[queasy27]

Aw, man! If it was a large gathering, I could avoid certain foods or not eat altogether, but if someone invited me for dinner and served oysters, pate, anything with bell peppers and tomato juice to drink, I'd have a hard time being polite or knowing what to do. I'm not a picky eater by any means but those are the foods I just cannot tolerate.

There's something to be said for the texture theory, because I like raw or cooked tomatoes just fine, but the juice is so .... sludgy!

I am a fan of Doritos and Fritos, but promise not to eat them in front of In Awe of TV. <g>

I also totally agree about the food police. Gawd, give it a rest once in a while, folks. Only my parents were allowed to tell me what I could and could not eat, and that ended in high school. I had a huge -- HUGE! -- fight once with I man I'd been dating for a couple of years when he grabbed a restaurant mint out of my hand so I couldn't eat it. (He was anti-sugar.)

Yeah. Broke up not too long after that.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

I agree about canned fruit cocktail. It has no relationship to the fresh fruits I cut up and toss together in a bowl with a dash of sugar. It's sort of like the "Spam" of fruit dishes.

I also agree about canned fruit cocktail—or any canned fruit, for that matter. It’s barely fruit! And while I agree with your implication that Spam is the bottom of the barrel of human food, I know that there are those who would jump down my throat if I were ever to say that.

As Redwitch pointed out, we all have different tastes. My mother cooked fantastic soups from scratch, for example, but she thought—and often served at otherwise “elegant” meals—a dessert consisting of half of a canned peach covered with multi-colored sprinkles was the cat’s meow....

My brother could “sense” liver that was one part per billion and refuse to eat it, while I grew up liking liver. When my mother began cooking salt-free because of a health condition of my father, my reaction was “I like this!” and to this day do not care for salt and never add it to my food. My brother’s reaction was to go out and buy his own box of salt and use it more than liberally. (Are we allowed to use that word on this forum?)

So, even exposed to the same things, we’re all different when it comes to food!

[wendyquat]

Originally Posted by In awe of TV

I was never allowed as a child to be picky and luckily my children were exposed to many types of foods and were not picky. Food allergies are one thing but picky eaters really annoy me.

With that said, I do not and will not eat, or be around anyone that eats Doritos or Fritos. The smell of those chips make me extremely nauseous. Yuck.

Other than those, I love everything (unfortunately).

You left out Funions! 😝

[senior citizen]

............

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

As an omnivore who dislikes almost nothing, I've noticed whenever I am around a group of people long, almost all seem obsessed with what foods they crave or won't eat or believe harm them. Some are quite irrational.

examples...
Anything that's touched bread gives me indigestion, except I eat French toast and crackers.
I crave lemons.
I love spicy food (followed by 3 hours of indigestion).
I'm seriously sick. I can't eat. (except gummy worms)
I don't eat anything that's been in contact with cantaloupe.
Don't cook anything in the microwave for me.
I only eat yogurt if it's frozen.

Is it just me? Seems like many make of us make food choices a significant part of their identity. Nothing wrong with that--but as one who is "polygluttonous" it seems that I'm out of step.

I too am an omnivore and feel very satisfied that I like almost everything. The only things I can think of at the moment that I don't like and won't eat are raw clams and raw fish.

Being an omnivore means I don't need to eat high-calorie processed foods in order to be happy. I'm able to choose natural whole foods, and feel content with those choices.

Is it a gift of nature or is it learned?: When I was about 4 years old I refused to eat lentil soup because it had baby onions floating in it and my older brother wispered in my ear that it was slime. My mother said I would have to sit there until I ate it and if I didn't eat it I would go to bed hungry. Well, I sat there until I got so hungry it started to look better and better. Finally, I ate it and to my surprise I liked it. Today, lentil soup is one of my favorite dishes.

To this day I give thanks that my mother was not a wimp as she insisted that healthy foods be eaten.

[Bavarian]

Originally Posted by buggyone

This reminds me a one cruise I was on quite a few years ago. My wife, daughter (then 11 years old) and I went to dinner the first night and had tablemates of a 40 year old woman (approx. on age), her 9 year old daughter, and her uncle (65ish).

