If You Deep Fry It, They May Eat It
June 24, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Chicken nuggets (Chicken McNuggets in particular)—-French fries—-whose autistic child does not eat these? Someone told me somewhere back that their child did not, but anecdotal communications, and my unscientific observations of general eating habits, would suggest that if you fry it, they will eat it.
That’s the conclusion of an article in today’s New York Times which lists the following as not only fryable, but having been and currently being fried: pickles, Oreos, alligators, Twinkies, strawberries and avocados (in southern California), peanut butter-jelly-and-banana sandwiches, lettuce and Coke. (For the last item, you’ll have to head to the Texas State Fair where “a visionary named Abel Gonzales Jr. was able to create deep-fried Coke last year by mixing soda pop into the batter and then covering the result with cola syrup, cinnamon-sugar, whipped cream and a cherry.”) (But can he achieve the same results with Diet Coke, or Pepsi?)
This cornucopia of deep-fryable foods leads me to wonder, if a deep fryer in every kitchen might be the way to solve the problem of picky eating habits; the cholesterol-endangering consequences of course make me nix such an idea just after formuating it.
I guess dousing things in ketchup is preferable—Charlie’s current favorite is relish.
Pikhoras are always a good thing, too- deep fried veggies.
JOey does indeed eat chicken McNuggets. It was the gateway to skinless baked chicken breasts. He eats very little meatof any kind.
However, he will any vegetable I mix into cottage cheese. And I mean ANY. I have no idea why my child, who normally will eat no mixed textures of any kind, will eat things mixed in, of all things, cottage cheese. But at least I get veggies in him!
Charlie has never had cottage cheese—-dairy does not “agree” with him. He’s never been interested in chicken nuggets—my parents have been giving him the drumstick since he was little and he likes to gnaw on the bones. He has a preference for some vegetables—onions, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, peas, sometimes string beans.
I had the deep-friend lettuce as tempura.
I was an extremly picky eater when I was a kid but my son was even more picky than me..
After having cooked peas and carrots shoved down my mouth while I was gagging and crying by my Father when I was about 8 I knew to never question the eating habits too much of my son.
Having learned about sensory things from coming into contact with the autistic community back when my son was first dxed opened up a whole new understanding of myself and my son.
It can be colors textures or taste or smell that is adversive to those on the spectrum..
I wonder if fried foods may be just universally something people like or what… cause I am sure there must be people on the spectrum who loath fried foods too..
I read some where that Austrialian Aborignal people ate toasted moths… so maybe its the crunchy ness that people like…
Now the American Indians were fond of eating worms so I read,,, I’m not sure if they toasted them..
And here one used to think “fried ice cream” sounded unusual!
A long time ago, some friends had a container of edible insects amid the hors d’oeuvres…… (not fried).
Cheese curds! Good Wisconsin cheese curds are delicious deep fried. Of course, the fat content is such that they have to be a rare treat. But mmmm…
The article mentions the Minnesota State Fair which we attended once with Charlie and he did like the fries from a booth devoted just to that!
I to pass on the cheese curds though…..
Neither of my boys will eat french fries although the older of the two uses them as a utensil for consuming ketchup. The other would happily exist on a diet of MacDonald’s chicken nuggets if we let him. All three of the kids love bacon.
God bless whoever invented the blender. We use it to sneak extra fruit and protein into our pickiest eater. I’m going to start throwing veggies in too to see if he’ll drink what he won’t chew.
Fry fork/spoons—we’ve been at barbeques where I convinced Charlie to eat a hamburger after painting it in ketchup or relish! I’ve never been able to hide foods (like vegetables) in things, but then Charlie has never liked smoothies.
Oooh, fried cheese curds… my kids can’t get enough, especially dipped in marinara. Culver’s restaurant (here in the midwest) has great ones … (and of course frozen custard.)
When my mother had Scotty, she fed him on fast food. My grandparents got him, and he only ate “name brands” for years and years and years. Finally, when he was about twelve, there was a time when she let him help her make dinner — hamburgers!
From arguing with him every time we made them (they weren’t McDonald’s, see?), it’s been another twelve years, and he’s perfectly happy eating lots of different foods (the “made by himself” rule faded after a few weeks — lazy boy!) that he wouldn’t touch.
We’ve recently got him into chicken, and my Bummy will cut up the pieces, say “Popcorn,” and sit back. It’s a lot easier on us.
Who cares what it’s called so long as it tastes good!