Healthy Foods for Picky eater/HF Autism Boy!

To start with, I would try healthier versions of the food he likes. For example, will he eat home made chicken nuggets? What about home made mac and cheese, using real cheese, not American, and using whole wheat pasta and also you can use a little greek yogurt in it, instead of butter. Switch the white rice to brown. Buy whole wheat pizza dough and make your own pizza at home.

Make home made tomato sauce for pizza and puree in veggies into the sauce like carrots etc. Don't overdo it so he won't eat it.

As for pancakes, we make Norweigan pancakes which are alot healthier than regular ones. Here's a recipe:
1 1/4 c flour (you can use whole wheat)
3/4 c sour cream (I sub plain non fat Greek yogurt)
3 eggs

The batter is thinner than regular pancakes, they come out more like crepes. They're delish!

If you tell me if he likes smoothies or soups, I can give you some yummy kid friendly recipes, like a Garden Chowder soup, and many types of smoothies, like peach or mango or banana strawberry etc.

Other ideas I have would be making meatballs, you can puree veggies into your meatball mixture, as well as into the pasta sauce, and use whole wheat pasta. Or if he doesn't like spaghetti and meatballs, possibly a meatball sub on whole wheat bread.

If you want to send me a message, I'll share any recipes you're interested in.

Good luck! I believe a good nutritional diet is a HUGE part of helping kids with various issues.

Sorry, if this is way obvious because you've probably already done or thought of this but have you tried feeding therapy? My friend is going through this right now with her 12 year old & she's kicking herself, for not doing it sooner.

I have had try different ways of cooking things and different tricks. One way that helped my HF son is having him help me cook - if he cooked something he'd eat it. That's the way I got him to eat eggs - which he wouldn't touch at all - now he wants them a few times a week!! Chicken nuggets - I now make my own - I bread them and bake them then freeze in portions. My kids love them - and actually my husband does too.

For mac n cheese - add some pureed veggies - like sweet potatoes, carrots, zuchini. While hiding the veggies will help them eat the foods, still try to introduce everything. For example, last night we had hamburgers and cut up zuchini - my son did try it but said he didn't like it - I made a big deal that he at least tried it.

Try veggies cooked different ways - my son doesn't like 'crunchy' carrots but will eat them if they are soft. He also will eat corn on the cob since it's 'fun' to eat it that way.

Talk about a moving target! My Andy is 13 and it changes with the wind. One thing that surprised me was salad. He loves salad, strange.

Anyway one way I have got him to embrace healthy or even different choices is cooking. Recipes are like science and science is fun. If I give him an active role in planning and cooking meals he will try them. Otherwise you can see the heels dig in.

Start making shakes and having him help you make them. My kids are more likely to eat something they made. We use the SP Complete shake from Standard Process. It has kale, brussel sprouts, whey and rice protein....but they also have one that's just rice protein (and veggies, etc) and contains 28 g of protein. They have a whole list of gluten free supplements and proteins.

We also shred up zucchini and put them in eggs. You can't taste the zucchini and they get veggies at breakfast.

Stay away from "food" in boxes and bags.

Tosca Reno has a great cookbook for kids. Great popcorn chicken EASY recipe.

I too have a a child with Autism, I guess my first question is, why aren't you getting him off of gluten and casein as well as the canned foods and overly processed foods? I'd personally start there. If you need help or recipes feel free to PM me. There is an amazing world on the other side when you stop giving your child the bad food they crave and force them to eat the healthy food their body needs to heal. Your son will begin craving good foods once you get passed the withdrawals, I promise you! My 8yo son ate chicken tacos with fresh avocado and organic melon for dinner last night. You can get there with your son too, you just have to put forth the effort for his own health.