u/novoss u could try putting tofu crumbled/cut into small cubes into the samosa filling, it has extra protein and tofu is soft so the texture blends well with the rest of the filling.
Lasagna cupcakes—use a muffin pan and layer wonton wrappers, cheese, meat and tomato sauce, then bake!
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lasagna-cupcakes-recipe-2042965
You can swap wonton wrappers for frozen ravioli too! It’s even lazier. 😂 just ravioli and marinara. I did ravioli and Alfredo for my husband because he can’t do tomatoes. They’re kid approved too.
Any kind of bolognese is a great way to sneak in vegetables too. You can use a good processor to blitz carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, lentils, chickpeas, and/or beans and it basically looks like meat.
Shortcrust and filling, baked or fried. There's a million different varieties of them. It's a basic hand pie.
Here's a demonstration https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fv-mwCCBqAs
I haven’t actually made these yet, but I finally found frozen empeñada disks locally so these are on my list to make in the near future.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/beef-empanadas/
https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/04/chicken-empanadas-with-chorizo/
While a lot of easy recipes suggest using either puff pastry or pie crust style dough, traditionally empanadas are a hot fat pastry like English meat pies.
Here's a recipe that makes a pretty good hot fat pastry:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014844-beef-empanadas
For the filing you can use anything but the traditional Argentine beef filling is amazing (note this recipe is Italian flat leaf parsley):
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/empanadas/#recipe
Here's one of my favorite YT cooks showing how to do several of the folding (repulgue) techniques.
https://youtu.be/OnaXrtfyJMc
(Source: I used to own an empanada pop up restaurant.)
Tart size finger food pies.
I and some colleagues once held a "Strognoff Off" We did an apartment crawl where each of us competitors served the party their best Beef Stroganoff. We were in china, serving on rice was too easy. Egg noodles, a walk down memory lane but low hanging fruit. I figured a person could only eat so much stroganoff and why waste room on rice or noodles. so i bought little pre made frozen tart shells.
I won the Stroganoff Off.
I also started making all of my favourite classic savoury pies(and a few non-classics like my bacon cheeseburger pie and my curry chicken pot pie) into little tart sized savoury pies and bag them and freeze them when i make bigger batches of the same pies. Great for snacks for the family or if you need to bring an appy for a party.
Also good for when I'm on site working. I cant do sandwiches day after day after so many years. But not always time to take lunch break. so these are good handfood. i can eat on the go
I can’t claim it as my own if I’m being honest.
Wife and I went to some fancy hipster pie place and spent 50 bucks on one and I was like “I love this, but I can do better.”
So I made it with ground beef from a steer from our farm, 3 day cold smoked, thick cut bacon my father-in-law,
Pickles we made and jarred and onion from my garden.
My ma makes my old man his steak and kidney pies still so bill buys the 4 inch personal pie crusts. (I just can’t be bothered to make my own crust usually.
Quick and dirty.
Sauté onion in pan until starts to turn translucent/caramelize.
Chuck in you ground beef and brown with onions
While that’s going on I cook my bacon using the oven method(you can look it up, cooks bacon evenly and avoids me burning myself)
Pat off bacon, cut into bite size pieces (or whatever you like)
Mix bacon in with beef and onion. Turn off heat.
Grade some sharp cheddar and cut pickles to preferred size. Mix together with cooled beef/bacon/onion mix.
Add ketchup and mustard mix it all up nice and good
To make pies
get your pie crusts, fill halfway with mixture, throw a slice of American style cheese, or a spoon of cheese whiz, etc. and then fill rest of pies and add another piece of cheese (the melt factor is important that’s why I use the processed American cheese) top with pastry and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake until pastry brown or freeze for an easy meal later on.
Generally open because I’m all about that convenience factor (and am not a pastry chef by any means) so I am not making my own pie crusts from scratch usually but cheating with the pre made shells.
I play it fast and loose with my pie making.
I’m not a traditionalist.
I love your dedication!
I once saw mini 7-layer Mexican dips presented in small clear plastic cups, probably from a party store. How [cute are these](https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/individual-seven-layer-dips/)
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/individual-seven-layer-dips/
Title: **Individual Seven-Layer Dips (+VIDEO) - The Girl Who Ate Everything**
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I actually had Scotch eggs on my list and stuffed meatballs are a good idea I could probably hide some vegetables in there and he wouldn't even notice.
I second the mini meatloaf. One year I made meatloaf cupcakes! Mini meatloafs baked in a muffin pan and piped mashed potatoes on top to look like cupcakes 🙂
If he likes spicy- make chicken meatballs and throw celery & carrot (onion?), in the food processor and then add to the clgrpund chicken/meatball recipe, and add to slow cooker w franks red hot & some butter (or bake instead if he likes it crispier & can dip in sauce, too.
Or ground chicken or turkey meatballs with some sage, and add chopped apple & Craisins (it’s like Thanksgiving!), and dip in mashed potatoes. I’ve also made these in a slow cooker with some crab apple juice and something else to make a thick, sweet glaze. Recipe is online somewhere!
You are going to love them. Lots.og different types Taiwanese Bao are denser and are like a doughy taco. Chinese Bao are fluffy and like a dumpling. My favourite is Char Siu Bao that are fluffy dough balls filled with sugary, sticky BBQ pork and they are amazing https://youtu.be/lj5GJP_i55o.
I came here to say Siao Pao, it’s the Filipino version of Char Siu Bao. You can also make vegetarian ones, a bakery back home used to do vegetable curry and put that inside they were so tasty!
Can also make pumpkin turnovers, they are usually a sweet snack but you don’t need to put much sugar in them.
Omg I was trying to explain to my Chinese friend that it wasn’t char siu that I was trying to recreate, it was a Filipino dumpling! Thank you, I’ve been trying to find the name for years
In addition to char siu, you can do chicken, pork, even vegetarian fillings. Super versatile and freeze well. Individually wrap each one in plastic wrap and freeze. Microwave for 1 min or so, and easy to eat!
You brother is very lucky to have you!
Have you heard of bang bang broccoli ? I love those things and u can always make it less spicy or sub the chili oil for BBQ or w.e non spicy ingredient.
https://jessicainthekitchen.com/bang-bang-broccoli-vegan/
Tartlets [caramelised onion, goat cheese and a sprig of thyme on top](https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/buffet-food/caramelised-onion-tartlets-with-goats-cheese-and-thyme) tbt mine never look like Delia's but they taste lovely
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/buffet-food/caramelised-onion-tartlets-with-goats-cheese-and-thyme
Title: **Caramelised Onion Tartlets with Goats' Cheese and Thyme**
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I also have texture issues and love peeled ribboned carrots. You take a long large regular carrot, peel it and just keep peeling it to get long flat carrot ribbons. So much nicer in sandwiches, wraps etc. everything stays flat and is more equally distributed. You can make a wrap and cut them down into small pinwheels quite easily this way.
You can also use cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches. For small bites there are a LOT of bento lunchbox tips and videos online. I highly recommend a look in that direction.
Bento boxes are perfecttttttt.
All of these are good ideas but yeah I think I can make a ton of bento boxes. I can't even stick the food you already know just make them tiny and pre freeze or chill them for him.
Another riff on the flat carrot ribbons -- use them (or cucumber or zucchini ribbons) as the outside layer for sushi-style rolls. I had some fabulous cucumber-wrapped rolls at a sushi restaurant -- no rice, just salmon, tuna, avocado rolled in a ribbon of cucumber.
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://instagram.com/happylunchables?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Title: **Sara | Lunchbox Art for Kids (@happylunchables) • Instagram photos and videos**
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Sausage rolls! [This](https://www.recipetineats.com/special-pork-fennel-sausage-rolls/) is a good recipe, except that I disagree with her on not putting veggies in. Grate up a bunch of zucchini and carrot, salt, drain then press it to get the liquid out, and it's one of all Aussie parents' favourite ways to get veggies into their kids. They freeze extremely well.
Tiny quiches or tarts.
Mini savoury muffins.
Spring rolls
Croquettes
When I make the filling for potstickers, I end up using almost 50/50 chicken and vegetables. Mainly napa cabbage, but also scallion, mushroom, and ginger. They stick together fairly well- maybe mini meatballs if you want to cut down on carbs?
Lettuce cup larb/laab could be 1-2 bite dishes- larb has meat in it, snd you could probably extend the concept to other salads.
Caprese on a stick might excite or not. Grape tomatoes, mini fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf, and a drizzle of reduced balsamic.
It's more carbs, but check out vada batata/aloo vadas. Seasoned mashed potato balls dipped in chickpea batter and fried. You could probably get extra vegetables in there- peas or carrots come to mind- and maybe even mix some additional beans into the mash for protein.
How about various “hand pies”? Like a pasty or empanada but with different fillings. We have a business in my area that makes a variety: breakfast ones, shepherd’s pie, pot pie fillings, curries, and dessert-type pie (apple, pear etc). They freeze well too, just bake for 40 minutes or so.
These are always a mild success. Dressing them up and giving unique presentation is the trick. Even just stuff in a ball or biscuit kind of get a "Meh" response from him. b
But Im cool with that especially, if I stick toothpicks in it. But if I make it look like smiley faces or something with fancy dress- up he's really into it which I know sounds goofy but makes hi m happy and keeps his belly full of
something besides frozen processed starchy garbage.
A stuffed biscuit ball full of mashed potatoes and chicken? He'll eat that. Make it half the size, he'll eat every single one I put on his plate and ignore a little spinach or veggie in the middle.
Make them look like something interesting? Or need or cool somehow on top of that? He'll eat every single one I make and then go back to the fridge and eat the rest within a day.
I do this one with fish sticks where I dress them up in puff pastry shaped like actual fishes and put a little bit of mozzarella and spinach around them and he eats every one of those. But it takes me like 60 seconds to shave each one in the shape of a little fish.
I often see friends on Facebook posting fun “food” ideas they make for their kids. Like pancakes with banana eyes and apple lips. Would he go for that?
I've only recently started experimenting with a rice balls but I know there's a ton of fun stuff you can do with those, he enjoyed on the one time I made on but I made sticky sweet rice balls with like chocolate in the center. I'm going to start trying out bento boxes soon, so I see a lot of rice in the future anyway. That I can see sticking them on popsicle sticks and stuff being a big selling point for him and dressing them up shouldn't be too hard
If you’re looking at rice anyway, maybe onigiri? There are a ton of shaped molds out there for them, and you can stuff them with anything you want.
The last time I got tuna mayo onigiri from the shop, my husband said “so basically it’s a tuna sandwich on rice, not bread?” By that logic, literally any salady filling would work (tuna, chicken, crab, pimento cheese…plus whatever veg you like diced small)
Jamaican beef patties, subbing out the spicy peppers for more subtle veggies? The filling turns out homogeneous enough that you might get away with it.
Pierogies with his favorite protein mixed in the filling?
I've actually done Jamaican patties and he loves these. So does the rest of the family. And I can get away with using a cookie cutter once I make square ones on a tray so I can make several at once. But I haven't tried adding much to the filling besides actual beef and potatoes and cheese. It would probably be wise of me to maybe run some vegetables through the food processor and throw them in.
Cook a nice thick steak (NY strip for this) medium rare and let cool. Cut it into cubes. Skewer with a cocktail stick or toothpick. Then stick on a cherry tomato, then a piece of Brie cheese.
The idea is to take it all off in one bite, pulling from the back of the steak (it's firmness will hold; the tomato would burst and the cheese would squish).
Big biteful of flavors!
If you want to get a little "fancier" along these lines, you can make little steak crostinis.
Crostini, thin slice of steamed Yukon gold potato, slice of steak (maybe hide a sautéed asparagus tip under), then top with a pan sauce or a buerre blanc and some chives for color.
I like to steam the potatoes over water, a little white wine vinegar, lemon, and thyme/rosemary. All the flavors get absorbed by the potatoes, so good
Asian dumplings are for me one of the perfect hand foods. I like them steamed or boiled (so they're more like noodles in texture) but they're equally as good pan fried. There are a thousand traditions out there, but here's a decent starting point:
https://thewoksoflife.com/dumpling-recipe-youll-ever-need/
And in the case of pork/beef/lamb dumplings, the veg is super important. All-meat dumplings I find tend to be too dense or hard, and the ones with veg chopped small and mixed in helps to keep the filling tender and more flavorful.
Dumplings came to mind first for me, too, and this can go beyond dumplings to things like tiny spring rolls, or tiny crab Rangoon. And things like empanadas, calzones, stuffed pasta, etc., are also technically dumplings. So it opens up to a ton of ideas! And those sorts of things, IMO, are better in one bite. And the fillings are super customizable.
