Fussy Eaters - Please bear with us!!!

nicole_andan

I eat home made meals but I'm not adverse to buying the odd pasta sauce etc. I'd read the label first and if I could I would cook from scratch but sometimes if I get home late or I'm feeling lazy then you can't beat a pasta bake!!! I could eat beef jerky I suppose I just don't know what it is!!!! I always put it in the category of pastrami, it's something that you hear about a lot when speaking to someone from the US but it's not really something that made it across to the UK as far as I know so I'm not really sure what it is!!!!!

I will eat ham though in a sandwich (but I wouldn't eat something like spam!) If it's mushed up so I can't see where it's come from ie what part of the animal or what kind of animal then I would rather not eat it. Absolutely no judgements on those that do but it's not for me.

ScottishMrs

I eat home made meals but I'm not adverse to buying the odd pasta sauce etc. I'd read the label first and if I could I would cook from scratch but sometimes if I get home late or I'm feeling lazy then you can't beat a pasta bake!!! I could eat beef jerky I suppose I just don't know what it is!!!! I always put it in the category of pastrami, it's something that you hear about a lot when speaking to someone from the US but it's not really something that made it across to the UK as far as I know so I'm not really sure what it is!!!!!

I will eat ham though in a sandwich (but I wouldn't eat something like spam!) If it's mushed up so I can't see where it's come from ie what part of the animal or what kind of animal then I would rather not eat it. Absolutely no judgements on those that do but it's not for me.

Wow! I didn't know that beef jerky isn't a thing there! That's so neat to know. It's basically just thin strips of beef that are cured until they are very hard and often have flavours added. I think the original kind is usually smoked, but I prefer the hot and sweet kind...not that it makes much difference to you since you don't have it there. It was originally made so that people could take it on long treks and not have their meat spoil and it doesn't take up much room or weigh much because all of the liquid has been cured out of it so it was great for packing.

The macro info is probably the most important thing in what I said in the above post though. It's made a huge difference in the way I feel every day. They say that you should have 1g protein per lb of LBM or .8g protein per lb of your full weight if you don't know your LBM. That little tweak can be difficult at first though--at least it was for me--because sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what are good protein sources. There was a post of good protein sources a while back that I'll have to see if I can find for you because it was really helpful for me. Good luck with figuring out what works for filling you!

fayeonherway

I'm a fussy eater too and no one ever understands. On top of it I have food allergies. Allow me to go into detail:

Allergies:
all fruits
all vegetables
almonds
pistachios
anaphylactic allergy to watermelon

mild lactose intolerance

Foods I can't stand:
string beans/chick peas/beans (hummus is alright because the texture is changed and the taste is overwhelmed)
peas
vegetables cooked to mush
all fish except for fishsticks which must be dipped in applesauce (they're highly processed and the texture is changed)

Foods that are sometimes hard to handle:
mashed potatos
porridge
very soft pasta
pudding
yogurt
jello
smoothies
pulpy juice
pumpkin pie
very soft rice (most of the time, but once in a blue moon I can handle it)

Dealing with pickiness can be difficult, but there are totally ways to work around it. Just make foods that you are alright with. Screw what anyone else thinks. What sorts of meal/snack ideas were you looking for?

ETA: I posted something a little similar a while back and I learned that protein is great for filling you up. Also, I made a stew the other day and 1 bowl filled me up for hours. Can you handle stew? Also, I hear that PB2 is a powder, so perhaps you could use that instead of regular peanut butter?

Are we related? :flowerforyou:

I feel you on the fruit and almond allergies!! I have OAS, so what doesn't kill me makes my extremely itchy! I also have a hard time eating things that are lumpy or things that should be smooth in texture but somehow have lumps.

Pumpkin pie/sweet potato pies makes no sense to me and the thought of eating them makes me gag. Never had either.

neandermagnon

Doesn't sound like there is enough of the icky foods to keep you from eating healthy. I wouldn't sweat it. One of my sons has hated squash since the day he was born. He still will not eat them.

