To not understand how a fully grown adult..

[LifesLittleDeciders]

Doesn’t like any vegetables at all?
I was just watching a video about a man who wanted to find recipes he could eat that don’t contain vegetables as he doesn’t like any veg.

I mean come on.. there’s as many flavours in different vegetables as there are colours in the world.. yet he would proclaim to ‘hate all colours’

I just don’t get it. Kids I sort of understand; especially when they descend from fussy parents. But I just think ‘grow up’ when I read about adults not touching vegetables. I’m not talking about “I don’t like broccoli or carrots” - won’t eat vegetables at all.

And the “salad? Do I look like a rabbit?” Slur that comes from people

Who won’t eat anything remotely green or healthy, that saying really boils my piss. Just say no thank you?!

I know IABU as it’s none of my business but it just made me roll my eyes and would be interested to hear others opinions on it.

What do fussy adults do when they have to eat out at a place where they cannot choose the food, like a wedding or a friend's house? It must be really stressful.

My BIL is super fussy, but I know him well, so he gets a frozen beige pizza while the rest of us eat something wonderful. He's happy with the pizza and I think his company is worth it! But it is kind of sad.

I had three British adults from DH's work unexpectedly come to tea, no warning. I'd done spag bos', and there was a double amount, so no worries.

One of the men was very proudly stating how he'd avoided vegetables for the entirety of his time away (months!), and I duly burst his bubble, breaking it to him, he'd just consumed, tomatoes, courgette, carrots, mushroom, onion, and spinach. His face was a picture. He'd had seconds and all, so I'm guessing he enjoyed it. He somewhat mournfully said that he hated mushrooms. . .

[quote Popcornbetty]@schrodingersImmigrant yes toddlers but the poster said adults too?[/quote]
Well there was nothing wrong with that observation either

@mbosnz I get him though. I hate mushrooms. Devil's poop! But I only hate a piece of them. It's the consistency. So we used them powdered for sauces or blended them or cut them into tiniest pieces.
Them and offal are my only no goes, however, I have actually eaten all of it when I was being hosted. It's just very hard to swallow.

So i get why he liked your sauce while hating the Devil's poop.

Oh and I like offal when it's mushed up in a certain type of sausage🙈 And liver pate. But hate liver by itself. 😂

[quote SchrodingersImmigrant]@mbosnz I get him though. I hate mushrooms. Devil's poop! But I only hate a piece of them. It's the consistency. So we used them powdered for sauces or blended them or cut them into tiniest pieces.
Them and offal are my only no goes, however, I have actually eaten all of it when I was being hosted. It's just very hard to swallow.

So i get why he liked your sauce while hating the Devil's poop.[/quote]
LOL, I think he was worried that he'd out himself to his Mum that he'd eaten mushrooms and asked for seconds! As you say, I cut them into the tiniest pieces. Oh, he was a bit pissed off about the capsicum too. . . I think he thought me and his Mum would get on entirely too well.

@RampantIvy I’ve been vegan for coming up to a couple of decades, I’m not a fussy eater at all but even if I were, I’d still be vegan. As I’m vegan for ethical reasons it just wouldn’t be an option for me not to be, and I’d have to find a way to cope and eat something (I guess take a lot of multivitamins!) but I would take being not in great health or struggling to find things to eat over going back to vegetarianism or an omni diet

Tbh it would give me a kick up the arse I think as the vegan part is non negotiable: if pickiness started to really affect my health then it’d be the pickiness I had to address, not the veganism side. Having said that you can very easily live on absolute junk as a vegan and most fussy and picky eaters I know are happy with junk so it wouldn’t be hard to find food, probably just really shit for your body. But I don’t think picky eaters are particularly eating well for their health anyway regardless of whether they’re vegan or not.

SchrodingersImmigrant in your opinion

That's interesting @LavenderLollies. Thank you.

Do those of you with food issues take supplements to get all your nutrients?

Sorry for all the questions. I hope you don't mind.

I think it goes both ways.

I definitely had sensory issues as a kid. My mother insisted on feeding me veg and meat I couldn't stomach.

She felt that it would help my diet
.
It's done the opposite. As an adult, my diet is beyond beige

Do those of you with food issues take supplements to get all your nutrients?

DS takes a vitamin, his dietician recommended the Well-Kid ones as they contain all of the nutrients needed, he also has a cup of milk each day on her recommendation.

@FoxyTheFox

Do those of you with food issues take supplements to get all your nutrients?

DS takes a vitamin, his dietician recommended the Well-Kid ones as they contain all of the nutrients needed, he also has a cup of milk each day on her recommendation.

Personally I take a multivitamin + Omega 3 + Vitamin D to prevent catching Covid + C for the same reason + iron because the mutltivit doesn't contain enough and as an 80% vegetarian who bleeds every month I think I'm at risk of not getting enough. I always think I would rattle if you shook me at night.

