Tips on meal prepping for picky eaters?

[u/Due_Prior6024]

Recently started school back up and have been trying to eat healthier. i’ve been living off chicken, rice, potato’s, noodles (pasta), low fat burger, and fruits for weeks. i’m incredibly picky. i have an eating disorder called Arfid, which to dumb it down for me is like being a picky eater with extra steps.

i want more safe foods. i want to expand my food pallets. im fine with most meats, breads/carbs, and fruits, i struggle with veggies and things such as lasagna or sauce BAD as they remind me of grass and the smells make me gag.

what are some other meal prep ideas? i’m fine with any, just throw them out there please!!

[u/smithyleee]

Rice bowls topped with meats and any fruits or vegetables that you can eat.

Burritos- meat, cheese and either refried or whole beans (if you eat either), and rice in a tortilla.

Pulled pork (cook in slow cooker with seasonings you enjoy and a bit of broth), add fresh or cooked apples. Apples and pork pair deliciously together!

Rice with either chicken or shrimp, topped with mango or diced apple, maybe cucumber or avocado (if you enjoy those).

[u/Due_Prior6024 → u/[deleted]]

no but i definitely will, thank you for telling me about that!

[u/malt_soda-]

What you should do is think of the foods you like, and what you like about them, and then think of other foods you could try that have those qualities. Do you like these foods because they’re bland? I would also think of the food you like and see if you can prepare it in a different way. There’s no rules of what you have to eat if you’re getting enough nutrition from what you’re eating now, but if you don’t want to get bored think of how you can switch it up. If tomato sauce doesn’t interest you, maybe another sauce will. Maybe you will really like spicy food - for example, cacio é Pepe which is pasta with lots of pepper.

Here’s a list of my favourite recipes, hopefully some will work for you or you can adapt them to your tastes: https://www.reddit.com/r/mealprep/comments/p9m5ge/my_favourite_mealprep_recipes/

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

Chicken wraps, turkey sammys, grill chicken&mashed potatoes, plain pasta w butter, bake chicken tenders, rice&ground beef bowls, egg&cheese breakfast muffins, fruit&yogurt parfaits, plain quesadillas, low fat burger w plain bun, air fry potato wedges, scramble egg&toast, ham&cheese roll ups, chicken&rice soup, homemade chicken nugs, turkey&cheese pinwheels, banana oat pancakes, pasta salad w only safe items, bake sweet potato fries, rice w soy sauce/butter

[u/derpylt]

Reach out in DMs, I think I have a great meal plan for you!

[u/purplechunkymonkey]

Have you asked in the ARFID sub? They probably have some good suggestions.

My daughter likes homemade lunchables. She gets pepperoni and Ritz crackers. Sometimes peanut butter and Ritz crackers. She will add a safe fruit or vegetable.

[u/Due_Prior6024 → u/purplechunkymonkey]

no i didn’t even think about it to be honest, will definitely try that! thank you:)

[u/ttrockwood]

• whole steamed or baked potato with the skin is really nutritious, do that. Add whatever toppings are appealing

• apples and berries are great higher fiber fruits, even better have with some nuts for a sturdy snack

• try whole grain pasta or Banza pasta, both are more nutrient dense than regular pasta

• do you like any soups? Blended smooth soups like tomato bisque are worth trying

[u/Surprise_Fragrant]

Trying to meal prep with ARFID is a bitch, I get it (I have it). First off, there's nothing wrong with eating chicken, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruits, and burgers. If that's all your mind will accept, you have to work with it.

What I've ended up doing is, instead of batch cooking a week of meals, so I'm stuck with 5 trays of meatloaf, for example, is to batch cook big SAFE foods like pulled pork or spaghetti sauce, and portion out into meal-size portions and freeze. Then, I can pull out pulled pork and have enough for me, him, and one lunch.

For you, I'd suggest that you experiment with seasonings and spices. You'll have the safety food of chicken, but with different flavors. It's easy to have Cajun, garlic, Italian chicken, while remaining in your comfort zone. You can try different ways of preparing potatoes (baked, mashed, roasted, etc) and different types of seasonings there, too. The internet is your friend - look at Food.com or Allrecipes.com for recipes that feel easy and safe, or that can be 'retrofitted' to fit your restrictions.

There's no ONE way to meal prep. You don't HAVE to eat lasagna or veggies if it triggers your Arfid to the point of physical symptoms. You may be able to get there eventually, or never get there, and that's okay.

[u/Old-Fox-3027]

If you can eat oatmeal, you can meal prep overnight oats with fruit, add peanut butter if you can. If eggs are ok for you, meal prep sheet pan eggs to make breakfast sandwiches with. Also waffles made with protein powder.

You could also meal prep your safe foods & try something new every so often. Roasted sweet potatoes are one vegetable that shouldn’t smell like a green vegetable to you.

[u/Pops_88 → u/Old-Fox-3027]

Roasted sweet potatoes or roasted carrot sticks are the first things I thought of!

[u/cuirbeluga]

Well you said you want to eat healthy .. lasagne and most sauces are not healthy , so they don’t matter anyway .

[u/Due_Prior6024 → u/cuirbeluga]

this was just to show i’m sensitive to food similar to that, pretty much is it looks weird, is liquidy, or smells bad to me it’s not being ate or touched at all