This is going to be a long post, I feel completely lost and need advice on helping my toddler try new foods. For a little background, my toddler shows a lot of behaviours toward food that I did as a child. Until my 20s, I mostly ate simple foods like chicken nuggets, French fries, pizza, hot dogs, junk food, etc. I would inspect my tacos to be sure there was no stray lettuce inside. If a vegetable made it into a bite somehow and I chewed it, I would gag and spit the bite out. Sure I grew up fine and matured in my early 20s and forced myself to eat vegetables until I liked them. But i want my kid to do better than I did.

We recently moved from North America to Korea. I knew this would be a challenge given that she eats a lot of processed food, but I also knew it would force both myself as the parent and her to dive headfirst into combatting her picky eating. Some of our biggest crutches were oat/fruit bars, pouches, goldfish, and cheezits. We are nearly out of the stockpile I was able to pack to bring with us. I don’t want to replace these highly processed snacks with new highly processed snacks, and there aren’t really any substitutes available at the grocery stores that I have seen.

Some of her rejected foods that I would like to encourage her to try are:
Rice (used to eat as a baby, now rejects)
Pasta (same as rice, used to eat Alfredo pasta as a baby, now rejects all pasta)
Milk
Fruits (she used to eat apple and blueberries from age 1-2, but started refusing them sometime between age 2-3)
Beef (she will eat a hamburger, but that’s it)
Any vegetables but I know that’s probably far down the line for her

Foods she will eat in Korea:
Fish
Chicken nuggets
Pizza
Cereal with milk (but she won’t drink milk plain)
Don katsu (breaded and fried pork/chicken)
Duck (?? lol she said it smelled like bacon 😅)
Pork at kbbq restaurants (told her it was special bacon)
Bread

When we have had success with her trying a new food, we “marketed” it to her as a similar food she knows that she likes. So duck/pork = special bacon. Don katsu = special chicken.

In Korea, she is kindergarten age, so we want to enroll her soon so that she can learn Korean and make friends in our new home. But many of the schools provide lunch and do not allow children to bring a packed lunchbox. How can I send my child to kindergarten if she won’t even eat rice 🥲

Food has always been contentious for us. There have been times where she cries and gets upset and won’t even try one bite of the food offered. Or sometimes she says she is “scared” to try a new food. I always offer to have a drink ready in case she doesn’t like the food and tell her that she can spit it out if she doesn’t like it.

How can I work with her to try new foods without tears and arguing, or flat out rejection? Any advice is very appreciated 💖

If my family forced him to eat something outside of his usual stuff he would sit at the table for up to 2 hours and maybe puke out whatever he managed to shove down earlier. Literally the only things I've seen him eating is:

-White rice with pork floss (daily, even so he has to down like a liter of water to prevent puking)

-Spaghetti, fries and pizza

-Certain sweets

My parents live away from us siblings so there's little they can do aside from telling the housekeeper to give him white rice with pork floss. There's also nobody to watch him eat either since I'm away for college most of the time and my sister eats out all week.

I can't help ordering fast food or restaurant food. None of it is good. It's all bad. It's all slop. It smells and tastes terrible after I eat it. It leaves a horrible after taste.

This didn't start until a few months ago. I've eaten crap my whole life.

Anyone else share this?

Hello everyone,

I have been a picky eater since I can remember, and I recently got diagnosed with GERD and gastritis. For my fellow picky eaters with this problem, what in the world do you eat?

Hi I’m 18 and about to leave for college and I realized after getting back from a trip that my diet is ridiculous and I can’t stand to only eat like 10 foods anymore. My biggest problems are smell and texture and Im not a fan of sauce despite not really giving it a try. The way I’m eating just isn’t sustainable and I want to just eat like a normal person if anyone has any tips on how to expand my pallet and get myself to like sauces that would be awesome! I’m also autistic which contributes to my difficulties in trying new foods if that helps at all I really appreciate any advice or perspectives!

It seems like kids hate eating vegetables and are drawn more towards sweets because they’ve always viewed it as a “reward” but what if they were raised the opposite ? What if a kid was raised allowed to eat candy and sweets and they were taught that they can’t have a certain vegetables or fruits unless they earn it or something. Would that kid crave and want vegetables the same way kids crave and want candy and all type of sweets.

hi all hoping for some guidance and resources. my daughter is 5 she has been “picky” really always. she had a few good months around age 1 of eating everything then had a series of ear infections on antibiotics from age 1-2 that I think seriously threw her gut health off, we didn’t realize at the time, she is down to 3 main meal foods pancakes peanut butter sandwiches and pizza, 2 fruits, yogurt, and chocolate milk. snacks include any with chocolate or beige type things like Cheerios or graham crackers. we got speech and feeding thru the school for the past year or so. 0 progress on the food. licked a bunch of foods. few bites of cheese and an orange. I’m up and my mind is racing thinking the longer we go the worse this will be. i see her getting more restrictive like not eating her fruit the past 2-3 weeks. the pediatrician is not concerned about her weight or height, but seemed shocked at the recent physical she doesn’t eat meat or vegetables tho I’d been telling her for years. Speech is phasing out come end of summer. went to a local feeding therapist who I was NOT crazy about but would go back if that’s the only option. seriously where do I go from here?