Yes @RampantIvy I take a multivitamin (when I remember). But I think ‘fussy’ eaters are getting a hard time on here. Although there are some things I won’t eat, my meals are very healthy. As a vegan I obviously don’t eat meat or dairy which is great for my health. I also base my meals around a variety fresh vegetables and am a really good cook. Contrast this to some meat eaters I know that don’t dislike any particular foods, but live off things like pork chops, chicken breast, fish fingers and chicken nuggets with potatoes/ chips on rotation and I don’t think I’m the one at greatest risk of vitamin deficiency. So many adults have the same half dozen evening meals on rotation, sandwiches for lunch, cereal for dinner and too much takeout. I don’t do any of that but people see you have sensory issues and then seem to think you have health issues. That is why I don’t tell people about what I don’t eat, because people can be very judgemental.
@Overcastcloudy yes it can be very stressful. I’ve realised during lockdown exactly how anxious I get around eating out. I will worry for days beforehand. However, I am vegan so require some ‘catering to’ anyway. So for weddings of people close to me then I have been asked for my opinion on the vegan option and so far they’ve always been absolutely lovely. Weddings of people more distant I just go in prepared for the food to be unsuitable, so will sneak a cereal bar in my bag, or a couple of bits in my car if desperate and prepare to go hungry. Also as a vegan I usually get to veto any restaurant before we go because those around me are lovely and want me to have a nice vegan option. I also only socialise with a very small number of people due to my autism and rarely go out so this isn’t a massive problem. Re eating at other people’s houses, again rarely happens due to autism but my mum in law usually does buffet type things where you can help yourself, and I also like to host myself a lot as it’s in my control. The fact that I am an excellent cook helps, as people genuinely enjoy my food. Close friends know I am autistic and have issues (one has an autistic daughter herself so completely gets it), and are excellent hosts so would always make sure there is food I enjoy. And my sister has similar tastes to me, so I always end up eating like a king when I stay with her

The nutritionist advised me to give the dc the well kid brand of vitamins as they have the best amount of vit d apparently. As well as not eating fruit or veg my dc also don’t eat dairy - so they need all the help they can get. Strangely they don’t require laxatives any more, so their bodies must have got used to processed meat and dry bread!

It’s interesting when people say they chopped something small or blended it and then the fussy person ate it fine. As if it’s a bit of a gotcha moment, that they like it really and are just being stubborn/difficult. But surely that just proves the point, that they didn’t like it in its other form. So change the texture change the food. I don’t like raw celery or carrot but I love them cooked. I don’t really like raw apple but love cooked apple and apple flavour. Watery crunchy things feel horrible to me. That’s the same as blending food into a sauce, people can still enjoy the flavour without the texture they dislike. As long as they eat sauces of course. Or wet food in general. It’s hard to get past that one.

I love mushrooms - cooked and raw - but hate mushroom soup. When I was a kid I loved tomato soup but wouldn’t eat tomatoes. I love both now though.

I was fed freezer foods as a child too, My mum worked FT so when she returned home the last thing she wanted to do was cook from scratch plus it was the 90s so different rules applied . We had freezer chips/smiles, fish fingers/turkey dinosaurs and beans most nights. I don’t use this as an excuse not to eat well now though, I expanded my palate naturally when I left home. I didn’t eat avocado or aubergine until I was about 18! Love all vegetables now. Blaming a shit childhood diet isn’t good enough imo.

[quote LifesLittleDeciders]@Rainbowdino my DP is like this; very much was brought up on beige food, frozen pizza, onions rings, chips ect. He was a bit skeptical when we brought a house and the buying of freezer food is for emergencies only 😂 It didn’t take him long to get used to me cooking fresh food every day; but he was never a veg-hater I don’t think, he just preferred freezer food as it’s easier and ‘it’s still nice’ - while I was brought up with everything cooked fresh and learned to cook basic very young; the lack of freezer food I ate as a child has reflected as an adult as I don’t like to eat it, I will only have a frozen pizza or some chicken nuggets ect if I’m being really lazy or if it’s too late to cook one evening.

I definitely think it’s the way people are brought up you are right.[/quote]
Especially as way back in the day you were forced to eat them and not allowed down from the table till you did. Or they were 'hidden' in other foods, which just ruined them too.

Scarred? Me? Absolutely.

Make me eat cauliflower (only one example) and I would be sick.
Going to restaurants is harder now, as decent ones play about with food so much, nothing is just well cooked, beautiful 'ordinary' food any more.

Someone earlier said that 'fussy' eaters never gag on handburgers or chocolate bars, and it is mainly true. But someone explained it to me quite well:

A chocolate bar, hambuger from a fast food chain, a pot noodle are all consistent. You know what you are getting, each one is exactly the same as the last one you had. But fruit and veg isn't. Take blueberries - some are firm, some, soft, some disintegrate in the fingers, some are sweet, some are sour, some are juicy, some are dry. No two blueberries are the same, same with almost all fruit and veg. So if you have sensory issues, you are going to choose (consciously or otherwise) the consistent foods.

A chocolate bar, hambuger from a fast food chain, a pot noodle are all consistent.

Consistently poor quality food.

Genuine sensory issues of people with ASD and EDs have been hijacked by people with neither as a justification for poor eating habits imo.

