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Thursday, March 15, 2007

picky people piss me off

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This particular rant runs the danger of preaching to an already-converted choir…. Or perhaps bringing down the wrath of all parents who are reading this (hopefully not mine....) clearly anyone who frequents a food blog already enjoys food, and probably wouldn’t enjoy my blog in particular unless they had a somewhat varied taste.

But picky people piss me off. And picky children piss me off even more. I don’t get it. When I was growing up, my mom made a wide variety of different food (thanks mom!) and didn’t cater all that much to pickiness. I mean, she was kind enough to leave the mayo and butter off my sandwiches, and she didn’t force us to eat liver too often, but when I was a toddler/small kid, we didn’t get to choose what we had for dinner.

Mom made dinner. We ate it, or went hungry. There was no separate meal of chicken fingers, or mac&cheese, or hotdogs. There was a wonderful dinner, prepared by mom, and too freaking bad if you didn’t want to eat it. And we NEVER went hungry. I might have picked the beans, mushrooms and tomatoes out of my chili....but I can assure you I never starved....

All too often, I hear of people decrying the fact that their children will only eat chicken fingers and hotdogs. Let’s back up for a second. In a traditional household….who buys the food? Who controls the food? Who prepares the food? Is it a toddler? Ummm….at last count, no. It’s the parents. I don’t understand why these houses have a constant supply of chicken fingers and hot dogs. The reason these kidlets are eating these culinary transgressions is that the parents are FEEDING IT TO THEM. They have little nutritional value, are chock full of nitrates and yucky things I can’t pronounce. I could be wrong here, but children don’t generally starve themselves. People who are hungry will eat what is available. And it’s only kids in North America who seem to be succumbing to the separate dinner/chicken finger phenomenon. So bottom line, don’t start your kids on crap and they probably won’t end up eating only crap.

People talk about making sure that toddler food is super bland and plain….but what do you think toddlers in India eat? Chicken fingers? What do you think toddlers in Asia eat? Exactly. Children eat what is given to them. If you don’t want them to eat only chicken fingers and hot dogs, it would seem to me that the simple action of not purchasing and hence not offering them would suffice. Will they scream? Maybe. Will they starve? No, because if they truly get hungry, they’ll eat what’s available.

The worst part about picky eaters is that they evolve into picky adults. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t picky, or that I didn’t cause tons of issues for my poor beleaguered mother when it came to food. I WAS picky, bordering on ridiculous. But the reason I’m NO LONGER picky is that my parents persevered, didn’t fall into the crap trap and actually made it so I enjoy nearly anything. Hubs wasn’t exposed to as many different cuisines as I growing up, but he still had parents who insisted he eat what was prepared. So when he and I started dating, and I started exposing him to things like curries, sushi, etc., he was open to trying it and he ended up loving it. Again, he grew up in a chicken-finger-free zone (can I get a sign? A bumper sticker maybe? hahahaha) so he was willing to at least try new things.

New food does not equal scary food.

The result though, is that I have NO patience for people who are picky. It drives me up the wall to try to cater to a myriad of ridiculous requests (I’m cool with things like no fish, or no mushrooms or simple [and common!] requests). But when people pretty much eat only meat, potatoes and one particular vegetable…..they just needn’t bother coming to my house. And even worse is when people are rude about it! It’s one thing to just eat around something you despise (though I still think at someone else’s house you should suck it up and suck it back) but making a big fuss about its mere presence on your plate makes me want to dump said plate over your head and send you on your merry way. Never to be invited back. Especially if you're over the age of three.

I make food with lots of seasonings, lots of different flavours, and I’m always hiding new and fun vegetables inside it. Do I like everything I make? Obviously not. Does hubs act like I'm trying to poison him when I put tofu and eggplant in food? Only sometimes...and less than he used to. ;)

I try all kinds of new things, and not everything is necessarily yummy. But I’ll still try it, and still try to brave my way through the leftovers (note to self: don’t make new recipes that serve 12!) because I made it, it’s food, and it would be a shame to waste it. As with my stinky cheese experience a few weeks ago…I’m not always successful (had to throw that sucker out), but hey, at least I gave it the good ole college try.

So the bottom line on this rant is that I think if a parent has a child who is refusing to eat anything but chicken fingers, mac&cheese and hotdogs….the blame is squarely on the parent. The kid didn’t buy those things, and they’re not the one preparing them either. Children depend on their parents to make the kinds of nutritional choices that they can’t make for themselves. If you hand them carrots with some healthy dip and tell them it’s a snack, odds are they’ll eat it. But if you hand them chips and tell them it’s a snack….they’ll eat that too. It’s up to YOU to make the healthy choice.

