Meals for ASD adult on a health kick

[HealthKickFM]

Not about me, this about a family member.

He’s on a health kick for 2022 and bored of the meals he’s eating, problem is due to his ASD he doesn’t eat much.

What he won’t eat:

• Any kind of vegetable apart from sweetcorn
• Any kind of fruit
• Rice or Couscous
• Any kind of fish
• Potatoes including chips
• Oat milk
• Soya
• Coconut

For his health kick he’s cut out:

• All kind of red meats
• Pasta
• All kinds of Cows Milk Diary

He will eat some types of meat alternatives but won’t eat GF pasta and he will drink small amounts of almond milk but he has to be careful as his roommate is allergic to nuts. He does also eat small amounts of goats cheese, but only very tiny amounts.

So nut free meals that he can eat on his health kick? I’m stumped as I’d use GF pasta and whatever type of milk for someone with those restrictions.

Hes adamant he’s keeping this up for 2022, and knows his own mind. So I said I’d ask for help and inspiration.

I may have missed things he will or won’t eat so if you suggest something I can say yes or know.

Bump

Vegetarian chilli?

@Kickers567

Vegetarian chilli?

@Kickers567 Good one, he'd like that

Sweetcorn fritters

Sweetcorn and chicken soup

Chicken soup

If he eats beans and lentils and chickpeas, then curries, dhals and soups made from them.
Have a look on the BBC News website under Food, where you can search for recipes for the foods that he will eat.

@AdaColeman

Sweetcorn fritters

Sweetcorn and chicken soup

Chicken soup

If he eats beans and lentils and chickpeas, then curries, dhals and soups made from them.
Have a look on the BBC News website under Food, where you can search for recipes for the foods that he will eat.

@AdaColeman Unfortunately he doesn't like lentils or chickpeas.

Does he eat noodles? Ramen broth with chicken and sweetcorn is quite healthy. What about veg soups eg if they are smooth - tomato or butternut squash are quite mild?

@OrdinaryLife

Does he eat noodles? Ramen broth with chicken and sweetcorn is quite healthy. What about veg soups eg if they are smooth - tomato or butternut squash are quite mild?

@OrdinaryLife Noodles always go down well, he does like Ramen.

He will eat soup but only shop bought and very smooth, if there's a chance of bits he won't eat it.

Hi OP, I'm autistic and vegan myself. I don't know how to say this politely, but your relative's 'health kick' is anything but healthy. If he's giving up meat and dairy, yet won't eat vegetables, fruit, fish, nuts or legumes, he's in serious trouble. Does he genuinely think his plan to eat this severely restricted diet for a year will be healthy? I totally sympathise with food issues, but his usual diet is so restricted anyway that restricting further 'for health reasons' is completely inadvisable and will put him at risk of developing deficiencies in a short space of time. He may 'know his own mind' but he's totally misinformed here, and I'm not saying that as someone who thinks a vegan diet is unhealthy - as I say, I am vegan myself.

Autistic and vegan here too, and I agree with ThisTown that this is not going to be a healthy diet. It looks more like orthorexia. However if he's adamant he's going to do it here are some suggestions.

Porridge for breakfast or overnight oats. With honey if he doesn't like fruit. Will he eat fruit compote like apple sauce?

Lunch - oat cakes, or ryvita, or ordinary bread, spread with Violife or Oatly cream 'cheese' or hummus if no coconut extends to coconut oil. If he won't eat fresh fruit or veg will he eat pickles?
Or oat cakes / ryvita / bread / rolls with shop bought soup.
Oatly yoghurt (soy and coconut free) with honey

Dinners....
Baked sweet potato? Goes well with veggie chilli.
Noodles with boiled egg and sweetcorn, or with chicken and sweetcorn, with some sort of stir-fry sauce if he tolerates those or plain if he doesn't
Baked beans on toast - with egg or Richmond meat-free sausages
Any of the meat alternatives that he likes with sweetcorn and a bread roll rather than potato or chips.
Sliced grilled polenta with veggie bolognaise or veggie chilli

He is very short on starches as well as varied veg. Would he try brown rice rather than white rice - it has a different texture? Gnocchi?

Here is my favourite chilli recipe. Maybe it wouldn't work because it contains fruit but maybe cooked fruit would be acceptable.

Chicken wraps. Chicken and sweetcorn wraps.

What's the aim of the health kick? Weigh loss? Solving digestive issues? Increased energy? Being an even bigger pain in the arse? Trying to disguise an eating disorder?

It's quite worrying to restrict an already very restrictive diet.

If he doesn't eat any fruit or vegetables except sweetcorn then his health kick isn't going to be even vaguely healthy. And how will he make vegetarian chilli if he doesn't like vegetables? Vegetarian chilli is going to consist almost entirely of vegetables.

Instead of cutting out pasta he'd be much better off eating wholemeal pasta and watching his portion size. Instead of cutting out dairy why not have Kefir which is fantastic for digestion due to all the good bacteria. Helps hugely with my IBS.

Instead of restricting his diet to make it healthier he needs to try and expand it to include healthy things. Restricting it even more than it already is would be crazy. Does he take vitamins?

