Picky, picky, picky...

“If you are going to be a picky eater, you have to be able to pick,” my friend announced to me after I commented on the onions left on her plate from the huevos rancheros I had made for brunch. She has a point; picky eaters that refuse to eat a dish because of one ingredient often drive me a little bit crazy. Some people make a huge deal about their selective diet, while others tend to flow a bit better, eating around the less-than-appetizing bites. Picky eaters, selective eaters, for one reason or another, it creates a less than ideal situation at a dinner party. These days there seems so much more to think about when accommodating for the varieties of eaters out there. Remember the days when the vegetarian option was unique? (Side note to the selective eating: Allergies, well, you can’t really blame them.)

I used to be more a picky eater: when I was really young, I didn’t eat sauce. (What little kid do you know that actually eats sauce, though?) Then I moved onto not liking anything tomato-based, and that turned into just not liking actual tomatoes—but tomato products were okay. Eventually, one day I got tired of picking out the tomatoes and requesting modified dishes at restaurants. So, I said to myself, I would like tomatoes, and, hey, I tried them, started eating them and I love them now. And I did the same thing with yogurt. You know what? I hardly go a day now without eating both yogurt and tomatoes at some point.

When people tell me they don’t like something now, I often wonder—is it something that they really don’t like, or is it something they are just in the habit of not liking, or is something they just never tried? Tastes change all the time, in fact, there was an article in the City Paper last week about growing up and changing tastes, apparently you shouldn’t disregard something because “you never liked it” but you should try it again, try it prepared differently or a different atmosphere—you may be surprised!

At the family dinner table, my parents went with the principle of you have to try everything on your plate before refusing to eat it, calling it a “No-thank-you-bite.”A friend of mine took this philosophy to the next step, telling me one of his “rules to live by” is: “Try everything twice.” (While our conversation concerned food, I think you can apply it to many situations!) He maintained the first time you might not be ready for it, maybe something is not done well, so give it some time to sit with you and then try it again. He says if you still hate it, then don’t force it.

Maybe picky eating isn’t always something you can change, or even want to change, for that matter. There are so many aspects to food that fall into consideration beyond taste—texture, smell, appearance, and then you can get into the values and ethics. Perhaps though, there is a time and a place for picky eating—when buying and preparing your own food, pick away! But sometimes (especially when accepting a prepared dish from someone else) try to leave behind some of the pre-conceived ideas about what you already think you don’t like. I know a few people who should stand to try something for that second time—and when that fails: learn to pick!