Food inspiration for an "eats nothing" child

Its a toddler trick but may work for autism:

Ice cube trays:
Little tasters of different things. They dont touch and its not overwhelming amounts.

Could take that idea and make it more "grown up" by using split dip bowls and small tapas dishes.

Buffet style dinners too are less intimidating and give the child some control if they can load their own plate.

Have you tried a split plate? Sometimes children don't like their food to mix/touch. A split plate keeps them separate.

One of my step sons would eat nothing but sandwiches until her was around 11. He did enjoy Marmite so if you can make Marmite sandwiches and cut them into little cubes and, perhaps, make a pyramid shape, that may intrigue him enough to eat.

My sympathies in your concern. Just a suggestion - I saw I recipe in yesterdays paper for courgette French fries. It was a bit fancy pants with herbs and spices, so maybe just julienne strips of vegetable, dust in seasoned flour and fry in deepish oil or a food fryer. It may work. Maybe experiment with different veg. Just put them on the table with other items of his choice and see what happens. As RIGGIE says.

I'm mum to a son with SN (not autism) who developed a total food aversion die to being tube fed as a baby.
I agree with others, that hes with you for a week at a time so anything you do isn't going to make much difference in the grand scheme of things, other than to maybe stress him out when he may already be feeling stressed because hes not at home. And the last thing you want to do is make things worse.

I would give him what he normally will eat and have other foods out in serving dishes on the table at meal or smack times - things that you are eating - and maybe just say a "this is delicious" do you want some in a neutral tone. If he says no then just say "fine" and get on with the meal.

Can you make some mincemeat into something crunchy and crispy?

It does look as though he is undersize because there is no real protein in his diet.

Over cooked cottage pie is often crunchy.....he might like that with salt and chips.

My cousin would only eat Weetabix when he was a child. Even now in his fifties he lives on a very limited diet. But he's physically healthy and shows no evidence of the diet affecting him. I know this doesn't help you increase what your DGS eats but I hope it reassures you that it won't necessarily damage him.

People suggesting that an autistic childs non primary carer should march him to the Dr for a blood test while he is already dealing with being away from home really have no clue!

My younger son lived on baked beans,mashed potatoes,white bread and Ribena .
When his grandfather told him that corned beef was “soldiers ‘meat “he started to eat that.
I was worried sick when he went away to University but he survived and now eats virtually everything but is still not a fan of most fruit so still has whatever the equivalent is of Ribena but without as much sugar.
Could you give him vitaminC tablets?

@timetogo2016
If my MIL had taken my kids to have a blood test I would have been furious - it's not her place to do this. He's being prescribed vitamin drops already so his GP is aware of his diet already. Please don't do this, it could ruin your relationship with your DIL and therefore your GS.
When my MIL babysat she used to give them food they wouldn't eat and they hid it around the house when she wasn't looking :D

Most children have some issues with food but it must be harder for you I would stick with what h likes and just try different bits like others have said I know lack of vitamins is a worry but they do say a child will never starve .. Enjoy times you have with him .

Would he be interested in the likes of Alfabites and he could spell out his name on his plate and still be getting potato down his tummy,can you roll chips in peanut butter and crisp off in the oven.
How sure are you and your son that anything you try will be continued when the little man goes home will mum keep it up. My eldest son would only ever eat beans & toast and now he is a strapping 6' 2'

I have a feeling this might not be about food.

As you see him so infrequently I wouldn't try to change too much. You could try offering a litte something new with his usual food. Can you toast different sorts of bread? Does he have something on his toast and crumpets?-try peanut butter or cream cheese (or chocolate spread). Maybe some popcorn and the veg crisps. Rice cakes or crisp breads?
My friend's son ate very few foods had the same packed lunch every day and almost the same tea. He grew up fine!