So for the love of food, DON’T fall into the crap trap!

*back to your regularly scheduled programming.....chorizo omelette coming up....*

Thanks for reading!

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with your rant. In fact, my parents and I were talking about this the other day...about how my mom also never catered to us, she made dinner and if we didn't like it, she said, okay, don't eat it. But she wouldn't make us something else, she wouldn't force us to eat anything, but we soon discovered it was either go hungry, or eat what she made...so...we ate it!

cheers
Kareen

Mia said...

My mother didn't make us eat liver when we were growing up. That was the only meal that she would cook for her and my father separately. The night that she cooked liver was the night that my brother and I got hamburgers for dinner and we ate dinner earlier than they did. There is still something about the smell of lover that makes me feel sick to my stomach. We were had to at least take 2 bites of something new. And if we got hungry later, we were allowed to make ourselves a PB&J sandwich. I remember my uncle driving my cousin 15 miles to a McDonald's when we were at our great aunt's house because she didn't like the food. It wasn't one of my brother's favorite dinners but he ate what was served.

My SIL claims that her kids are picky but it is really she who is the picky one. Her kids will try just about anything. It is fun to watch her say that they will not eat such and such in their presence and my 12 year nephew flat out tell her that he either likes it or that he hasn't tried it so how can he not like it? My niece isn't that big a fan of black beans but she will still take a small spoonful and eat most of them. It is the parents to blame.

Christy said...

It is funny because I grew up in a home where we ate the blandest, most boring food ever (sorry mom). I couldn't wait to get out on my own and experiment with cooking different foods. My hubby loves the variety we have, and even my sister who still lives at home, will frequent our home for dinner in order to get something different. I refuse to let my little girl become a picky eater!

Anonymous said...

Hey, I just started reading your blog on the advice of another WB'er, and I just wanted to say I'm loving it.

And this rant, you are right on target. My sister went through a crazy phase where she wouldn't eat ANYTHING that wasn't white (of all the nutritional distasters, my Mom must have freaked). But Mom just perservered. She did eat a lot of plain spaghetti and potatoes. But then she got over it.

The picky kids I see, are the ones whose parents ask them what they would like instead if they turn their nose up at something.
Then I have friends who have fed their kiddos curry etc since they were old enough to chew, and those kids are mini-foodies already!

I think some of it comes from not wanting to force-feed. But there's a big difference between causing food issues by forcing a child to eat, and catering to every whim.

Anonymous said...

*Totally* agree. My husband and I were just talking about this recently. Our kids will be fed well and correctly.

When I met my husband, he would only eat pizza, frozen lasagna, and pasta & meat sauce because that's all he ever knew growing up. He was an eat-out-nearly-every-meal person.

Not in my house :) I've slowly exposed him to green stuff that tastes good and different cuisines and he uncovered a love for Italian food that I didn't know I had.

My niece just turned 6 and she's one of *those* eaters. She won't touch a cheese pizza. She'll order a pepperoni pizza and pick the pepperoni off (therefore making it a cheese pizza) but she throws a fit if you order her a slice cheese pizza.

I soooo can't wait 'til school gets out and she comes to stay with me for a week... there's something exciting about the thought of introducing that child to sushi :)
I dream of my niece returning home... "Mom, can we have sushi tonight?" It would throw my sister and her little cowtown into complete shock :)

Gosh, I almost can't wait to have kids!

Anonymous said...

While I agree with your comments about pickyness and how it shouldn't be tolerated, I must say that although I am not a parent, I can totally understand when parents are at their wits' end with picky kids. I think that sometimes, it just isn't worth the endless battle of "Eat what is on your plate" and "No I will not". Parents don't want to see their children starve, and some kids are just *that* strong with the willpower that they'll refuse to eat for days on end. I think it's a bit harsh to dump blame solely on the parent when sometimes the parent just has no other choice. If this was a situation I was facing, frankly, I'd give my kid the chicken fingers rather than have him eat nothing for four days in protest. (Do you read Dooce.com? Her daughter, now that is a stubborn one. DAYS without eating.) I'm not suggesting that one shouldn't try to introduce new foods .. of course one should try. I'm just suggesting that your post could be a tiny bit more understanding of the struggles some parents face. I can't blame a mom who breaks down and serves a hot dog sometimes.