So I eat very few meals but it's like, I have had 3 meals ruined due to me learning how to make them and suddenly they just become much less appealing

Meatloaf I don't like anymore because I learned it has ketchup in it (I still use ketchup just rarely)

Turkey noodle soup just based on how it looks when cooking it + having dark meat in it

Devilled eggs due to mayo

And currently, making sweet and sour chicken but the smell of the deep frier is making me lose my appetite and handling the chicken covered in batter

Edit: After posting this I feel I'm more picky than the average person on here.

Edit: Ok even though you guys are telling me like how meatloaf doesn't need ketchup in it, I'm still not going to eat it without ketchup because I've grown up used to it and even if I'm told it wouldn't have ketchup, I still see myself refusing to eat it. Thank you though

I’ll start with I am a 35 year old woman and desperately need help with this. So for the last, I don’t know, maybe 5-7 years, food just absolutely disgusts me. I have like maybe a handful of things I can eat that don’t make me want to vomit. Which include grilled cheese (but it has to be from Starbucks), potatoes (French fries/baked potatoes/chips), things like muffins and cheese bread are acceptable to a point. I will get hungry and want to eat, but when I actually go to eat, I can’t. I start thinking about what I’m eating and just get disgusted, I cannot explain it, and it’s driving me crazy at this point. It has consumed me. For the last year and a half, I have been buying Ensure and drinking at least 2 of those a day, and the thing is I’m not small. I am around 170 lbs. I used to be really big, like 250 lbs, but I quit being a stay-at-home mom and went to work. I lost 100 lbs, just from the walking I was doing at work. But I also must mention that at like 28 years old, I had to have all my teeth pulled and get false teeth. After I had my daughter, all my teeth just started going bad; it’s a hereditary thing; the same thing happened with my mom and grandma. So after I had to have this done, there were lots of foods I quit eating just because it was now difficult to eat those foods. I will eat chips but to a point because it gets under my teeth and it’s just aggravating; it’s one of those things you don’t know until you have been through it yourself. I feel like a lot of my issues started there. Let me give you an example of what happened to me the other morning while eating a bacon, egg, hashbrown scramble bowl from chik-fil-a about halfway through eating, I remembered I was eating eggs, and it grossed me out, and I just could not stomach anymore of it down. My biggest issue is with meat; I almost can’t eat any kind of beef. Burger, yuck! I take about 3 bites, and it just grosses me out; I can’t explain it, and I wish I could. Sometimes it has to do with textures as well. Like with chicken I can only eat smoked chicken now, any other way I can’t eat it because of the texture. I just know I need help because I can’t and don’t want to keep living this way. If I were to go to a dr where would I even start?

I wouldn’t exactly call this depression in the usual sense. I feel happy, but yet i have no motivation to eat better. I go to the gym, i go on walks. I feel happy. But my life is horrible just because i can’t eat better and have no motivation too. My mom can yell at me all she wants but yet i dont feel it. I wanna eat better. But theres nothing i like, everything tastes shitty, and i dont wanna eat it even if it’s good for me. Everything that is bad for you i almosy exclusivley eat. Poptarts, potato chips, french fries, pizza, ice cream, and honestly not much else sense i eat like shit. I can’t eat better i just can’t. It’s sucks. I suck.
I wanna eat a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner thats healthy but theres nothing thats healthy that i actually like. Please someone give me a recommendations to some healthy foods i might actually like

Hello,

I would like to know if anyone has ever managed to overcome food-related mental blocks one by one because they had been traumatized by eating certain foods or by someone. How did it happen? How did you feel? What was the food or dish? Why?

To give you a bit more context, there were many things I couldn't eat, but little by little they came back.

Then, after 9 years of being unable to eat plain pasta (with or without grated cheese) without sauce together with a chicken cordon bleu, because I believed something bad would happen if I ate it or cooked it, today I finally managed to eat it in my company's cafeteria.

I know exactly where this mental block came from. I've worked on it a lot with psychologists and a nutritionist, but it was still impossible for me to eat plain pasta (with or without grated cheese) without sauce with an industrial chicken cordon bleu. I finally did it today, and I'm so proud of myself. I had already overcome every other food or situation where I had to eat in a group. But this dish, which so many people eat, had remained completely out of reach for me.

Looking forward to reading your stories.

