Food sensory problems?

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Typically we Aspies are particular eaters.
That is one of my biggest sensory problems...manifested in my eating habits.

I can't stand white sauces... mayo, ranch dressing, sour cream.... nothing... whether I've tasted it or not...I have some opposition to any white sauces. The closest I will go to white sauces are whipped creams, dessert creams.... and I will eat cream cheese if it's STRAWBERRY cream cheese.

I can't eat meat without something... steak, ribs, and pork has to be lathered in sauce, chicken has to be fried...and crunchyy, ham, beef, and hot dogs HAVE to have bread...ALWAYS. Sometimes I have a super long hot dog that is longer than the bun, I will cut it to match the bun. Same with hamburgers. I just gag my stomach out of my throat if I eat meat alone or with not much stuff.

If there are so many ingredients, I tend to not eat it. If the dish is complicated or mashed up... like for example I would rather eat a plate of vegetables, mashed potatoes, pieces of fried chicken.... rather than eat a soup with pieces of vegetables, meat, meat juice (stock), and potatoes in just a great big pot. I hate soups, I hate cassarolles... I have the visual pallate of a kid. I like colors and I like things separate or in few steps of cooking.

Some days I will absolutely love a specific food and then the next day...have trouble finishing it or not be in the mood for it maybe even hate it. For example I will be at church and we will have a DiGiorno Pizza and it's soo appetizing, so good, so yummy...I insist on buying it for the rest of the week. And when it is cooked again, suddenly I'm not in the mood for pizza...at all.

I find cooked vegetables horrid.... nasty.... prefer raw raw raw veggies. Cold and crunchy... not steamed, soggy, and salty.

Tell me about your food idiosincrices... do you have similar ones to mine or have specific ones of your own?

Haha, this drives my mom absolutely crazy. I get really into a food, and want to eat that food every day. She'll buy a whole bunch of it to keep up with how much I like it. Then bam, I can't stand it anymore, and we've got tons of it left over then.

My problems were much worse when I was a little kid, but...
I have a lot of trouble eating melons of any kind. I feel like I can't control them in my mouth. It's tactile.
I have the same problem with vegetables, but I've solved it by mixing veggies with noodles or rice. That changes the texture, and then I can eat them.
Certain meats I have trouble with because they are too tough. I just avoid those. Steak mainly. I won't eat meat that has fat. Well, I just cut away the fat if there isn't too much. But sometimes there's "skin". It's not the actual skin, but on chicken it resembles skin and you can peel it off the meat. I do b/c no way will I eat it. Bleh. And whenever I found those tiny tubes in meat, I'm out. Nope. Yuck. I prefer to mix meat with other stuff and cut it in small cubes, just so that the taste isn't too much. The taste of meat reminds me of what exactly I am eating. :s
I can't think of anything else at the moment.

I can't stand the thought of either mushrooms or eggplant. I don't like the texture of mushrooms nor the thought of eating a fungus. As for eggplant, I forget why I hate it so. I only recall that I had a vehement dislike for it as a child and have never made an effort to reverse that as an adult.

I dont like the texture or eggplant but it has a really close flavor to squid which I like

I can't stand biting into Fuji apples. The texture is horrible.

Don't think I have much in the way of sensory issues when it comes to food as I'm not too finicky, but...

-I'm really particular when it comes to eggs. I really can only stand them scrambled, and even then, I rarely want to eat them. Most other preparations are turn-offs for me. I dislike the chalky texture of the yolk in hard-boiled eggs.
-Eating baked potatoes and mashed potatoes can be like eating cotton balls. I have to smother them in butter to be able to eat them.
-Squid/calamari. Most types of fish doesn't bother me, but I dislike the rubbery texture of calamari.
-Fatty meat is disgusting. I once unknowingly took a bite of foie gras; it was awful. Had to spit it right back out.
-I have a limited tolerance for anything overly sweet or overly savory.

I am not a fan of fuji apples, either; the texture doesn't bother me, but they're much too sweet for me. On the other hand, I like the mildly sweet flavor of golden delicious apples, and the tartness of granny smith apples.

I prefer the mashed potatoes I cook over all other mashed potatoes. The way I make mashed potatoes is cut the potatoes into very thick slices and boil until they start to break. I then put the slices of potatoes into a bowl and add some butter and start mashing them together. Once the potatoes are recently mashed, I keep stirring and adding more butter until I get them exactly like I want them. The results have a very nice flavor. More importantly, the texture is just right.

Some cream gravy from when you are making chicken fried steak or fried chicken is really nice on top.

And if you are having chicken fried steak or fried chicken with mashed potatoes, my favorite side is generally field peas. In fact, field peas and mashed potatoes often amounts to a meal in itself with me, but I do miss the cream gravy.



I completely agree with you. I can't understand how calamari is so popular.



I've never tried foie gras, but if meat doesn't have the right texture, I can't eat it regardless of how it tastes. On steaks, I carefully trim the portions off that have too much fat and give them to the dog.

I love chicken fried steak, but sometimes you get one that has gristle in it. Gristle is definitely not edible as far as I'm concerned. My reaction to gristle is to spit it out as quick as possible.


Many people have problems with okra. Boiled okra has a really bad texture because of the sliminess. But there is one way to prepare okra that isn't slimy and tastes great. It basically involves slicing the okra into pieces a little thinner than quarter of an inch. Then make a batter from flour, water, salt, and baking powder. The batter should be a bit thicker than what you would use for pancake batter. Stir in the okra slices and fry 1/3 cut portions of the okra and batter mixture in hot oil on a griddle until golden brown on both sides.