Please note: I am not trying to say you don't have a point! Of course you do. It's just that there are other perspectives to consider.

Lor said...

I'm right there with you Leslie.

I cannot handle when people won't try new/different foods. I worked with someone who wouldn't eat anything with bones (like, she'd eat cut up boneless chicken breast, but not a chicken leg with the back attached). She wouldn't eat "ethnic" foods. It drove me freaking batty. And I don't think that you need to love all foods, but at least give them a try, or politely refuse. Don't freaking wrinkle your nose at them, as if they're so disgusting you can barely hold in your vomit. Gah!

On kids though, I think it's hard for parents to avoid the slick marketing that's targeted towards children, convincing kids that they must have the latest happy meal or chicken fingers or whatever. The parents aren't the only influence on the kids, and sometimes I'm sure that parents are just tired or desperate and give in.

I'm going to try my best to expose my daughter to many different tastes and textures, but I can't say that I'll never feed her a chicken finger. (God, I hope it's at least a homemade chicken finger)

Anonymous said...

I think it's easy for someone who doesn't have kids to comment on how kids should be raised. It must be nice to have all the answers.

I don't agree with kids eating nothing but crap, BUT just because you expose your kids to different foods does not mean they will not be picky. I had to try EVERYTHING in my house. And not just one bite, I had to take a small portion, (5 to 7 bites), and if I didn't eat it, there was no alternative. I went without. Actually, I HAD to eat it and I stayed at the table until I did. 3-4 hours. Today, I am still a picky eater. My dad's family grew up poor in a different culture, where there was NO choice, and NO money. If you didn't eat what you were served, you WOULD starve - and none of the food was prepackaged crap. My uncle is the pickiest eater on the face of the planet. Just something for you to think about.

And aren't you, in fact, picky? I'm sure that if you were regularly invited to someone's house where they served only packaged foods you would stop going. Or would complain constantly about it - which is what I'm sure some of your 'picky' friends do. But they don't have 'right' on their side.

Birdwell said...

Good post.

I have two kids: one picky (5) and one who will try anything (2). The picky one, my oldest, I followed the "book" and fed him baby cereal at 4 months and baby food. I never let him eat the food off my plate (too many preservatives and sodium--love myself Lipton pasta packets). Today he eats a handful of foods and I am SLOWLY (read painfully, agonizingly slow) getting him to try new food. He calls the food the rest of us eat: grown up food, which of course he doesn't like and won't eat.

The adventurous one--I grew wiser and did the exact opposite. She was not given any solid food until 6 months and never baby cereal or baby jarred food. She ate right off our plates (in a softened form.) Now she tries anything and esp. loves to dip.

I myself was VERY picky growing up and I can relate to anon. I had tons of food issues and was stubborn--it took me 3 to 4 hours to eat a meal I liked never mind something I didn't like. Most of my pickiness revolved around trust issues though, and my lovely husband has cured me of my pickiness (mostly--I still have issues)

But I do believe this trend of segregated eating and over-weight kids stems from the compartmentalizing of what the family eats...separate foods for babies, toddlers, bigger kids, teens, and adults. Each food product loaded with all sorts of unnatural things that are recognizable as food.

Anonymous said...

I mostly agree with the last two anonymous posts. I would also like to point out that even if a parent doesn't buy certain foods, a child will eventually be exposed to other things (ever seen cafeteria food?). Just one more reason to be a little understanding of the other side of the coin.

Still, there are a lot of idiotic parents out there so I can't help but agree with your frustration.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with you. I am a parent of a 2.5 year old who enjoyed thai green curry for dinner last night, just like mom & dad. I admit I briefly considered using a more kid-friendly stir fry sauce, but in the end hubby & I wanted green curry so that's what we made. Little guy gobbled it up. I've always served him the same meal that we are eating. He occasionally refuses to eat something, but most of the time he will eat at least part of the meal he's served. If not, it's yogurt and fruit for dinner! He eats salad, most veggies, any fruit, lots of different meats, all kinds of sauces (including spicy ones) and - yes, I'll admit it - the odd chicken finger (usually only if we are out at a restaurant or leaving him with a sitter). It is up to parents to set a good example for their kids eating habits. To the pp who mentioned outside influences - I say too bad. I won't deny my kids the odd happy meal as a treat, but not as a substitute for healthy eating. I believe that kids level of pickiness is part nature and part nurture. We, as parents, decide how to respond to our kids, and we have to take responsibility for providing them with healthy choices.