I took my one of my children to our drs because he was refusing so many foods that I considered good foods, dr wasn’t a bit concerned I always gave him vitamins, she said it was a phase that he would grow out of, he did, he went on to be 6ft 4 and healthy hasn’t been to the drs for years. I will say this happened when he was very young 5/6 years old

Involve him in the grocery shopping too

my son , now 22, is exactly the same, and autistic. He eats fubes, yoghurts in tubes, but only strawberry ones. As he has gotten older his diet has only improved very little, he will now eat iceberg lettuce! one thing, he can now vocalise is he really doesn't like sharing plates or cutlery , he now has his own cupboard space with everything seperate, his own milk, he drinks straight from bottle, milk is good, try individual cartons with straws, mine will only drink fresh semi skimmed! he eats ketchup on anything, but only heinz, at least a bit of veg even if with sugar. i always say he really only eats beige food! my daughter is also autistic and her diet is different but still very restrictive. Its a long process, and you sometimes think you have conquered a favourite and the manufactor makes a slight change, which i can't notice and they don't eat. By way microwave snacks, where he can cook him self, burgers/pizzas etc always mean he eats as no one else handles. He will sometimes eat an apple, but only if he can use an apple slicer and do it himself, and then only a green one. you could take him shopping and let him look at all fruit and veg etc, but i would try that in middle of night at an empty 24 hour supermarket!
Other things to look out for, toothpaste, and cleaning teeth, my son doesn't! sound, i never knew until they were adults and could vocalise, things like TV always had to be on a set volume number for them to tolerate sound. Touch, flannel sheets and bedding, my kids love electric throws, i think the weight of them helps reassurance, you can get weighted blankets. sock seams! mine wear inside out! and my son ALWAYS has electric fan on, comfort from feel of flow and white noise. And make sure you use same washing powder as mum, the smell and feel may be enough to throw child off balance!
I know i have strayed from food, but if you can make surroundings more comfortable, sometimes that means the child is more relaxed and will then be happier trying new stuff.

If you try to trick or hide other food in his food he wont trust anything you give him and may stop eating all together!

Put a little bit of everything you're eating on his plate. WITH something he will eat. Use tapas style dishes if its runny. So its there. Offer dont force. Dont make a big deal of it. Just put it there so that if one day he decides to try it theres no big circus around it

A limited diet that is absent in Protein, vitamins and minerals has a huge impact. Whilst your grandson may not be starving he sounds very malnourished. The body depends on proteins to build cells. He will be small for his age without protein. He is at risk of rickets and scurvy and many other conditions from lack of vitamins. Your son is the child’s father and could take his son to your gp as a temporary patient. Frankly the diet is tantamount to child abuse. How many of us would have happily floated along feeding our child crap their entire life? Maybe your son could move nearer to his son and have greater input.

My daughter went through a stage were she would eat nothing but yogurts . I never pushed the issue of eating anything else . I would always say would you like a bit of what I'm eating . I would add a few extra options on his plate and let him make the decision . Also offer him different snacks between meals but don't make an issue out the food thing because it will make matters worse . Good luck .

I would be very worried tbh.
It`s no surprise he`s small.
I think I would have him take a blood test to make sure he isn`t deficient in vitamins etc.

If he's on the autistic spectrum, then being in a relatively unfamiliar environment will be causing him considerable discomfort already - as the parent of two autistic kids, I'd recommend feeding him what he's used to and what he likes. He's only with you for a few weeks each year, and you don't want him to associate these times with being stressed out by food. I'd recommend getting a children's cookbook and asking if he'd like to help you make something out of it, to show that food can be fun, rather than forcing change upon him.

Look here and see if this would work: crispy fruits

www.healthysupplies.co.uk/freeze-dried-fruit.html

If he accidentally eats chicken, then maybe tiny, tiny slivers of it, fried crisp or in a tempura batter could be offered.

Tempura is great for crisping a lot of things but if the texture of the food inside offends him, you may have to choose things which don't stay soft when fried.

This is not a 'picky eater' who has to be tempted but a child who reacts to food in a way which shows he is upset or even disgusted or sickened by it.
Autism is a complicated issue.

Try some experiments when he's not with you and see what you can crisp up, with or without batter.
When I was a school cook, some of the children loved fried luncheon meat ! This was cut into strips, shallow fried to a crisp and eaten with their fingers.

I hope the freeze dried stuff is helpful.

A “ goody plate” did it for my children.
Prawns, carrot, apple, bread. You get the idea, tiny portions of lots of textures and taste.
I placed it down with no comment and it was well received.
Once the pressure of sitting down and eating a meal was removed the appetite increased.

What he likes this week with you he may decide he doesn't like when he gets home anyway!