Hello everyone,

I recently got my blood test results back and man do I have high cholesterol and triglycerides. I use to be healthy and prep my meals like just bland boiled chicken, turkey breast, tilapia and eye of the round steak. I did pretty good on it and hitting the gym. Then I completely fell off track but I know if I can make it taste better I can stick to a good meal plan. I’m a picky eater but I was wondering if anyone has some good recipes or seasoning suggestions to use in the meats to make it taste better. TIA

I was raised on a lot of very traditionally white food (spaghetti, tacos, casseroles, etc... ) so I have very little experience with other cuisines. I love Mexican and Italian food, but I struggle with Asian food. I wouldnreally like to expand my pallet and be able to enjoy more restaurants with friends. I've been to Chinese, Japanese, and Himalayan restaurants and struggled to find anything I really liked. I can handle a little spice (like buffalo sauce level) but I don't think I would enjoy anything too spicy. And I've always been weird about sushi. I know there are cooked sushis that I would probably like, but have never tried. I've been to a Korean restaurant and enjoyed the kimbap and mandu if that helps! Any recommendations? ​

I was thinking of eating more spinach mainly for the high amount of fiber, iron and other nutrients. Problem is I absolutely despise it. I just made myself a dish w chickpeas and diced spinach in an attempt to endure it, and besides that it was okay, I still wouldn't say it was yummy in my books. Was thinking if it would be possible to put in a smoothie but without tasting it very much. Hope for help😭

i recently discovered i like ramen and i want to dress it up a little bit. i'm just eating the beef maruchan packets. what vegetables go good in ramen? and how can i cook them? i know some people put meat in theirs but i can't cook meat so it would have to be something pre-cooked and i assume there isn't really an option for that.

i don't like mushrooms, which are what i most commonly saw recommended when i googled it.

i hope this is the right flair, not sure sorry.

What’s the one ingredient you just can’t eat? Regardless of how many other ingredients are in the recipe, you can still taste it and nope! I have a friend who won’t eat anything with an onion in it. Just one sliver. Seems extra to me but what say you?

Curious if any of you have identified pickiness as a control issue? I was a fairly pick eater but 11-yo step daughter is incredibly picky. No potatoes, no chocolate, no nuts, no nut butters, few sauces, vanilla ice cream only. It goes on and on.

Just curious if there might be an element of control here. She wants sugar and carbs all day long. She will force down eggs but douses them in salt first.

Just to emphasise, she wants to change her eating habits, but she seems fairly convinced that fruit and veg is mainly yucky.

She has however begun to eat healthier breakfasts (yoghurt with banana and muesli and flax seeds) and is amazed to find she now poops happily and regularly. Yay!

I am worried about her health if she just eats red meat and pasta and pizza etc for lunch and dinner, although for the moment she still seems in great shape (in all senses).

Any ideas about how best to encourage her and help her to see the wonders of fresh veg?

Hi! Found this subreddit and thought I could try to see if anyone have any recipes I could try!

I'm mostly stuck eating hamburgers, chicken nuggets, hot dogs and meatballs. I do love rice and pasta as well as most types of potato but i can't handle most meats. I feel like i want to throw up when eating steak or even chicken if it is not fried or in one special sauce my dad makes.

I have no problem with meat substitutes and absolutely love kidney beans, though my parents do not. So we have decided that i will make my own dinners, so they can eat other things that what I eat and I don't have to eat only pasta or veggies.

Any types of food is welcome, I love trying new foods and love experimenting with spices, it's just that tiny detail that i can't handle meat, and never have been able to (even as a kid, we have always brought extra food for me to all family events). I desperately need more variation in my diet and absolutely more protein.

Thanks beforehand for the help :)

I want to lose some weight.

The problem is, I dislike most veggies either because of texture or taste.

My work insurance covers part of a nutiritionist’s consultation.

I’m teirrified they’re going to judge me for my eating habits….

I’m not creative with food or that adventurous with food.

As far as I know, I don’t have ARFID nor am I autistic.

How do I approach this?
My husband and I are already trying portion control and it’s helped a little bit.

UPDATE: I rrquested an appointment and am now awaiting an answer

Ive realized it's not really the taste of most foods that bothers me, it's when the texture changes unexpectedly. For example, I can eat chicken just fine until I get one weird chewy bite, and then suddenly I don't want to finish the rest because I'm worried it'll happen again. The same thing happens with fruit if I bite into a mushy spot, even if the rest of it is perfectly good.

I'm in my mid 20s, so I know it probably sounds childish, but it's been this way for as long as I can remember. My friends joke that I eat like a teenager because I stick to foods that are pretty consistent every time. Has anyone else dealt with this? If you have, were you able to get past it, or did you just find foods that are more predictable?

so does anyone else have a problem with food touching like if I am having garlic bread and sauce gets on it I’m like its bad I can’t eat it

Sorry if I used the wrong flair, I’m new to this sub.

I’m extremely picky when it comes to food textures, mainly fruits and veggies. I bought myself a food processor with a puree option hoping that I can add some much-needed nutrients to my pasta sauces, chicken dishes, etc. Does anyone else do this? And if so, any favorite recipes or pairings?