r/PickyEaters

Hello everyone

I'm 19 y/o and I'm planing to go to New Zealand to be an Au Pair for the first time in October of this year. On thursday I will have my first ever interview with one family.

I do have a slight issue and I dont know how to mention it, because I'm scared it will be a deal breaker, I also havent mentioned it on my profile as I didnt want it to look bad...

I tend to be quiet a picky eater... I have a lot that I like, but also a lot that I dislike. Most of my issue most of the time is not the taste of food, but the texture. If I dont like the taste or texture I tend to gag and it makes me want to vomit. I absolutely cant eat vegetables, because sadly they all make me gag... now as for fruit, I eat quite a lot, but even then I cant eat some for example: I absolutely love things that are Strawberry flavour but I cant eat strawberries because of the texture. I also have no clue why I'm like this, if I could change it I would.

Because of this I also tend to be scared to eat certain foods or try certain foods... I also dont eat a lot, I usually only eat a childrens portion or 3/4 of an adults portion depending on what food it is.

The only 2 types of food I really cannot stomach are vegetables and seafood (except tuna).

I really dont know how or when I should mention it, I know I have to mention it before I go but I find it awkward to bring it up.

Do you know when or how I should bring it up on thursday? I dont want to mess this up as on their family profile they seem so lovely and we have quite a lot in common...

There are so many foods that probably taste fine but I still can’t eat them because the texture immediately ruins it for me. Mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and a bunch of other stuff just feel wrong in my mouth no matter how many times I try them.

If you had or have a child who is an extreme picky eater, I’m talking doesnt eat any vegetables, only eats two fruits, eat one chicken nugget here and there, lives on yogurt, peanut butter, etc

Did your child have growth issues? Or did they end up growing to their full potential height and weight wise.

We are starting feeding therapy with our four-year-old who has always been picky and has never outgrown it and I am just genuinely curious about this answer.

My little sister doesn't eat breakfast during the summer, but I told her I would draft a menu to get her to eat this summer. I need help with this, she doesn't like scambled eggs, mushrooms, olives, cream cheese, vegetables mixed with fruits etc. Please give me the best recipes you have! it also has to be quick and easy to make since I either have to make on the weekend or the 15 minutes before she has to go to camp.

I have ALWAYS been a picky eater, it’s not the taste necessarily, but the texture of different foods that’s a turn off for me. I know, however, that I need to incorporate vegetables and fruits into my diet. I’ve learned as an adult that the way the food is cooked can alter the texture. I tried oven roasted brussel sprouts recently and discovered I actually liked it. So, I’m asking if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for how to cook vegetables that doesn’t make them gooey, squishy, or slimy texture? Flavor is something that can always be adjusted with seasoning, but textures I enjoy is something with a bit of a crunch.

hello all! I have a 7 year old autistic son who has food aversions and a very limited diet. Most of the foods he likes require them to be hot/warm such as (ground beef, rice, pork chops, chicken wings etc.) trying to find the best solution for keeping them warm? We’ve tried a few thermos’ typically generic kinds and it just hasn’t done the trick. I make lunch around 6:15 am and he eats around 11/12pm anyone have suggestions on lunchboxes/thermos Combos that have worked well? Thanks so much!!!

For context, I've always been quite picky with food. As a child, I was even more (to the point where I didn't like ice cream or candy, unlike other children). Even to this day, though, as a 17F, I'm very hard with food. Trying new stuff sometimes takes a bit of effort for me, but I try to taste it. I do wonder if, as I age, the pickyness would stay the same or if it gets less important somehow. I do worry about growing into adulthood and being judged for it or seen as if I had the taste of a child. Does anyone else also wonder about this or has anyone lived this too?

I’m 13 and I only like a handful of foods. In afraid my lack of nutrition is gonna stunt my growth. If you have any food suggestions that a picky eater would like, please share.

hello, i am a petite 20 year old (5’3 – 45kg) and i want to know if my diet is healthy (even a tad) as someone who wants to work on their picky-habits. please do pardon my english, for it is not my mother-tongue.

i have been spoiled in terms of food since childhood because of my extended family and (especially) grandma while my parents were away from abroad.

growing up, the food i’ve eaten were always of what i want (my grandma would immediately feed me the food i like) and my food always consists of CHICKEN (it’s my favourite). fried, deep-fried, steamed, you named it. although, i’d never eat its organs. and then other than that, we’d often eat take-outs too because i was always helping my grandma with her errands outdoor. at least once a week. not too much of a takeout like a full-sized McDonalds meal but just a snack portion.

whenever i’d eat a meal, i would always remove the vegetables aside, i didn’t like it. like at all. its texture and taste were really unpleasant as someone who has high-sensory issues. my family wouldn’t comment at it much, they‘d just let me.