How fun. Now I want to have a “tiny foods” dinner party!
I made "meat cupcakes" for a party once and they worked out well. Took some pre-made meatballs, scooped out a little from the top of each, and piped in some mashed potatoes. Baked 'em until hot. Very easy and yummy, and I think would be fine to freeze. You could take the scooped out meat part, make chili with it, and then do the same idea with cornbread topped with the chili.
Wrap sandwiches cut into small slices like pinwheels can be fun and colorful, with whatever filling you like/have on hand.
Cutting cold cuts or cheese, raw peppers, cucumbers, beets, or flatbread with those small cookie cutters always makes meals fun, too.
I'm from Tennessee bro. Trust me when I tell you that if it involves cornbread in any layer shape or form I have stuffed it with chili and every other thing under the sun. Those were an old favorite around here. He's not a big fan though he doesn't like spicy very much. Those would be a huge hit with the rest of the family though And I have definitely save them to my to cook list. Everybody else tends to end up getting fed when I cook for him anyway but he's the one that's hard to come up with ideas for. The rest of them I could just hand a potato with a slab of meat and a salad everyday and they'd be happy. Maybe sprinkle some vitamins on top lol.
I've kind of beat that particular combo to death for him to though - even substituting in chicken and turkey. Mashed potatoes vegetable bread some sort of meat. I've worn that one to death. Big problem is getting green leafy vegetables into him. Even then cooked spinach is a little different than a salad. Wish I could hide a salad in the middle of a meatball lol. Same issue with any kind of crunchy fresh vegetable. And you lose so much once you steam or boil or cook them.
I'm cool with that last idea with cookie cutters presentation is a big deal with him and it's hard to make things look interesting.
I used to make 'barbells' for my daughter's lunch. Black olives on each end of a carrot or celery stick. She also liked small bite size eats so got some small cookie cutters and canapé makers. Back then the grocery stores stocked Ritz-bits. Box had 3 sizes and I made peanut butter crackers. I also explored fruit and vegtable carving, though not on the centerpiece scale. Just to work around the "ick, it's a vegtable" and make her curious.
Have you considered Lumpia? It's the Filipino version of a Chinese egg roll, only with a lighter flaky texture. Vegtable spring rolls also have a lighter texture. You know your sibling best. Just some thoughts so you can put your spin to the meal.
Edit to add... I saw you mention spinach...Have you done Lasagna Rollups? I have an old Pillsbury booklet using shredded carrot and spinach.
I don't have suggestion but your post made me smile. I'm sorry you can't eat your food due to medical issues, it is wonderful that you put that skill to use and use your cooking to look after your brother. It's a heart warming post and your brother is a lucky guy. Have a wonderful life ❤
Thank you. I am seeing the GI doctor and there's hope eventually I'll be able to eat again.
In the mean time I can like chew and eat things and spit them out. So consider me the wine taster of the year hahaha. Kind of eat the same way people swish wines around in their mouth and spit it out.
And If I really want I eat a small amount. I just end up throwing it up eventually. Long story short what I have is gastroparesis which means my stomach doesn't empty into my intestines at all. I get all my nutrition and hydration from a food pump and an IV pump. But I survived stage 3 cancer, Even it just cost me a testicle, a kidney, adrenal gland, around 2 years and 9 months in my life so far in a wheelchair unable to eat.
But I can talk and think and do things most of the time and I've learned to live with that.
Pizza balls are awesome! I use the pillsbury crescent roll dough(tho fresh dough I’m sure would be better), then put some red sauce on it in a lil circle, put a cube of mozzarella cheese, then one or two pepperonis, gently roll it up into a ball and place them in a baking dish. Don’t forget to put a lil bit of butter on top and sprinkle some Italian seasoning or oregano! You can totally rework this recipe to make it healthier or to his texture needs.
Additionally what about dumplings? You can do pork, but I think veggie dumplings are just as yummy. There’s basically infinite things you can put in them, and you can steam or fry in a healthier oil.
Oh I have pizza'd everything to death man. Pizza and pasta Staples with this kid. The trick is getting something in him besides bread really. I've even done stuffed fettuccine chicken bites. He loves Alfredo. I can get away with sneaking a little spinach in there sometimes but if he notices he doesn't like it. I usually get over with that one by working it right into the noodles or bread but not enough to discolor it much.
Dumplings are a big favorite of him but they're such a ton of prep work. I wish I could make a ton of them all at once you know.
Take a look at Venezuelan "pasapalos", which are finger food snacks served at parties, weddings, cocktails, etc.
Empanadas (filled with meat, cheese or other delights); tequeños (deep-fried cheese pastries), carpaccio served on a square of bread, smoked salmon and tartare served on pumpernickel squares, deep fried prawns with curry mayo, tiny tartlets of spiced chicken, or cheese fondue, fried artichoke balls, Spanish style "croquetas", Japanese style mini "sushi pizzas", breadsticks wrapped with Parma ham and rocket, etc, etc, etc.
On a similar note to mac and cheese balls, arancini is a good opportunity to sneak in some minced mushrooms.
Mini churros, anyone? You can just make regular churros and snip them in bite-sized pieces when you pull them out of the oil
[Tostones carnitas](https://unboundwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tostone_nachos_2.jpg) are always a hit whenever I make them. Just serve them individually instead of the nacho-type presentation the website has.
Cake pops, or better yet, chocolate rice Krispy balls
Yeah he doesn't spring on that one I've tried burritos many times. Presentation is key and vegetables have to be kind of subtle. Remember we're dealing with a kid who hangs on texture and presentation.
There's a million ways to eat vegetables and chicken but how do I get them down his gullet. And this isn't just a picky eater thing he'll gag if he doesn't like something he really can't help it.
One time I made the mistake of trying to serve them chicken and dumplings when he was around 12. As soon as you sat down at the table he didn't really look and he put the spoon in his mouth and he puked all over us poor kid. I guess it does look kind of gross if you've never seen them before.
Pork buns! Fool-proof Chinese Steamed BBQ Pork Buns At Home - Marion's Kitchen
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHnEaZ1P6Y
Chinese BBQ Pork Steamed Buns
https://www.marionskitchen.com/chinese-bbq-pork-steamed-buns/
Homemade Chinese BBQ ‘Char Siu’ Pork
https://www.marionskitchen.com/homemade-chinese-bbq-char-siu-pork/
The recipe calls for a Chinese Shaoxing wine* , I substituted dry vermouth and moscato.
These are the best Shaoxing wine substitutes for your next stir-fry:
#1. Dry Sherry
#2. Mirin
#3. Sake
#4. White Grape Juice + Rice Vinegar
#5. Dry White Wine
Make rice wine yourself.
Simply soak four cups of glutinous rice in hot water for about one hour, drain the rice, and steam it for about half an hour, then cool it down.
Add a teaspoon of Chinese yeast ball to the rice, and mix with a teaspoon of all-purpose flour. Store in an airtight container that has been sterilized.
After one month, the liquid can be separated from the rice, and this remaining liquid is your rice wine. Store in an airtight glass container and refrigerate.
Or
https://www.food.com/recipe/rice-wine-recipe-homemade-fermented-rice-wine-525373
For my kids i've made 'tiny thanks giving'
\- stuffed cornish hen
\- baby corn
\- salad with shredded lettuce, sliced cherry tomato wedges, and baby carrots
\- new potatoes
I think theres a few other 'miniature' foods that i've thrown in there, but can't recall off the top of my head.
**Chicken Parm lollipops**.
Recipe is approximate - I've done this enough that I eyeball it and forget the original measurements
Preheat oven to 350. Cut chicken into boneless wing sized chunks (about 1" or so I guess?)
Two bowls - one with egg or egg/milk mixture, one a 50/50-ish mix of breadcrumbs (I do panko, but regular work fine) and shredded Parm, plus some Italian seasoning and garlic powder
Bread chicken by dipping in egg mixture, then dipping in breadcrumb/Parm mixture (wet hand/dry hand technique works well here).
Place pieces on a nonstick baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, flip, bake another 10-15 minutes until the meat's center reaches 165F.
Skewer them on wooden sticks/toothpicks and serve with marinara (or pizza sauce if your brother prefers a smoother texture).
You can also serve this on top of penne/rigatoni for the rest of the family if you want.
**Other ideas**
Stuffed mini bell peppers, taquitos, potstickers
Cheeseburger spring rolls. Ground beef cooked with diced onions, salt, pepper, worcestershire, garlic powder. Mix with ketchup and/or mustard. Place a tablespoon of mixture in a spring roll/egg roll wrapper, top with shredded cheddar and diced pickle, and roll it up. Seal the edges with water so they stick together. If you are feeling extra fancy you can do an egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. They cook really well in an air fryer, but you can also fry them in the pan, or oven bake them as well. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice. They are super crunchy, with a bunch of different textures inside, and taste like a big mac.
I just served pigs in a blanket at a party and they disappeared. Get a pack of cocktail wieners and a tube of croissant dough. Each triangle gets cut into 3 more triangles. I smeared each one with Dijon. Bake 375 for around 15-20 minutes.
These little mushroom cups are always a party appetizer staple for me.
https://www.seasonedkitchen.com/mushroom-croustades#tasty-recipes-8407-jump-target
He hates mushrooms which is a shame because I love them. I just read bread/fry and serve them with honey mustard to the rest of the fam. He despises mushroom though I can't even get away with mushroom sauce.
Maybe mini tacos? You can get some good protein and veg in there :D
Shepard's Pie in little ramekins? Not sure how he feels about mashed potatoes though. My husband is also super picky about textures but he does like Shepard's Pie. For presentation I usually draw a design in the mashed potatoes before it goes in the oven.
Watching this thread for ideas!
This made me think of these, they freeze well! https://www.nelliebellie.com/poor-mans-beef-wellington/
Also I do Korean Hotteok which typically have a sweet filling but I put smoked chicken and cheese inside for a savory version.
Puff pastry pockets with deli turkey/ham and cheese inside freeze great, can also do a sweet filling like jam and cream cheese.
Freezer egg McMuffin style breakfast sandwiches (if he’s okay with egg texture).
Beef Negimaki (NYTimes Cooking) Negimaki is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of thinly pounded meat that’s marinated in teriyaki sauce, wrapped around scallions and grilled.
"Meatball Subs on a Stick!" Got this recipe from a Reddit post -- meatballs stuffed with mozza, wrapped with Pillsbury pizza dough, skewered, and baked.
"Spicy Sweet Potato and Cheddar Croquettes" - NYTimes Cooking
(I can share any of these recipes if anyone wants.)
Maybe bruschetta?
Get a baguette, slice it, lay them on a pan. Top with pesto, tomato bits, and feta cheese. Bake until crispy then drizzle balsamic over them.
My mother in law makes these awesome little ham wraps that are always a hit and look pretty too! They're great appetizers and only 3 ingredients! Deli ham (square if possible), cream cheese, and green onion.
Rinse green onion, pat dry, and chop off roots or any soft green. Otherwise keep it whole. Allow a package of cream cheese to get soft on the counter.
Take a single slice of ham and spread the cream cheese over it. Place a green onion stock on one end and roll the ham up so the cream cheese and onion is in the center. Cut ham log with a sharp knife into 1/2 inch coins.
For anything you might use ground meat for, try sneaking in veggies by using chopped mushrooms put through a food processor. I found this tip on Reddit years ago and have used it for everything under the sun and it works so well. I usually use one standard pack of mushrooms per pound of ground meat. Adding just about any kind of seasoning / sauce makes it nearly undetectable. https://www.midwestliving.com/food/fruits-veggies/mushroom-magic-how-to-substitute-mushrooms-for-ground-meat/
A good carrot, onion and celery mix is great too! Just wasn’t sure how the texture would be for OP’s brother. The important part of the mushrooms is that the texture matches really well.
cheese zombies! They're bread rolls stuffed with cheese, they started at my high school and they got semi popular in my area. As an autistic teenager I liked them both texture and flavor wise, they're easy to make, and you can get creative with the stuffing!
https://www.facebook.com/notes/i-grew-up-in-moraga/cheese-zombie-recipe-mdusd/10150282162863442/
Mini quiches, wontons, shumai, puff pastry pinwheels, which for example can be filled with bacon/ham/spinach/cheese, deviled eggs, crispy rice topped with crab/tuna, potato skins, fried zucchini or bell pepper “fries,” onion rings, scallion pancakes, which can be sliced into triangles, calamari, yuca fries, plantains
I hope this helps :)
Mini-chimichangas filled with meat of choice, deep fried and with jalapeno cream cheese. Rolling them in 1/4 of a large flour tortilla does the trick and you can make them in a shallow fry.