This woman announced to us that she could not eat a single thing on the menu and that her daughter did not like anything either. When the waiter took our orders; she told him in a demanding voice that she would be having poached chicken breast and white rice every night and the daughter would alternate between mac and cheese and spaghetti every night. The woman then began (while the waiter was there) to tell our daughter that the choices on the menu are for grown-ups and she should have the spaghetti, too.

I politely excused myself at that point, went to the head waiter in charge of the dining room and said my family and I want another table IMMEDIATELY. We got one within 5 minutes.

I hope you had good luck on your new table. My wife and I asked for a new table on a 10 day Alaska cruise and were put on a table with two other people, a man pushing 100 and his girlfriend, He showed up on formal night in a wind breaker, no Tux. He also told my wife and I we were too fat and to skip Lunch. Never asked for a table change again.

[In awe of TV]

Originally Posted by wendyquat

You left out Funions! ��

OMG - Don't even get me started on those! You are so right, any type of onion smell . . . oh, good grief, I don't even want to think about it. . .

[Arctic Fox]

[QUOTE=buggyone;687964]This reminds me a one cruise...QUOTE]

One of my favorite aspects of cruising is the lovely food, so it is always a surprise how picky some cruisers can be.

We shared a table with a married couple who claimed to be allergic to pepper. I had never heard of this allergy before - and it seemed doubly-odd that a married couple (i.e. not related by blood) should both be so afflicted.

It meant that they had to choose their following evening's meals, so that the galley could prepare them without pepper, thus missing out another enjoyment of cruising - the surprise of what's going to be on the menu!

[senior citizen]

........

[Villages PL]

I looked up "Gout" on Wickipedia and it says that Gout has become more common in the past few decades affecting 1 -2% of the population. The reasons given were "increasing risk factors" such as 1) metabolic syndrome 2) people living longer and 3) changes in diet.

I believe we can do something about 1 & 3 so it seems to be largely in our comtrol. I think it's "changes in diet" in recent decades that's causing "metabolic syndrome". (Excess weight plus highly inflammatory diets.)

[senior citizen]

..........

[jblum315]

Sounds like a sensible diet for anyone, gout or no gout

[Trish Crocker]

I know this sounds rather silly but when I hear about how sinful it is to 'waste' food, I can't help but wonder exactly what this means. Since most of the things we eat are organic, doesn't it just mean that in the landfill it will return to the soil? Forcing someone to clean their plates because people are starving makes no sense...and where does the food end up after eating it anyway??? What part of this is a sin? If I stretch my imagination, I can possibly consider the money spent on the wasted food could have been used to feed someone, but then again, the money spent on the newspaper I throw away or the gas I put into my cart to go to the square...how about the money wasted at the happy hours?? If I buy food, I am helping to support farmers and everyone else down the chain..what does it matter what I do with it???

[senior citizen]

..........

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Trish Crocker

I know this sounds rather silly but when I hear about how sinful it is to 'waste' food, I can't help but wonder exactly what this means. Since most of the things we eat are organic, doesn't it just mean that in the landfill it will return to the soil? Forcing someone to clean their plates because people are starving makes no sense...and where does the food end up after eating it anyway??? What part of this is a sin? If I stretch my imagination, I can possibly consider the money spent on the wasted food could have been used to feed someone, but then again, the money spent on the newspaper I throw away or the gas I put into my cart to go to the square...how about the money wasted at the happy hours?? If I buy food, I am helping to support farmers and everyone else down the chain..what does it matter what I do with it???

I agree. If we eat the excess food that would "be wasted", it comes out the other end as WASTE product. So what's the difference if we throw it in the garbage disposal or trash where it is "waste", or if we eat it and it comes out the other end as "waste"????? Either way, nobody else who needs food can eat that!!!!

Eating something only because it would be "wasted" makes absolutely NO sense.

Preparing only the amount needed does make sense.