What is the difference between "safe foods" and food preferences?

[AuroraBorealis]

Do some of you have safe foods, and, if so, what's the difference to "normal" food preferences? I know it's foods that always feel safe to eat and don't cause texture or flavor discomfort.

I have many foods I dislike (usually for texture reasons), so especially when I'm alone, I also tend to eat out of a quite limited range of foods - e.g. I'll only buy broccoli, zucchini, salad stuff, champignons (mushrooms) and a few other from the vegetable section, because I don't like the others (such as eggplant, asparagus, black/red beans, other kinds of mushrooms, etc.). Same thing with other foods - I have my limited kinds of food I always keep in my kitchen because I know that I like them and will always eat them, and because I dislike a lot of the rest. Most of these things won't bother me when purreed into a thin soup (which is how my parents got me to eat many vegetables as a kid)d

I admit to being a lifelong picky eater. However, I never saw the things I liked as "safe foods". I don't get overstimulated or a meltdown or anything when forced to eat things I don't like - I just don't like them, and some things will make me feel sick when forced to eat them. So I simply see it as having (admittedly rather narrow) food preferences.

How do you guys define safe foods, and how do you difference them from normal food preferences?

 

[Judge]

How do you guys define safe foods, and how do you difference them from normal food preferences?

I don't.

Considering all the common, inherent and special hazards that plague commercial food processing and agriculture, there are no guarantees of much of anything being "safe".

- A perspective well-earned as a former commercial insurance underwriter.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I don't think that "safe" in this context means healthy or anything. As far as I know, it's more about foods that taste and feel the same all the time, and apparently they're often highly processed foods. I heard the term often in the context of autism, and I'm curious about it.

 

[Judge]

I don't think that "safe" in this context means healthy or anything. As far as I know, it's more about foods that taste and feel the same all the time, and apparently they're often highly processed foods. I heard the term often in the context of autism, and I'm curious about it.

Interesting. "Safe" just isn't word that would come to mind in that context. For me, considerations involving the texture or taste of foods would pretty much be confined to "like or dislike" and little else. Though in my younger years I thought I could be a pretty picky eater.

Also the proximity of one food next to another. As a child I used to love eating tv dinners , where most of the time each food was separated from the others. I used to eat one thing completely and then move onto the next.

 

[vergil96]

I see two possible interpretations:
- food that is safe to eat and won't cause any issues (e.g. you don't have allergies, digestive problems, sensory problems with it)
- food that elicits feelings of safety, such as something you used to each in childhood and it brings back good memories

How do you guys define safe foods, and how do you difference them from normal food preferences?

What I'd call my safe foods is a couple of products that don't cause me any issues whatsoever, mostly rice, potatoes, meat, vegetable soup.

I'm not very picky in the sense of whether I like foods or not, but I have a limited diet due to my numerous problems with food such as: celiac disease, lactose intolerance, allergies, migraine trigger foods, stomach overacidity and I learnt that it's also a sensory issue that certain foods make me nauseous - their texture is too harsh. There are so many things I can't eat that I end up eating the proverbial chicken, broccoli and rice all the time.

As far as I know, it's more about foods that taste and feel the same all the time, and apparently they're often highly processed foods.

Processed foods are predictable and have mild texture and often no intense taste. It's not what I eat personally, but it seems to be the reason.

I don't get overstimulated or a meltdown or anything when forced to eat things I don't like - I just don't like them, and some things will make me feel sick when forced to eat them.

Same. I mean, I also vomit, not fun, I'd rather just not eat something suspicious in the first place.

 

[marc_101]

As far as I know, there is no standard definition of "safe food." It could refer to many things depending on the context. For a diabetic, ice cream and cake might not be safe, unless they have hypoglycemia. A safe food for somebody who suffers from acid reflux could be anything that is not spicy or too acidic.

Some autistics have strong food preferences, so they could have their safe foods defined that way -- preference.

For all of us, poisons are not safe foods...

Not sure if that answers your question.

 

[Tom]

I haven't heard of 'safe foods' in that context before. I only thought of it in the sense of safe to eat, such as within expiration date, not left out too long, etc. And in that sense I am very careful, and likely more concerned then typical. I guess a kind of germaphobia.

But I do have a whole set of foods that meet your defination and they make up a fairly repetitive diet. These are things I tried and liked multiple times before. I use them regularly because I don't like to experiment, which probably relates to my experience of often not liking new foods. I'd much prefer something I can expect to be ok with even if bland over something new that might be great but also might be inedible for me. I just never called them 'safe' before and instead considered it under the heading of 'repetitive diet'.

Food preferences for me is the things I love to eat, love the taste of. Like Pizza!

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Interesting, I thought that it would be more "a thing". I've heard it several times in videos about autism. Like, someone experiencing high distress over some change and therefore only eat "safe foods" for a week because anything else would cause too much texture discomfort. An often mentioned safe food was Pringle chips, because they're all shaped equally and taste the same.

Thanks for your input, I guess it's less a thing than I thought.

 

[Rodafina]

I've only heard the term "safe food" used in relation to eating disorders.

Spoiler

 

[Misty Avich]

I always have my meat well cooked and not rare, even if you can eat some meats rare I'll still prefer not to.

 

[Outdated]

Also the proximity of one food next to another. As a child I used to love eating tv dinners , where most of the time each food was separated from the others. I used to eat one thing completely and then move onto the next.

That's exactly how I did it too, eating the things I didn't like first and saving the meat until last. The only vegetables I didn't like were peas and brussels sprouts but I still ate brussels sprouts, I would never eat peas. I certainly never mixed things together on the fork like my mother did, yuck.

I always have my meat well cooked and not rare, even if you can eat some meats rare I'll still prefer not to.

Mum's family were bush people with no access to doctors or hospitals, so they had ways of living that avoided getting sick in the first place. How food was cooked was very important, if it wasn't cooked properly then it was considered poisonous. Undercooked meat is just a case of botulism waiting to happen.

If I eat out I always warn the waitress that if any blood comes out of the meat I'm not paying for it. And I have walked out on a few undercooked meals, if a chef can't understand such a simple instruction then he can't keep calling himself a chef.

 

[tree]

To me safe food is food that doesn't make me crazy, sick, or stupid.

So that lets out a few things, for me.

Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, bananas, figs,
avocados, enriched/refined white flour, cow milk,
sugar, corn syrup, chocolate, oranges, alcohol, caffeine.....