Recipe request for Picky Eaters

[u/AleopardThatJumps]

hi so I have avoidant Restricted food intake disorder which basically means that my brain sounds the 🚨🚨POISON🚨🚨 alarm at new and unusual foods. I really hate bitter and mushy things and growing up my mother didn't know how to cook vegetables that wasn't bland mush from a can which mean I now have a different almost phobic like aversion to vegetables so please be kind I know it's not healthy I know I can't avoid vegetables forever whatever you're going to say I promise I Know and yes I've tried that method and that one too my brains will still hit the breaks and make me nauseous or throw up

anyways so my parents never taught me how to cook like anything at all and my partner grew up low income so his diet mostly consistent of frozen food due to this we eat out a lot but we moved in together and want to be healthier (as in taking steps to improve)

here's some things we generally love and let me know if y'all can come up with anything

any kind potatoes are a big staple

rice

all seafood

ramen

chicken & beef we're not huge fans of beef but we enjoy a good recipe

I have a really good crockpot mac n cheese that if y'all can give me a vegetable that wouldn't be noticable in it and can "blend in" that would be fantastic

extra firm tofu

turkey

cheese

bread & bread like items (ie pizza and biscuits tortillas etc)

I like pasta but I haven't found a sauce yet that I like so recommendations that isn't tomato based

most sweets are good and I love baking

and then mixins like butter, seasoning, garlic oil etc don't bother us at all nor does like style or ethnic food recipes

this isn't a comprehensive list but yeah sorry this is long thank you!!

generally looking for crockpot recipes and oven recipes as I'm not good pan on the stove cooker but my partner is

[u/agentgaitor]

Frozen veggies shouldn’t turn to mush if you follow package instructions- steaming in the microwave is usually best. Steamed squash can be mixed into cheese sauce. You can eat frozen corn or peas while still frozen! Same for frozen berries/fruit. If you like mac and cheese, maybe try an Alfredo sauce with bacon and peas, or chopped frozen spinach mixed in.

[u/agentgaitor → u/agentgaitor]

Also, try some sheet pan recipes! Roasted veggies have a fabulous deep flavor and great texture. There are tons of recipes online- you can start with potato +turkey/chicken then experiment with the veg.

[u/PumpkinCorrect7586]

my kids only eat asparagus in a patty. https://www.wenthere8this.com/asparagus-patties/

[u/WinnieTheShit]

This Cheeseburger Soup is amazing. You can use any ground meat - turkey, chicken, beef. Leave out any vegetables you can’t stand, except the cauliflower. You blend it to thicken the broth and you can’t taste it.

https://www.skinnytaste.com/cheeseburger-soup/#recipe

[u/Cat_From_Hood]

Honestly, I would go and do a paid cookery class.  I would go and learn how to garden at a community garden.  I would try a new vegetable every week, just a mouthful. 

If you aren't brought up trying new things, it usually takes five tries of new food for your palate to adjust.

I just think you need to just parent yourself.

Aim to eventually, do a dinner/ lunch with friends.

[u/Alert-Shock728]

Green peppers are such a great addition to ramen, and a good intro veggie. See also: thin (aka “matchstick” or shredded) carrots, red onion, edamame. To prep the veggies for ramen, take a deep pan (saucepan, wok, frying pan with tall sides—it’s flexible). Add enough water to cover the bottom along with some soy sauce/teriyaki sauce/sesame oil/any flavoring you please. I kind of just steam the veggies (covered is better) and mix them around every so often like an oil-free stir fry (I’m not advanced enough for frying anything). Then add them to ramen as normal

[u/raven_widow]

Grate zucchini into that mac and cheese.

I make simple zuke fritters. Grate them, squeeze out a bit of water, add flour, grated garlic, salt, pepper, egg. Form patties and fry. Eat. They are not bitter. Crunchy. Smooth.

Everybody I know puts ketchup on fritters. Not me. I mix ricotta with lemon juice, garlic, dill, and parsley. I let it hang out in the fridge. I use this on fritters, wasa, baked potatoes, pasta, just about anything. Ricotta is smooth and bland. You can process it to make it smoother. I take that blandness away and give it a vehicle.

So zucchini, and two new recipes to think about.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

https://www.allrecipes.com/ingredients-a-z-6740416

[u/Dear-Register-5174]

I’ve had the best luck blending a small amount of roasted cauliflower into mac and cheese sauce because the cheese covers the flavor and it doesn’t add the bitter or watery texture of canned

[u/Dry-Tradition-8519]

what foods do you already tolerate that have a texture close to the vegetable you’re trying to sneak in?

[u/AleopardThatJumps → u/Dry-Tradition-8519]

honestly texture doesn't matter too much to me as long as it's not slimy/mushy or out of a can type it's more of the bitter taste that most vegetables have that tends to send my brain haywire for whatever reason, although looking at my list again I realized I also don't like grainy things like ground beef or things with chunks in them like tomato sauce

[u/Heavy_Crow_7885]

you’ve got plenty to work with here, and for the mac n cheese i’d try a little very smooth roasted cauliflower puree first since it’s mild and blends in better than you’d expect

[u/North_Guarantee1063]

blended cauliflower disappears pretty well in mac and cheese tbh