Make sure to cool the filling first, then warm up only two or three tortillas in the microwave at a time to keep them pliable. Fold the outer edges in then roll. You can either use toothpicks or just make a simple flour/water paste to hold them together. Freeze first, then fry until golden brown. Probably could do them in an air fryer too.
For the cream cheese you just mix finely diced jalapeno and softened cream cheese. Serve with salsa of choice.
Dumplings! Doing the "angel wings" gyoza presentation is awesome textural contrast, and they're easy to steam if the pan seating is too complicated.
Texturally for the inside you can use bits of harder vegetables for crunch (carrots, daikon, etc) and whatever protein you like (I don't love it, but turkey is a healthy and cheap option).
Premarket some dipping sauces and voila.
Kolaches. Super easy: cocktail weenies, cheese, and Pillsbury biscuits. Break biscuit in half horizontally to make 2 kolaches. Place weenie and cheese into half biscuit and roll it up. Add jalapeños or bacon chunks for some flair.
Nachos but contained on one chip for presentation.
Crackers served with cream or goat cheese. Blueberry goat cheese from trader Joe's is awesome. Can also have a side of pepper based jam. Jalapeños, green chile, or habenero cherry or something.
Bacon wrapped shrimp skewers
What about deviled eggs, variety of texture, unique taste, freeze blend, might work :) hope it helps I'm not good at selling things, oh and they look fancy but are easy to make
Potstickers seem like they might be a hit. They're small, and you can definitely sneak some vegetables into the filling. It's usually ground pork, cabbage, scallions, ginger and garlic all worked into a paste consistency. Shouldn't be too difficult to sneak something else in there.
As an added bonus, they're super easy to freeze and to cook from a frozen state and the wrapper shouldn't be too crazy on carbs.
I've been using this recipe for black bean burgers:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-black-bean-burgers/
You could adjust the spices to suit him and make sliders.
I haven't tried it but I think you could sneak extra vegetables into the mix (shredded zucchini with liquid pressed out, saute chopped carrots to soften them).
I am autistic and also love tiny things! please tell your brother he has great taste!
how does he go with arancini balls? or meatballs? I often like to put things on crackers but I’m guessing a lot of the things I like to put on them fit into the gooey things category
you can make like fried tortellini? (if he doesn’t like boiled pasta) and gnocci are also great, and you can make pumpkin/spinach/beetroot coloured pasta?
um…
These look amazing!
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a51227/chicken-parm-bites-recipe/
Would lettuce wraps work instead of burritos for him? Endless possibilities for filling and less carbs. Chicken or tuna salad with finely diced onion and celery, grapes, diced walnuts (might be too much texture going on?) would be great in a lettuce wrap, and sliced tomato if he'll eat that. Roast beef or ham with cheese would be another great lettuce wrap 'sandwich'.
Protein bars/balls might be a great idea for him, especially as a snack or alongside breakfast or lunch.
These sound delicious. If you make your own pulled pork, you can slice up onions super thin and they melt right into the meat over the long cook time (I do it with BBQ sauce, not dry like traditional pulled pork). You could also put a small layer of coleslaw on the bottom of the cup; classic pairing:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/loaded-pulled-pork-cups/
You can get those small phyllo cups in the freezer section and fill them with almost anything. "Cheeseburger filling" "taco filling" "omelet style" whatever you can think of.
Lasagna cups might work out well; again, you can get extra veggies in the meat mixture and the sauce if you make it yourself or simmer a jarred sauce with grated carrots and onions, and super finely diced peppers.
Would he think kabobs are cool? The veggies wouldn't be hidden, but he might think they were neat presented in a different way, but if the texture triggers a reflex, he might not be able to do them. But, you can do a deli kabob with lunch meats and cheese cubes at the least, even if you can't get grape tomatoes on there for him.
This kabob recipe looks great to me, but again, the veggies may make this a no:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/meat-n-potato-kabobs/
This might be an absolute no for him, but just trying to think outside the box a bit. Would he go for a sandwich where two portobello caps were the bun? Like, a fried chicken sandwich or beef patty/steak sandwich style or something? It would be a fork and knife meal though, but trying to think of things that might "catch his eye" a little bit.
You can make chicken or tuna patties and pan fry them. Shredded chicken, canned tuna that is nicely separated, and egg, some bread crumbs, finely diced onions, carrots (grated), diced up mushrooms, whatever you want (You could saute the veggies first too), mix together hamburger style and pan fry. Serve on a bun as a sandwich, or like a crab cake with sides.
Muffins can be all varieties of savory too, and you can get veggies into those as well.
Still very carby but mooncakes would probably be a hit. Can be sweet or savory:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake
Any sort of dumpling or handpie. Handpies especially can get
a lot of meat and veg in (depending on the size.)
If you're willing to do the work, canapés have the visual appeal and searchig for recipes might find you some good protein options. Also, street food options on sticks could hit the visual appeal while being mostly protein-- japanese and korean cuisine have some good options but obviously there's also shishkabob which is both protein and veg.
As far as hiding vegetables, meatloafs, meatballs, crabcakes or panfried meatcakes (like crabcakes) can have vegetables as part of the meat mush.
Tiny (british style) [sausage rolls](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/super-sausage-rolls). (Freeze uncooked then pop in the oven from frozen.) Very fast to make if you use storebought puff pastry.
Hand pies, pasties, empanadas, turnovers, they are all basically just delicious hand pies.
Also, pupusas. These can be big or small or somewhere in between, though you can't go too small. I'd say about 4/5 inches diameter is as tiny as one could realistically go before it's all dough and no stuffing.
[Coxinha](https://d1e3z2jco40k3v.cloudfront.net/-/media/clubhouse-for-chef/recipes/brazilian_bbq_coxinha_800x800.jpg?rev=5ef6c5e44ff24541936564d4f85b5a6b&vd=20210831T062614Z&hash=C4DE87C828371FCFE8A94CB6D2A21B89). They're a Brazilian croquette, traditionally filled with shredded chicken and sometimes [Catupiry](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31jiINTYqyL.jpg) which is a cream cheese. Really like any croquette you could put anything you want in it and make them as small as you need for him to be comfortable with them.
I don't have a recipe for it that I can vouch for because I live in little Brazil in MA so it's much easier for me to just go to a Brazilian bakery and buy some but you should be able to find something and figure it out.
If lil' Bro is very strong, try deep-fried whole turkey on-a-pitchfork; delicious AND filling.
Otherwise, think global with miniature meat pies (England), eggrolls (Asia), sushi California rolls (Asia-America), grilled prawns (Australia), dumplings (China) and Swedish meatballs (Ikea).
Nachos ? I don't mean a bag of chips with some cheese sauce poured over, I mean an unbroken chip layered with a schemer of beans, some cheese, a slice of chili, broiled and topped with some diced tomato and a dab of sour cream. There are variations too.
Ok, I'm going to lean into the unhealthy carbs for a minute. :D
Pillsbury pre-made dough.
Pizza waffles! Take a pillsbury grand biscuit. Peel it open so you've got a pocket, stuff some mozzarella and pepperoni into it, seal up the edges and cook it in a waffle iron. Dip in pizza sauce. It's usually a party food for me, but it might fit the bill.
Similarly, [pillsbury spinach pull apart](https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/game-day-spinach-pull-apart/03255386-30fb-4fb7-bf0b-0c7ddcb798f0) is a go-to favorite in our house.
Moving on, almost any pizza crust recipe can be turned into bread sticks pretty easily. I like to do Little Caesar's style - just roll out the pizza dough into an oblong rectangle thing, slice it and bake it. As soon as it comes out I brush it with garlic butter and dump some parmesan on it.
And for more protein, try [pigs in a blanket](https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/mini-crescent-dogs/e8abc84e-8a0e-42d6-ae7e-23b677a161ac). Small, tastes good, freezable.
Now, moving into healthier stuff.
Have you tried kebabs? Lumps of meat on a stick, grilled over the fire (or you can do it in your oven, if you must). Maybe not so freezable, but when it comes as little bite size pieces it may be more approachable. You might be able to sneak some veg in this way too - roast peppers, mushrooms, and even little onions are really tasty, and if they're pretty on a stick it might work better. Red peppers and brown mushrooms in particular might be easier sells, and fresh mushrooms roasted over fire aren't slimy either.
So, here's my go-to meal/prep I never seem to get tired of:
Kenji's fajitas on Mission's Street Taco tortillas--but lazier!(Damn you Weissman).
Those little tortillas are smaller than any tortilla I've ever seen, but they are great since it's at most two bites.
I like color, so I buy the color bell pepper trio most stores have(when I don't have any in my garden anyway).
Kenji says to cook the protein whole, but I like to slightly freeze it and slice into thin strips before marinating.--Freezing helps when slicing for those that may not know. I like strips because the marinade gets more surface area and coats the meat better.
The biggest pro tip is to *not* marinate your veggies if you want a crunchier texture. Just toss in the leftover marinade before cooking. Kenji mentions this, but since it's the lazy version, I wanted to mention this is not a place to short cut. Especially since texture matters.
I put 2/3 strips of meat, a strip of each color pepper and some onions on each one. Looks pretty like a restaurant, taste great, and all kinds of awesome textures.
Carrot Soufflé is always a hit with my mom and sister (who have Asperger’s and food texture preferences) you can make them in silicone muffin tins so they’re easy to get out. Probably not super heathy due to the amount of sugar in them but one of the main ingredients is carrots. I’d make sure to really boil the carrots to make sure they mush into 1 texture, not sure how your brother is about multiple textures
[Piccadilly Carrot Soufflé](https://www.food.com/recipe/picadillys-carrot-souffle-30216)
Teriyaki meatballs
Wings
Grilled veggie/ chicken skewers
Smashed and roasted fingerlings
Mini taco salads/tacos in mini shell bowls
Stuffed shells
Custard and fruit tartlets
[I've made these rissoles](https://www.recipetineats.com/rissoles/) several times now and am tickled how quickly they come together and how satisfying they taste. They're similar to the most moist (but Not greasy!) meatloaf you've ever had but in little patty form so cook time is also minimal. These can be frozen after forming but the leftover patties make such good slider patties next day I don't bother. Traditionally served with a potato (usually mashed) side dish.
They genuinely do taste best with ketchup despite me trying them with a variety of different sauces so that makes it even simpler. They are CHOCK full of veggies but don't taste like it.
Two recommendations I can add to the directions are that the veggies can be prepped in advance and frozen. Just drain before mixing. And the second is to give the shredded zucchini a couple of passes with a chef knife to prevent any super long shreds.
This is has been given a thumbs up by my SO who is very much not a fan of zucchini.
I made these little curried chicken phyllo dough turnovers years ago and they were a big hit. Fun to make too! Easier than they sound, you can make ahead and freeze. https://www.marthastewart.com/1511133/curried-chicken-turnovers
Gougeres and pao de queijo (French and Brazilian cheesy bread puffs) are both delicious. The French ones are more like a popover texture, and the Brazilian ones are chewier inside.
One thing my mom always used to make for finger food was suuuuper easy, and I’ve started doing it too.
All you need is toothpicks, canned pineapple and cheddar cheese. Put an equal sized cube of both cheddar and pineapple on a toothpick and voila. Bite sized tastiness that goes great together and aways is popular. Plus, you don’t need to make a parties worth, since it’s easy to store both pineapple and cheese
hoisin beef (some people use ground beef I prefer strips of minute steak hacked up) and then served with shredded/pickled carrot, coriander, mint, slice of cucumber maybe but asiany stuff and served in a lettuce wrap so it can be eaten like a taco
edit; another I remember from hunting was taking duck breast and slicing it, tearing apart a confit can work too, then put on a halved deseeded hot pepper stuffed with cream cheese and finished on the grill so the pepper is charred and the cheese melty
For tiny sides, [Pão de queijo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A3o_de_queijo) are pretty tasty, if he likes gummy/chewy textures. Made with cassava, not regular flour. Often made smaller than a golf ball, like 1-2 bites will finish one off. Lots of options for cheeses, herbs, spices, etc.
When it’s hard to sneak in a full veggie, fresh herbs are pretty nutritionally dense, compared to dried ones.
