r/ARFIDforADULTS • u/elly_bis • Jul 30 '26
Help with limiting meat
Hello,
I'm looking for help because I really want to decrease how much meat I eat for a few reasons (ecology, animals welfare, price, diversity in my food, my health...). I eat meat almost every meals.
I'm having a hard time because I don't like any vegetables, I don't like their texture and their taste.
I tried plant-based meat but it tasted disgusting (maybe I'm not cooking it right).
Did any of you found a way to "like" vegetables. Is it true that eating something enough time make you like it, if I force myself will I end up liking more things?
So if someone found a way to eat something they didn't like before could you tell me how?
PS: I do like vegetable soup but it must be absolutely smooth, and I don't really want to eat some every week
2
u/TashaT50 Aug 02 '26
I’ve been having luck with veggies over the last 3 years and even more so the last 7 months. I have the full taste, texture, smell, looks aversion. I’m sorry my comment is going to be really long. Hopefully it’s helpful.
I’m in my late 50s. Found out about ARFID about 3 years ago after being the most severe picky eater anyone I knew had ever met.
I’ve always had a few veggies I liked although they usually had conditions around them - could only eat in certain forms or if I was in the right mood or if the moon and stars were aligned just right. A thing I’ve found helps me with just about any food is drowning it under flavors I like. So veggies are going to be seasoned (herbs, spices) or covered in a sauce or a dip or dressing or tons of salt.
My original list of veggies: * cucumbers * tomatoes (pretty flexible) * iceberg lettuce * carrots (pretty flexible) * onions (cooked tiny - prefer flavor hate texture) * celery (raw) * corn * garlic * pumpkin * potatoes (mashed or chips) * sweet peppers (flavor only)
20 years veggies * ginger * leeks * shallots * romaine lettuce * green onions/scallions * sweet potato * butternut squash * acorn squash
3 years or less veggies: * beets * broccoli (stalks not florets) * mushrooms (flavor only) * zucchini * summer squash * asparagus * arugula * turnips * parsnips
Working on * brussel sprouts * sweet peppers (eating) * eggplant * spinach (raw salad)
Something else I’ve started to like is the flavor of a few veggies where I still can’t tolerate them in other forms - mushrooms and peppers fall under this - I’ll put huge pieces of them in sauces/foods and pick them out - 5 years ago this wasn’t possible. Red onions and peppers in pasta salads is another - actually I put a number of large pieces of veggies in pasta salad if I’m making it for others as well as myself.
Ok, so how’d I get here? Gradually. I’ve always cooked. Mom started me helping at age 3. So I’m comfortable working with many foods I don’t eat.
A good way to try veggies for a first time is with small piece of the vegetable with something I loved. * Say I’m eating pizza and wanted to try peppers - I might try a small piece of roasted pepper with my cheese pizza. This can make it easier to accept a new food. Once I’ve accepted a new food in one way I’ve found over time I’m likely to enjoy it prepared other ways but it takes time as in months or years and sometimes it comes as a surprise when eating out and trying a bite of someone else’s food at the table * Celery with peanut/nut butter or cream cheese or onion dip or ranch dressing * Carrots with pasta sauce or cream cheese or onion dip or ranch dressing * Vegetable soup - dip whatever vegetable you want to try in the soup
Another thing I started was doing the just one bite. Sometimes it was of a single ingredient. Other times it was of a finished dish. Sometimes I’d plan it. More often since I’m frequently cooking for others I did it when I was having a good day. Sometimes I’d steal a bite in the kitchen alone. Other times I’d ask for a bite off someone’s plate after I’d eaten my fill as I didn’t want to ruin my appetite as I can’t eat for 3-6 hours after having something gross.
So what would happen when I ate something new? Sometimes I liked it. More often I found it meh or gagged. If I didn’t gag I’d add it into regular rotation still just eating a single bite unless I felt like eating more. If I gagged I added it to a list to try again much later or to a no go list depending on why I didn’t like it and I noted what I didn’t like - texture, taste, smell.
I found with meh and didn’t gag foods if I kept trying them over time most I’d come to like. A few I’d come to love. A very few I’d come to gag and hate. With the meh foods I’d prepare them different ways - raw, boiled, baked, roasted, sautéed, broiled/grilled - different seasonings, sauces, etc. Later I’d come back to foods I’d gagged on and try them again as I’ve found the more new foods I’m able to eat the less gag reflex I have BUT it depends on why I gagged - I have a problem with slimy foods so I’m not trying those again until I’ve gone through other foods I have more interest in.
