Autistic limited diet- Autistic people on the spectrum can experience increased sensitivity to light, touch, sound, and taste. This increased sensitivity can influence the variety of foods that they eat. Dietary considerations associated with Autism include, eating a limited diet- a small number of foods similar in colour and taste. Foods that are predictable may be preferred, for example one Big Mac looks, smells and tastes the same as any other Big Mac (or should do) therefore it is safe and predictable. Bananas on the other hand, differ in shape, colour and, taste and are unpredictable.
Sounds Familiar?
This sums me to a T. I’ve always had a problem with my weight, the problem being, that I have too much of it. I couldn’t understand why I had a set of rules around food. Growing up my world would implode if I couldn’t sit in a certain seat, facing a certain way. Parents, teachers and dinner ladies just couldn’t understand why I would choose to go without food if I couldn’t sit in a certain seat. I got told off a lot, this started my unhealthy relationship with food and eating. I was always told that I was cutting my nose off to spite my face. I’m autistic and the poetry of language sometimes eludes me. I didn’t understand that saying, I wasn’t cutting my nose off, I was refusing to put food in my mouth, I don’t eat with my nose!
I suppose one thing that made it worse in primary school, was that my mother worked as a dinner lady (it was a small school, about 75 pupils) and when I used to get home from school in the afternoon, she would tell me that I had embarrassed her in front of everyone. I just couldn’t verbalise why I had to sit where I wanted to sit. Even now I have my very own seat at home, that no-one else uses when I’m around. If, on the exceedingly rare occasion we’re eating out, my family lets me pick where we’re sitting, it’s safer for me that way.
Knife and Fork, Spoon Please!
Cutlery is another sticking point. When I buy new cutlery, I must hold and rub every spoon in the shop. You see it’s the spoons that can make or break a mealtime. The spoon must be the right shape, size and feel. After I have bought the cutlery it’s that cutlery all the time. I have several different sets at home, but I only use certain ones. Spoons are my go-to for eating, they feel nicer than a fork. So, I cut my meals into bit sized pieces and then eat with a spoon.
Drinks have a certain quirk Aswell, I use what I call Sippy cups, drinking beakers with a lid and a straw. There is method in my madness, if there is a lid nothing can get in my drink (dust, bugs etc). that maybe an OCD thing, but I only drink through a straw. I don’t like people using the same cups as me, so I have my very own special ones.
When I go out, I pack my own cutlery and straws just in case, but I always have my own Sippy cup full of juice with me. Honestly, it’s like packing a bag for a toddler.
The times of meals are also structured, breakfast when I wake up, lunch at midday and evening meal between 4pm and 5pm. I panic if those times deviate in any way. If I haven’t eaten my evening meal by half past 5, I don’t eat. It’s too late, it’s out of rhyme and rhythm. That is probably cutting my nose off to spite my face.
Milk.
Like I said earlier, I have always struggled with my weight. As a baby I had an illness which required me to take steroids for a while. These medications ballooned me up to look like the Michelin man’s child. Ever since then I have been, let’s call it bonny. It’s only within the last few years I have been able to stomach breakfast, literally I would always be sick after eating in a morning. I got bored of this day in, day out, so I cut out the middleman and didn’t eat. When I did eat breakfast, it was always toast. I don’t drink milk so cereal just wasn’t a choice for me. I was a fussy eater growing up and even now.
What is for Lunch?
Certain foods can’t touch, things must be eaten in a certain order and 9 times out of 10, they are eaten out of a bowl. I struggle with lunch; I can’t get past the sandwich way. Other foods don’t seem to fit in with the lunch time vibe, I’ve tried bigger meals like salads and pasta, but it all seems a bit too much for lunch. So, I stick with a sandwich, as I’m writing this, I have some lovely home boiled ham in the fridge just calling out for a bread roll and apple sauce. Nothing fancy.
Just call me Nigella.
Evening meals can be stressful, and I normally start to stim about it. I get overwhelmed. I have an arsenal of tried and tested recipes in my head, and I normally stick to those, remember, safe. I can put together meat and 2 veg no problem, but if I have to start a new recipe it is so daunting. I like to cook from scratch, not processed, I like to know what is in my food, OCD again. I have to meal plan and buy all the ingredients for the following week, I can’t just open the fridge and say well I’ll throw that and that together, I just can’t react quickly. Me and spontaneity just don’t go together.
Longest Pregnancy Ever.
I have food cravings, think being pregnant for the last 40 years. Some days it’s mustard some days it’s beetroot, never at the same time, which would be just weird! These cravings can last for months, at one period of my mustard phase I was eating ham and mustard sandwiches for lunch and evening meal every day for 4 months, then all of a sudden during a sandwich, I said nope, I don’t want that anymore and moved onto the next craving.
I fall out with food a lot. When I am in-between cravings, I am lost, I don’t want to eat, it doesn’t interest me and I get bored. I lose my comfort and safe place. Eating the same thing all the time isn’t healthy and can border on infatuation, not to mention expensive. Its ok if I’m craving food that is cheap to buy but when it is something expensive the price adds up over the week, I’m not craving caviar just yet.
Mush, Yuck!, Give me the Chunk.
Texture of food is another big problem, I can’t eat a bowl of mush, mashed potatoes are a no-no, and soup must be chunky. Meat that has fast still on it makes me shiver inside. I like crispy chewy things that don’t look anaemic. Meat must be well done, no red stuff coming from it, I can feel Gordon Ramsey rolling his eyes, but no, just no.
To sum up, food is a big problem for me, and I don’t see any way of solving that problem. I’ll just continue with the quirks, you can find me at the designated mealtime, in the same seat, with the same cutlery with my bowl and with my crispy food.
Kayleigh x
Just Pootling Along
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