I’ve mentioned this before, but when I was young I was a very, very fussy child, and perhaps one of the reasons I managed to stay well between the ages of 10 and 13 was because I embraced my safe foods (obviously there were numerous factors contributing to my mental health) – eating and fuelling yourself is a fundamental aspect of life, and so if that isn’t managed well…nothing in life can really, go well! During the height of my eating disorder I was quite obsessed with doing things right, whatever that was, and trying to work out what I should be eating. As I’ve become older and a bit more independent, I’ve been encouraged from friends to embrace my safe foods once more, in order to help me better manage my food, and stress levels. Reducing stress is another important thing – because being stressed or more anxious will impact again, all aspects of your life! 

I thought I’d share in this post what makes a food safe for me, and some of my safe foods! I’d be really intrigued to know yours! For me, a food that is safe falls into one of three categories:

• A) it requires little ‘executive function’ to prepare/eat and therefore enables me to eat even when I’m struggling to process things or feel exhausted and burnt out by life
• B) it is a sensory safe food for me – i.e. quite bland and plain, isn’t going to bother my head because of it’s taste, or occupy my mind! Sometimes I do crave certain flavours, but even those require a certain amount of headspace, so wouldn’t necessarily be a ‘sensory safe’ food for me!
• C) fall under both A and B! Which is very exciting! 

Some of my safe foods include:

•  Smash – my best friend introduced me to this, and I love it because I can just add the boiling water to the powder and I instantly have a soft, plain food without any real texture (I am aware this might not sound appealing!!)
• Yogurt – I like very plain yogurt, which again has little texture or taste!
• Cottage cheese – again, similar to yogurt
• Quorn slices – these are extremely plain 
• Beans – plain beans are very safe for me, as they are so plain
• Bread or raisin bread – this is very safe for me due to how plain it is, and because of it’s spongey, softness
• Mushrooms or aubergine – again, these are plain, and the foamy texture feels very non offensive
• Most cereal – this is one from my childhood! The softness of cereal, and how it doesn’t have any strong flavour makes it very easy for me to eat, though if I am trying to recreate a certain perfect texture (if I am craving it sensory wise), it can be stressful
• Yogurt-cereal bowls – because these are all mixed up, I find these really easy to eat, as I don’t have to think about food combinations and making things fair or equal
• Mix ups of protein-veg-carbs e.g. smash, tuna, broccoli, celery, or couscous, chickpeas, courgette, peppers – similar to the above
• Soreen – this is squidgy and plain, which I like
• Pop tarts – I have actually grown to find these very sensory safe – I like how I can cut the up into pieces and how they are wide and flat and very plain (particularly the crust)! 
• Ricecakes – again, these are very plain

It’s really useful to have these on standby, particularly on days when I’m busy, or just when I need a break from foods that, whether enjoyable or not, take up more headspace!