There are 5 Foods I won't eat. There is of course a longer list of food that I don't enjoy or wouldn't choose when given options, but would generally accept when served. However, these are the foods that are out 100% of the time. I always do my best not to be rude about it, but I've shared a couple stories where I am not sure I succeeded.
Mayo-Salad-Blah: Let it be known that I do enjoy mayonnaise, it can enhance many a dip, or even plain on fries. However - salad dressing (otherwise known as miracle whip) I have no love for you. Anyway, this idea that a bunch of chopped up things like cabbage, potatoes, eggs or noodles, which are than slathered in mayo or salad dressing has yet to impress me as "good". To me - it has the consistency of slime. I also don't understand the idea of mixing tons of wonderful foods into a bowl, and then covering it in slime. True Story: I was in Mexico helping at an orphanage and the staff their served us a mayo-noodle-salad as the entire dinner. In my hunger, and desire to be appreciative of their generously prepared meal - I ate as much as I could bear. I then threw it all up "as discreetly as possible" 5-minutes later. Rather embarrassing, but I still can't decide what is less rude... refusing food from a needier institution or inevitably throwing up the food you take. This one has an exception: Huzbun has a way with Coleslaw, such that I don't mind it, if served shortly after made, and in small amounts.
Disclaimer: In no way do I look accusingly on the people working and serving in the Mexican orphanage, the work they are doing there is incredibly selfless, and my entire experience there was wonderful, despite "throwing up" incident.
Mushrooms: The texture on these is impossible for me. If you serve me something with mushrooms, I will pick them out (sorry!), the alternative is worse again. True Story: I went out with a bunch of my new found friends in college, and ordered the "Quesadillas", a seemingly safe dish. These quesadillas had mushrooms (guys -let's just say: how wierd!) on them, but not wanting to draw attention to myself, I tried to make peace with the mushrooms and eat them anyway. 30 seconds later: I was running for the restroom. Now, I pick mushrooms off.
Cereal: It's just so plain, and there's all that wasted milk. I get that some people drink the milk when they are done, but even when I did eat cereal I could never stomach that. True story: I use to be a normal person who ate cereal on a regular basis for breakfast, but one-day I just realized it wasn't that good, and I didn't understand why I was doing it. So I stopped, and never started again.
Easy-Mac: I have never eaten this food
. It's simply because I don't get it. I mean isn't the original macaroni and cheese in a box "easy" as is. Why does it need to get "easier"? Also, maybe it tastes fine, but I just can't believe that it would. When I want mac-n-cheese I just get it the "hard-way". You know, difficult things like cooking noodles, and mixing in cheese. 
Bologna, Spam, Vienna Sausage: I am not sure any of this needs explaining, but I really *can't* eat over processed meat. Essentially, if it retains a geometrically defined shape that I can easily calculate
the volume on (think: cube, cone, cylinder)... mmm not okay. I'm guessing it's not totally healthy either, but it's just the*ralph* factor I'm talking about here. Also, in terms of hot-dogs, there is too much variation to judge universally, but yeah some of them are out too. Do you have foods that you won't eat? What are they? Have you ever had to be rude about it? How have you dealt with it in delicate situations?
I'm with you on all but the mayo salad stuff ("ambrosia" excepted, shudder). I always just figured easy mac was for kids who's parents didn't trust them in a kitchen (all those knives) and gamers who couldn't be bothered actually boiling water. I even tried it once when it first came out, but the texture was... strange. Something about parboiling, I guess.
ReplyDeleteDoing the veggie thing there are (obviously) lots of things I don't/ won't eat. If I know in advance that I'll be eating somewhere I try to let people know and offer to bring something. If there's *nothing* I eat (only happened once) I'll stick to drinks and say I already ate.
I try to ask about stuff that'll make me sick if I bite into it, and other than that, guess. I always figured it was more offensive to puke after eating than to pass on food. Also, outside majority x-ian countries (like the US and Mexico) it's pretty well accepted that people will exclude foods from their diets due to personal beliefs. For things I don't have that excuse for, I just say it makes me sick. I try to phrase it a bit better, honest.
Usually, though, I just make sure I have some back up food I know I eat.
#1: LIMA BEANS. I don't care for any beans, actually, though I am trying to add them into my diet because they are good for me. So far, I've managed to add black beans and lentils. But I will NEVER eat a lima bean again in my life.
ReplyDelete#2: Mushrooms, I agree with what you said.
#3: I'm not wild about Asparagus, but again, I try to eat it since it is good for me.
#4: Anything that is overly salty will wigg me out...
That is pretty much it, I guess.
@j.
ReplyDelete"I always figured it was more offensive to puke after eating than to pass on food."
Yes, I agree with this. The times it happened, I was thinking I could keep the food down. Hence - I pick off Mushrooms these days, not matter how rude it might seem.
@Cathy, My mom also has great disdain for Lima Beans. Consequently, growing up we never had any - so I really don't know what they are like. However, I do like beans in general.
I'm with you on the mushrooms, but only if they are those rubbery canned button things...fresh ones aren't so bad really, and if they are chopped up really really good, I do enjoy the flavor.
ReplyDeleteAnchovies...as soon as I learned that caesar dressing has anchovies in it, I couldn't stomach it. Its like a mouthful of salty slime to me, ick.
Brussel sprouts...seriously I cannot even be in the same room with them. St. Patricks day inevitably finds me somewhere around other cooked cabbage, and I have tried to wear some really tasty lip gloss so I'm smelling that instead. :) Seriously, it works!
I know exactly what you mean about becoming more particular...I'm constantly thinking "I could make this better", and I'm really not that experienced as a cook. Most places just don't use quality ingredients.
Ground Meat. I know that is a weird one. I like meat don't get me wrong, but I don't like ground meat. No hamburgers here. In fact I was probably the only kid growing up crying because we went to Mc Ds (before the nuggets). It doesn't have to be just beef, any ground meet gets to me. I think it is texture. It feels already chewed in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteYes this is a pretty universal ingrediants so I often just don't eat much to avoid being too rude...
There's not a lot I won't eat....but I can't STAND any kind of gamey meat like venison. Ick.
ReplyDeleteOnce I was invited to a dinner party by a friend of mine. She was proudly serving the sausage that she traditionally makes every year with her sisters and mother. I took one bite and....oh no! It was very gamey. I must have chewed that piece of sausage for 5 minutes until I could choke it down. Finally I did what every kid does when there is something on their plate they don't like...cut it up and moved it around so it looked like I ate some! At one point she even called me out, "Susie, don't you like the sausage?" eeek. I just said I did but I wasn't very hungry.
Then I had to skip dessert to save face. Not fun.