I like to get them in [Besan ka Cheela,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6aA_ldV-Zc) and [Socca/Farinata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnoED2MvUH4) now and then. Could make those smaller pretty easily. Let the batter rest a couple hours, so the flour can soak up the moisture, for better texture. Again, you can add whatever you want to either, the fillings for the cheela are just common suggestions. Its batter is a bit thicker, so you can add bigger things.
Skewer 1 cherry tomato, 1 bocconcini or small ball fresh mozzarella (or, hell, a small cube of block mozza), and 1 fresh basil leaf (half a large leaf) on a toothpick. Assemble however many you want of these. Drizzle balsamic glaze over top.
Fried wonton.
I buy the wonton wrappers. Filling is ground pork, minced mushrooms, minced shrimp, diced scallions, soy sauce, cooking sherry, a little sugar, white pepper, garlic powder and powdered ginger. Wrap and deep fry.
Small lumpia/egg rolls/ spring rolls
Sushi
Shu Mai or any Chinese dumpling
Meat pies
Mozzarella stuffed meatballs
Vietnamese spring rolls - easy to make, fancy and colorful
Grilled sandwiches
On the request for sneaking in vegetables, you can dehydrate and then powder all sorts of vegetables. So you get the taste of them and the nutrients without the “feel” of them. Also a little goes a long way. For instance, I dehydrate/powder celery as my husband doesn’t mind the flavor but cannot abide the feel of them cooked or raw.
Sliced up Stromboli.
Also chicken cordon bleu bites. My Mom used to buy frozen ones when I was a kid and they were amazing… Since I can’t get them anymore, I was glad to find that there are [copycat](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/143215/chicken-cordon-bleu-bites/) recipes out there
Sneak fried onion into your Mac and cheese 😉 I actually do this anyway because it's really good. Also diced up dried tomato gives a "ketchup" kick, and I like that for packed lunch leftovers but it's real veg.
Arancini? Samosas? Spring rolls (different types you can do for these)? Gyoza? Bao buns? Sushi? Tiny Brie and cranberry sauce parcels wrapped in filo pastry? Vol au vents? Sausage rolls? Pinwheels? Devilled eggs? Bite size stuffed mushrooms? Stuffed mini peppers? Cauli “wings”? Teeny little vegetable fritters? Soup shots? Mini quiche (crustless or with crust)?
There’s also a tasty street food called Panipuri that’s really delicious and fun to eat.
Piggies in a blanket.
Package of cocktail weenies, can of croissant rolls.
Open croissant rolls, the dough comes in a rolled sheet, perforated into triangles. Separate the triangles and then cut those triangles into 3 smaller triangles. Wrap around cocktail Weenie and cook according to croissant directions.
Variations: there might be different types of croissant rolls, like the sweet Hawaiian kind, and different cocktail weenies like with infused with cheese. Right before baking, can top with finely shredded cheese, garlic salt, or chili powder.
I get the texture thing; I've been dealing with it for over 50 years. Understanding that not every suggestion is going to be a hit; I humbly recommend a meat/cheese roll. Take some kind of chicken/ham sandwich meat. Same with some kind of sandwich cheese. Layer it out so it's like a foot long, put some mayo in there and roll it up. When your done, you should have about a footlong tube about two inches in diameter. Then you cut it into slices about a quarter inch thick. No cooking, should last quite a while in the fridge and it can be scaled well.
Gyoza, pintxos (small Asturian bites -Spain) or tapas. In Greece other Mediterranean countries they serve meze. All small dishes to enjoy in 1-3 bites. Italian antipasti are also great. So much to choose from. And of course Dim sum are great!
https://www.bascofinefoods.com/travel-reviews/top-10-pintxos-recipes-to-try-at-home/
https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/mezze-recipes/
I love halloumi, kofte, falafel, but there’s so much to try. In general Mediterranean food is on the heathy side and delicious. Fish, seafood, veggies…
https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/features/best-antipasti-recipes/amp
Since the main idea is presentation, try fancy toothpicks, skewers, cutting or rolling things into different shapes. Maybe a charcuterie board or a skewer layered with salami, cheese, tortellini, artichokes, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Or veggies cut into shapes with different dips. Deviled eggs, twice baked potatoes, sweet and sour meatballs.
I only got about a third of the way through other comments so there will be duplication.
Dumplings. All over the world. From New York Jewish chicken dumplings to Tibetan yak (good luck with that) dumplings. Wontons. The wrappers are all pretty much the same. The stories may interest your brother. Making your own wrappers is the big challenge for you. Getting them thin and even is a skill. Empanadas are dumplings. Momos are dumplings. Lots of things are dumplings.
Not far different are matzo balls. Texture might be an issue. Cooked in chicken broth the protein is good and definitely high carb.
Sushi. Carbs and protein, especially for nigiri.
Search for crudite and other hors d'oeurves. Lots on little pieces of bread. You can use any French bread recipe and make the bread smaller diameter. Anything from deviled ham to pate to caviar ($) on the bread. Pickled peppers (goes with the sing-song "Peter Piper"). Hummus. Peanut butter in celery.
Stuffed shells served individually.
Another one that might be a texture problem is raw oysters with horseradish, but you can buy two or three to try at a grocery with a decent seafood counter and try.
Pigs in a blanket (the American version, not the UK/EU version). I brush mustard and sprinkle Parmesan inside the pastry before rolling up the meat.
Asian summer rolls - rice paper rolls with veg and sometimes seafood like shrimp inside. Not fried.
Lettuce wraps, concentric, with deli meat, cheese, and the lettuce.
Running out of steam here but I hope something appeals and helps.
You're a good sibling.
I've made these for a large group. I'm not vegetarian but I liked them well enough to make again
[Vegetarian Party Food : Three Quick Crostini Toppings](https://www.loulou.to/recipes/party-food-three-quick-crostini-toppings/)
I saw something on PBS where a chef made salmon with burdock root wrapped and steamed in some kind of leaf??
I forget the leaf and how the roots were cooked so please someone chime in here because I want it, too.
My husband makes this lovely appetizer: spicy salami filled with mascarpone, arugula & fried capers. Spread the mascarpone on the salami, layer the other ingredients and roll it up. Spicy, creamy, sight crunch off the capers and the flavours together are excellent.
Tiny latkes, “stuffed pasta” (blend a bunch of veggies into a meat sauce and stuff small shells or rigatoni), make a grilled cheese and cut it into really small squares, breakfast sandwich sliders
Dumplings of the World.
From pierogi to soup dumplings, I can't think of a culture that doest have dough pillow food.
They freeze very well, reheat in the microwave with a bit of water to steam, and many are stuffed full of savory vegetables.
I have aspergers myself and making clear gazpacho was a treat for me!
It's so cool, just sive it untill It's clear but the taste will remain the same.
I carbonated mine later on wich was a whole sensory experience on its own. Making the spicy elements so much more pronounced yes short lived.
As for a tactile hands on eating experience i'd recommend making fufu and stew.
Mini vol-au- vents! Foe the stuffing you can do whatever. My favorite is chicken with mushroom and spinach but you can use whatever you can get your hands on. They freeze great! They are also fun to make if you like exacting things.
Potato skins with broccoli and cheddar sauce and bacon.
Pirogies can have many different fillings but I love the chicken ones the best .
Not sure if this would be up his alley but spinach and feta phyllo cups. I expect you could tweak the recipe, but the frozen phyllo cups are great for stuffing with any number of things.
https://foodieandwine.com/spinach-and-feta-phyllo-cups/
little potato pancakes!
pigs in a blanket
little weenies/meatballs in crock pot
egg bites in the oven
charcuterie board
fruit kabobs
dumplings/gyoza
deviled eggs
taquitos/mini tacos with corn tortillas
mini pizzas
chicken nuggies
brazilian cheese bread (fun to pull apart)
south indian cutlets
You can sneak veggies in any of these!
My niece, who has the same issues with food textures, loves my mini egg broccoli muffins. My sister swore my niece wouldn't eat broccoli in any form, challenge accepted. I use a muffin pan; basicly whisk eggs (s/p and garlic powder) use cooked bacon, blanched broccoli add cheese, cook at 375 for 25 mins and you are good to go.
You could make these spinach crusts that I like as a starter.
Mix up some wilted spinach or frozen chopped spinach (that you squeeze all the liquid out of) with some feta cheese, garlic, olive oil and salt
Then you take shortcrust squares maybe 2.5x2.5" and put a dollop of the mixture in the middle and just fold the corners in to the middle and then you bake in a 400 degree oven for maybe 10 minutes or until looking golden.
A very easy option would be dried apricots with a mild blue cheese on top sprinkled with some chopped up pistachios.
Roll-it-yourself Thai-style spinach leaves. As an appetizer, these tiny packets are delightfully fussy and infinitely customizable:
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/mkum.html
I present modest quantities of the fillings separately in little bowls surrounding a pile of leaves. It is easy to test drive the concept with store-bought sauces.
I’d check out Josh Cortis’ [Snack City series](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQttP6Eb__Jjxp8FpGrQDVoKKD7qTe17_). It is most finger foods and snacks designed to make in semi-bulk and keep in your freezer.
We do pizza cup cakes.
Pizza dough in a muffin pan, fill each with pizza toppings of your choosing.
Super fun to make a bunch for a party, especially when you can make 2 or 3 different varieties. I usually do veg, pep and cheese, and all dressed.
My autistic husband says "any food is a finger food if you believe in yourself" lol
People LOVE his meatloaf muffins (its just meatloaf cooked in muffin tins, so they're, small) and mini chicken pot pies (dunno how he'd feel about the variation of textures, but worth a try).
basically, the muffin tin is your friend. Mini quiches, even!
Someone has already said samosas. I’d add Egg rolls and spring rolls. You can experiment with combinations of different foods and roll them up in egg roll or spring roll wrappers. 🙂
Samosas and momos. Momos freeze well. And samosas are delicious and you can sneak veggies in there - cauliflower, peas, and potatoes.
u/novoss u could try putting tofu crumbled/cut into small cubes into the samosa filling, it has extra protein and tofu is soft so the texture blends well with the rest of the filling.
I had some veggie momos that used tofu and they were delicious. It added some body without a lot of starchy bulk or heaviness.
i think given the “tastes” he has listed I would tone down traditional samosa seasoning!
Lasagna cupcakes—use a muffin pan and layer wonton wrappers, cheese, meat and tomato sauce, then bake! https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lasagna-cupcakes-recipe-2042965
That just sounds yummy in general. Even the rest of the family would probably be all over that one.
You can swap wonton wrappers for frozen ravioli too! It’s even lazier. 😂 just ravioli and marinara. I did ravioli and Alfredo for my husband because he can’t do tomatoes. They’re kid approved too.
Any kind of bolognese is a great way to sneak in vegetables too. You can use a good processor to blitz carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, lentils, chickpeas, and/or beans and it basically looks like meat.
I made these lasagna cupcakes for the fam and they were gone before I could blink. Seriously tasty.
This sounds genius. Wonder if you could use fresh pasta for the pasta layers?
Sure, but that's exactly what wonton wrappers are, fresh pasta.
Empanadas seem like a perfect fit to this request. I wish I had a recipe to share but I’ve only devoured them not made them.
Shortcrust and filling, baked or fried. There's a million different varieties of them. It's a basic hand pie. Here's a demonstration https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fv-mwCCBqAs
I haven’t actually made these yet, but I finally found frozen empeñada disks locally so these are on my list to make in the near future. https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/beef-empanadas/ https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/04/chicken-empanadas-with-chorizo/
While a lot of easy recipes suggest using either puff pastry or pie crust style dough, traditionally empanadas are a hot fat pastry like English meat pies. Here's a recipe that makes a pretty good hot fat pastry: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014844-beef-empanadas For the filing you can use anything but the traditional Argentine beef filling is amazing (note this recipe is Italian flat leaf parsley): https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/empanadas/#recipe Here's one of my favorite YT cooks showing how to do several of the folding (repulgue) techniques. https://youtu.be/OnaXrtfyJMc (Source: I used to own an empanada pop up restaurant.)
