Help with my Son

(DARREN) #1

I have been Ketogenic for almost 2 years now. I like pretty much all Foods and the Keto foods I mostly love , even before I was Keto.

My son who has really struggled with Covid lockdowns has indicated he would like to give Keto a try.

A little background - My son is on the spectrum and as such only likes a very specific batch of foods, and of course the majority of them are Carbs.

He doesn’t like the texture of a lot of foods that I deem Keto friendly. This rules out a lot of Keto stapple foods we all love like Bacon, Eggs, Chops, etc

Foods he does like are.

  • List item

Garlic Mayo
Sausages - pork and Beef
Pepperoni
Mince Beef - Ground Beef
Steak
green peas
chicken

Foods he doesnt like.
Eggs
Fish
pork chops
bacon
cuts the fat off beef
cream cheese
nut butters
Not a big fan of very spicy foods only mild like korma
ham’s

Can anyone give me ideas I can present to him, becasue I am stupped.

(Laurie) #2

I think many of us can’t or won’t eat certain foods, for one reason or another. Going by your list, your son can do just fine on keto. (By the way, green peas aren’t keto.)

He doesn’t have to eat anything on the “doesn’t like” list. Cream cheese, nut butters, bacon, and spices aren’t really staples; they’re extras. And if he doesn’t like pork chops or whatever, that’s fine.

Good luck.

(DARREN) #3

I know peas arent keto. they are just some of the very few foods he does like. It’s pretty much the only veg he will eat. And its not that wont eat certain foods. He cant because being On the Autisim Spectrum he totally refuses as he doesnt like certain textures. Its the same with his clothing. How will not wear certain materials as he hates the texture and feeling on his skin. He has piled on almost 3 stone in weight since lockdowns started last year, so I really would like to support him on keto if I could. I simply dont have enough knowledge to figure out what I can make for him. He will literlly live on PIZZA if we let him and garlic Breads. He is 18 and works so now he is putside of our control since he has his own money to buy garbage foods.

#4

That depends on your viewpoint. their glycemic index is lower than both broccoli and cauliflower, eating peas isn’t going to screw anything up. For somebody with hard coded food dislikes there’s nothing wrong with them.

#5

Let him eat them, they’re less glycemic than both broccoli and carbs and nobody’s got an issue with those! I used to use a Pea based post workout carb powder (25g) that was derived from peas, it was for replenishing muscle glycogen post workout like you’d normally use dextrose for, back then I used to still check blood sugar and ketones, it was never a problem.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

You can work with his list of foods. Don’t worry about it. If he’s willing to give it a try, he might be persuadable to try one or two new things. The important thing is to get him off the carbohydrate as much as possible. As the new way of eating starts to make a difference, you may find him becoming more flexible about food.

Have you seen The Magic Pill? Last I heard, it was still available on Netflix. This is a documentary focusing on a group of Australian aboriginals and a couple of U.S. families with autistic children. The cognitive and behavioural changes in the kids are stunning.

#7

This.

But for a response I say work with what you got and what he will allow right now.

but does he have ANY interest in cooking. It sounds like you are prep/cook/feeding him…can you turn him into him being his own chef? A pork chop can be changed, into a pork loin roast or cut a pork tenderloin into smaller pieces and ‘make a recipe’ and include what he does like…if that is an option I would get him way more super involved into his food and being a chef of his own desire and one thing about a chef is a big plus is they experiment. They want to try new ways to cook the same old thing but also try new foods in different ways. Get his mind thinking different on food items by his own thoughts ya know…how can I change up my food to be wonderful. Maybe he needs some of that old hootzpah from himself into his meals maybe?

So maybe an option? just throwing out what might help :slight_smile:

He might be a mega top chef in hiding :wink:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

I was also thinking that if the lad is trimming the fat off beef, a low-carb gravy made with heavy cream might be helpful for sneaking some fat back into the meal. (And actually, if you use cornstarch as a thickener, it takes less of it than wheat flour, so the actual carb count per serving of gravy isn’t so bad.)

Personally, I love the fat on meat, but everyone is different.

(Bob M) #9

If he likes steak, there are a lot of “steak-like” meats that are reasonably priced. Any “roast”, if sous vide-ed or cooked correctly, will be steak-like.

This might be an option.

And I’m not huge on getting fat just to get it. Lean(er) meats are perfectly fine to eat.

(Bob M) #10

By the way, I think we’d all live on pizza if we could.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #11

Agreed. The point is to get enough energy from fat to be able to heal, not to choke fat down our gullet just to be eating fat.

(Edith) #12

You can also thicken gravy with xanthum gum. You only need about 1/2 teaspoon per cup of liquid.

(Laurie) #13

Not everyone likes gravy; I don’t. There should be plenty of fat in the sausages and pepperoni. Also in the mayo (avocado mayo might be the best choice).

(Edith) #14

I belong to a Facebook group called Trying Low Oxalates. They have a subgroup on there for people who have children on the spectrum. There is research (it is a very science based group) that shows a relationship between oxalate and autism. I have to admit, I’ve never really paid attention to the postings on this topic since it doesn’t pertain to my situation, but it may be something you want to look into. (If you haven’t already.)

(UsedToBeT2D) #15

It’s a slow progression for some of us. My wife started keto before me, and was serving all kinds of food with cream cheese. I told her (before I was Keto) to NEVER serve me anything with cream cheese again. She stopped. After easing into Keto, I now love the cream cheese recipes. Small steps.

(UsedToBeT2D) #16

Try jalapeño poppers with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon. A good starter food. Yum.

(DARREN) #17

He loves Chicken, but I always thought becasue its a very Low fat meat its now a very viable Keto food. I like Chicken also but only really eat it on rare occasions when I am getting bored of all the beef meets and pork…

(DARREN) #18

He LOVES Gravy, but unfortunately its the BISTO branded type he loves.

(DARREN) #19

THanks Everyone for the ideas and replies.

(Laurie) #20

Sure, eat chicken if you like it. You’ll still get your fat from the sausages, mayo, etc.