Picky/Discerning

I don’t understand why some view picky eaters like me in a negative light. I prefer to think of myself as discerning. I won’t just shovel any old crap down my gullet.

(If this seems to come from nowhere, it’s really from the place most of my writing comes from: I read an article while I was bored and it struck a chord. And I have nothing else to write about this week, so.) 

I have definite likes and dislikes when it comes to food — sorry, not sorry — and don’t understand why that’s a negative. I am an adult and if I don’t want to eat broccoli, why should I? I’m not just being stubborn for stubbornness’ sake when I won’t go near certain foods. There is a reason for my avoidance. Like the taste and smell of green peppers makes me sick, so I avoid them.

I’m not going to eat something I can’t stand. I’m not going to make a big public display out of hating food (unless I’m trying to get a laugh) but I’ll just tactfully decline. If I’m in a social situation where I can sense that my rejection of a food will hurt the host’s feelings, I’ll suck it up, pretend to like the food, and vent later to Steve on the way home. Otherwise, I’m just not going to eat the spinach.

Yes, most of my dislikes center on vegetables. This is not ideal for health but given that at age 41 I still feel like a million bucks almost all the time, I regret nothing.

My food attitudes may come back to haunt me in our hopefully future parenthood. I’d like to eat least try to promote healthy eating. So if our kid hates vegetables, I’ll have to take one for the team and eat that broccoli, with a forced smile replacing my full-body shudder, and say, “See? Daddy eats it.” My parents will hear about this and laugh their heads off at the karma of it all.

Then, one day when I am on my deathbed, I will confess to him. “I never liked all those green vegetables. I just ate them so you would tooooooo …” (dies)

In summary, I’m the one who has to eat the food on my plate so I’m going to please myself and not other people.