Picky eating is something many families deal with, neurodivergent or not. In the beginning, I spent so much time and effort making new meals for our kids. After all, wouldn’t they get sick of eating the same 5-7 meals all the time? The answer is, no.

After a while, I realized all I was doing was adding stress to all of our lives. No one likes to battle every single evening about dinner. I recognized that, as long as each of our kids have at least 1 vegetable, 1 fruit, and one source of protein they like at any given time, it wasn’t worth the battle.

“Picky eating” in our home may look strange. One meal is barley & kale salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Another is black bean tacos. Another is a half of an avocado with salt. Now, our kids love French fries and pizza as much as most other kids, but sometimes what your picky eater likes will surprise you.

These days, I like to introduce a new food once every 1-3 weeks. Our kids will do this willingly because it is a low pressure environment. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. But, as long as they are healthy and growing, does it really matter?