About this blog.

My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 24 months. I created this blog to bring meaning to the often-confusing label. Sometimes I have answers. Other times, just more questions.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

I submit for your consideration an age old question:

Does french fry count as a vegetable?

When Brad was two, he ate squash, peas and sweet potato. One by one, those foods vanished from the repetoire. Now, all we are left with is, yes, the french fry. Does it count? Does it???

17 comments:

Janice said...

Yes, yes it does. We went for years as that being the only vegetable that willingly was ingested. Now, the same autistic kid asks for and eats vegetable lasagna. So there's hope!

Stimey said...

If it does, I've been lying for years about Jack not eating fruits or vegetables. :)

Anonymous said...

It HAS to count. It has to. Know why? Because everyday I comfort myself with the knowledge that Rhema is getting her only vegetable intake from POTATO CHIPS.

~ April ~ EnchantedDandelions said...

Yep! And ketchup is made of tomatoes which is a fruit high in lycopene.

Would baked sweet potato fries be pushing it? Abbie loves them, but Isaiah is a hit and miss.

I *finally* found a green vegetable that he will willing eat... fried okra. Go figure!

Quirky Mom said...

Yes, and if he dips in ketchup then he's getting veggies AND fruit!

How would he feel about sweet potato fries? Fried plantains? Apple has been asking today for "banana fries", and I am not sure which of the above she means.

Quirky Mom said...

D'oh... April and I think alike. LOL

tracey (aka rainbowmummy) said...

Sorry sweetie, not in Scotland, much to my horror we classify potatoes as a scratch, but sweet potatoes count, which Egg use to love then stopped. Though look, Egg eats mash potato (comes form the freezer) and I totally feel great about it so y'know, lol! Also try parsnip chips as they are the same colour, but don't let him see you make them! Egg used to eat things like home made spag sauce which I put a billion veggies in and and home made soup everyday for lunch. Slowly he tarted refusing the food, and we went through some pretty rough parenting times.

He used to reluctantly eat a small piece of carrot at dinner then I realised just how much he hated it and I hated it and stopped. Now he will happily eat a small piece of apple if I put it on his snack plate which he gets after school. He will surprise us sometimes and eat a slice of water melon or something, but the problem being fruit is expensive and goes off and one cannot stock every type of fruit there is on the possibility that the kid will take a bite.

It's something that really upsets me, but in a comment I read forever ago was written by a "picky" autistic adult who said "we are fine".

The funny thing is Egg adores playing with/holding/running around the supermarket like a crazy head with fruit/veg.

One thing I can recommended is making it fun, which for kids sometimes means "treat" make jam from scratch-I've not done this-to show how yummy strawberries are, make a smoothie-not for egg, he has blender phobia but he likes the pre made ones from innocent, make cookies with lemon zest, cup cakes with passion fruit, carrot cake,jelly with fresh orange juice, or just a drink of fresh orange, mashed up fruit added to ice lollies, anything that would be classed as treat food made with the kids so they can see the fruit/veg going has to be good for them to see! Note to rainbowmummy:FOLLOW OWN ADVICE!

Here is a recipe from "cooking with Daisy"...oven at 200c/400f/GM6

Mash 2 over ripe (or chop 2 bananas and leave for a while then mash) mix in 100g oats (the recipe then adds a handful raisins and half a teaspoon each ground ginger and cinnamon). If your boys like sticky this would be great for messy play. Shape rounds of the mix onto a baking tray and cook for 10-15 mins. NOTE: I don't like them, they are more fun for the kids with baking without the sugar and with fruit. I made these with Egg when he was three and he ate loads of them.

Laura said...

six to one in favor so far.

Janice, nice, that's what this mama wants to hear. Stimey, just the tip of the iceberg, isn't it. April, fried okra? That is random. I don't even know what okra looks like. Quirky Mom, aren't you clever for calling ketchup "fruit". Janeil, right the potato chip. Same loophole I suppose. Rainbowmummy, you have to be the voice of reason, don't you. Yes, I know what you mean about using the picky label pejoratively, and I intuited the same thing. What a creative recipe...thanks!

Patience said...

DD stopped eating all fruit and veggies so I survived by giving her dried fruit leather which she would eat. When it started being a problem with her teeth; she was about 6. At that point I started insisting on a few peas, some salad, a few slices of apple etc.
At 13 she eats broccoli, cauliflower (smothered in hot sauce) peas,corn and more, applesauce, peaches and all berries.
I believe in the idea that you have to offer a food more than 5 times (up to 20) to get it to stick. I see too many sites where a child will only eat chicken nuggest (gfcf) and fries to take chances. I feel if I hadn't pushed; she would still have a fairly restricted diet. My goal is to have her naturally choose these foods for when she moves out and I'm not around to shop for her.

~ April ~ EnchantedDandelions said...

Jinx, Quirkymom, you owe me a coke. *wink*

/hijack

Laura said...

Patience, good mama, glad to hear perseverance paid. With Brad, at this stage, we're backing off because he physically gags. It's so strange because just 6 months ago he LOVED squash. Now he gags on it.

China said...

I count fries as a vegetable if I make them myself out of red or golden red potatoes. My kids also like fried okra!

Laura said...

you all are going to make me google "okra" aren't you

Elizabeth Channel said...

If it's organic and baked, right? And served with organic lycopene-filled ketchup (Thank you April), right?

Nobody tell me if I'm wrong.

tracey (aka rainbowmummy) said...

unrelated, but Laura OMfraekinG!!

http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/

Laura said...

silence for you Elizabeth, and damn Rainbowmummy, you're insatiable. btw, I've made contributions to Lostpedia...

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. Without a doubt. It's the only vegetable my kid eats. So yes, YES! it counts.