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Eating Difficulties

HenleyMae

Member
I have trouble eating food that I have prepared. I have trouble eating anything that isn't individually wrapped. Anything that has been in the fridge for more than three days, I worry about it being contaminated.

There is food in my fridge. There is food in the cupboard. But I can't eat it. I can't make myself prepare it, and even then, I don't know if I could eat it.

I know this is an anxiety issue, and possibly even OCD, and it's driving me nuts. I get one good meal a day, five days a week, via lunch at the school where I work, but otherwise, I don't eat much besides cheese sticks and granola bars. I'm tired of a full fridge of food that I already know I am going to throw away.

Does anyone else have similar problems, or ideas to help?

I've tried using meal kits and frozen meals, but it's like I have this mental block.

I'm exhausted, and I know that is at least in part because I'm not eating enough. But I don't have enough energy to do anything about it...
Already on anxiety meds and in counseling.
 
I had this for years (and probably still do). Cooking my own meals and using a thermometer has helped tremendously, because I can know for sure that everything is good to go.

Health reasons keep me doing it, but even if I could eat fast food or something, I'd have some serious issues with the potential for contamination, viruses, and more.
 
Anything that has been in the fridge for more than three days, I worry about it being contaminated.
Would freezing things help? I know you said you didn’t like frozen meals, but would freezing your own meals help with the contamination anxiety?

If you’re not eating much, for the moment you could look for really calorie & nutrient dense things so that you don’t have to eat much but you are still getting the energy your brain needs to function.

Do you think you could manage walnuts and almonds?

What about nutritious drinks, like smoothies from frozen fruit and yogurt?

I’ve had eating troubles, somewhat different issues, but still, I understand that when we are not eating it really does make thinking much more difficult.

What is it about the lunches at the school that works for you? Can you replicate this at home somehow?
 
I have major texture issues, which is why I meal plan and cook at least once a week. I know what goes in, I'm not going to hit anything scary. I usually do one actually meal a day, but I do keep fruit, cheese, and crackers on hand. Cereal is another mainstay, too. Most second graders have a more sophisticated food palette than I do.

I use mis en place during prep so I don't have to worry about cross contamination.
 
Buy food in tins(cans ),check the dates! so youre using it up.

I buy small ,sometimes smallest tins(cans) so i can sometimes reheat or eat a home cooked meal .

I have barretts oesophagus(when your oesophagus is damaged and narrows)so swallowing is slightly more irritating .

Another way is to blend food either by: a non electric tool or an electric blender(electric ones are loud ,watch youtube videos ,each brands version ,see if you like the pitch)

I love pasta salad but dont like radish
 
I'm struggling with food in general. It's like a roller coaster. I would not eat for days, then I would eat loads. Eating make feel sick in general for months now. The only thing that helps me to regulate appetite is medical cannabis. Not sure what this thing does to me but 18% THC Althea prescription makes food feel actually tasty? Thx
 
I have a mental block about cooking at the moment, the people I rent from made me get rid of my little gas stove because of the potential danger of the gas bottles. I hate cooking on electric stoves.

So I have the same problem as you at the moment in regards to buying food then just throwing it away. Even cooking food and then throwing it away.

As for the contamination fears, my mother's family were bush people. No doctors or hospitals, they had to be very careful about how they prepare and store food and I was brought up the same way.

When I go to a restaurant I always make a point of telling the wait staff that if there's any blood dripping out of the meat then I'm not paying for it. I want it cooked.

If I buy takeaway food it has to be hot enough to burn skin or I won't eat it. A shop keeper got upset with me one day because he tried to sell me a luke warm meat pie. I told him "That's not a pie, it's a luke warm bag of salmonella.". He got upset because everyone else in the shop refused to buy his pies too after that.

And freezing food does not stop it from going bad, it only slows the process. If it's been in the freezer too long throw it out. Beef is good for 6 months, chicken and pork for 3 months, seafood for 1 month.

I don't have a phobia about food poisoning, but I think that's because I was taught properly when I was little. What I have is an active awareness of the possibilities and strategies to avoid them.
 
I have a mental block about cooking at the moment, the people I rent from made me get rid of my little gas stove because of the potential danger of the gas bottles. I hate cooking on electric stoves.

So I have the same problem as you at the moment in regards to buying food then just throwing it away. Even cooking food and then throwing it away.

As for the contamination fears, my mother's family were bush people. No doctors or hospitals, they had to be very careful about how they prepare and store food and I was brought up the same way.

When I go to a restaurant I always make a point of telling the wait staff that if there's any blood dripping out of the meat then I'm not paying for it. I want it cooked.

If I buy takeaway food it has to be hot enough to burn skin or I won't eat it. A shop keeper got upset with me one day because he tried to sell me a luke warm meat pie. I told him "That's not a pie, it's a luke warm bag of salmonella.". He got upset because everyone else in the shop refused to buy his pies too after that.

And freezing food does not stop it from going bad, it only slows the process. If it's been in the freezer too long throw it out. Beef is good for 6 months, chicken and pork for 3 months, seafood for 1 month.