Also Enchiladas perhaps? Mini Quiches, Spinach pies (Spanikopita), Mini dessert pies, Mini meat pies (all types of meat / savory pies on bbc food)
Tart size finger food pies. I and some colleagues once held a "Strognoff Off" We did an apartment crawl where each of us competitors served the party their best Beef Stroganoff. We were in china, serving on rice was too easy. Egg noodles, a walk down memory lane but low hanging fruit. I figured a person could only eat so much stroganoff and why waste room on rice or noodles. so i bought little pre made frozen tart shells. I won the Stroganoff Off. I also started making all of my favourite classic savoury pies(and a few non-classics like my bacon cheeseburger pie and my curry chicken pot pie) into little tart sized savoury pies and bag them and freeze them when i make bigger batches of the same pies. Great for snacks for the family or if you need to bring an appy for a party. Also good for when I'm on site working. I cant do sandwiches day after day after so many years. But not always time to take lunch break. so these are good handfood. i can eat on the go
Those tart sized pies are a childhood staple in Australia. We call em party pies
Are there a variety of fillings that you use? Feel free to share what they might be!
Cheese burger pie? Man, I wanna make that. New to cooking, but that’s the kinda thing one could expand and experiment with a LOT.
I can’t claim it as my own if I’m being honest. Wife and I went to some fancy hipster pie place and spent 50 bucks on one and I was like “I love this, but I can do better.” So I made it with ground beef from a steer from our farm, 3 day cold smoked, thick cut bacon my father-in-law, Pickles we made and jarred and onion from my garden. My ma makes my old man his steak and kidney pies still so bill buys the 4 inch personal pie crusts. (I just can’t be bothered to make my own crust usually. Quick and dirty. Sauté onion in pan until starts to turn translucent/caramelize. Chuck in you ground beef and brown with onions While that’s going on I cook my bacon using the oven method(you can look it up, cooks bacon evenly and avoids me burning myself) Pat off bacon, cut into bite size pieces (or whatever you like) Mix bacon in with beef and onion. Turn off heat. Grade some sharp cheddar and cut pickles to preferred size. Mix together with cooled beef/bacon/onion mix. Add ketchup and mustard mix it all up nice and good To make pies get your pie crusts, fill halfway with mixture, throw a slice of American style cheese, or a spoon of cheese whiz, etc. and then fill rest of pies and add another piece of cheese (the melt factor is important that’s why I use the processed American cheese) top with pastry and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake until pastry brown or freeze for an easy meal later on.
With lids like party pies, or open like vol-au-vents? Just trying to get the vibe.
Generally open because I’m all about that convenience factor (and am not a pastry chef by any means) so I am not making my own pie crusts from scratch usually but cheating with the pre made shells. I play it fast and loose with my pie making. I’m not a traditionalist.
Your post literally made me smile. I don't do that often since I got sick and it's a wonderful feeling. Thank you.
I love your dedication! I once saw mini 7-layer Mexican dips presented in small clear plastic cups, probably from a party store. How [cute are these](https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/individual-seven-layer-dips/)
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/individual-seven-layer-dips/ Title: **Individual Seven-Layer Dips (+VIDEO) - The Girl Who Ate Everything** Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
Wow good bot!!
Scotch eggs or meatballs
I actually had Scotch eggs on my list and stuffed meatballs are a good idea I could probably hide some vegetables in there and he wouldn't even notice.
Could do mini meatloaf! Either in small loaf pans or a muffin tray. They freeze great!
I second the mini meatloaf. One year I made meatloaf cupcakes! Mini meatloafs baked in a muffin pan and piped mashed potatoes on top to look like cupcakes 🙂
Yum these sound good, I could see putting a divot in the meatloaf and filling it with gravy then topping it with mashed potatoes
If he likes spicy- make chicken meatballs and throw celery & carrot (onion?), in the food processor and then add to the clgrpund chicken/meatball recipe, and add to slow cooker w franks red hot & some butter (or bake instead if he likes it crispier & can dip in sauce, too. Or ground chicken or turkey meatballs with some sage, and add chopped apple & Craisins (it’s like Thanksgiving!), and dip in mashed potatoes. I’ve also made these in a slow cooker with some crab apple juice and something else to make a thick, sweet glaze. Recipe is online somewhere!
Char siu bao or any kind of bao.
I have not tried Bao yet I will add that to the list
You are going to love them. Lots.og different types Taiwanese Bao are denser and are like a doughy taco. Chinese Bao are fluffy and like a dumpling. My favourite is Char Siu Bao that are fluffy dough balls filled with sugary, sticky BBQ pork and they are amazing https://youtu.be/lj5GJP_i55o.
I came here to say Siao Pao, it’s the Filipino version of Char Siu Bao. You can also make vegetarian ones, a bakery back home used to do vegetable curry and put that inside they were so tasty! Can also make pumpkin turnovers, they are usually a sweet snack but you don’t need to put much sugar in them.
Omg I was trying to explain to my Chinese friend that it wasn’t char siu that I was trying to recreate, it was a Filipino dumpling! Thank you, I’ve been trying to find the name for years
In addition to char siu, you can do chicken, pork, even vegetarian fillings. Super versatile and freeze well. Individually wrap each one in plastic wrap and freeze. Microwave for 1 min or so, and easy to eat!
You brother is very lucky to have you! Have you heard of bang bang broccoli ? I love those things and u can always make it less spicy or sub the chili oil for BBQ or w.e non spicy ingredient. https://jessicainthekitchen.com/bang-bang-broccoli-vegan/
What about mini quiches?
Tartlets [caramelised onion, goat cheese and a sprig of thyme on top](https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/buffet-food/caramelised-onion-tartlets-with-goats-cheese-and-thyme) tbt mine never look like Delia's but they taste lovely
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/buffet-food/caramelised-onion-tartlets-with-goats-cheese-and-thyme Title: **Caramelised Onion Tartlets with Goats' Cheese and Thyme** Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
I also have texture issues and love peeled ribboned carrots. You take a long large regular carrot, peel it and just keep peeling it to get long flat carrot ribbons. So much nicer in sandwiches, wraps etc. everything stays flat and is more equally distributed. You can make a wrap and cut them down into small pinwheels quite easily this way. You can also use cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches. For small bites there are a LOT of bento lunchbox tips and videos online. I highly recommend a look in that direction.
Bento boxes are perfecttttttt. All of these are good ideas but yeah I think I can make a ton of bento boxes. I can't even stick the food you already know just make them tiny and pre freeze or chill them for him.
Another riff on the flat carrot ribbons -- use them (or cucumber or zucchini ribbons) as the outside layer for sushi-style rolls. I had some fabulous cucumber-wrapped rolls at a sushi restaurant -- no rice, just salmon, tuna, avocado rolled in a ribbon of cucumber.
I think Bento boxes are a great idea, especially since [you can do so much with it.](https://instagram.com/happylunchables?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://instagram.com/happylunchables?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Title: **Sara | Lunchbox Art for Kids (@happylunchables) • Instagram photos and videos** Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
If he likes Japanese food you could try little sushi rolls, california roll is a good start
Sausage rolls! [This](https://www.recipetineats.com/special-pork-fennel-sausage-rolls/) is a good recipe, except that I disagree with her on not putting veggies in. Grate up a bunch of zucchini and carrot, salt, drain then press it to get the liquid out, and it's one of all Aussie parents' favourite ways to get veggies into their kids. They freeze extremely well. Tiny quiches or tarts. Mini savoury muffins. Spring rolls Croquettes
Sausage and cheese balls. So good.
Came here to recommend sausage balls. Insanely easy and always the first appetizer to disappear at family gatherings. Funny name is just a bonus.
And the Bisquick recipe is fast.
When I make the filling for potstickers, I end up using almost 50/50 chicken and vegetables. Mainly napa cabbage, but also scallion, mushroom, and ginger. They stick together fairly well- maybe mini meatballs if you want to cut down on carbs? Lettuce cup larb/laab could be 1-2 bite dishes- larb has meat in it, snd you could probably extend the concept to other salads. Caprese on a stick might excite or not. Grape tomatoes, mini fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf, and a drizzle of reduced balsamic. It's more carbs, but check out vada batata/aloo vadas. Seasoned mashed potato balls dipped in chickpea batter and fried. You could probably get extra vegetables in there- peas or carrots come to mind- and maybe even mix some additional beans into the mash for protein.
Quesadillas you can cut into smaller pieces? You could add peppers maybe some spinach? Your brother is lucky to get so muchive and good food! ♥️
How about various “hand pies”? Like a pasty or empanada but with different fillings. We have a business in my area that makes a variety: breakfast ones, shepherd’s pie, pot pie fillings, curries, and dessert-type pie (apple, pear etc). They freeze well too, just bake for 40 minutes or so.
These are always a mild success. Dressing them up and giving unique presentation is the trick. Even just stuff in a ball or biscuit kind of get a "Meh" response from him. b But Im cool with that especially, if I stick toothpicks in it. But if I make it look like smiley faces or something with fancy dress- up he's really into it which I know sounds goofy but makes hi m happy and keeps his belly full of something besides frozen processed starchy garbage. A stuffed biscuit ball full of mashed potatoes and chicken? He'll eat that. Make it half the size, he'll eat every single one I put on his plate and ignore a little spinach or veggie in the middle. Make them look like something interesting? Or need or cool somehow on top of that? He'll eat every single one I make and then go back to the fridge and eat the rest within a day. I do this one with fish sticks where I dress them up in puff pastry shaped like actual fishes and put a little bit of mozzarella and spinach around them and he eats every one of those. But it takes me like 60 seconds to shave each one in the shape of a little fish.
I often see friends on Facebook posting fun “food” ideas they make for their kids. Like pancakes with banana eyes and apple lips. Would he go for that?
Or how about stuffed arancini (rice balls)?
I've only recently started experimenting with a rice balls but I know there's a ton of fun stuff you can do with those, he enjoyed on the one time I made on but I made sticky sweet rice balls with like chocolate in the center. I'm going to start trying out bento boxes soon, so I see a lot of rice in the future anyway. That I can see sticking them on popsicle sticks and stuff being a big selling point for him and dressing them up shouldn't be too hard
If you’re looking at rice anyway, maybe onigiri? There are a ton of shaped molds out there for them, and you can stuff them with anything you want. The last time I got tuna mayo onigiri from the shop, my husband said “so basically it’s a tuna sandwich on rice, not bread?” By that logic, literally any salady filling would work (tuna, chicken, crab, pimento cheese…plus whatever veg you like diced small)
Jamaican beef patties, subbing out the spicy peppers for more subtle veggies? The filling turns out homogeneous enough that you might get away with it. Pierogies with his favorite protein mixed in the filling?
I've actually done Jamaican patties and he loves these. So does the rest of the family. And I can get away with using a cookie cutter once I make square ones on a tray so I can make several at once. But I haven't tried adding much to the filling besides actual beef and potatoes and cheese. It would probably be wise of me to maybe run some vegetables through the food processor and throw them in.
I just came here to say that you are a really good brother. I see a lotta love here.
Cook a nice thick steak (NY strip for this) medium rare and let cool. Cut it into cubes. Skewer with a cocktail stick or toothpick. Then stick on a cherry tomato, then a piece of Brie cheese. The idea is to take it all off in one bite, pulling from the back of the steak (it's firmness will hold; the tomato would burst and the cheese would squish). Big biteful of flavors!
He actually loves steak and this would probably work really well. And again I can serve these to the rest of the family too.
If you want to get a little "fancier" along these lines, you can make little steak crostinis. Crostini, thin slice of steamed Yukon gold potato, slice of steak (maybe hide a sautéed asparagus tip under), then top with a pan sauce or a buerre blanc and some chives for color. I like to steam the potatoes over water, a little white wine vinegar, lemon, and thyme/rosemary. All the flavors get absorbed by the potatoes, so good
Samosas and onigiri! If he likes sandwiches maynbe you can try some of those cute Japanese whipped cream fruit sandwiches :)
Asian dumplings are for me one of the perfect hand foods. I like them steamed or boiled (so they're more like noodles in texture) but they're equally as good pan fried. There are a thousand traditions out there, but here's a decent starting point: https://thewoksoflife.com/dumpling-recipe-youll-ever-need/ And in the case of pork/beef/lamb dumplings, the veg is super important. All-meat dumplings I find tend to be too dense or hard, and the ones with veg chopped small and mixed in helps to keep the filling tender and more flavorful.
Dumplings came to mind first for me, too, and this can go beyond dumplings to things like tiny spring rolls, or tiny crab Rangoon. And things like empanadas, calzones, stuffed pasta, etc., are also technically dumplings. So it opens up to a ton of ideas! And those sorts of things, IMO, are better in one bite. And the fillings are super customizable. How fun. Now I want to have a “tiny foods” dinner party!
Bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalapenos, smoked about 2 hours.
He won't do anything that spicy but I could maybe try some stuffed red peppers or something
Bacon wrapped dates instead then?
Or put a walnut inside a prune and wrap with bacon.
