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We are a family of four (or five if we include our feline member 😉). Currently, three of us are going through the process of getting diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or a combination of both. Experience shows that neurodivergency can cause some interesting sensory issues with food, relating to taste and texture, meaning cooking one meal for the whole family can prove challenging. It isn't always possible to find something all four of us are willing to eat (with the exception of pierogi, yum!) However, sometimes we manage to adapt a dish to make it more palatable.

This blog is a simple record of things we try (because slips of paper and recipe books are almost always misplaced), and how we modified existing recipes to suit our needs. Mainly, this is for our own benefit, but if anyone else finds these recipes useful, then that's all the better!

Most of all, we'd like to say: don't be afraid of modifying recipes to suit your needs! If you don't like sultanas and currants in your christmas cake, don't put them in! If mashed potato isn't a safe food for you, don't eat it! Food shouldn't be something you struggle through. Being forced to eat mashed potato every Sunday as a child never encouraged me to like mash, it only ensured that I have an even more viseral aversion to potato than I might have had otherwise (to the extent even chips/fries can be difficult to stomach). In the end, it doesn't matter if some of the foods others consider staples are completely unpalatable to you. Explore food. Find what does work for you, and have fun!

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Christmas/Yule Cake (for the Currant Averse)

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