Are you a picky eater?

hmhill17

I have never considered myself a picky eater. But when I was logging things in the app today, there was a blog post that basically said if you won't eat <insert food here> after trying it, then you're a picky eater. Obviously, I'm simplifying the blog post for dramatic effect, but it did make me think.

I refuse to eat anything avocado. I don't like the flavor or texture. Same with fish unless it's in sushi/sashimi form or a tuna fish sandwich once in a blue moon. I'll occasionally try it if my wife gets it, but that's it. Eggplant is plain nasty, but I'm now okay with squash and zucchini now that I cook it instead of getting the stewed nastiness in butter that is the typical Southern preparation. Okra in any form is right out. Cilantro tastes like soap. And I don't like berries other than strawberries. Or melon in any form. Or organ meats, though I've had tripe in Pho and sweet breads at an Argentine steakhouse.

Okay maybe I'm pickier than I thought, but when I think picky eater, I think of the parents in preschool who said, "Well my child only eats PB&J, Mac n Cheese and chicken nuggets." Which was my stepson when my wife and I got married.

nooshi713

That is debatable. I consider people picky when they have a long list of things they won’t eat because they don’t like the taste of anything, they barely like any veggies, won’t try different cuisines, etc.

Sometimes pickiness can be good though. I mean I like quality food that is fresh, in season, and tasty. I won’t eat fast food. Guess that makes me picky in a way. But, I like pretty much all veggies, fruits, grains, and will try any cuisine as long as it doesn’t have meat in it.

I am bougie about my OJ though. It has to be fresh squeezed within the hour of drinking it.

puffbrat

I consider myself a picky eater. There are a lot of foods I love and will eat, a lot of foods I enjoy if prepared a certain way, a lot of foods I don't particularly like, and a few foods I despise and refuse to touch ever again. For me this means that most restaurants only have a couple of dishes that appeal to me and eating at other people's houses is often stressful because there is a high likelihood I won't particularly like what is offered but will eat it anyway to be polite. But for me, it is mostly ingredients rather than entire food groups. I don't like most sea food but I will eat fish sometimes and I love clam chowder. I eat vegetables regularly but I hate lettuce with a passion and refuse to touch it. Things like that. Like you, cilantro tastes like soap to me, but that is genetic.

missysippy930

hmhill17 wrote: »

Okay maybe I'm pickier than I thought, but when I think picky eater, I think of the parents in preschool who said, "Well my child only eats PB&J, Mac n Cheese and chicken nuggets." Which was my stepson when my wife and I got married.

Add pizza to the list and that’s pretty much any child under 10 I ever knew.

I never thought I was a picky eater, but thinking about it, I guess I am. Limiting my calories, I’m going to eat only foods that I like.

lemurcat2

I consider someone a picky eater if their dislikes make ordering something at a restaurant an ordeal (I have a friend who is a vegetarian but dislikes a lot of really common vegetables -- something like that) or if they dislike a whole category of foods (like people who almost proudly proclaim they hate all vegetables).

I was a picky eater as a little kid since I wouldn't eat the normal supermarket sliced breads (I'd eat rolls and homemade bread), hated onions, hated mushrooms, hated peanut butter, hated cold cereal, hated canned tuna. Lots of the things they served at school hot lunches (like sloppy joes) seemed disgusting to me. So for lunch I'd bring leftover meat, some raw veg, and a cookie or the like or a thermos of soup. Sandwiches were out. I also hated anything spicy, but I think that's more normal (and so much the opposite of now). On the other hand, there were vegetables I didn't like and would complain about, but I was supposed to eat them and did, and I loved pretty much all fruit but grapefruit.

Now I mostly like any well-prepared food with a few exceptions, and I prefer not to eat foods I don't care for, but I like such a wide variety of foods that there's never a situation where anyone is likely to think I am picky, because there's always some option I like.

Annie_01

The only thing that I am picky about is whether it tastes good to me. Other than that I will try about anything. Well there is cottage cheese...the texture is unpleasant to me. Then there is liver...it is all about the smell.

Pipsqueak1965

I would call anyone a picky eater if they have a list of ingredients they won't eat. Or a whole food group (ie spicy food, fish, vegetables). If there are just 1 or 2 ingredients, and they are always happy to try anything, they aren't fussy.

Katmary71

I'm probably considered a semi-picky eater. Like you, I don't like avocados and cilantro tastes like soap. I don't like coconut or beets either. I can't stand fatty meat, I prefer chicken breasts or fish. I tried low carb but with those dislikes I ended up moderate carb. I used to hate the texture of tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms but have come to love them.

hmhill17

missysippy930 wrote: »

Add pizza to the list and that’s pretty much any child under 10 I ever knew.

Plain cheese pizza. And for my stepson, extra cheese was a no-no.

missysippy930 wrote: »

I never thought I was a picky eater, but thinking about it, I guess I am. Limiting my calories, I’m going to eat only foods that I like.

I always think of picky as refusing to try stuff, not trying stuff and refusing to eat it if you don't like it. Why waste money on something that I don't like, like avocado that will be perfect in the store and rotten by the time I get home, when I can get the same/similar health benefits from things I like?

apullum

The term “picky eater” is just a way to express judgment of others’ food needs and preferences. Eat the foods you want, don’t eat the foods you don’t want, and let others do the same.

nighthawk584

I'm 54 and have hated sweet potatoes all my life until this WLJ when I cut out white potatoes for the more healthier sweet potato. Now I love them. (just in moderation) I pretty much eat everything else, besides Surströmming!

