D.B.
I’m going to combine some comments for this and your other post, since there is some overlap.
First of all, we all get it. There’s a strong temptation to just give a kid what he wants to avoid the arguing at the end of a long work day, and that’s even stronger when there’s a kid with sensory processing or texture issues. However, it’s good to know that kids have to try new foods sometimes as many as 20 times before they incorporate it, so don’t give up on the first try. Or the 10th.
Rachael Ray (website, magazine) has a lot of “5 ingredients or less” recipes and really works to not have people intimidated by cooking. Sometimes the public library has a magazine exchange – you can get some good pictures to help your visualize what you’re creating. Jessica Seinfeld did a cookbook some years back that works to introduce new foods to kids, often by hiding them.
So, here are a few suggestions:
Start small – pick a food or two you’re going to introduce. Make it simple.
Crock pot – do some prep at night, then throw it in the next morning.
Soups – a friend who has a son with autism does a lot of soups, and then when everything is soft, she sticks an immersion blender in it and basically mashes up all the foods that are cooked soft (squash, for example). And he loves them.
Bars – create a salad bar or a taco bar, and let people take what they want. Put all the chopped items in separate bowls to mollify the “don’t let the foods touch!” crowd, and then let them mix/match as they wish. Things like canned beans or tomato sauce/puree can be divvied up into small containers with the rest frozen – then you can pop them out on future dates and just have a small amount. So, for example, we do black beans, small red beans, green peppers, red peppers, onions, cheese cubes (small) or shreds, shredded/cubed chicken or cooked hamburger/turkey, tomatoes, avocado, maybe some defrosted frozen corn or peas. What’s left over becomes your salad for tomorrow’s lunch, or we use it the next night on pizza (people can make their own using English muffins or Naan bread, and they cook fast). For salad bar, just look at what they have at any good supermarket bar – include what he likes such as croutons but also try sunflower seeds, nuts, chickpeas, bacon. If he doesn’t want the lettuce, fine. We always keep frozen chopped spinach on hand, and we throw some into plain spaghetti sauce (tomato puree) when we make pasta or pizza. My kid thought it was parsley for years!
Conceal, conceal, conceal! Seinfeld shows you how to use spinach and butternut squash in other recipes (e.g. squash in mac/cheese). For protein, you can puree tofu into mashed or twice-baked potatoes, lasagna or stuffed shells (mix it with the ricotta cheese or cottage cheese filling), add it to the cheese with mac/cheese, or use it (if you like Chinese) in a stir fry with veggies of choice (get the extra firm already cubed to save time). Our kids ate eggplant, tofu, spinach and mushrooms for years without knowing it. Kids who like eggs can often be nudged into eating a quiche or a frittata (quiche with no crust – all you need is a pie pan, half & half, eggs and cheese). Again, start small and work your way up.
Get him to help prepare. There are kid-friendly knives (like lettuce knives) that can be used for soft foods. Get him to spoon things into the little bowls even if he says he won’t eat them. Don’t argue, just ask him to help and then arrange the bowls in the center of the table.
Buy chicken breasts or tenders, and make your own nuggets or fingers using a beaten egg in one bowl and a mix of bread crumbs or wheat germ (maybe with a little Parmesan cheese). Cut the chicken to the sizes you want, and freeze some of them in meal-sized plastic zipper bags. Take a Sunday afternoon to do this, and then you’ll be set for a month. If your son doesn’t like something, don’t push it – you and your husband can eat it over time. Dip the chicken in egg, then roll it in the crumbs, and fry it in a little healthy oil (olive, avocado, canola) until brown on one side, then flip. You can finish them in the fry pan or remove to a cookie sheet and finish baking in the oven. You can make oven-baked fries by slicing a potato into wedges (no need to peel) and putting on a cookie sheet with a little olive oil & salt/pepper (later you can add some Italian seasoning or dill if you like) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Later you can add broccoli florets or cauliflower florets, or other veggies (onions, beets, asparagus, beans). Otherwise, buy a simple steamer and just steam veggies in a pot for about 8 minutes, and add butter when done if you like.
I just spent 3 months working with a teen who had to take control of her own food needs – all kinds of issues. By giving her some control, she was able to try new things and feel really successful. She liked kebabs – chicken, zucchini, pineapple in a coconut oil base. They also cook really fast.
Message me if you want more specifics on anything here that appeals to you.