I love meat especially with fat and skin on it. I love meat however you serve it. I am very sensitive to spicy foods and don't like raw vegetables. I love soup and I like it when the carrots are cut up really small so that I can't taste them as they just blend in with the chicken and the noodles but I still get the nutrients. I make my own soup too all the time. The cans are just much too expensive. I also love pot pies. I even make my own sometimes. I just use whatever meat is leftover whether it be ham/smoked shoulder, sausage, chicken, turkey etc. I am a huge fan of deli meats. I will only eat a certain kind or brand of a food I like. For example, I'll eat kraft macaroni and cheese but will not try baked cheesy skillets kraft or even home made macaroni and cheese. It can only be kraft and velveta. I don't like trying new foods. I hate trying them. I've only had three bites of eggs my whole life. I refuse to try it another way. I sometimes will not eat something because of the looks rather than me actually not liking it. I always pretend like I've tried something I know I haven't so I don't have to try it. Like pumpkin pie. I always pretended like I hated it for all of my life. That is until 2 weeks ago when I was in school. I do votech and teach preschoolers and they made pumpkin pie so they had it for snack the end of that week and there was enough left for us so I tried a piece and you know what, I loved it! I still have yet to try potato salad which people keep nagging me to try but I'll work my way up to it. But it doesn't get any pickier than me lol. One food I cannot stand is onions. I HATE ONIONS! But I LOVE LOVE LOVE sour cream and onion potato chips. Go figure. Yeah if I find any onions in my food no matter how small/minuscule, I will find it and take it out of my food or my mouth. Especially in spaghetti sauce. If I find even the tiniest onion I refuse to eat it.

Haha i also cant eat a hamburger or hotdog without the bun.. It just isnt the same.. I also hate eggs i can eat scrambled eggs maybe once a month.

I cant eat any vegetable raw its just disgusting although i can eat most of them cooked. I can eat corn if i slice it off the cob. For some reason chewing it off the cob is unappetizing to me.

I hate any meat with a bone in it. Although i can eat chicken wings. I cant eat ribs, pork chops or chicken with bones in it (aside from wings).

Also i cant eat chicken unless its fried or smothered in BBQ sauce or ketchup. Baked chicken is just so horrible no matter what seasoning is on it.

Also eating an apple theres just something about the texture of the skin in makes me cringe when i bite into it and chew the skin. Although i still enjoy a nice green apple every now and then

Wow ive never realized how picky i actually am

I tic my head rapidly when eating food I like, a form of sensory overload related to taste, excitment.

All fruit. Texture issue. Sometimes taste as well but mostly texture. I like orange juice but will gag if I attempt to eat an orange, for example. Slimy wiggly disgusting ugh. Even having to look at some fruit is uncomfortable. Back in grade school seeing discarded apples and bananas strewn about the playground. Gross. Pineapple on pizza is a crime against humanity.

I've gotten a lot more tolerant with age about some things. When I was a kid I was extremely picky. Didn't like spaghetti sauce on my spaghetti, only liked the noodles. Did not like ketchup or mustard. A lot of vegetables were out as well. Lettuce. Onions. I like those things now. Lettuce does not belong in a warm sandwich though. A hamburger should never have lettuce. Lettuce is only for cold sandwiches, it gets slimy when warm.

mayonnaise is fine. but i do not add it myself. if i eat a hummus sandwich and the mayo is already on then i eat it.

prefer cooked vegetables. but i am chinese so maybe it's b/c when i was raised they cooked vegetables. usually microwave one serving spinach and eat it in the morning. and eat about 4 servings japanese yams daily. other than that do not usually eat vegetables. not sweet enough. but i do not hate them. used to like portobello mushroom sandwiches, but they cost about 10 dollars each. and that is too much. used to like eggplant parmesan. but it is too much effort to cook. and could get it from Whole Foods but it is expensive. eat plenty of fruit. no problem with apples or bananas.

usually the only meat i eat is in potstickers. and without sauce. sauce tastes fine. but too may calories and fat.

melons are fine.

used to like baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. too inconvenient now. that was in college cafeteria.

I think my only one is pumpkin.

Whenever I try eating it, I feel like I'm going to be sick. My eyes get watery, my stomach feels weird and I can't swallow it without a drink like it's a tablet. Maybe it's because I don't like the feeling of it on my tongue, but I don't know. I don't really like the taste of it, but I don't hate it.

I don't have any problems with pumpkin soup, and I like it as a soup.

I like grapes but I have to cut them up first because the way they pop when bitten into makes me feel sick. I also cannot touch furry fruit like peaches, apricots and kiwi fruit. I can eat them if someone else peels them for me. Yes, I know, I'm high maintenance. My oldest Son can't stand bananas. He has to leave the room if someone is eating one. His younger brother took such advantage of that. I tried to get my Husband to stop buying them but he wouldn't.

Whilst I don't seem to be as picky as I once was, I have a proclivity to eat the same things every single day.

At the moment I eat gluten-free corn flakes, oatmeal, fruit, fish and roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes.

I am intolerant to gluten, vinegar, alcohol, chocolate, sugar, citrus fruits and yeast. But I am yet to discern if an elimination diet has any tangible benefits.

As a child, I would eat any junk I could get my rapacious hands on. I seldom ate anything healthy, and primarily would eat crisps, sweets, chocolate and chips. My parents, both of whom I suspect are on the spectrum, never really instilled any discipline into me. Most of time I was allowed to do what I wanted​. Looking back, I dread to think what I have done to my brain.

Only diagnosed aged 37 but was a very 'fussy' eater as a kid. Ended up with eating disorders as a teenager.

All kind of fell into place once researching AS. Not all that keen on hot food, love eating breakfast cereal for dinner! Usually have the same breakfast & lunch every day for weeks with dinner maybe 3 days a week what my wife cooks and 4 days a week plain cereal.