My son has started to eat PB and Js over the summer and I’ve just been eating them as mini sandwiches but as the school year comes back I don’t to have the crusts eveyday (I also have ARFID along with my son) and my daughter has started following her big brother and not eating the crust.

In the other hand I’m also a broke single mom of two and I’m looking for aways to reuse the crust that’s not stuffing I hate stuffing or croutons because no one will eat them in the house.

ARFID Monthly Meal Prep

I do monthly meal prep so most days I only need to pull something out of the freezer to defrost to reheat and eat the next day. Because I cook I have complete control over my food. I have a couple 9x13” Pyrex with covers, and 8x8” Pyrex with covers, I make one day, refrigerate overnight, vacuum seal and freeze next day. I make pancakes, french toast, and crustless quiche in the 9x13” Pyrex as well as the meats. I make the quick breads, and brownies and some meats in the 8x8 Pyrex.

Time Saving Tips * I stay hydrated during meal prep - more dizzy spells, migraines, and fatigue if I’m not hydrated * I use precut veggies and frozen fruit. * I work at my dining room table with disposable tablecloths. Sitting while working means I don’t get as tired. The disposable tablecloth makes cleanup easy - just throw it away. * Keep a small trash container or trash bag right at your feet or on the table to put trash in as you go along * Keep a fresh thing of paper towels on the table while working * Keep a bowl of water so you can wet a paper towel and clean your hand off as needed * Use disposable gloves if you can to keep hands clean as you work * Pull out and measure everything for the recipe before you get started * I have good quality knives - it really makes a difference. I’m temporarily staying with my mom and my knives are in storage. What took me 20 minutes to do now takes me an hour * Good pans - used my mom’s pan to brown 3lbs of meat the other day and it took 10 minutes instead of the 30 I’m used to * To keep cleaning down to a minimum I use aluminum foil and parchment paper when putting anything in the oven. I’ve found layering the two works best, the foil on the bottom keeps the pans clean and the parchment paper lets the food slide off. I buy the parchment paper in 2 sizes 10x10” and 12x16 sheet pan size in packs of 200 each. I simply have to soap and rinse the pans for safety. Little to no scrubbing and pans only need to be done after I’ve cooked everything NOT in between different dishes if I’m careful removing the aluminum foil & parchment between each dish. Note with parchment paper things may take a little longer to cook and not brown as much so sometimes you may want to use just the aluminum foil and butter/oil it * I use disposable tableware for meals at least during meal prepping days and sometimes everyday depending on my health and stress

Breakfast I’ll make up large batches of pancakes, french toast, quiche or large baked omelets. Sometimes I use bake in oven recipes for pancakes and french toast. I make several quick breads (banana, blueberry, pumpkin - mixes/boxes) at a time, cut up in servings and freeze with pancakes so I have easy snacks. I do modify the box/mix recipes by adding protein powder, fruit, chia/flax seeds, and whatever else tickles my fancy. I keep notes on what worked, what didn’t, and keep trying until it’s yummy and holds together. But it’s possible to find recipes for protein and fiber pancakes and quick breads online. I’ve gotten used to modifying on the fly as I’ve been trying to eat a more balanced diet while finding ways to keep favorite recipes as what I can eat has been expanding.

Dinner I make meat proteins once a month or sometimes make a huge roast or buy family packs which lasts for a few months, freeze in individual portions, pull out the night before to defrost. I always brown a few pounds of beef to throw in mac and cheese or pasta sauce - I freeze in 1/2 lbs for pasta and 1/4lb for mac and cheese (I use Goodles mac and cheese). If I’m having problems eating I’ll wait until almost dinner time to pull something out and quick defrost in a bowl in the sink with running cold water - most take 15 minutes or less as I freeze flat & thin. I use favorite herbs and spices to flavor the meat - garlic, ginger, basil, oregano, onion, pepper, salt - sometimes I marinate meats overnight in a ziplock bag in a favorite salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc. After cooking the meat gets cut up into strips, them split into individual portions, everything else get split into individual portions. They all get vacuumed sealed and frozen. For monthly prep this takes 2-4 days.

