Need an explanation from a picky eater.

I'll add that I was 100x more picky as a kid than I am as an adult: I wouldn't eat any bread/toast/sandwich with the crust still on it, I didn't eat any type of cheese, hamburgers & hotdogs were completely plain(no condiments at all). I wouldn't eat pizza or any type of Mexican food...I didn't eat any Mexican other than Taco Bell(as if that counts) until I was in my mid-20's.

Believe it or not though, my palette has continued to expand over the years. SWMBO took me to a Japanese steak house for the first time ever this year(ok, so it's steak & same fried veggies/rice I already eat). She's taken me for Chinese a couple times, but I've yet to find anything there I can stand, including the American food. I now love spinach-artichoke dip, though I won't touch either vegetable otherwise.

I was a picky eater as a kid, now I will eat almost anything.

There is science behind kids of certain ages preferring bland foods and/or certain textures IIRC. Keeping that to adulthood is the weird part.

We just fed our kid all the things and so she likes most things and will try anything once. We don't force her to finish everything...if dinner is chicken, potatoes and peas and you just want to eat the peas, OK. If you're hungry later, well hey, you've still got chicken and potatoes! Last night at a catered party she went to town on the brussels sprouts to the point of encouraging other 4 year olds to eat them.

I grew up eating processed foods and have expanded alot so avoiding bone in meat hasnt killed me. My dads favorite saying was if you dont like what were having for dinner i hope you like whats your friends parents are making. We werent coddled just poor. As a kid i wouldnt eat any potato's aside from mashed and zero beans. Now i eat both often!

I was the youngest of five, four of us were boys, so with three hungry teenage boys in the house I had to eat what was on my plate or it would be gone. I credit that with my willingness to learn to love almost any foods. We're trying to raise our kid to like a variety of foods by actually cooking meals at home. So far it's working very well but she's only 2. Picky eaters drive me crazy so if it doesn't continue to work we're going to have some battles ahead.

And yes, lengua (beef tongue) is delicious!!

Pete, I think your parents did you a disservice by letting you eat like that. There's a lot of joy in food and the diet you describe to me would be so bland as to be disgusting to me.

In reply to RedGT: All my kids love Brussels sprouts. They ask me to cook it often. Learn how to cook well and it goes a long way toward curing picky eating habits. Nobody enjoys poorly prepared food.

I prefer my steaks and chops boneless but I won't turn anything down.

I have abuddy that is the pickiest eater I know. Hates everything. He was in Vegas last week. A city with some of the highest rated chefs and restaurants in our nation, and he's eating plain cheeseburgers and chicken tenders.

I've come to the conclusion that he only eats things you can purchase in a bag of 100 at Sam's/Costco.

KyAllroad wrote: In reply to RedGT: All my kids love Brussels sprouts. They ask me to cook it often. Learn how to cook well and it goes a long way toward curing picky eating habits. Nobody enjoys poorly prepared food.

I've heard that there has been some new discoveries with the growing of brussels sprouts in which there is now less sulfur in them. Because my mom has been cooking them the same way for years, and 15 years ago my dad and I would both gag. Today we can eat them.

mtn wrote:

KyAllroad wrote: In reply to RedGT: All my kids love Brussels sprouts. They ask me to cook it often. Learn how to cook well and it goes a long way toward curing picky eating habits. Nobody enjoys poorly prepared food.

I've heard that there has been some new discoveries with the growing of brussels sprouts in which there is now less sulfur in them. Because my mom has been cooking them the same way for years, and 15 years ago my dad and I would both gag. Today we can eat them.

We purchased waterless cookware 20 years ago and it still works great. Just heat to a where the steam starts to escape. Spin the lid and turn off the heat. 8 minutes later its ready to eat. Brussel Sprouts and other veggies are yummy.

Waterless Cookware

It's a long standing joke that my daughter won't eat any meat with a bone like a T-bone or any chicken on the bone. She also won't eat any fatty meat, like ribeyes or prime rib. She would mainly eat processed meat products that we would tell her had already been chewed by somebody else, spit out and formed into something (think chicken mcnuggets). Her oldest son though, will tear up a chicken leg.

I'm a pretty pick eater, and it's usually a texture thing for me. Love the taste of onions, but hate to eat them. I tend to use onion powder a lot when cooking. Seafood is the same, I can go for tuna, but shellfish and shrimp, I'll pass.

Brussels sprouts are something I never want try again for as long as I live. It's the only food I know of that can make me involuntarily throw up.

Spoolpigeon wrote: I have a buddy that is the pickiest eater I know. Hates everything. He was in Vegas last week. A city with some of the highest rated chefs and restaurants in our nation, and he's eating plain cheeseburgers and chicken tenders.