This. ^^^

Other than the awkwardness you get in social situation, I don't see the problem with fussy eating from a nutritional point of view, provided you're not so fussy that you can't eat enough different foods to get the nutrients your body needs.

Start with protein... every meal should contain a protein food that you enjoy eating
then carbohydrate... if you need to lose weight keep the serving sizes small, and wholegrains and fruit are more nutritious than white carbohydrate foods (white rice, white bread, etc). If you need to gain weight, eat more of these and more protein
then healthy fat... you don't need huge servings of fatty food (the calories add up quick) but you do need to ensure you're getting healthy fat
then vitamins and minerals.... as wide a range of foods as you can manage, you can look up online to see which foods are high in which vitamins and minerals
then fibre.... fruits, vegetables and wholegrains give you this
then water

If you're getting all those things in your diet, then really don't sweat it regarding foods you have these strong aversions to. It's nutrients that you need, not the specific foods.

I have aversions to foods as well, just a small number, and no-one's going to make me eat those foods. Celery is one, I cannot stand the taste or smell of it raw to the point that I hate even having it in the house (I can smell it in the living room if it's in the kitchen, and it stinks out the whole fridge...) when cut up into tiny enough pieces and cooked with other things to the extent that the flavour is completely disguised, I can eat it. Peanuts are another one, I can't even eat chocolate if it contains peanuts (snickers and peanut M&Ms = :sick: ) also mashed potato but I think that one is psychological due to being forced to eat school dinner instant mashed potato so many times as a kid so I am planning on training myself to like top quality mashed potato cooked well from fresh potatoes (never going near the instant stuff ever, because it's not healthy and tastes vile so why on earth should I)........... but the taste of peanuts and celery are so vile I can't begin to contemplate eating them ever. So I do understand, it seems the only difference is you have a bigger list of these foods. So my advice is don't worry about it, just make healthy meals for yourself using all the foods that you do like.

Nutella91

used to hate lots of food before i started dieting.
but it's like magic-now i like all the food.

Davina_JH

Andrew Zimmern might be able to help?

endoftheside

Have you tried therapy with someone experienced with sensory issues? If you want to get rid of something so deeply ingrained in your personality, I think some professional advice would be helpful.

If you don't want to, it does seem that you have enough foods you are able to eat that you can just work around the problem. I have several of the so-called super taster genes (before DNA testing, I just thought I was picky), and just knowing that things really do taste differently to me than they do to most other people helps me accept it and just do what I need to do. I make sure to take small portions of things at potlucks just in case, but there are very few circumstances where I am not able to control what I eat (or eat beforehand, or eat afterward).

I think that continuing to try new things is also a big plus, because you just never know! Things you did not eat at a child will not have any of the "baggage" that foods that were forced on you, or made you gag, etc. would.

hdlb

I have a long list too so I understand exactly where you're coming from OP.

I"m picky, and there are things that I just cannot eat without gagging. Mainly ground meats/hamburgers, chicken legs/thighs, fish/seafood, (I can eat fish sticks if I make them from scratch) and I will only eat chicken breast if I cut and prepare it myself. I have issues lol. I can't seem to swallow soy alternatives or any GF bread. I end up spitting it out, I literally can't swallow. I really have a hard time with cooked veggies, but I"m slowly working on it. I can get a few bites down now, which 3 years ago would't have happened.

And on top of that I have crohns. Which brings a ton of food issues on its own. My "trigger" foods are: Dairy, corn, rice, sugar, caffeine, oats, gluten, vegetable oils, raw veggies, fruit with skin, red meat, (sometimes its ok, sometimes its not) and I'm allergic to all nuts.

TheRealParisLove

My husband is like the OP, and I've learned how to cook so that he will eat healthier. Blended foods are a winner, whether it is a pureed soup or a protein smoothie, he gulps them down as texture isn't an issue anymore.