Unknown said...

Wow, hot topic! :)

The rules were the same in my house growing up - eat what mom made or make your own dinner/go hungry. And refusing to eat something at someone else's house was completely and utterly out of the question. To this day I'll choke down anything someone else prepares for me no matter how many cucumbers are in it.

When it comes to guests in my home, I do try my best to cater to people's tastes because I cook to make people happy. There's nothing better than watching someone really enjoy a meal I've made and that's just not going to happen if they sit down already decided that they're not going to like it because it's "different" or "weird". I do try to stretch people as much as I think I can get away with though.

I can agree with the point made by one of the anonymous posters that if I went to someone's house and they always served prepackaged food, I'd probably start eating at home before going so that I could skip most of it and not be hungry. So to your point about chicken fingers and hot dogs, I would never serve something that I wouldn't eat myself to picky eaters.

Good post, interesting discussion! It's nice to have the opportunity to hear different perspectives and experiences and have the chance to learn from a community of people who may not all know each other but share a passion for food. :)

flowerdrumsong said...

Very good post, Leslie!!! And like you, we grew up exactly like that - you eat what's served or we go hungry. No ifs, no buts.

Anonymous said...

Growing up, it was eat or go hungry. and have your grandma nag that you don't like her food/cooking. Every night it was rice, rice, rice. I thought that when I left home, I'd never cook rice, but I still do it regularly!! Occasionally, I'd get the pre-packaged food, but that was never a staple in my home.

Crap food was never 'forbidden'.. and if I craved it, I would get it. but it never became so bad that I'd refuse to eat what was served to me! i think banning crap foods can sometimes have the opposite effect (i.e. they want what they can't have), so it's a fine balance between letting them have a treat now and then, but making sure they're eating healthy most of the time.

When it's time for us to have kids, I'm definitely exposing them to lots of different types of foods and limiting (but not banning!) the crap foods!

I try to cater to people who come to visit now and then, but if I entertained on a regular basis, I would be sure that my guests knew I'll be cooking many different types of foods and they would have the option of declining. I'm just lucky that most of my friends are pretty open-minded when it comes to food (some are probably more open-minded than me in some instances!).

PeachBellini said...

Preach it sister. I was having this discussion with a friend. I'm living in Rome at the moment... go to any Roman restaurant in the evening and you'll see children happily eating the same food as adults. NO RESTAURANT offers a children's menu. I grew up the same way in Malta... you eat same food as everyone else but in much smaller portions obviously. There are some things I will cater for, including allergies (being that I have a fish allergy myself, which drives me nuts 'cos I so wish I could eat fish and seafood) and health issues. If you're diabetic, have heart disease, are coeliac, whatever I'm more than happy to go out of my way. If you're picky? It'll be the last ever dinner invitation.

Jenny said...

Amen. Both hubby and I rant about this often. My mother wasn't too adventurous in the kitchen, but she did always provide us with a varied and well balanced meal. We had to eat "ALL" our food and we knew better than to challenge our parents.

My motto has always been, "Don't knock it until you try it."

I cringe when I see children controlling the family diet. Why can't these parents realize that they are doing their children such a huge disservice?

Anonymous said...

I loved your post today!!! I agree for the most part - can't say I 100% know what it will be like to have kids but I grew up having to eat what was on my plate if I wanted dinner and I'm going to do the same with my kids.

Anonymous said...

To the anonymous poster who threw it in Leslie's face about "how do you know unless you have kids." I have kids, and Leslie is right on the money!
Its funny how some parents believe that you are only entitled to provide advice if you are a parent. GMAB!

BubblyBunny said...

Great post! I agree that sometimes parents cater too much to their children's complaining just to keep them happy. My hubby and I were talking about this the other day and about how we would like to raise our kids. Ideally, we'd like to follow the rule: Eat what you are given, otherwise, you don't eat. We believe this strategy will work as long as you start them young. You can't enforce this rule and change their eating habits when they are 5 years old. Of course, we don't have kids, so I don't know how well this will work for us. :P

I remember when I was younger, I'd go to potluck parties with my mom at her friends'. Their children are mostly younger than me. All the kids sat at a separate table and they were each given a plate of food. They don't always finish their food before they go play and they don't always eat what's given. However, I noticed that as the night goes on, the kids always went back to their plate to pick off bits and pieces whenever they get hungry, often finishing everything on their plates. Perhaps it's not the healthiest to have them eating cold food with their dirty fingers. But my observation told me that if kids are hungry, they will eat on their own and they'll eat whatever that can fill their growling bellies.

