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Help with changing to a healthy diet

Wengo

My friend has an autistic son, who she's introduced to and maintains a diet of solely: pizza, potato waffles, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, etc. He has almost no vegetables or fruit in his diet, and we are looking to change that. He is more than willing to try, but he hates strong flavours, or anything that is really juicy (tomatoes, oranges, etc). He really prefers plain food, and doesn't like sweet vegetables (like carrots). He also doesn't like food mixed in with other food, everything needs to be separate on the plate.

Does anyone have any ideas from their experience of this or similar experiences, for foods and meals to create?

I'm thinking of maybe one smoothie a day as well, to hide some veg, but again, would like it to taste pretty plain. 

Thanks in advance!

  • A healthy diet contains foods from all the food groups - protein, dairy, fruit & veg, fats and starches, and consists of mainly unprocessed or minimally processed food. 

    For main meals, you could try swapping some foods he already eats for healthier options, such as roast or grilled chicken *** instead of chicken nuggets, steamed white fish instead of fish fingers, and baked or boiled potatoes instead of potato waffles. Serve with a portion of mild tasting cooked veg, such as peas, green beans or cauliflower. Other protein ideas are pork chops, ham, or plain 100% beef burgers. Veggie burgers or sausages can be milder tasting too.

    For breakfast, a wholegrain cereal such as shredded wheat with milk is good, but he might not like it as you say he prefers foods kept separately, not combined. So how about boiled eggs with wholegrain toast and butter?

    Lunch could be a sandwich made with wholegrain bread, or crackers, and some mild flavoured hard cheese, or cream cheese, to get a portion of dairy into the diet.

    A small pot of Plain yogurt is a good snack choice, and so are nuts if he is old enough to eat them (you didn't mention his age?). 

    Drinks: plenty of water, and plain milk are best. Unsweetened cocoa mixed with hot milk is also good. Fruit juice is OK, but only one small glass a day as juicing fruit makes the natural sugars be very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, like processed table sugar.

    With reference to fruit and veg, I find raw fruit & veg difficult to digest. I peel and chop an apple, then cook it in a small saucepan with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, until all the water disappears, then eat it from a bowl with a spoon. I also buy tinned fruit in juice and drain off the juice before eating. Pears and peaches are nice, and not too strong tasting.

    Hope that's of some help?