Other things I've tried is alternating the cooking method. He hates steamed asparagus but loves it roasted with garlic. Raw broccoli, no, steamed broccoli, yes. Candied sweet potatoes, no, baked sweet potatoes, yes. And he'll eat just about anything if it has sriracha on it, lol!

TheRealParisLove

I also would like to add that being a fussy eater is a social problem for many people. If your host has taken a great deal of time and effort to prepare a meal and half of his guests refuse to eat it because they "just can't," this is insulting to the host and the fussy eater is placed into an awkward position of pretending to eat the offered meal, and going home hungry.

I don't know if this has always been an issue (somehow I doubt it). My theory is that bottle fed babies grow up to be more fussy eaters as adults as they are not exposed to the flavor molecules in mother's milk, and therefore don't develop a taste for the foods of the region.

I have exactly no scientific evidence of this theory, so I guess it is really just a hypothesis.

FP4HSharon

I wouldn't say I"m hugely fussy (but you know I don't like water ;-), but I had asthma as a child & certain foods brought it on...spicy foods of any kind (anything more spicy than mild salsa), too much pepper, rye, clams, & oysters (which makes me afraid to try scallops). But as I've gotten older I find that more & more foods give me migraines...any kind of non-sugar sweetener, chocolate, tomatoes (except for maybe a very small slice), tomato sauce/paste/diced, cherries, any kind of cured meat (except for bacon, thank God!), grapes/juice, & oranges/juice. Before I started eating healthy, I used to eat a LOT of fat calories, like a big burger every Saturday morning when our family went out for breakfast. Now, if I eat anything that has that much fat in it, I can't eat very much before I feel ill. So some of it may be getting used to things, but I think a lot of what you describe is just how your body is. I've already encountered food snobs you would say "man up," and if they could make everyone eat like them, they would. But as long as you're healthy, then who's to say what you're doing is wrong. I am still trying to find new healthy things to try though.

To me this discussion is kind of like whether people believe you should eat fresh, frozen, or canned veggies. Some say only fresh, but others say that as long as it takes fresh to get to the markets, that frozen is better. Some say canned would also have more nutrients, others say the water leaches out the nutrients. Then others will say to avoid the packaging in frozen & canned, while others are getting food poisoning from fresh. There are probably studies saying that every single thing is bad, as well as every single thing is good. Different things work for different people.

You're doing great, so don't worry about the naysayers.

atrebor18

you aren't alone! i'm a picky eater and recently i've been able to eat new foods like sweet potatoes and tilapia but I still don't like a lot of "normal" food like eggs or chicken and it makes dinners with friends or my bf's family awkward. I make a point to not complain or say anything at all about the food because why should they have to cater to my craziness but his mom is always asking if I had enough and apologizing endlessly. It makes me feel guilty but I can't seem to help my habits. =/
I like some foods in different applications too like I can eat ground beef as taco meat all day long but hamburgers or any other type of beef makes me want to puke. I like the flavor of chicken stock but don't eat actual chicken...why am I so weird? lol

FP4HSharon

but I still don't like a lot of "normal" food like eggs or chicken and it makes dinners with friends or my bf's family awkward. I make a point to not complain or say anything at all about the food because why should they have to cater to my craziness but his mom is always asking if I had enough and apologizing endlessly. It makes me feel guilty but I can't seem to help my habits.

It does make it awkward to have dinner at someone's home doesn't it? But you shouldn't feel guilty, you can't help it. Rather than give someone a list of everything I can't eat, I usually just avoid foods that would put me in the ER w/an asthma attack, and take Motrin with me so I can still eat any foods that cause migraines. But when someone comes to our home, I always make a point of really insisting that I want to know about any food preferences or allergies. Although my husband thinks it's funny to tell hosts that I don't like water...until he gets an elbow in the side. ;-)
ADDED NOTE: With your bf's family, maybe you could give him a list to give to his mom. She sounds like she really wants to consider your preferences, & it'd probably be less awkward coming from your bf. He could let her know that you didn't want to trouble her. I'm sure it would make her very happy to find recipes that you really like. :-)