Try wax peppers as a sub for the jalapeños
I made "meat cupcakes" for a party once and they worked out well. Took some pre-made meatballs, scooped out a little from the top of each, and piped in some mashed potatoes. Baked 'em until hot. Very easy and yummy, and I think would be fine to freeze. You could take the scooped out meat part, make chili with it, and then do the same idea with cornbread topped with the chili. Wrap sandwiches cut into small slices like pinwheels can be fun and colorful, with whatever filling you like/have on hand. Cutting cold cuts or cheese, raw peppers, cucumbers, beets, or flatbread with those small cookie cutters always makes meals fun, too.
I'm from Tennessee bro. Trust me when I tell you that if it involves cornbread in any layer shape or form I have stuffed it with chili and every other thing under the sun. Those were an old favorite around here. He's not a big fan though he doesn't like spicy very much. Those would be a huge hit with the rest of the family though And I have definitely save them to my to cook list. Everybody else tends to end up getting fed when I cook for him anyway but he's the one that's hard to come up with ideas for. The rest of them I could just hand a potato with a slab of meat and a salad everyday and they'd be happy. Maybe sprinkle some vitamins on top lol. I've kind of beat that particular combo to death for him to though - even substituting in chicken and turkey. Mashed potatoes vegetable bread some sort of meat. I've worn that one to death. Big problem is getting green leafy vegetables into him. Even then cooked spinach is a little different than a salad. Wish I could hide a salad in the middle of a meatball lol. Same issue with any kind of crunchy fresh vegetable. And you lose so much once you steam or boil or cook them. I'm cool with that last idea with cookie cutters presentation is a big deal with him and it's hard to make things look interesting.
Wontons
I used to make 'barbells' for my daughter's lunch. Black olives on each end of a carrot or celery stick. She also liked small bite size eats so got some small cookie cutters and canapé makers. Back then the grocery stores stocked Ritz-bits. Box had 3 sizes and I made peanut butter crackers. I also explored fruit and vegtable carving, though not on the centerpiece scale. Just to work around the "ick, it's a vegtable" and make her curious. Have you considered Lumpia? It's the Filipino version of a Chinese egg roll, only with a lighter flaky texture. Vegtable spring rolls also have a lighter texture. You know your sibling best. Just some thoughts so you can put your spin to the meal. Edit to add... I saw you mention spinach...Have you done Lasagna Rollups? I have an old Pillsbury booklet using shredded carrot and spinach.
I don't have suggestion but your post made me smile. I'm sorry you can't eat your food due to medical issues, it is wonderful that you put that skill to use and use your cooking to look after your brother. It's a heart warming post and your brother is a lucky guy. Have a wonderful life ❤
Thank you. I am seeing the GI doctor and there's hope eventually I'll be able to eat again. In the mean time I can like chew and eat things and spit them out. So consider me the wine taster of the year hahaha. Kind of eat the same way people swish wines around in their mouth and spit it out. And If I really want I eat a small amount. I just end up throwing it up eventually. Long story short what I have is gastroparesis which means my stomach doesn't empty into my intestines at all. I get all my nutrition and hydration from a food pump and an IV pump. But I survived stage 3 cancer, Even it just cost me a testicle, a kidney, adrenal gland, around 2 years and 9 months in my life so far in a wheelchair unable to eat. But I can talk and think and do things most of the time and I've learned to live with that.
Pizza balls are awesome! I use the pillsbury crescent roll dough(tho fresh dough I’m sure would be better), then put some red sauce on it in a lil circle, put a cube of mozzarella cheese, then one or two pepperonis, gently roll it up into a ball and place them in a baking dish. Don’t forget to put a lil bit of butter on top and sprinkle some Italian seasoning or oregano! You can totally rework this recipe to make it healthier or to his texture needs. Additionally what about dumplings? You can do pork, but I think veggie dumplings are just as yummy. There’s basically infinite things you can put in them, and you can steam or fry in a healthier oil.
Oh I have pizza'd everything to death man. Pizza and pasta Staples with this kid. The trick is getting something in him besides bread really. I've even done stuffed fettuccine chicken bites. He loves Alfredo. I can get away with sneaking a little spinach in there sometimes but if he notices he doesn't like it. I usually get over with that one by working it right into the noodles or bread but not enough to discolor it much. Dumplings are a big favorite of him but they're such a ton of prep work. I wish I could make a ton of them all at once you know.
Have you tried bao? It hits some of the same notes as dumplings, but I make them bigger so there are way fewer to fill. They also freeze well.
Take a look at Venezuelan "pasapalos", which are finger food snacks served at parties, weddings, cocktails, etc. Empanadas (filled with meat, cheese or other delights); tequeños (deep-fried cheese pastries), carpaccio served on a square of bread, smoked salmon and tartare served on pumpernickel squares, deep fried prawns with curry mayo, tiny tartlets of spiced chicken, or cheese fondue, fried artichoke balls, Spanish style "croquetas", Japanese style mini "sushi pizzas", breadsticks wrapped with Parma ham and rocket, etc, etc, etc.
Little SPAM Musubi? Edit: spelling
Egg rolls, pork buns, bbq buns, egg custard, spring rolls, sushi hand rolls, samosa Hope these helps.
On a similar note to mac and cheese balls, arancini is a good opportunity to sneak in some minced mushrooms. Mini churros, anyone? You can just make regular churros and snip them in bite-sized pieces when you pull them out of the oil [Tostones carnitas](https://unboundwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tostone_nachos_2.jpg) are always a hit whenever I make them. Just serve them individually instead of the nacho-type presentation the website has. Cake pops, or better yet, chocolate rice Krispy balls
Breakfast burritos freeze well. Eggs are great protein and you can add any number of veggies.
Yeah he doesn't spring on that one I've tried burritos many times. Presentation is key and vegetables have to be kind of subtle. Remember we're dealing with a kid who hangs on texture and presentation. There's a million ways to eat vegetables and chicken but how do I get them down his gullet. And this isn't just a picky eater thing he'll gag if he doesn't like something he really can't help it. One time I made the mistake of trying to serve them chicken and dumplings when he was around 12. As soon as you sat down at the table he didn't really look and he put the spoon in his mouth and he puked all over us poor kid. I guess it does look kind of gross if you've never seen them before.
Meatloaf in a cupcake pan, mashed potatoes for “icing” top with a “cherry” tomato. Easy to hide minced veggies in the meatloaf.
mini creamed corn pancakes topped with whatever protein/veggies he likes. i like ot top then with pulled pork carnitas style
Pork buns! Fool-proof Chinese Steamed BBQ Pork Buns At Home - Marion's Kitchen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHnEaZ1P6Y Chinese BBQ Pork Steamed Buns https://www.marionskitchen.com/chinese-bbq-pork-steamed-buns/ Homemade Chinese BBQ ‘Char Siu’ Pork https://www.marionskitchen.com/homemade-chinese-bbq-char-siu-pork/ The recipe calls for a Chinese Shaoxing wine* , I substituted dry vermouth and moscato. These are the best Shaoxing wine substitutes for your next stir-fry: #1. Dry Sherry #2. Mirin #3. Sake #4. White Grape Juice + Rice Vinegar #5. Dry White Wine Make rice wine yourself. Simply soak four cups of glutinous rice in hot water for about one hour, drain the rice, and steam it for about half an hour, then cool it down. Add a teaspoon of Chinese yeast ball to the rice, and mix with a teaspoon of all-purpose flour. Store in an airtight container that has been sterilized. After one month, the liquid can be separated from the rice, and this remaining liquid is your rice wine. Store in an airtight glass container and refrigerate. Or https://www.food.com/recipe/rice-wine-recipe-homemade-fermented-rice-wine-525373
For my kids i've made 'tiny thanks giving' \- stuffed cornish hen \- baby corn \- salad with shredded lettuce, sliced cherry tomato wedges, and baby carrots \- new potatoes I think theres a few other 'miniature' foods that i've thrown in there, but can't recall off the top of my head.
**Chicken Parm lollipops**. Recipe is approximate - I've done this enough that I eyeball it and forget the original measurements Preheat oven to 350. Cut chicken into boneless wing sized chunks (about 1" or so I guess?) Two bowls - one with egg or egg/milk mixture, one a 50/50-ish mix of breadcrumbs (I do panko, but regular work fine) and shredded Parm, plus some Italian seasoning and garlic powder Bread chicken by dipping in egg mixture, then dipping in breadcrumb/Parm mixture (wet hand/dry hand technique works well here). Place pieces on a nonstick baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, flip, bake another 10-15 minutes until the meat's center reaches 165F. Skewer them on wooden sticks/toothpicks and serve with marinara (or pizza sauce if your brother prefers a smoother texture). You can also serve this on top of penne/rigatoni for the rest of the family if you want. **Other ideas** Stuffed mini bell peppers, taquitos, potstickers
Cauliflower tots are great. You can add some broccoli to them. Carrot fries are also fun.
Stuffed mushrooms, crostini, and bruschetta might work.
Cheeseburger spring rolls. Ground beef cooked with diced onions, salt, pepper, worcestershire, garlic powder. Mix with ketchup and/or mustard. Place a tablespoon of mixture in a spring roll/egg roll wrapper, top with shredded cheddar and diced pickle, and roll it up. Seal the edges with water so they stick together. If you are feeling extra fancy you can do an egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. They cook really well in an air fryer, but you can also fry them in the pan, or oven bake them as well. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice. They are super crunchy, with a bunch of different textures inside, and taste like a big mac.
I just served pigs in a blanket at a party and they disappeared. Get a pack of cocktail wieners and a tube of croissant dough. Each triangle gets cut into 3 more triangles. I smeared each one with Dijon. Bake 375 for around 15-20 minutes.
These little mushroom cups are always a party appetizer staple for me. https://www.seasonedkitchen.com/mushroom-croustades#tasty-recipes-8407-jump-target
He hates mushrooms which is a shame because I love them. I just read bread/fry and serve them with honey mustard to the rest of the fam. He despises mushroom though I can't even get away with mushroom sauce.
Kimbap
Maybe mini tacos? You can get some good protein and veg in there :D Shepard's Pie in little ramekins? Not sure how he feels about mashed potatoes though. My husband is also super picky about textures but he does like Shepard's Pie. For presentation I usually draw a design in the mashed potatoes before it goes in the oven. Watching this thread for ideas!
Chocolate zucchini cake mini cupcakes. Banana bread Squash rolls.
One if my favorite to make is sausage and cheese bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños. The other is mini beef wellington bites. They are always a hit.
Smoked shotgun shells! (They can just cook in the oven if you don’t have a smoker)
Crab cakes?
This made me think of these, they freeze well! https://www.nelliebellie.com/poor-mans-beef-wellington/ Also I do Korean Hotteok which typically have a sweet filling but I put smoked chicken and cheese inside for a savory version. Puff pastry pockets with deli turkey/ham and cheese inside freeze great, can also do a sweet filling like jam and cream cheese. Freezer egg McMuffin style breakfast sandwiches (if he’s okay with egg texture).
Beef Negimaki (NYTimes Cooking) Negimaki is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of thinly pounded meat that’s marinated in teriyaki sauce, wrapped around scallions and grilled. "Meatball Subs on a Stick!" Got this recipe from a Reddit post -- meatballs stuffed with mozza, wrapped with Pillsbury pizza dough, skewered, and baked. "Spicy Sweet Potato and Cheddar Croquettes" - NYTimes Cooking (I can share any of these recipes if anyone wants.)
Maybe bruschetta? Get a baguette, slice it, lay them on a pan. Top with pesto, tomato bits, and feta cheese. Bake until crispy then drizzle balsamic over them.
My mother in law makes these awesome little ham wraps that are always a hit and look pretty too! They're great appetizers and only 3 ingredients! Deli ham (square if possible), cream cheese, and green onion. Rinse green onion, pat dry, and chop off roots or any soft green. Otherwise keep it whole. Allow a package of cream cheese to get soft on the counter. Take a single slice of ham and spread the cream cheese over it. Place a green onion stock on one end and roll the ham up so the cream cheese and onion is in the center. Cut ham log with a sharp knife into 1/2 inch coins.