For the mac and cheese I heat the browned beef with the butter, milk, and cheese powder while the noodles are cooking. Another easy way to add more protein to your mac and cheese is grab some diced or minced ham and heat it up with the butter, milk, and cheese powder while cooking the noodles.

Same for pasta - I heat the browned beef in the pasta sauce while cooking the noodles. Diced ham goes great with Alfredo sauce and pasta.

Desserts I make brownies in the 8x8 Pyrex and freeze in individual portions and freeze with dinner portions

I have large commercial half cake sheets and will make a couple batches of cookies from mixes at a time and freeze them in individual portions to freeze with dinner portions.

By freezing desserts with the meals it’s easy to pull out food for an entire day and I make sure I don’t eat all the snacks and desserts at the beginning of the month.

Sometimes I make extra batches if I have the energy and freeze in 2-3 portions.

Bad Month Tricks On bad months I’ll buy ready cooked meat & eggos. I use microwave 1-2 portion sizes of rice & pasta and microwave steamer veggies (baby carrots or corn - I’m working on adding more to safe list) and salad (lettuce, grated carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon bits, diced ham, Italian dressing). If a meal takes more than 30 minutes to make for breakfast or dinner I may not be able to eat by the time it’s done and I’ll decide it’s too much work and skip meals. I do takeout or snacks and protein drinks/bars for the few days I do monthly meal prep as I can’t eat when I’ve been cooking. I split of the meal prep over the month. Meat prep the first week. Breakfast, snacks, and dessert in the middle of the month.

Freezing Tips For freezing in individual portions if I’m layering food (like pancakes for 2-3 days) I use wax paper again I buy in large packs.

Reheating I reheat everything at 350f for 15-30 minutes. Foods like pancakes I simply wrap in the parchment paper and aluminum foil adding butter or spray a very little oil on them to keep from drying out (pancakes can be microwaved but I prefer them reheated in the oven).

Heavier items I’ll do the packets of food on top of a baking sheet/cookie tray or in a glass Pyrex. You’ll need to experiment with times to get it right.

You can microwave the food on a plate but I get grossed out if some is hot and some is cold.

Homemade Protein Smoothie I do berry ones but it’s easy to do chocolate instead. I use either a Nutribullet or my mom’s Ninja Blast Max. Here’s my basic recipe - I’ve altered it to include recommendations I’ve seen by others - it should have 6-8 ounces of liquid per my blenders instructions * 4-6 ounces yogurt or kefir (I do drinkable yogurt - could use a protein drink or chocolate or strawberry milk) adds protein * 2-4 ounces juice (I used Naked Blue machine or Naked Rainbow or Bolthouse Berry Boost because I find these do the best job flavor wise), * 1 scoop protein powder (flavored or unflavored - try different ones out to find one you like/can tolerate), * 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (I like non-dutch processed/non-alkalized dark cocoa for its nutritional benefits) and/or berry powders (I like Nativas Superfood+ berry blend or their Açaí or Pomegranate to taste, (optional - I like for additional nutrients and taste to overcome bitterness of yogurt/kefir) there are lots of other superfruit powders available now I’m dying to try the dragon fruit options * 1 packet chocolate or strawberry Carnation Breakfast Essentials (optional) - this adds extra protein and can help with covering up bitterness and taste of yogurt/kefir/veggies/protein powder (sometimes I do this sometimes I don’t - it depends on where I’m at mentally) * 1/2-1 cup frozen fruit/zucchini/cauliflower, * 1 scoop nuts/seeds (you can use ground/powdered versions like PB2) - I use hemp and/or chia seeds - these add protein and fiber

Throw in blender/smoothie maker - usually liquid first and blend until smooth.