My 13-year-old student has always been the typical picky eater, experiencing healthy doses of sensory issues and anxiety over trying new foods. However, he's always been a relatively healthy eater, probably because his dad and I have always modeled healthy eating habits. I'm also lucky that he's a foodie. As a toddler, he was obsessed with my Martha Stewart Living magazines, and food prep videos are still his favorite YouTube category.

We never tried any food therapy. Instead, I found these two techniques worked well for him:

1. Leverage his curiosity. My student is an eavesdropper, opens every package he finds, has major FOMO and wants to know everything about everything. He's also got some demand avoidance challenges. So, instead of putting a new food on his plate, I put it on mine. His curiosity brings him to the food, and the lack of demand gets him to try it because he thinks it's his idea. 😜

2. Make it exciting. About five years ago, when he was 8, I overheard him watching a food prep video for a few different ways to make potatoes that sounded easy and delicious. I asked him if he'd like to try them and he did. That success took his willingness to try new foods up a notch, and he began bringing me YouTube videos to try. (That turned into him bringing me YouTube videos to show me what he wanted for Christmas and his birthday!)

If your student is a teenager, they probably eat a lot more than they used to, just like mine does. My student also began taking some medications that increase his appetite and reduce his anxiety about trying new foods. (If you're on the fence about meds, the improvement in eating is a big plus!)

We avoid gluten and dairy, but not as religiously as we used to. However, I'm very strict about no MSG, no Red40 food dye and we avoid all processed food, fast food and restaurant food. Most of what my student eats is homemade. We also avoid sugar. My student can have some pretty scary mental health episodes if he eats more than 20 grams of sugar at a time, so we save sugary treats for special occasions.

Here's what my student eats in a day:

Breakfast also serves a medical purpose: my student takes two pills every morning, one of which can cause stomach upset. So, we stick to carbs with some protein. First, he takes a pill with a slice of cinnamon raisin toast. We get the Thomas brand you can find in the supermarket. It's processed, but not as bad as most. Plus the raisins offset the constipation caused by the bread. 

Then 30 minutes to an hour later, he takes the second pill with a giant hashbrown that I make from scratch. This recipe is sentimental to us, because it originated from that first YouTube food prep video we tried. This hashbrown contains eggs, which soak into the potatoes and don't create any eggy texture. My student needs protein at every meal to regulate his blood sugar, and this hashbrown is enough to get him settled down for an hour of intentional motor and school before lunch.

Giant hashbrown

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 medium Russet potatoes (they soak up the eggs better than other potatoes)
• 1 or 2 eggs (we began with one and worked our way up to two)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste
• salted butter or oil of choice for skillet

Grate potatoes and spread out on a paper or cloth towel. Cover and press to remove the excess moisture. Next, beat one or two eggs in a medium bowl. Add the shredded potatoes and mix. Add salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to taste and mix again.

Grease a skillet with butter or oil and heat on medium low until the butter is foamy. Add the potatoes and press to flatten with a spatula until about 1/2 thick and shape it in a circle. Lift with spatula if needed to keep it from sticking. When the hashbrown is a nice golden brown color on the bottom, it's time to turn it.

Here's my uncoordinated autism girl method: I turn off the burner and cover the hashbrown with a dinner plate. Then, holding on to the plate, invert the pan and plate together so the flipped hashbrown is now on the plate, cooked side up. Carefully remove the pan and put it back on the burner. Turn the burner back on, add some more butter, then slide the hashbrown from the plate back on to the skillet and finish cooking. Once the other side is golden brown and your sneaked bites from the edges have reached your student's preferred chewiness, you can usually use the spatula to get it on the plate with it falling apart. Salt and pepper again as needed, and add any topping your student might like. Mine likes a dollop of sour cream but will take ketchup in a pinch.

Lunch: I always say autistic rigidity can work to your advantage, so check this out: our lunch routine is that we try a new recipe from our Hello Fresh box. Different is our routine! I stick to mostly the "family" recipe choices, which are pretty kid friendly and low-risk. 

My student loves to help me make everything, which satisfies his need for action and learning. Participating also makes him more invested in the meal and allows him to pre-approve smells and tastes. A few times he's been hesitant to try, so we do something I call "just try the sauce." (The f-bomb practically inserts itself there, doesn't it?) I dip a spoon into the sauce, broth or juices and let him lick it before asking him to take a bite. Most of the time he discovers that indeed, he does like this sauce, and he eats the meal. 

Snacks: Like most of your kids, my student turns hangry quickly and it can get dangerous. Our current go-to snacks have fewer than 20 grams of sugar (10g or less is ideal) and often some have protein to keep his blood sugar stable:

• Homemade protein bites (pictured below) and homemade chocolate covered, peanut butter stuffed "Snickers" dates - recipes from personal chef Jane Olivia.
• A slushie made with Simply Light Lemonade using one of those slushie cups they were selling on TikTok shop this summer. (a snack and a science experiment in one!)
• Clif Builders protein bars, the mint chocolate flavor
• Seasonal fruit - right now that's Cuties mandarin oranges, but he also likes strawberries, watermelon, cherries and sometimes apples.
• Our favorite healthy ice cream

By dinner time, I'm exhausted from all that cooking from scratch so we have something easy. I prepare something processed that isn't too terribly bad and is a safe food, like

• frozen pierogi from Whole Foods or Sprouts
• make your own flatbread pizza
• breakfast for dinner like pancakes and bacon, or waffles if I'm feeling energetic
• a quesadilla using Trader Joes' Cowboy Caviar salsa
• fast food that doesn't contain a lot of chemicals, like In N Out or a similar "healthy" hamburger place. 

And that's it, everything my student currently eats in a day!

Would you like to share your own tips and recipes with our readers? Please email heather@theautismoasis for information on how to submit your own post.