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I’ve always had a complex relationship with food, and now I know why: Autistic people are fussy eaters, especially children. As a kid I didn’t like most food, I was completely unadventurous and loved simple, bland, straight dishes. My mum wasn’t a fantastic cook, so it worked. Still, because neither of us didn’t know why I was that way, eating was a cause of terrible tantrums – on both sides. Then I grew up, I’ve traveled a lot, eaten all kind of bizarre food (I draw the line at insects and living animals, anything else I’ll try), yet my diet remains basic. Very basic. I eat most of my food as it comes: greens, cheese, cured meat, fruit, chocolate (a big part of my diet), nuts, dried fruit and little else. I might cook the occasional pasta but that’s it. Having so little choice, I tend to go vertical: bio milk, greens and fruit (which I buy from my neighbours), quality cheese (I live in cheese heaven and no, it isn’t France) both fresh and seasoned, a little excellent, locally produced cured meat (their forte is salami, but they make everything) and my two mega-luxuries: oil and chocolate. I buy my olive oil from a guy who makes it, and knows what he’s doing. It’s somewhat expensive (he lives some 300 km from where I am) but it’s worth the trip: any straight up salad becomes a culinary experience. My chocolate comes from Belgium (I live in the EU, where they deliver for free), in the form of straight chocolate (of the milk variety) and pralines. Belgian pralines are not just pralines: they are sensual experiences devised to arouse, excite, stimulate and satisfy. They cost a fortune but it’s 100% worth. Like with drugs, or psychoanalysis, the more you spend, the more they work. Oddly thou, when I have people for dinner, they’re always happy to eat plain, simple, quality food. I wish I could say the same about their Chicken cooked in garlic, horseradish and vodka, served with stewed japanese broccoli, blue potatoes fried in wasabi juice and stuffed quinoa seeds (I’m wary of any food with more than four ingredients).
Mild Autistic Spectrum Disorder 