it progresses. at my teenage years, my grandma and the others began to pester me about eating more healthy food (vegetables). i tried, actually tried. but whenever i did, i would always end up gagging and throwing up those vegetables out of me. my mouth and throat felt like fighting.

so, i went back to square one. eating fried, canned goods, CHICKEN, eggs, any meals that don’t necessarily contain vegetables. i don’t eat red meat, as well. i hate them. but i eat fruits. i have no problem consuming fruits.

and now, since 2025, i’ve been opening myself up to various foods since i realised i‘ve been ignoring my health in terms of food too much. i’ve learned to eat carrots, potatoes, corn, peas and ONLY sayote, cabbage, zucchini as the only greens i eat. i’ve also been eating less from fast-foods.

i still eat fried foods often, but i’ve been adding veggies to my meals at least once a week. yes, i know i should involve veggies more often but i’m still trying to get used to it. my sensory is still sensitive.

i still don’t eat red-meats and seafoods (i usually only eat them fried.) and i don’t think i ever will. i’m anemic because of it, lol.

i eat fruits daily as well. banana, apples, pears, oranges, kiwis, strawberries and blueberries. these are the only fruits i’m eating as of now. sometimes i use them in a protein-shake.

i rarely eat chips or candies. i think thrice a year, but it’s really not my cuppa tea. i don’t drink soft-drinks often as well, i loooooove water.

if we could summarise my food-schedule, it’s something like this… (the [/] are other choices every other day) (rice is automatically involved with cooked meals) (all are homemade by me unless stated)

take vitamins 30 minutes before breakfast.

breakfast — two fried eggs (olive oil) / yogurt w fruits / fried butter toast / omelette or tamogayaki

fruit-snack before lunch (5x a week)

lunch — chicken fillet w mayonnaise (market) / miso soup / sesame chicken / mac n cheese (rarely) / creamy carbonara pasta (rare) / patty steak w gravy sauce / mami soup / steamed beef siomai dumplings

late-noon protein-shake before dinner (4x a week)

dinner — the same as lunch w less portion. but when i don’t have any appetite, i just drink warm milk and bread before going to sleep.

and now my version of veggie meals that i eat at least once or twice a week — chicken broth soup with leafy greens and zucchini, sayote / chicken adobo w potatoes / thin rice noodles w pork and veggies cut into small pieces (carrots, bellpepper, cabbage and green beans) / sour soup w tomatoes, string beans and onions.

that’s all the veggie meals i’m comfortable enough to consume at the moment. i wish to expand it more and overcome my picky-ness.

also, please don’t shame me about being a picky-eater. i never chose to be one and i am already trying to improve it. it’s a struggle i’ve genuinely had a hard time dealing with and my weight has been deeply affected.

so, is it considered a healthy food diet?

Ever since I was little, ive been a very picky eater. Like, to the point where my only safe foods were steak, hamburgers, instant ramen and mcdonalds. I wouldnt eat at any other fast food place　, even. I eventually was able to branch out to a few veggies, most fruits and basic sandwiches, but It has to be a very specific list of ingredients for me to eat the sandwich. No more, no less. Always ham, cheese, and pickles. And it has to be on a specific type of sandwich bread, or else I wont eat it.

Needless to say, a lot of my safe foods are very specific and I eat them the same way, every time. Its getting kind of ridiculous. Im absolutely terrified of trying new food, like, the last time someone made food for me that ive never tried, i got so anxious about it that I ended up not eating at all because it made me so nauseous and not hungry.

I eat very unhealthy, its honestly a lot of pizza, and cheesy bread (I really like cheese,) because meat is just too expensive to afford all the time right now, and i dont buy vegetables or fruits often because usually i only want a handful of that item, not an entire box, and then it goes to waste because theres too much for me to finish.

I want to try new foods, but its been a very, very, *very* slow process. Its like im just too afraid to try anything, and its only occasionally that i can try a new food without getting so nervous.

Not to mention, a lot of food that most people eat just doesnt look good to me. Things like curry, most soups, etc just look unappetizing, and i think its just because of their colour, which is weird because I like beef of all kinds and I like beef flavoured ramen noodles, which are both brown.

Every time ive tried a food like that, i just havent liked it, which led to a lot of problems with my mom when i was little, her getting mad at me for taking a small bite of something and then gagging because my gag reflex used to be really sensitive.

But im not usually afraid to try sweet foods, or drinks.

I dont know what to do anymore. I feel bad every time i eat out with my family, because they feel that they cant go to their favourite restaurants because i only have a handful that I'll even eat at.

How do I start branching out ?? How do I make it easier to try new things?? Sorry if this didnt make too much sense.