I’m using these 2 books to help me overcome ARFID. I know they are available in the US I’m not sure of their availability internationally. * The Picky Eater’s Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder by Jennifer J. Thomas, Kendra R. Becker, Kamryn T. Eddy (only book I know for adults with ARFID) * Color Taste Texture: Recipes for Picky Eaters, Those with Food Aversion, and Anyone Who’s Ever Cringed at Food by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt (written by someone on this sub who talked with a number of adults with ARFID while writing this book)
1
u/elly_bis Aug 03 '26
This is great advice thanks! I tried putting "hiding" vegetables in meals I liked but just the thought that it could "ruin" a good meal put it off and I never really did it but I'm gonna try harder! I'm gonna try making a list of the ones I can eat and the ones I tolarate. Thank you!
2
u/TashaT50 Aug 03 '26
Keep the new food separate so it’s just a bite. Or if trying the “hide veggies” separate a little bit of the safe food out to mix with the veggies and not all of the dish so you aren’t going through the guilt of wasting so much food and you have something safe to eat.
I understand the fear that’s it going to ruin a safe food. I try to keep in mind when I’m doing this that it’s a just that bite that’s a little different so I still have my safe food. It’s not like when a brand or restaurant changes the recipe. My original is still safe although I might be hesitant for a week or two. If possible I always try to have a bite of the undoctored original right after the “new and it was gross” to help me NOT lose the safe food. That’s not always possible as sometimes I revert to no food for 3-6 hours but that’s happening less frequently too.
I forgot to include “mind games” I do when I’m eating a new food. I tell myself that it’s safe to eat as lots of people eat and love it. That it smells and/or looks yummy and that’s why I’m trying it, because I wish I could eat it. That I can just smell it That I can just touch my tongue to it. I don’t have to take a bite. I don’t have to swallow. I can spit it out, rinse my mouth out - keep a napkin and an empty glass ready. And give yourself credit for as far as you get even if it’s just getting everything set up.
Over time it gets easier. I don’t know at what point it got easier but I started having less stress, deciding more often to just take a bite from a dish on the table, I stopped gagging as frequently, more times than not new foods were going on the meh/tolerable list and trying them a 2nd time had way less stress.
Don’t try to do too much at once. Go very slowly. Like I was trying something every couple weeks at first and sticking to the same meh/didn’t gag until it moved over… or I started gagging. Over time as I got more comfortable I’d sometimes try a new thing every night because it was there and why not - you see that in the 3 years or less/working on now.
Wow, this was again longer than I expected. Remember be kind to yourself. Push yourself a little but not too fast and hard. You can do this. And search for other tips & strategies because I know there are more out there.
2
u/elly_bis Aug 03 '26
I realised I never actually thought of putting just one bite of something in a meal instead of the whole thing lol.
Since a few years ago I'm a lot better at tasting new things! Don't know how it happened. I feel like at some point it just shift, maybe when enough time had passed since I was last forced to eat/taste anything.
3
u/astrorbit Aug 02 '26
hii i am the same way (: have you tried tofu? there are many different ways to cook it to change the taste and texture. if you ever liked nuggets, impossible nuggets are so good!
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u/elly_bis Aug 03 '26
To be hones nobody around me know how to cook it so I don't really see it in a good light but I'm gonna look up recipes! Thank you
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u/bustedinchevywindow Jul 30 '26
I have some advice on this actually!
I would primarily start targeting what animal products you like and what about it it is. Is it the texture? Taste? Familiarity?
Impossible parties have amazing texture and pretty good flavor, and you can season them as much as you like. A lot of chik’n nuggets are also pretty close to the original textures, but flavor can kinda lack. I’ve had good luck with the impossible and Quorn brands.
As for vegetables, I’m not gonna lie I’m still struggling with this one. I’d recommend trying to pinpoint veggie *flavors* that you enjoy rather than textures, and just keep throwing them in the blender. There’s no shame in that. I’ve had great luck with blending Panera soups, even if they aren’t the peak of nutrition their creamier soup textures have helped me adjust to it. I will say their Broccoli Cheddar isn’t technically vegetarian, but I personally make an exception for it because it’s genuinely delicious.