I have a buddy like that too, except cheese on the (well done) burger would make him vomit. No condiments, either.

The only 4 things I know for sure that he eats are overcooked hamburgers on a dry white bun, plain chicken fingers, french fries with no condiments, and spaghetti with Ragu meat sauce (only acceptable brand).

I guess it works for him, but I'd kill myself.

Texture. I keep hearing this term. Weird.

dculberson wrote: Pete, I think your parents did you a disservice by letting you eat like that. There's a lot of joy in food and the diet you describe to me would be so bland as to be disgusting to me.

My mother was a nurse, so I know she knew better. Though she was also a chain-smoker(which severely affected my health as a kid, particularly during winter when I was indoors more), and I can remember going to the dentist at an early age with cavities from all the Kool-aid I'd been drinking. I retrospect, I'm 99% sure she had some depression and/or bipolar issues, but whether that affected her parenting techniques, I can't really say. I don't think anyone who knew me as a child, or my parents, would have said I had a bad childhood in any way. I guess it's possible that I was just so stubborn as a toddler that she eventually gave up.

Oh, this reminds me of something else - as a toddler I loved canned peas. So much so that's what I asked for on my 3rd birthday. I can't stand peas now, and haven't been able to eat them since at least my teens.

Tonight's dinner. Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, home made mac n cheese using sharp cheddar and pepper jack combined with fancy cavitapi pasta, and frozen peas. We'll be tucking in to eat it in about 15 minutes and I expect no pickiness from anyone.

For those who struggle with Brussels sprouts try this. Cut off the stump and cut the sprouts in half laying them cut side up in a Pyrex dish. Cover the top with 4-6 strips of bacon. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (until reasonably tender and bacon is fully cooked). The bacon grease drips down into the veggies and makes everything yummy. Seriously, teenagers beg me to cook them.

KyAllroad wrote: For those who struggle with Brussels sprouts try this. Cut off the stump and cut the sprouts in half laying them cut side up in a Pyrex dish. Cover the top with 4-6 strips of bacon. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (until reasonably tender and bacon is fully cooked). The bacon grease drips down into the veggies and makes everything yummy. Seriously, teenagers beg me to cook them.

Sounds like a waste of perfectly good bacon to me.

A large part of it is genetic. Brassicas in general taste a whole lot more bitter to some people than they do to others, I can't stand anything in that family. Cabbage, brussels sprouts, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, horseradish, etc.

mad_machine wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: My SIL is a picky eater and my wife says she's been that way since a child. Has issues with texture, etc. She hates "raw" cheese. It has to be melted in order for her to eat it. She also became a vegan for a short time and was a pain in all our asses. Eventually she just went back to being a vegetarian. Unfortunately she still complains about restaurants not catering to her needs. My BIL on the other hand became Buddhist several years ago and it's hard to have a BBQ with him because he always wants chicken and it can't be prepared or grilled in the same area any red meat was cooked. I respect his religion, but I've watched him cheat and eat spiral cut honey ham.

I am a Buddhist and I eat red meat on occasion. Nothing I know of says you can't. you just can't kill the animal in question or go out of your way to order it. Ordering meat is akin to ordering it's death, but if it is offered to you or readily available, there is nothing saying I cannot eat it. Again though, I rarely eat red meat, it's heavy and does not often agree with my intestinal issues. Poultry and Fish though, those I indulge in

See that's not how he explained it, so I've just been going along with this misinformation all these years.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

mad_machine wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: My SIL is a picky eater and my wife says she's been that way since a child. Has issues with texture, etc. She hates "raw" cheese. It has to be melted in order for her to eat it. She also became a vegan for a short time and was a pain in all our asses. Eventually she just went back to being a vegetarian. Unfortunately she still complains about restaurants not catering to her needs. My BIL on the other hand became Buddhist several years ago and it's hard to have a BBQ with him because he always wants chicken and it can't be prepared or grilled in the same area any red meat was cooked. I respect his religion, but I've watched him cheat and eat spiral cut honey ham.

I am a Buddhist and I eat red meat on occasion. Nothing I know of says you can't. you just can't kill the animal in question or go out of your way to order it. Ordering meat is akin to ordering it's death, but if it is offered to you or readily available, there is nothing saying I cannot eat it. Again though, I rarely eat red meat, it's heavy and does not often agree with my intestinal issues. Poultry and Fish though, those I indulge in

See that's not how he explained it, so I've just been going along with this misinformation all these years.

there are several schools of Buddhist thought. He may follow a different one. Theravada allows one to eat meat as long as you know it was not killed for you.

