Autistic Children, Food and Eating
Good vs. Bad Foods
5 Food Groups
* Fruits and Vegetables
* Starchy foods/ carbohydrates: bread, potatoes,
rice, chapattis, cereals
* Protein:
o Vegetable Protein: beans, pulses, soya,
nuts, seeds
o Animal Protein: meat, fish, chicken
o Diary and Eggs: milk, yoghurt, cheese, diary products
* Fats: oil, butter, margarine, ghee,
* Vitamins, Minerals, Spices and Salt
Non-Foods
* Sugar: sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cake
* Soft Drinks: Ribena, orange drink, Sunny Delight, Coca Cola, Fanta
* Additives, E-numbers, colourings, preservatives, sweeteners, chemicals
Bad foods
* White bread, processed/ ready-cooked meals, sweets, cake, salt
Sugary Foods & Drinks Amount Teaspoons of Sugar
Drinks
Chocolate Milk ½ pint (8 oz.= 300g) 6
Soft Drink 1 small glass (6oz=170g) 4
Treats
Chocolate Bar 1 piece (2 oz= 50 g) 14
Ice Cream ½ pint (8 oz) 11
Tinned Fruit 1 portion (8 oz) 10
Doughnut, plain 1 piece 4
Cereals
Sugar Pops 1 portion 10
Frosties 1 portion 7.4
Raisin Bran 1 portion 5.2
How Much Does a Child Need in Order to Survive?
Daily Food Guide for Adults and Teenagers
Breakfast
1 portion cereal + milk
1 or 2 slices bread
1 egg
1 glass or piece orange, apple, …
Lunch
2 servings rice/ pasta or 1 potato 300g
2 servings meat/ fish/ chicken 170g
or
2 servings Vegetables: cooked, raw/ salad 170g
Afternoon Snack
1 piece Fruit: apple, orange, banana, …
Dinner
2 or 3 servings rice/ pasta or 1 potato 300 - 450g
1 or 2 servings meat/ fish/ chicken 170g
or
1 –2 servings Beans, nuts, seeds, tofu 100 –150g
or
1 serving Dairy/ egg 100g
2 servings Vegetables: cooked, raw/ salad 100 – 170g
Evening Snack
1 serving fruit 100g
or
1 serving Beans, nuts, seeds, tofu 100g
Ideas for After-School Snack
Provide a variety of finger-foods consisting of a few items of what you know your child likes, keep varying these, and add at least 5 other interesting small items, so that every day you child can look forward to ‘What will there be today?’, e.g.:
Fruit: 6 slices of apple, 4 segments of orange, 6 grapes, 1 slice of red and green melon,
5 cherries
Vegetable: 10 carrot sticks, 12 cherry tomatoes, 2 long celery sticks, 4 cucumber circles/ wedges, 3 ‘broccoli-trees’, 6 beans
Egg/ Dairy: 5 cubes of cheddar, a ‘boat’ of half an egg, 1 Petit Swiss
Dried fruit: 15 raisins, 4 dates, 2 apricots, 3 dried bananas
Drink: water in curly-straw cup or juice carton, to discourage spilling
Some Facts about Water and Coca Cola
Water
* 75% of people are permanently dehydrated
* People often eat, when really they are thirsty
* 1 glass of water will stop midnight hunger pangs in most people
* Lack of water = trigger of daytime fatigue
* 8-10 glasses of water/ day could ease back/joint pain a lot.
* 5 glasses/ day reduces risk of cancer (colon 45%, breast 79%,
bladder 50%)
Coca Cola
* The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid (2.8 ph).
* It leaches calcium from bones, increasing risk of osteoporosis.
* The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china/ toilet bowl in 2 hours,
loosens rusty bolts, grease stains from clothes.
* The Coca Cola concentrate requires a Hazardous Materials certificate that is reserved
for Highly Corrosive Materials.
Email: info@reachingautism.org
Good vs. Bad Foods
5 Food Groups
* Fruits and Vegetables
* Starchy foods/ carbohydrates: bread, potatoes,
rice, chapattis, cereals
* Protein:
o Vegetable Protein: beans, pulses, soya,
nuts, seeds
o Animal Protein: meat, fish, chicken
o Diary and Eggs: milk, yoghurt, cheese, diary products
* Fats: oil, butter, margarine, ghee,
* Vitamins, Minerals, Spices and Salt
Non-Foods
* Sugar: sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cake
* Soft Drinks: Ribena, orange drink, Sunny Delight, Coca Cola, Fanta
* Additives, E-numbers, colourings, preservatives, sweeteners, chemicals
Bad foods
* White bread, processed/ ready-cooked meals, sweets, cake, salt
Sugary Foods & Drinks Amount Teaspoons of Sugar
Drinks
Chocolate Milk ½ pint (8 oz.= 300g) 6
Soft Drink 1 small glass (6oz=170g) 4
Treats
Chocolate Bar 1 piece (2 oz= 50 g) 14
Ice Cream ½ pint (8 oz) 11
Tinned Fruit 1 portion (8 oz) 10
Doughnut, plain 1 piece 4
Cereals
Sugar Pops 1 portion 10
Frosties 1 portion 7.4
Raisin Bran 1 portion 5.2
How Much Does a Child Need in Order to Survive?
Daily Food Guide for Adults and Teenagers
Breakfast
1 portion cereal + milk
1 or 2 slices bread
1 egg
1 glass or piece orange, apple, …
Lunch
2 servings rice/ pasta or 1 potato 300g
2 servings meat/ fish/ chicken 170g
or
2 servings Vegetables: cooked, raw/ salad 170g
Afternoon Snack
1 piece Fruit: apple, orange, banana, …
Dinner
2 or 3 servings rice/ pasta or 1 potato 300 - 450g
1 or 2 servings meat/ fish/ chicken 170g
or
1 –2 servings Beans, nuts, seeds, tofu 100 –150g
or
1 serving Dairy/ egg 100g
2 servings Vegetables: cooked, raw/ salad 100 – 170g
Evening Snack
1 serving fruit 100g
or
1 serving Beans, nuts, seeds, tofu 100g
Ideas for After-School Snack
Provide a variety of finger-foods consisting of a few items of what you know your child likes, keep varying these, and add at least 5 other interesting small items, so that every day you child can look forward to ‘What will there be today?’, e.g.:
Fruit: 6 slices of apple, 4 segments of orange, 6 grapes, 1 slice of red and green melon,
5 cherries
Vegetable: 10 carrot sticks, 12 cherry tomatoes, 2 long celery sticks, 4 cucumber circles/ wedges, 3 ‘broccoli-trees’, 6 beans
Egg/ Dairy: 5 cubes of cheddar, a ‘boat’ of half an egg, 1 Petit Swiss
Dried fruit: 15 raisins, 4 dates, 2 apricots, 3 dried bananas
Drink: water in curly-straw cup or juice carton, to discourage spilling
Some Facts about Water and Coca Cola
Water
* 75% of people are permanently dehydrated
* People often eat, when really they are thirsty
* 1 glass of water will stop midnight hunger pangs in most people
* Lack of water = trigger of daytime fatigue
* 8-10 glasses of water/ day could ease back/joint pain a lot.
* 5 glasses/ day reduces risk of cancer (colon 45%, breast 79%,
bladder 50%)
Coca Cola
* The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid (2.8 ph).
* It leaches calcium from bones, increasing risk of osteoporosis.
* The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china/ toilet bowl in 2 hours,
loosens rusty bolts, grease stains from clothes.
* The Coca Cola concentrate requires a Hazardous Materials certificate that is reserved
for Highly Corrosive Materials.
Email: info@reachingautism.org