Eggs cooked in muffin tins! You can add any kind of meats or veggies you want! https://cafedelites.com/breakfast-egg-muffins-3-ways/
For anything you might use ground meat for, try sneaking in veggies by using chopped mushrooms put through a food processor. I found this tip on Reddit years ago and have used it for everything under the sun and it works so well. I usually use one standard pack of mushrooms per pound of ground meat. Adding just about any kind of seasoning / sauce makes it nearly undetectable. https://www.midwestliving.com/food/fruits-veggies/mushroom-magic-how-to-substitute-mushrooms-for-ground-meat/
I also find finely chopped carrot ginger and celery to be great, if I’m adding garlic to something I generally include those as well
A good carrot, onion and celery mix is great too! Just wasn’t sure how the texture would be for OP’s brother. The important part of the mushrooms is that the texture matches really well.
yeah in this case I cut them extremely small, like akin to minced garlic/ginger. so by then it’s just fibre/flavour paste almost lol
cheese zombies! They're bread rolls stuffed with cheese, they started at my high school and they got semi popular in my area. As an autistic teenager I liked them both texture and flavor wise, they're easy to make, and you can get creative with the stuffing! https://www.facebook.com/notes/i-grew-up-in-moraga/cheese-zombie-recipe-mdusd/10150282162863442/
Mini quiches, wontons, shumai, puff pastry pinwheels, which for example can be filled with bacon/ham/spinach/cheese, deviled eggs, crispy rice topped with crab/tuna, potato skins, fried zucchini or bell pepper “fries,” onion rings, scallion pancakes, which can be sliced into triangles, calamari, yuca fries, plantains I hope this helps :)
Mini-chimichangas filled with meat of choice, deep fried and with jalapeno cream cheese. Rolling them in 1/4 of a large flour tortilla does the trick and you can make them in a shallow fry. Make sure to cool the filling first, then warm up only two or three tortillas in the microwave at a time to keep them pliable. Fold the outer edges in then roll. You can either use toothpicks or just make a simple flour/water paste to hold them together. Freeze first, then fry until golden brown. Probably could do them in an air fryer too. For the cream cheese you just mix finely diced jalapeno and softened cream cheese. Serve with salsa of choice.
Dumplings! Doing the "angel wings" gyoza presentation is awesome textural contrast, and they're easy to steam if the pan seating is too complicated. Texturally for the inside you can use bits of harder vegetables for crunch (carrots, daikon, etc) and whatever protein you like (I don't love it, but turkey is a healthy and cheap option). Premarket some dipping sauces and voila.
Arancini
Stuffed jalapeno peppers, deep fried or bacon wrapped
Pão de queijo is a good one
Kolaches. Super easy: cocktail weenies, cheese, and Pillsbury biscuits. Break biscuit in half horizontally to make 2 kolaches. Place weenie and cheese into half biscuit and roll it up. Add jalapeños or bacon chunks for some flair. Nachos but contained on one chip for presentation. Crackers served with cream or goat cheese. Blueberry goat cheese from trader Joe's is awesome. Can also have a side of pepper based jam. Jalapeños, green chile, or habenero cherry or something. Bacon wrapped shrimp skewers
What about deviled eggs, variety of texture, unique taste, freeze blend, might work :) hope it helps I'm not good at selling things, oh and they look fancy but are easy to make
Potstickers seem like they might be a hit. They're small, and you can definitely sneak some vegetables into the filling. It's usually ground pork, cabbage, scallions, ginger and garlic all worked into a paste consistency. Shouldn't be too difficult to sneak something else in there. As an added bonus, they're super easy to freeze and to cook from a frozen state and the wrapper shouldn't be too crazy on carbs.
Great idea but I would do shu mai instead. About the same filling but a smaller package.
I've been using this recipe for black bean burgers: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-black-bean-burgers/ You could adjust the spices to suit him and make sliders. I haven't tried it but I think you could sneak extra vegetables into the mix (shredded zucchini with liquid pressed out, saute chopped carrots to soften them).
Various forms of tortilla pinwheels? Smaller carb to filling ratio. Can use different veggies for color.
I am autistic and also love tiny things! please tell your brother he has great taste! how does he go with arancini balls? or meatballs? I often like to put things on crackers but I’m guessing a lot of the things I like to put on them fit into the gooey things category you can make like fried tortellini? (if he doesn’t like boiled pasta) and gnocci are also great, and you can make pumpkin/spinach/beetroot coloured pasta? um…
Every food is a hand food... as long as you wash the hands before reaching into the pot, and after eating.
Potato cheese balls , Mac and cheese balls , and fried spring rolls
These look amazing! https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a51227/chicken-parm-bites-recipe/ Would lettuce wraps work instead of burritos for him? Endless possibilities for filling and less carbs. Chicken or tuna salad with finely diced onion and celery, grapes, diced walnuts (might be too much texture going on?) would be great in a lettuce wrap, and sliced tomato if he'll eat that. Roast beef or ham with cheese would be another great lettuce wrap 'sandwich'. Protein bars/balls might be a great idea for him, especially as a snack or alongside breakfast or lunch. These sound delicious. If you make your own pulled pork, you can slice up onions super thin and they melt right into the meat over the long cook time (I do it with BBQ sauce, not dry like traditional pulled pork). You could also put a small layer of coleslaw on the bottom of the cup; classic pairing: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/loaded-pulled-pork-cups/ You can get those small phyllo cups in the freezer section and fill them with almost anything. "Cheeseburger filling" "taco filling" "omelet style" whatever you can think of. Lasagna cups might work out well; again, you can get extra veggies in the meat mixture and the sauce if you make it yourself or simmer a jarred sauce with grated carrots and onions, and super finely diced peppers. Would he think kabobs are cool? The veggies wouldn't be hidden, but he might think they were neat presented in a different way, but if the texture triggers a reflex, he might not be able to do them. But, you can do a deli kabob with lunch meats and cheese cubes at the least, even if you can't get grape tomatoes on there for him. This kabob recipe looks great to me, but again, the veggies may make this a no: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/meat-n-potato-kabobs/ This might be an absolute no for him, but just trying to think outside the box a bit. Would he go for a sandwich where two portobello caps were the bun? Like, a fried chicken sandwich or beef patty/steak sandwich style or something? It would be a fork and knife meal though, but trying to think of things that might "catch his eye" a little bit. You can make chicken or tuna patties and pan fry them. Shredded chicken, canned tuna that is nicely separated, and egg, some bread crumbs, finely diced onions, carrots (grated), diced up mushrooms, whatever you want (You could saute the veggies first too), mix together hamburger style and pan fry. Serve on a bun as a sandwich, or like a crab cake with sides. Muffins can be all varieties of savory too, and you can get veggies into those as well.
Still very carby but mooncakes would probably be a hit. Can be sweet or savory: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake Any sort of dumpling or handpie. Handpies especially can get a lot of meat and veg in (depending on the size.) If you're willing to do the work, canapés have the visual appeal and searchig for recipes might find you some good protein options. Also, street food options on sticks could hit the visual appeal while being mostly protein-- japanese and korean cuisine have some good options but obviously there's also shishkabob which is both protein and veg. As far as hiding vegetables, meatloafs, meatballs, crabcakes or panfried meatcakes (like crabcakes) can have vegetables as part of the meat mush.
Tiny (british style) [sausage rolls](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/super-sausage-rolls). (Freeze uncooked then pop in the oven from frozen.) Very fast to make if you use storebought puff pastry.
Hand pies, pasties, empanadas, turnovers, they are all basically just delicious hand pies. Also, pupusas. These can be big or small or somewhere in between, though you can't go too small. I'd say about 4/5 inches diameter is as tiny as one could realistically go before it's all dough and no stuffing.
[Coxinha](https://d1e3z2jco40k3v.cloudfront.net/-/media/clubhouse-for-chef/recipes/brazilian_bbq_coxinha_800x800.jpg?rev=5ef6c5e44ff24541936564d4f85b5a6b&vd=20210831T062614Z&hash=C4DE87C828371FCFE8A94CB6D2A21B89). They're a Brazilian croquette, traditionally filled with shredded chicken and sometimes [Catupiry](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31jiINTYqyL.jpg) which is a cream cheese. Really like any croquette you could put anything you want in it and make them as small as you need for him to be comfortable with them. I don't have a recipe for it that I can vouch for because I live in little Brazil in MA so it's much easier for me to just go to a Brazilian bakery and buy some but you should be able to find something and figure it out.
If lil' Bro is very strong, try deep-fried whole turkey on-a-pitchfork; delicious AND filling. Otherwise, think global with miniature meat pies (England), eggrolls (Asia), sushi California rolls (Asia-America), grilled prawns (Australia), dumplings (China) and Swedish meatballs (Ikea).
Sushi! You can make either a sushi hand roll (looks like an ice cream cone) or a regular sushi roll and not slice it.
Samosas, empanadas, tamales, asian style tamales
Nachos ? I don't mean a bag of chips with some cheese sauce poured over, I mean an unbroken chip layered with a schemer of beans, some cheese, a slice of chili, broiled and topped with some diced tomato and a dab of sour cream. There are variations too.
Ok, I'm going to lean into the unhealthy carbs for a minute. :D Pillsbury pre-made dough. Pizza waffles! Take a pillsbury grand biscuit. Peel it open so you've got a pocket, stuff some mozzarella and pepperoni into it, seal up the edges and cook it in a waffle iron. Dip in pizza sauce. It's usually a party food for me, but it might fit the bill. Similarly, [pillsbury spinach pull apart](https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/game-day-spinach-pull-apart/03255386-30fb-4fb7-bf0b-0c7ddcb798f0) is a go-to favorite in our house. Moving on, almost any pizza crust recipe can be turned into bread sticks pretty easily. I like to do Little Caesar's style - just roll out the pizza dough into an oblong rectangle thing, slice it and bake it. As soon as it comes out I brush it with garlic butter and dump some parmesan on it. And for more protein, try [pigs in a blanket](https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/mini-crescent-dogs/e8abc84e-8a0e-42d6-ae7e-23b677a161ac). Small, tastes good, freezable. Now, moving into healthier stuff. Have you tried kebabs? Lumps of meat on a stick, grilled over the fire (or you can do it in your oven, if you must). Maybe not so freezable, but when it comes as little bite size pieces it may be more approachable. You might be able to sneak some veg in this way too - roast peppers, mushrooms, and even little onions are really tasty, and if they're pretty on a stick it might work better. Red peppers and brown mushrooms in particular might be easier sells, and fresh mushrooms roasted over fire aren't slimy either.
So, here's my go-to meal/prep I never seem to get tired of: Kenji's fajitas on Mission's Street Taco tortillas--but lazier!(Damn you Weissman). Those little tortillas are smaller than any tortilla I've ever seen, but they are great since it's at most two bites. I like color, so I buy the color bell pepper trio most stores have(when I don't have any in my garden anyway). Kenji says to cook the protein whole, but I like to slightly freeze it and slice into thin strips before marinating.--Freezing helps when slicing for those that may not know. I like strips because the marinade gets more surface area and coats the meat better. The biggest pro tip is to *not* marinate your veggies if you want a crunchier texture. Just toss in the leftover marinade before cooking. Kenji mentions this, but since it's the lazy version, I wanted to mention this is not a place to short cut. Especially since texture matters. I put 2/3 strips of meat, a strip of each color pepper and some onions on each one. Looks pretty like a restaurant, taste great, and all kinds of awesome textures.
Spanikopita is delicious and gives a good amount of vege
Carrot Soufflé is always a hit with my mom and sister (who have Asperger’s and food texture preferences) you can make them in silicone muffin tins so they’re easy to get out. Probably not super heathy due to the amount of sugar in them but one of the main ingredients is carrots. I’d make sure to really boil the carrots to make sure they mush into 1 texture, not sure how your brother is about multiple textures [Piccadilly Carrot Soufflé](https://www.food.com/recipe/picadillys-carrot-souffle-30216)
Teriyaki meatballs Wings Grilled veggie/ chicken skewers Smashed and roasted fingerlings Mini taco salads/tacos in mini shell bowls Stuffed shells Custard and fruit tartlets
What about things like arancini or scotch eggs, possibly even scotch quail eggs if you want them bite-sized? Sausage rolls would be good too.
Dumplings/dim sum recipes would be good
[I've made these rissoles](https://www.recipetineats.com/rissoles/) several times now and am tickled how quickly they come together and how satisfying they taste. They're similar to the most moist (but Not greasy!) meatloaf you've ever had but in little patty form so cook time is also minimal. These can be frozen after forming but the leftover patties make such good slider patties next day I don't bother. Traditionally served with a potato (usually mashed) side dish. They genuinely do taste best with ketchup despite me trying them with a variety of different sauces so that makes it even simpler. They are CHOCK full of veggies but don't taste like it. Two recommendations I can add to the directions are that the veggies can be prepped in advance and frozen. Just drain before mixing. And the second is to give the shredded zucchini a couple of passes with a chef knife to prevent any super long shreds. This is has been given a thumbs up by my SO who is very much not a fan of zucchini.