I don't have a phobia about food poisoning, but I think that's because I was taught properly when I was little. What I have is an active awareness of the possibilities and strategies to avoid them.
I grew up in the desert. I also hate cooking on electric. The food tastes different. It's so true. But as an adult, I've only lived 2 places that actually had gas stoves. So I've had to get used to it.

Perhaps you might want to get a propane stove for outdoor use, or a little barbecue? I love outdoor cooking.
 
I have trouble eating food that I have prepared. I have trouble eating anything that isn't individually wrapped. Anything that has been in the fridge for more than three days, I worry about it being contaminated.

There is food in my fridge. There is food in the cupboard. But I can't eat it. I can't make myself prepare it, and even then, I don't know if I could eat it.

I know this is an anxiety issue, and possibly even OCD, and it's driving me nuts. I get one good meal a day, five days a week, via lunch at the school where I work, but otherwise, I don't eat much besides cheese sticks and granola bars. I'm tired of a full fridge of food that I already know I am going to throw away.

Does anyone else have similar problems, or ideas to help?

I've tried using meal kits and frozen meals, but it's like I have this mental block.

I'm exhausted, and I know that is at least in part because I'm not eating enough. But I don't have enough energy to do anything about it...
Already on anxiety meds and in counseling.
Here's the big question: Do you live alone or with family/roommates?

If you live alone, the simple solution (income depending) is to buy food every day or so. But one would have to be kind of well off to be able to afford that lifestyle.

If you live with others, then it may be a matter of deciding you are hungry enough to eat what they serve, and be glad that you were blessed with a full tummy.

Maybe a bland diet? Or learn scratch cooking. Food that is preserved by freezing, drying, or commercial canning is quite safe, and basically as fresh as the day it was preserved. Flour/sugar/pasta/beans don't go bad for years. Same with canned goods. Frozen foods can last a few months or more, depending on how they are stored.
 
Perhaps you might want to get a propane stove for outdoor use, or a little barbecue? I love outdoor cooking.
Unfortunately I live in a small unit with no real outdoor area. I did indeed have a gas stove, a small oven and 2 burners on top, but that breached my rental conditions and I was forced to get rid of it. They're fine to use indoors if you have plenty of ventilation, and gas is so much cheaper than electricity.
 
I have a mental block about cooking at the moment, the people I rent from made me get rid of my little gas stove because of the potential danger of the gas bottles. I hate cooking on electric stoves.

So I have the same problem as you at the moment in regards to buying food then just throwing it away. Even cooking food and then throwing it away.

As for the contamination fears, my mother's family were bush people. No doctors or hospitals, they had to be very careful about how they prepare and store food and I was brought up the same way.

When I go to a restaurant I always make a point of telling the wait staff that if there's any blood dripping out of the meat then I'm not paying for it. I want it cooked.

If I buy takeaway food it has to be hot enough to burn skin or I won't eat it. A shop keeper got upset with me one day because he tried to sell me a luke warm meat pie. I told him "That's not a pie, it's a luke warm bag of salmonella.". He got upset because everyone else in the shop refused to buy his pies too after that.

And freezing food does not stop it from going bad, it only slows the process. If it's been in the freezer too long throw it out. Beef is good for 6 months, chicken and pork for 3 months, seafood for 1 month.

I don't have a phobia about food poisoning, but I think that's because I was taught properly when I was little. What I have is an active awareness of the possibilities and strategies to avoid them.
Are Bush People the Indigenous people of Australia? My daughter is part Blackfeet Indian. They are native to the State of Montana and the Canadian Rocky Mountains. What is the name of your tribe?
 
Are Bush People the Indigenous people of Australia?
No, in Australia it just means people living in remote areas. One of my grandfathers was half aboriginal, but that was his great secret that he thought he'd taken to his grave. Even his children didn't know. My grandmother brought out all the old photos and started telling me stories about some of the people after he died. Then she started crying and said he was the last of them, they're all gone now.

He came from the Murray Riverlands in South Australia, near the towns of Loxton, Lyrup and Glossop.
 
No, in Australia it just means people living in remote areas. One of my grandfathers was half aboriginal, but that was his great secret that he thought he'd taken to his grave. Even his children didn't know. My grandmother brought out all the old photos and started telling me stories about some of the people after he died. Then she started crying and said he was the last of them, they're all gone now.

He came from the Murray Riverlands in South Australia, near the towns of Loxton, Lyrup and Glossop.
i love a joke about the the australian slang the bush quote "i imagined going to the bush and i get there and its just one bush for the whole of Australia"
 
Would freezing things help? I know you said you didn’t like frozen meals, but would freezing your own meals help with the contamination anxiety?

If you’re not eating much, for the moment you could look for really calorie & nutrient dense things so that you don’t have to eat much but you are still getting the energy your brain needs to function.

Do you think you could manage walnuts and almonds?

What about nutritious drinks, like smoothies from frozen fruit and yogurt?

I’ve had eating troubles, somewhat different issues, but still, I understand that when we are not eating it really does make thinking much more difficult.

What is it about the lunches at the school that works for you? Can you replicate this at home somehow?
Bought nuts and dried meats to have on hand. Thanks!
 

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