Does he eat eggs? Poached eggs on wholemeal toast could be a decent lunch.

@RocketAndAFuckingMelon

Autistic and vegan here too, and I agree with ThisTown that this is not going to be a healthy diet. It looks more like orthorexia. However if he's adamant he's going to do it here are some suggestions.

Porridge for breakfast or overnight oats. With honey if he doesn't like fruit. Will he eat fruit compote like apple sauce?

Lunch - oat cakes, or ryvita, or ordinary bread, spread with Violife or Oatly cream 'cheese' or hummus if no coconut extends to coconut oil. If he won't eat fresh fruit or veg will he eat pickles?
Or oat cakes / ryvita / bread / rolls with shop bought soup.
Oatly yoghurt (soy and coconut free) with honey

Dinners....
Baked sweet potato? Goes well with veggie chilli.
Noodles with boiled egg and sweetcorn, or with chicken and sweetcorn, with some sort of stir-fry sauce if he tolerates those or plain if he doesn't
Baked beans on toast - with egg or Richmond meat-free sausages
Any of the meat alternatives that he likes with sweetcorn and a bread roll rather than potato or chips.
Sliced grilled polenta with veggie bolognaise or veggie chilli

He is very short on starches as well as varied veg. Would he try brown rice rather than white rice - it has a different texture? Gnocchi?

@RocketAndAFuckingMelon Doesn't like honey finds it too sweet or apple compoto. Won't eat pickles.

He hasn't tried the oatly yougurts just the milk which he didn't like so will suggest the yogurts.

Doesn't like sweet potatoes
Will eat eggs but only twice a week as he says they're too unhealthy.

Doesn't like any kind of rice says it tastes like dirt.

@jay55

Chicken wraps. Chicken and sweetcorn wraps.

What's the aim of the health kick? Weigh loss? Solving digestive issues? Increased energy? Being an even bigger pain in the arse? Trying to disguise an eating disorder?

It's quite worrying to restrict an already very restrictive diet.

@jay55 The aim is too be healthier, he thinks his diet is too unhealthy right now.

@Tal45

If he doesn't eat any fruit or vegetables except sweetcorn then his health kick isn't going to be even vaguely healthy. And how will he make vegetarian chilli if he doesn't like vegetables? Vegetarian chilli is going to consist almost entirely of vegetables.

Instead of cutting out pasta he'd be much better off eating wholemeal pasta and watching his portion size. Instead of cutting out dairy why not have Kefir which is fantastic for digestion due to all the good bacteria. Helps hugely with my IBS.

Instead of restricting his diet to make it healthier he needs to try and expand it to include healthy things. Restricting it even more than it already is would be crazy. Does he take vitamins?

Does he eat eggs? Poached eggs on wholemeal toast could be a decent lunch.

@Tal45 He doesn't like wholemeal pasta or GF pasta.

Will suggest kefir.

No he doesn't take vitamins he finds them too sweet, even the ones with no sugar added.

He eats eggs but only twice a week. Says they're too unhealthy to eat more often.

I've tried to tell him that his plans aren't going to help him be healthier but he's determined.

This sounds like very unhealthy disordered eating and could have serious health issues.
I know how difficult it is to try to debate anything with someone who has ASD and very definite opinions..........DH has ASD as does ds.

Foods individually are not healthy or unhealthy............it is the combined intake of foods that determine a healthy diet, it is all about balance...........it is very easy for someone with ASD to fixate on the individual detail rather than the bigger picture.

Can you try and get him to focus on his diet rather than cutting out whole food gtoups?

I'm not sure he knows what healthy is!
Surely the first place to start is with eating more fruit and veg, whether he likes them or not.

How old is this person? Is he your son, or brother?

As others have said, this sounds like disordered eating - there is absolutely no way he could hope to eat a balanced diet with such extreme restrictions. Given that he refuses to take supplements, he will find himself with severe deficiencies very quickly.

I am autistic and a vegetarian, and I do understand about sensory issues around food.

However, this is NOT healthy and I would suggest you find somebody who your family member likes or trusts, or a medical professional to speak with him.

@AffIt

How old is this person? Is he your son, or brother?

As others have said, this sounds like disordered eating - there is absolutely no way he could hope to eat a balanced diet with such extreme restrictions. Given that he refuses to take supplements, he will find himself with severe deficiencies very quickly.

I am autistic and a vegetarian, and I do understand about sensory issues around food.

However, this is NOT healthy and I would suggest you find somebody who your family member likes or trusts, or a medical professional to speak with him.

@AffIt he's one of those two but not happy sharing his relation to me as anyone who knows me personally would recognise me and him.

Would it be more helpful to look at what he DOES eat, by food group, and then try to come up with ideas based around that?

Protein
Chicken
Eggs
Some meat substitutes
Possibly oatly yoghurt
Tahini?
Goat cheese

Starch
Gnocchi?
Polenta?
Bread
Crackers
Noodles

Veg
Sweetcorn

Fruit

He likes smooth textures not granular ones. If he likes veggie chilli then presumably he's okay with tinned tomatoes if they're part of a dish. How about bolognaise sauce, or meat-free sausage casserole? If he doesn't like potato and won't have pasta he could have it with toast.