Any food dislike could be billed as a sensory issue - my hatred of anchovies for example - too salty & feathery; red meat - slimy, chewy texture, tastes of blood etc; sausages - greasy, with icky fat blobs etc.

Consistently poor quality food

When you have a child who doesn't eat, any food is better than none. DS dietician always points out that food is just food. It doesn't have attributes such as good or bad or naughty or cheeky, it's only food, and while some may be better for our bodies than others you can run an engine on standard fuel just as well as you can on premium.

Consistency is key with processed food. Sensory issues around food often go hand in hand with control issues, someone with a neurodevelopment condition who has difficulty in navigating a world not built for them will try to exert control over the things they can control and for many this is food. DS doesn't only have sensory issues with food around tastes, textures, and colours, he also has rituals and rules around food that must be observed - for example, food must not touch other foods on the plate, specific foods are served in specific plates, he uses specific cutlery, etc.

As a PP said, a blueberry can be sweet, sour, squishy, firm, dark blue or bluish green, seeds, no seeds, and so on. A chicken dipper is the same. Every. Bloody. Time. Same colour, same taste, same size, same shape. A chicken breast is not the same as it could be a different size each time, it could be dry, moist, flakey, chewy, it might have the vein still, it might have something like garlic butter or cheese hidden inside, it could be grilled or roasted or poached all of which affect the flavour and texture. Not so a nugget. Processed food such as nuggets, as well as being consistent, also tend to be bland and for someone who doesn't like flavours that's a good thing. They also tend to be less fibrous so are softer and have a more soothing 'mouth-feel' than alternatives.

@dotdashdashdash

Someone earlier said that 'fussy' eaters never gag on handburgers or chocolate bars, and it is mainly true. But someone explained it to me quite well:

A chocolate bar, hambuger from a fast food chain, a pot noodle are all consistent. You know what you are getting, each one is exactly the same as the last one you had. But fruit and veg isn't. Take blueberries - some are firm, some, soft, some disintegrate in the fingers, some are sweet, some are sour, some are juicy, some are dry. No two blueberries are the same, same with almost all fruit and veg. So if you have sensory issues, you are going to choose (consciously or otherwise) the consistent foods.

Easily resolved with tinned and frozen! We tend to only buy tinned and frozen for certain fruit, for example mangos and raspberries. Last longer so no waste, just as healthy (buy in juice not syrup and rinse), obviously you don’t get the fibre from the skin but otherwise they’re fab. Frozen berries too. I got sick of how inconsistent fruit is bought fresh, you can buy an apple so delicious it’s the food of the gods one day and the next it’s so tasteless and hard to chew I end up spitting it out.

Relying on processed food or sugary junk like cereal bars or chocolate is a real disservice to any child, sensory issues or not. Most ASD children (and I have worked with dozens and have 2 at home) do not need a diet of beige, processed food. They may want to inspect each individual blueberry, but the ones that pass inspection will be eaten (if the individual likes blueberries). Apples or bananas or oranges may need to be sliced (for easier analysis!), veggies may need to be prepared in a specific way, carbs limited to a few options, but a child who likes brown rice or wholemeal toast or porridge oats will like that at most meals if it is always served in a familiar way. That's fussy but it's not the health hazard of a 'nuggeted' diet of salty, sugared, processed blandness. A diet can be limited and unadventurous but perfectly healthy, provided the universe of foods accepted is good enough.

People survived sensory issues long before the freezer section came along, and in many parts of the world continue to do so.

Are there some seriously affected outliers? Sure there are. I have met a primary aged child who survives on cereal and yoghurt and a specific brand of biscuits. And she will not eat anything else. It happens.

But for lots of nugget- dependent children, there is a better way. Same for the adults.

DS reliably eats cucumber, sometimes red pepper (only red), plain chicken with no seasoning (sliced breast meat only), chicken dippers (must be Birds Eye battered ones), Yorkshire puddings, plain Weetabix (tiniest dribble of milk), those really cheap cheese and tomato pizzas that are basically bread, a brush of tomato, and three strands of cheese, and blueberries (must be on the squidgy side of ripe). If he's in a good place mentally and emotionally and not tired or stressed then he will occasionally eat plain pasta (penne only), sausage (Richmond, no skin and soft textured) and sometimes a little bit of cheese (grated mozarella only). When he's stressed out or going through a rough patch then his control over food turns even more rigid and he will only eat dippers and cucumber and he cannot be shaken from his rules around presentation and eating them.

People survived sensory issues long before the freezer section came along, and in many parts of the world continue to do so.

Lots of "failure to thrive" throughout history and still right around the world today. DS food issues were present from when he was a baby, he hated solids from the get-go and wouldn't eat. The foods he currently eats are the result of a lot of trial and error and hard work, if they're not available then he will starve himself.

When I was first dating my husband, he referred to salad as that "green stuff" saying he didn't want it. I think it's upbringing. He now eats all vegetables and green stuff I put on his plate LOL!

I have to force myself to eat vegetables. I do it because I have to, to be healthy, I really don’t like the taste of any of them. Fruit is ok.