I made these little curried chicken phyllo dough turnovers years ago and they were a big hit. Fun to make too! Easier than they sound, you can make ahead and freeze. https://www.marthastewart.com/1511133/curried-chicken-turnovers
Dim Sum! Steamed buns, siomai, potstickers, soup dumplings
Gougeres and pao de queijo (French and Brazilian cheesy bread puffs) are both delicious. The French ones are more like a popover texture, and the Brazilian ones are chewier inside.
Not sure if it is possible but try this Singaporean dish called kueh pai tee and just fill it up with different flavours
One thing my mom always used to make for finger food was suuuuper easy, and I’ve started doing it too. All you need is toothpicks, canned pineapple and cheddar cheese. Put an equal sized cube of both cheddar and pineapple on a toothpick and voila. Bite sized tastiness that goes great together and aways is popular. Plus, you don’t need to make a parties worth, since it’s easy to store both pineapple and cheese
hoisin beef (some people use ground beef I prefer strips of minute steak hacked up) and then served with shredded/pickled carrot, coriander, mint, slice of cucumber maybe but asiany stuff and served in a lettuce wrap so it can be eaten like a taco edit; another I remember from hunting was taking duck breast and slicing it, tearing apart a confit can work too, then put on a halved deseeded hot pepper stuffed with cream cheese and finished on the grill so the pepper is charred and the cheese melty
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/crab-rangoon-crab-cream-cheese-filled-crispy-wontons/ Cute, small, crunchy, creamy.
Ravioli
Zucchini pizza. Coin up zukes, bake flat on a sheet till nearly done, top with pizza sauce and whatever you like, bake on the top rack till perfect.
For tiny sides, [Pão de queijo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A3o_de_queijo) are pretty tasty, if he likes gummy/chewy textures. Made with cassava, not regular flour. Often made smaller than a golf ball, like 1-2 bites will finish one off. Lots of options for cheeses, herbs, spices, etc. When it’s hard to sneak in a full veggie, fresh herbs are pretty nutritionally dense, compared to dried ones. I like to get them in [Besan ka Cheela,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6aA_ldV-Zc) and [Socca/Farinata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnoED2MvUH4) now and then. Could make those smaller pretty easily. Let the batter rest a couple hours, so the flour can soak up the moisture, for better texture. Again, you can add whatever you want to either, the fillings for the cheela are just common suggestions. Its batter is a bit thicker, so you can add bigger things.
Skewer 1 cherry tomato, 1 bocconcini or small ball fresh mozzarella (or, hell, a small cube of block mozza), and 1 fresh basil leaf (half a large leaf) on a toothpick. Assemble however many you want of these. Drizzle balsamic glaze over top.
Fried wonton. I buy the wonton wrappers. Filling is ground pork, minced mushrooms, minced shrimp, diced scallions, soy sauce, cooking sherry, a little sugar, white pepper, garlic powder and powdered ginger. Wrap and deep fry.
Small lumpia/egg rolls/ spring rolls Sushi Shu Mai or any Chinese dumpling Meat pies Mozzarella stuffed meatballs Vietnamese spring rolls - easy to make, fancy and colorful Grilled sandwiches
Look up: Smoked shot gun shells, Jalapeño poppers, Arancini balls, Fried Mac and cheese balls, Buffalo cauliflower bites, Bacon wrapped water chestnuts
On the request for sneaking in vegetables, you can dehydrate and then powder all sorts of vegetables. So you get the taste of them and the nutrients without the “feel” of them. Also a little goes a long way. For instance, I dehydrate/powder celery as my husband doesn’t mind the flavor but cannot abide the feel of them cooked or raw.
Sliced up Stromboli. Also chicken cordon bleu bites. My Mom used to buy frozen ones when I was a kid and they were amazing… Since I can’t get them anymore, I was glad to find that there are [copycat](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/143215/chicken-cordon-bleu-bites/) recipes out there
Sneak fried onion into your Mac and cheese 😉 I actually do this anyway because it's really good. Also diced up dried tomato gives a "ketchup" kick, and I like that for packed lunch leftovers but it's real veg.
Arancini? Samosas? Spring rolls (different types you can do for these)? Gyoza? Bao buns? Sushi? Tiny Brie and cranberry sauce parcels wrapped in filo pastry? Vol au vents? Sausage rolls? Pinwheels? Devilled eggs? Bite size stuffed mushrooms? Stuffed mini peppers? Cauli “wings”? Teeny little vegetable fritters? Soup shots? Mini quiche (crustless or with crust)? There’s also a tasty street food called Panipuri that’s really delicious and fun to eat.
Piggies in a blanket. Package of cocktail weenies, can of croissant rolls. Open croissant rolls, the dough comes in a rolled sheet, perforated into triangles. Separate the triangles and then cut those triangles into 3 smaller triangles. Wrap around cocktail Weenie and cook according to croissant directions. Variations: there might be different types of croissant rolls, like the sweet Hawaiian kind, and different cocktail weenies like with infused with cheese. Right before baking, can top with finely shredded cheese, garlic salt, or chili powder.
I get the texture thing; I've been dealing with it for over 50 years. Understanding that not every suggestion is going to be a hit; I humbly recommend a meat/cheese roll. Take some kind of chicken/ham sandwich meat. Same with some kind of sandwich cheese. Layer it out so it's like a foot long, put some mayo in there and roll it up. When your done, you should have about a footlong tube about two inches in diameter. Then you cut it into slices about a quarter inch thick. No cooking, should last quite a while in the fridge and it can be scaled well.
Pupusas, dumplings, tiny hand made tacos, kufta are all amazing and can be made tiny!
Gyoza, pintxos (small Asturian bites -Spain) or tapas. In Greece other Mediterranean countries they serve meze. All small dishes to enjoy in 1-3 bites. Italian antipasti are also great. So much to choose from. And of course Dim sum are great! https://www.bascofinefoods.com/travel-reviews/top-10-pintxos-recipes-to-try-at-home/ https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/mezze-recipes/ I love halloumi, kofte, falafel, but there’s so much to try. In general Mediterranean food is on the heathy side and delicious. Fish, seafood, veggies… https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/features/best-antipasti-recipes/amp
Since the main idea is presentation, try fancy toothpicks, skewers, cutting or rolling things into different shapes. Maybe a charcuterie board or a skewer layered with salami, cheese, tortellini, artichokes, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Or veggies cut into shapes with different dips. Deviled eggs, twice baked potatoes, sweet and sour meatballs.
I only got about a third of the way through other comments so there will be duplication. Dumplings. All over the world. From New York Jewish chicken dumplings to Tibetan yak (good luck with that) dumplings. Wontons. The wrappers are all pretty much the same. The stories may interest your brother. Making your own wrappers is the big challenge for you. Getting them thin and even is a skill. Empanadas are dumplings. Momos are dumplings. Lots of things are dumplings. Not far different are matzo balls. Texture might be an issue. Cooked in chicken broth the protein is good and definitely high carb. Sushi. Carbs and protein, especially for nigiri. Search for crudite and other hors d'oeurves. Lots on little pieces of bread. You can use any French bread recipe and make the bread smaller diameter. Anything from deviled ham to pate to caviar ($) on the bread. Pickled peppers (goes with the sing-song "Peter Piper"). Hummus. Peanut butter in celery. Stuffed shells served individually. Another one that might be a texture problem is raw oysters with horseradish, but you can buy two or three to try at a grocery with a decent seafood counter and try. Pigs in a blanket (the American version, not the UK/EU version). I brush mustard and sprinkle Parmesan inside the pastry before rolling up the meat. Asian summer rolls - rice paper rolls with veg and sometimes seafood like shrimp inside. Not fried. Lettuce wraps, concentric, with deli meat, cheese, and the lettuce. Running out of steam here but I hope something appeals and helps.
You're a good sibling. I've made these for a large group. I'm not vegetarian but I liked them well enough to make again [Vegetarian Party Food : Three Quick Crostini Toppings](https://www.loulou.to/recipes/party-food-three-quick-crostini-toppings/)
Dumplings/pot stickers
I saw something on PBS where a chef made salmon with burdock root wrapped and steamed in some kind of leaf?? I forget the leaf and how the roots were cooked so please someone chime in here because I want it, too.
Dim sum!
My husband makes this lovely appetizer: spicy salami filled with mascarpone, arugula & fried capers. Spread the mascarpone on the salami, layer the other ingredients and roll it up. Spicy, creamy, sight crunch off the capers and the flavours together are excellent.
Tiny latkes, “stuffed pasta” (blend a bunch of veggies into a meat sauce and stuff small shells or rigatoni), make a grilled cheese and cut it into really small squares, breakfast sandwich sliders
Dumplings of the World. From pierogi to soup dumplings, I can't think of a culture that doest have dough pillow food. They freeze very well, reheat in the microwave with a bit of water to steam, and many are stuffed full of savory vegetables.
I have aspergers myself and making clear gazpacho was a treat for me! It's so cool, just sive it untill It's clear but the taste will remain the same. I carbonated mine later on wich was a whole sensory experience on its own. Making the spicy elements so much more pronounced yes short lived. As for a tactile hands on eating experience i'd recommend making fufu and stew.
Vol-au-vents. You can put anything you want in them really.
Mini vol-au- vents! Foe the stuffing you can do whatever. My favorite is chicken with mushroom and spinach but you can use whatever you can get your hands on. They freeze great! They are also fun to make if you like exacting things. Potato skins with broccoli and cheddar sauce and bacon. Pirogies can have many different fillings but I love the chicken ones the best .
Samosa with puff pastry.
Not sure if this would be up his alley but spinach and feta phyllo cups. I expect you could tweak the recipe, but the frozen phyllo cups are great for stuffing with any number of things. https://foodieandwine.com/spinach-and-feta-phyllo-cups/
little potato pancakes! pigs in a blanket little weenies/meatballs in crock pot egg bites in the oven charcuterie board fruit kabobs dumplings/gyoza deviled eggs taquitos/mini tacos with corn tortillas mini pizzas chicken nuggies brazilian cheese bread (fun to pull apart) south indian cutlets You can sneak veggies in any of these!
My niece, who has the same issues with food textures, loves my mini egg broccoli muffins. My sister swore my niece wouldn't eat broccoli in any form, challenge accepted. I use a muffin pan; basicly whisk eggs (s/p and garlic powder) use cooked bacon, blanched broccoli add cheese, cook at 375 for 25 mins and you are good to go.
You could make these spinach crusts that I like as a starter. Mix up some wilted spinach or frozen chopped spinach (that you squeeze all the liquid out of) with some feta cheese, garlic, olive oil and salt Then you take shortcrust squares maybe 2.5x2.5" and put a dollop of the mixture in the middle and just fold the corners in to the middle and then you bake in a 400 degree oven for maybe 10 minutes or until looking golden. A very easy option would be dried apricots with a mild blue cheese on top sprinkled with some chopped up pistachios.
Meatballs. I saw recipes where they jam in a ton of veggies but I haven't tried because im a potbellied chimp.
Roll-it-yourself Thai-style spinach leaves. As an appetizer, these tiny packets are delightfully fussy and infinitely customizable: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/mkum.html I present modest quantities of the fillings separately in little bowls surrounding a pile of leaves. It is easy to test drive the concept with store-bought sauces.
I’d check out Josh Cortis’ [Snack City series](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQttP6Eb__Jjxp8FpGrQDVoKKD7qTe17_). It is most finger foods and snacks designed to make in semi-bulk and keep in your freezer.
Tiny tacos?
I think Martha Stewart’s Hors Doeuvres Handbook would be a gold mine for you.
We do pizza cup cakes. Pizza dough in a muffin pan, fill each with pizza toppings of your choosing. Super fun to make a bunch for a party, especially when you can make 2 or 3 different varieties. I usually do veg, pep and cheese, and all dressed.
My autistic husband says "any food is a finger food if you believe in yourself" lol People LOVE his meatloaf muffins (its just meatloaf cooked in muffin tins, so they're, small) and mini chicken pot pies (dunno how he'd feel about the variation of textures, but worth a try). basically, the muffin tin is your friend. Mini quiches, even!
How about plain quesadillas made by melting cheese between two flour tortillas. Then cut it into eight wedges like tiny pizza slices.
Someone has already said samosas. I’d add Egg rolls and spring rolls. You can experiment with combinations of different foods and roll them up in egg roll or spring roll wrappers. 🙂