I also remember a millenia ago, I had a similar conversation with my 6th grade teacher. She told me that she had 2 children and one was a picky eater while the other one was not. She said her children's eating habit had a lot to do what she fed them when they were babies. She only gave her older daughter whatever baby food she felt her daughter would like (ie. only certain types of flavoured mush) while she fed her son everything flavour under the sun. In the end, her daughter was a super picky eater and no matter what my teacher tried to feed her when she got older, her daughter's eating preferences remained unchanged. Her son, on the other hand, ate everything he could get his hands on.

So I don't know what tactics will work when it comes to raising children. I guess if you post again in 10 years, I'll have more personal insights on this topic.

Cass said...

Great post. Now that I'm older, I'm grateful my mum just kept cooking for herself and dad and let us take it or leave it. Sure, there were days when she gnashed her teeth and worried we'd only eat meat and plain pasta for the rest of our lives but we got over it and now I like almost everything. Canned tuna still makes me want to vomit though, which is why I have some sympathy for picky eaters. As long as you can eat around the parts you don't dig and enjoy the rest of the meal, you're welcome at my table any time. It's the people who sniff and make a big deal about not being able to eat anything, as though it was some deliberate conspiracy on your part, that won't be invited back.

Freya said...

I don't have kids but as the daughter of a picky eater, I am still struggling to overcome some of the food phobias I was brought up with. It is only in the last few years that I have eaten lamb, I still have not tried duck and I'm squeamish about game BUT, as you've probably read, I am slowly overcoming all this. I have always said that if I have kids, I will feed them all sorts of food, regardless of whether I like it or not because I feel it's important for children to experience different things, particularly culinarily. Great post!

Unknown said...

First...for the post: Hear, Hear!

Secondly:

"To the anonymous poster who threw it in Leslie's face about "how do you know unless you have kids." ...
Its funny how some parents believe that you are only entitled to provide advice if you are a parent. GMAB!"

Hear, Hear!

Anonymous said...

I was a terribly picky eater. I wouldn't eat a single vegetable when I was growing up. Mostly because I just didn't like the taste of them cooked. I liked them raw, but no-one ever went far enough as to get themselves around to making salads for me!

Anyway, my kids are, thankfully, not picky. They eat most things, and will try most things. If I give them something new, that looks peculiar, they only need to take a couple of bites and they can then say if they don't like it.

They are 'encouraged' to eat with bribery (both very skinny, very active boys), so we usually have dessert and they get that if they finish the important bits of their meal. For the oldest he needs to eat more protein because he's not fond of meat, so for him he has to eat the protein component of the meal.

The little one would rather eat meat and potatoes to the exclusion of everything else, so he has to eat his vegetables before he can be in the running for dessert.

Dessert is usually fruit or fruit based so I get to win every time ;)

No separate meals in our house. They eat what we eat.

leslie @ definitely not martha said...

Wow - it's great to see all these comments and reactions! :)

kareen - I'm totally with you. The parents make all the difference in this.

mia - hahaha....too funny about your SIL....

christy - as you well know, I'm all for experimentation!

shawnda - I don't think your neice is at all a rarity, sadly

anonymous - all perspectives are totally appreciated. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be for some parents to deal with picky kids...

lor - I think trying is so important. It just seems to me that there are way too many people who don't even have the culinary skills to try (another story completely!)

anonymous - I don't pretend to have all the answers. In fact, it would totally and completely serve my arrogant but right to end up with a supertaster for a kid. That said, I still think that my childless perspective is worth a little something, at least. And yes, I am a bit of a picky eater...but if I go to someone's house and they serve something, I will eat it. Even if I'm heaving inside. If they make a regular practice of serving things I don't like, I might endeavour to suggest we meet at a restaurant, or something like that. But I would never turn up my nose at something someone made for me at their home.

birdwell - I'm going to bookmark your suggestions for myself when the time comes. :) Good to have a parental perspective!

anonymous - you give me hope! I sure hope when I have a toddler that they'll eat green curry. Because I LOVE green curry.