KyAllroad wrote: For those who struggle with Brussels sprouts try this. Cut off the stump and cut the sprouts in half laying them cut side up in a Pyrex dish. Cover the top with 4-6 strips of bacon. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (until reasonably tender and bacon is fully cooked). The bacon grease drips down into the veggies and makes everything yummy. Seriously, teenagers beg me to cook them.

Peel them apart, make a single layer in the pan. Add a little olive oil + black pepper. Broil until crispy.

This is how they were introduced to our daughter, as 'crispy leaves' which were a finger food when she was about 1.5 years old. But she'll eat them any way now. Frozen peas are also a snacking item. Consumed frozen. Crunch crunch.

Just another angle on the picky eater thing. My SO grew up with a vegetarian dad and a mom who not only was vegetarian, but literally hates food and eating. Doesn't even like vegetables, just sticks to processed tofurkey type stuff...

It's been a huge pleasure to introduce her to all sorts of foods, and just generally that food can be a really wonderful source of enjoyment unto itself. She'd started that significantly on her own, but I've been able to help :)

I heard stories of when she first had salmon, and then more recently when she started eating salami and was jokingly asking coworkers "Have you tried this stuff!? It's awesome!"

She still doesn't eat beef. She hadn't for so long that it just doesn't agree with her, and she's not inclined to go through getting her system accustomed to it when it's not super-healthy, etc, etc. I can't complain, as much as I wouldn't mind having beef in our regular menu. I generally have a filet mignon when she travels :)

FWIW, I'd still say I'm "particular" if not picky. I eat a pretty broad variety of stuff, but I don't like poorly prepared food, fatty/gristly stuff (I've got a much higher tolerance than when I was a kid, but I still don't want a giant hunk of straight fat), etc...

Also, Brussels sprouts are awesome. I grew up being introduced to them, broccoli, and asparagus as conveyances for hollandaise. I like them all on their own merits now, but the introduction may have helped.

On brussel sprouts, younger brussel sprouts are for the most part much sweeter/less bitter.

My partner was a vaugley picky eater till she spent about a year living at my parents place, I've pretty much broken the rest of her dislikes by making stuff that she didnt like into really tasty stuff.

She hated peas, but pea and ham soup, mushy peas and mashed potato and a minted pea puree that I make for fish tacos fixed that. She also completely detested mushroom untill mum made mushroom soup, then I was able to feed her chicken mushroom and leek pie, grilled mushroom burgers, steak with mushroom butter sauce and now she'll way mushrooms pretty much any way I can cook them.

Making things taste, look and smell good goes a long way to breaking fussy eating habits. But string last the initial hurdle is often the hardest part for a fussy eater.

Freaky eaters was a BBC TV series that addressed people with seriously messed up eating habits. It looked at the psychological issues as well as health implications and tied to help people work through their food phobias. It was also known as eataholics. A very interesting watch for those looking to get their head around fussy eaters.

mad_machine wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

mad_machine wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: My SIL is a picky eater and my wife says she's been that way since a child. Has issues with texture, etc. She hates "raw" cheese. It has to be melted in order for her to eat it. She also became a vegan for a short time and was a pain in all our asses. Eventually she just went back to being a vegetarian. Unfortunately she still complains about restaurants not catering to her needs. My BIL on the other hand became Buddhist several years ago and it's hard to have a BBQ with him because he always wants chicken and it can't be prepared or grilled in the same area any red meat was cooked. I respect his religion, but I've watched him cheat and eat spiral cut honey ham.

I am a Buddhist and I eat red meat on occasion. Nothing I know of says you can't. you just can't kill the animal in question or go out of your way to order it. Ordering meat is akin to ordering it's death, but if it is offered to you or readily available, there is nothing saying I cannot eat it. Again though, I rarely eat red meat, it's heavy and does not often agree with my intestinal issues. Poultry and Fish though, those I indulge in

See that's not how he explained it, so I've just been going along with this misinformation all these years.

there are several schools of Buddhist thought. He may follow a different one. Theravada allows one to eat meat as long as you know it was not killed for you.

What about the whole food prep thing?

daeman wrote: Freaky eaters was a BBC TV series that addressed people with seriously messed up eating habits. It looked at the psychological issues as well as health implications and tied to help people work through their food phobias. It was also known as eataholics. A very interesting watch for those looking to get their head around fussy eaters.

It was that show, or one very similar too it, that featured a woman who had not eaten anything but French fries since she was a young child. She now had a child, and feared transferring that aberrant behavior onto the child. Turns out the kid was a perfectly fine eater, it was just the mom that was nuts.

I remember watching, and wondering how on earth she was not only still alive, but still fertile with that diet. I guess potatoes and grease are a fairly well balanced meal.

In reply to Streetwiseguy:

Yeah, sounds like the one, British yeah?

There was another one with a woman who basically lived on cheese, and another who lived almost solely on crisps.