I'm 18 and have always been a very picky eater and recent years it's been causing me a lot of distress. I've been reading a lot about ARFID and questioning whether this is what I'm struggling with or if I'm just looking for an excuse to my poor food related habits.

I always blame my problems on an incident from kindergarten when I was forced to eat an unbreaded slice of meat and threw up. To this day I gag when eating most types of meat, or any food I don't like. I can take a single look at any type of food and know deep in my bones I won't like it without even trying it. I read that a lot of people with ARFID struggle with the texture, which I think is partially true for me, but I mostly just find the taste disgusting.

It's also related to a disinterest in eating which is not wholly true for me. I like eating, love eating the food I like, but sometimes I find myself going hungry for many hours for inexplicably no reason. In social-food situations I often feel a lot of shame related to my picky eating and would rather starve than be accommodated. I was once on a trip outside the country with my family and to avoid annoying them by accommodating me I did in fact starve to the point I got dizzy. If for whatever reason I only had access to food I didn't like, I believe I would rather starve than try eating it.

I am also not severely malnutritioned, but while I have not been checked for deficiencies I don't believe it's possible for me to now have any, considering the foods I can tolerate. I have read, however, that many people with ARFID don't struggle with that.

Recently I've been trying to cook more and add some ingredients I usually don't really like to get used to their taste and get at least some important vitamins, but it's a struggle finding things I feel like I can stomach having.

I can't fully relate to all the articles about ARFID I have read, like with the horrible fear of eating, disinterest with food, malnutrition, but some points I relate to a lot. I just want to understand what's wrong with me and how to help myself, and I'm wondering if there's someone out there with a similar experience. I also don't believe I am neurodivergent, which I know can be a contributing factor.

This sub just popped up in my feed and it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for! I would love some insight when it comes to my daughter and her incredibly picky eating.

She’s five, not diagnosed with anything yet but I highly suspect ASD/ADHD (based on the genetics of her parents, ha). She starts kindergarten later this month via summer school, and I’m practically pulling my hair out with stress because she will finally be at school all day (she’s only done half days for preschool) and I don’t have a stinking clue what I’m going to pack for lunch.

When she’s home, her lunch is usually macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles, or occasionally spaghetti noodles with a bit of cheese or leftover cheese pizza. She likes cheese and most sweet things. She likes waffles and pancakes, mostly because she drowns them in syrup. She will eat Goldfish but not other types of crackers. She refuses almost all meat other than occasionally nibbling on a chicken nugget.

The problem is, she will not try anything else. I got her to try just a few crumbs of cornbread the other day by promising to let her use the tablet, and the reaction I got was for her to gag it down and then tell me she never wanted to do it again.

She does not do bread - she doesn’t even really like cake. She refuses to try peanut butter or jelly. She will drink milk sometimes. She likes cereal but only if it’s dry.

I’m just genuinely at a loss about what she’s going to get for lunch when she’s going to summer school. I can pack something every day but it’s going to end up being something like a granola bar, a slice of cheese, and a few chips, because there are so few things she’ll try.

I highly suspect it’s a texture issue, but she has had a speech problem too, along with only being five, so when I try to question her I don’t get very far.

I would super appreciate any insight anyone can offer! She’s managed to keep her weight up so far so we haven’t gotten an ARFID diagnosis but her diet is so restricted I’m constantly keeping an eye on it, and she’s been growing okay (thank you, fortified cereals). I just don’t want her starving through the school day or having to explain to the school that I’m not a bad parent, she just doesn’t eat anything.

My 13 year old sister is EXTREMELY picky. I also believe she’s a super taster, as some of her preferences are honestly impressive. For example, she loves a certain brand of minute rice, but can taste if they change manufacturers. We have to check the serial numbers on the back for only ones that say “L2” instead of “L1.” Even if we pull the classic switch and say the rice is from the L2 factory, she can tell 100% of the time. I’m saying this to highlight how careful we have to be with vitamins.

She’s been drinking the non-core power Fairlife shakes and takes a multivitamin with yogurt, but that’s pretty much all the good nutrition she gets. She loves buttered noodles as well, so we found a delicate balance of mixing protein pasta with normal pasta that she’s fine with (but she can tell if there’s too much protein pasta).

Anyways, we’re trying to find a good flavorless protein powder to put in the foods she will eat. Flavored ones are also ok because maybe we can pair them with something. My mom just got a Ninja Creami, and we’re hoping we can get her to eat snow cones we can subtly tweak to make healthy (she loves bahama bucks so). I’m optimistic in trying this because if I begin making snow cones with this she’ll have nothing to compare it to and may grow to like the concoction we come up with.

Any advice also helps, but we’re looking for good recommendations from people with similar taste/know people in the same boat. Thank you guys!!