LyndaBSS

I'm grateful that I'm not a picky eater. I pick up two new foods every time I go grocery shopping. I like some, I don't like others but it's exciting trying new things.

My husband was a picky eater. It was a pain in the butt because I could either stick to a short list of meals or make two meals, one for him and one with variety for me.

I eat a pescatarian diet. He wouldn't eat seafood. <smh>

lemurcat2

hmhill17 wrote: »

missysippy930 wrote: »

Add pizza to the list and that’s pretty much any child under 10 I ever knew.

Plain cheese pizza. And for my stepson, extra cheese was a no-no.

missysippy930 wrote: »

I never thought I was a picky eater, but thinking about it, I guess I am. Limiting my calories, I’m going to eat only foods that I like.

I always think of picky as refusing to try stuff, not trying stuff and refusing to eat it if you don't like it. Why waste money on something that I don't like, like avocado that will be perfect in the store and rotten by the time I get home, when I can get the same/similar health benefits from things I like?

This is a good point. I would add refusing to try things to my definition.

lemurcat2

nighthawk584 wrote: »

I'm 54 and have hated sweet potatoes all my life until this WLJ when I cut out white potatoes for the more healthier sweet potato. Now I love them. (just in moderation) I pretty much eat everything else, besides Surströmming!

Sweet potatoes aren't exactly more nutritious than potatoes (white or red or whatever). They just have a different package of nutrients. Whether they add more to your diet depends on what else you eat and therefore what you need.

https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/sweet-potatoes-vs-potatoes/

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/sweet-potatoes-vs-potatoes-infographic

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2013/03/food-fight-sweet-potatoes-vs-white-potatoes

Terytha

I'm a picky eater. But, I used to be worse. As time has gone by, I've become more open to trying things. Still, I hate some foods. Like mushrooms. And peas. Blech.

My husband is the pickiest eater. He won't eat any vegetables, and is opposed to trying any types of food that aren't American or Japanese. He won't even try like, Indian or Chinese or Vietnamese food. At all.

seltzermint555

I'm not very picky. I will eat most things. I really don't have any weird texture issues and consider few foods "gross". I hated tomatoes as a kid but like them now, though big fresh slices of tomato with a lot of seeds aren't my favorite...prefer them diced up in pico or stewed.

I'm not a vegetarian - but there are a lot of meat dishes I won't try or dislike (haggis, venison, duck, veal, rabbit, etc). I'm picky about certain meats on the bone, for example I like fried chicken from about 3 restaurants and don't eat it anywhere else. I feel like that is my one area of "pickiness" and it's easily sidestepped especially because my husband is pescetarian and eats/cooks mostly vegetarian - so it's rare that I find myself being served meats I dislike or am unwilling to try.

GummiMundi

Nah. There are things that I like more, things that I like less, but I pretty much eat anything. And I enjoy trying new foods.

phx92

I didn’t think I was picky bc I ate most of the foods/vegetables my family made, but as I get older I feel pretty picky compared to others. I’m trying to broaden my tastes a little bit

I don’t like sushi, most fish/seafood, mayo based salads/coleslaw, avocado, green olives, eggplant... there’s more foods I dislike but I think those are mainly the commonly liked foods that I wouldn’t try if it was served

I don’t mind cilantro but have a mild reaction to horseradish and sage

cbihatt

Well, after reading these responses, I would fit most of your definitions of a picky eater.

I hate fish of all kinds. The smell of it even bothers me. I hate beans because of the texture of them, but I do enjoy garbanzos and edamame (if you count them as beans?). I am also not a fan of many vegetables. There are some that I like, and some that I tolerate, but I am not ever going to be the poster child for the food pyramid. I do love fruit, though. Pretty much all fruit except for plums and cantaloupe.

I used to think that there was something wrong with me, but as I’ve aged I’ve realized that I don’t want to torture myself into eating things that make me gag just because they are considered healthy. So, I just eat what I like, and avoid what I don’t. Every once in awhile I will try to eat something (usually vegetables prepared differently) that I have never liked but it rarely turns out differently. Like, last night I tried green beans again, but I still don’t like them.

To all the cilantro haters, though, you all are crazy. Cilantro is awesome. 😆

gramarye

I am a very picky eater, and it bothers me. In some ways it's textural -- I don't like raw vegetables, and cooked vegetables are iffy for me, and usually I only tend to like them when they're cooked with other things. I've never been a pile-of-veggies person, and I used beat myself up about it. Some of it is very tied to anxiety for me as well -- sometimes trying a new food can legit cause an anxiety attack, so I try to push myself within reason.

I used to think that there was something wrong with me, but as I’ve aged I’ve realized that I don’t want to torture myself into eating things that make me gag just because they are considered healthy. So, I just eat what I like, and avoid what I don’t.

This is where I land now. I make a concerted effort to try new things unless I know it's something I absolutely don't like, but I'm not gonna force myself to eat food I don't like.

cwolfman13

Not a picky eater, but there's obviously things I don't like. I am a food snob and picky about quality though.