wenderella - I'm much the same. If people are coming over, I ALWAYS ask if there are things they don't like and I never prepare things for peopel that I know they despise....I think that's part of being a good host, personally! I just get frustrated when people only eat meat, potatoes and one vegetable. Not much fun for me! I don't invite those people back much. ;)

flowerdrumsong - thanks! :)

lesley - totally agree.

athena - first, I'm totally jealous that you live in Rome. Second, that is EXACTLY what I'm getting at - kids in Europe don't have these same issues. I'm not sure if they are somehow genetically predisposed to not be picky, but you don't see parents over there serving the nutritional abhorrencies that you find here. And none of the kids are starving.....I think the Europeans are onto something!

clover_the_jenny - I think you're actually getting at something bigger, the entire kid-centric society that seems to be today's parental norm. I can't pretend to be any authority whatsoever on it, but I do find it a little disturbing when the entire family revolves around little Johnny's needs and schedules. I would think that family should be give and take and that everyone should be of equal importance....

irishgrl - thanks!

anonymous - thanks for the vote of support. I don't mind the negative comments too much though - I knew I was setting myself up for them. But I really do find it encouraging when I see parents who agree with me. Thanks!

bubblybunny - you and me both. Hopefully when the kiddies come, I'll still be blogging, and you can all find out my adventures in that. ;)

cass - I agree that a lot about how I feel toward a particular picky eater is directly correlated to their grace about their pickiness. If someone whines and screams like a toddler, OUT with them. If they are just subtle and uncomplaining, I"ll try to take note and not serve that particular thing the next time!

freya and paul - I also have game issues...and lamb issues. That said, you should TOTALLY try duck....it's strong flavoured like turkey and it's amazing. If you can, find a french restaurant that serves confit de canard and pommes au gratin. SO good (I too was skeeved in the beginning, but it's amazing). I still will probably only eat most game if it's at someone else's house though. I wouldn't order it or prepare it myself.

stephanie - Thanks. As I said though, I totally set myself up for that kind of comment. I still think I have a point though. :) hehe.

ash - good on ya for persisting through pickiness. And with active young boys, their metabolism is insane, eh? I have one bro who's still like that - almost 6'5, 160 pounds and eats everything in sight. My blogdom for such a metabolism (having a squishy day today).

Thank you all so much for the comments. I love hearing all your perspectives and if you have anymore comments, my ears open.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Wew Hoo! She says & fell off her chair! Aren't you opinionated. Love it and you're absolutely right! I can say that because I have two kids who eat almost everything, if they didn't obviously I'd just let them eat crap because I'm a lazy toad (NOT!) What's interesting is that lots of the comments were anonymous. Why? I thought it was a great post. Amanda

Patty said...

Amen! This is one of my usual rants as well.

Kelsey said...

I have one of each...a daughter who will eat anything, including things I won't (clams, squid, sushi with fish in it). And a son who we have to serve his suppers for breakfast if he won't eat it (the vegetables, mainly, and pretty much every type). And no, we don't feed them separate meals (also one of my pet peeves).

I have a sister-in-law coming this summer who is one of those picky eaters, makes everyone around her prepare food the way she wants, and completely caters to her kids. I am dreading mealtimes when they come.

Anonymous said...

Hey, really interesting to see what all you people think. When I was school-aged, my mum tried not to force to eat stuff and I did eat some rubbish. But she also made me try loads of things I said I didn't like, and the same went for my little brother. Now, he is fairly picky, preferring meat and potatoes, or bacon, to anything even slightly interesting. I, however, am fairly messed up. The list of foods I dislike is long. The list of foods I won't eat is offal, rabbit, mushrooms. So you see, it is my politeness and need to please which has a greater effect on my diet. Everyday I eat things I hate- even now I live away from home and cook my own meals. The foods I love, I truely love. But the foods I eat, I hate. Is a polite picky eater better than a picky eater? I'm not so sure. But it makes me even more angry with picky eaters. I don't like it either dammit, just pick it up and eat it.

Anonymous said...

I hate picky eaters. All humans have the exact same taste physiology. Picky eating is purely a psychological problem, and is usually not even that. It is usually a symptom of a spoiled, selfish, rich person with no concern for others. Get over it, you terrible people.

Judy Reynolds said...

I agree with you 1000000000+%. My mom was the exact same as your mom. now today as an almsot Sr. Citizen you can blindfold me and I will eat it. It takes me forever to figure out what I want at a restaurant because I don't care what I'm eating. It drives me nuts when people want nachos without sourcream, black olives, tomatos, onions, etc...WTFlip???

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