn’t find go-to ingredients (Groceries) or get curbside pickup (Shopping), or I didn’t have energy (Prep) to make my planned Menus—my meals suffered.
Additionally, I had multiple priorities that were all good—nutritious, affordable, tasty, and easy—but they sometimes came into conflict. On a weary day, when my body needed both rest and food NOW, I had no “good” choice that did not also cause harm. That created no-win scenarios and extra stress.
The LGK helped me separate “meals” into all those distinct components with capital letters. Going through the 5-step thought process for each of them led me to more tailored strategies.
Now my top priority for Groceries is that they are nutritious—I (mostly…) buy food that is healthful, so every meal, no matter how simple or complex, will tick that box. I Shop more online and in bulk to be sure I have access to those foods. My priority for Menu Planning is flexibility, which means I have some flavor combinations in mind that work equally well with minimal preparation or more effort. My priority for Prep is good pacing. I systematize that by focusing on thermos soup mixes or flavor boosters like spice blends, dressings, or toasted nuts I can make in advance, so that even a simple bowl of grains and greens (or instant mashed potatoes) can be dressed up.
Where I used to have four priorities for meals, which conflated all those categories and would sometimes leave me in a bind, now my top priority for Meals is simply that they make me feel cared for. If that means making a three-course meal, great! I can do it. If it means doing something easy so I can rest, great! I’ve taken steps in other areas to ensure that the easy food is nutritious and tasty.
Other things that might help people with energy limits:
The section on Space might be extra helpful to those who have been newly diagnosed or whose abilities have recently changed. We can get so used to our kitchens that we don’t notice when they become obstacle courses. This section might give you fresh eyes to see where your space could serve you better. (The Essentializing step in all 6 categories might also be extra helpful.)
Adachi suggests keeping a written list of “Plan B” menus readily at hand—fail-safe, no-effort things you can turn to when you’re wiped out. For me, this is truly genius, because you know what else I can’t do when I’m wiped out? Remember my fail-safe, no-effort go-to’s.
The Gathering category and Personalizing step (in all the categories) were unexpectedly moving to me. Many of us have to change our diets or methods in ways that feel alien to us when we become ill—when our very bodies might feel alien to us—and LGKs focus on feeling at home hit the spot.
The final section gives a quick and dirty guide to basic cooking techniques, including some classic flavor combinations, flavor boosters, temperatures for roasting vegetables, and the like. If cooking off-recipe would help you with pacing, this section might be a useful jumping-off point for improvising, especially since the information is all in one place.
The Master List of Salad Ingredients is actually a great grocery/pantry template for low-energy cooks all by itself: mix-and-match ingredients that can jumpstart hot or cold meals with little effort. (Not all of the ingredients will work for specialty diets, of course, but this kind of template can be more spoon-friendly than recipes.) The Liquid Index Ingredient Guide is similar—a way of creating flexible meal plans that adapt to varying energy levels.
Adachi encourages being realistic about what can be done in different “seasons of life.” That’s wholesome advice in general, but even more so when your season has changed without your consent.
This may be a book about kitchens and meals, but the five steps can clarify and simplify other life tasks as well. One of the odd gifts of chronic illness is that it encourages you to shed lower priority activities and things. LGK is a good roadmap to that end.
Some downsides/suggestions:
The Lazy Genius Kitchen is a follow-up to Adachi’s first book, The Lazy Genius Way. She summarizes the original book’s principles well and clearly at the beginning. It might not hurt to bookmark those pages, because she refers to the principles often, with a shorthand that’s clear on a good brain day but wasn’t (for me) on a brain fog day.
Adachi restates the five processes in every chapter. I liked that—it’s good “rehearsal.” Just be aware that a lot of material will come around again.
Adachi makes great claims for her Liquid Index and chicken recipe. They might be “life-changing” for you, or, erm, they might not. Don’t build too many hopes on them.
Adachi’s persona is very much the chatty BFF. Her informality makes the book an easy read even on brain fog days, but the chummy style might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
A note on the word “crazy”: Adachi uses it often, to mean “intensely frazzled.” She’s not alone—it’s a cultural norm. It breaks my heart when the life-fracturing reality of mental illness is minimized or made comical. I would love to see that norm change.
In sum:
The strength of this book for people with chronic physical illness is that its processes are adaptive. As Adachi writes, “They are foundational to finding pain points, naming helpful solutions, and creating a sustainable rhythm in your kitchen for as long as you have one.” Our capacities can vary hugely from day to day, so rigid diets, routines, and systems tend to fail us: they require us to adapt to them. Adachi’s steps help our kitchens adapt to us.
“A sustainable rhythm in your kitchen for as long as you have one…” One of the most beautiful things about The Lazy Genius Kitchen is that Adachi doesn’t assume everyone reading it is now and will be forever able-bodied. She just assumes you’re…human and will change. That alone makes it a rare gem.
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I didn’t receive anything for this review, and the link isn’t an affiliate link. I just think The Lazy Genius Kitchen is an excellent resource.
One Spoon Cooking 