Friends, I have a confession. If you know me in real life, you already know this about me. If you’ve read some of my posts that mention food, you may have gathered this impression. But today, I’m going to tell it like it is.
I am a picky eater. And that might be the biggest understatement that has ever occurred on Forward is a Pace.
I do like pizza. And, apparently, making weird faces when I eat it after races. Mmmm. Pizza.
I pretty much eat American cuisine — pizza, chicken, fries, that kind of thing. When I venture into other kinds of food, it’s in the most basic way possible. Mexican food? Sure, I’ll have tacos with just meat and cheese, please. Italian? You bet. I’ll have spaghetti and meatballs, or maybe I’ll be daring and have some cheese ravioli. Oh, um, you want to go out for Chinese? Can I have… um… some white rice?
When I got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, my fear of food made my picky eating tendencies that much worse. Not only did I lose the ability to eat some of my staple foods, I was (and still am, a lot of the time) afraid to try anything new for fear of spending a day in massive pain and within a few feet of a bathroom at all times. In some ways, having ulcerative colitis makes it a little easier to be picky. Lots of times, people assume that my food issues are related to my illness, don’t push it, and accommodate my crazy food needs. (And really, thanks to chicken nuggets, I can find something I’ll eat almost anywhere people want to go.)
But while it’s pretty easy logistically to be picky, it’s time for me to be a grown up. I’m going to be 27 in less than a month (yikes!) and I think it’s time to expand my palate a little bit. Let’s face it. Many of the foods I don’t think I like, I haven’t even bothered to try. And it does get a little embarrassing to walk into an authentic Mexican restaurant and order plain tacos, or get chicken nuggets off the kids’ menu when everyone is ordering Chinese.
And so, I have one thing that I’m going to add to my 2012 resolutions. I’m not sure it really fits into my theme of chasing dreams, but it will help make me a little more brave, and you need to be brave to chase dreams, right? (Too much of a stretch? Whatever. It’s my list and I’ll take it.) When given the opportunity, I’m going to try new foods. I will make sure that I have the opportunity at least twice a month, but I’ll take it more often when it presents itself. It may not be more than a bite of a friend’s meal or trying a different sauce on my pasta, but little by little, I’m going to add things to my list of foods I’ll eat.
Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll be an adventurous eater.
Are you a picky eater? Do you eat just about everything? Fall somewhere in between? What’s something delicious you think I have to try?
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having UC and finding new foods to eat is so darn tricky. gosh i love mexican but unfortunately it doesn’t love me – at all
i hardly eat italian just because i really dont love it, other than gnocchi – have you tried that? do it! but i do eat any and all sushi or seafood.
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I’ve tried gnocchi, and it’s fine, but nothing I’d seek out. Haha.
I’ve tried pretty much every kind of fish and seafood and I can’t find a single one I like. It baffles me. I’ve tried them recently, too.
i think this is exciting! i used to be so afraid of trying new foods but then i started treating it as an adventure and its much more exciting that way
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You’re right, Julia! It IS an adventure.
I definitely fall somewhere inbetween. I don’t really like fruit (texture thing), but am usually game to try almost everything else once. My friend got me to try octupus last weekend- which I never thought I would say I liked, but I did!
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Octopus?! You are far braver than I am.
I’m not a picky eater at all! In fact, the only thing I avoided for a long time was clams, and that was due to a bout of food illness after eating them once. I just tried them again (on pizza) – and I’ll eat them again!
I love Asian food, and some good Thai dishes to try in exploration are: pineapple fried rice and pad thai.
Re: gnocchi – try it again. I’ve had great gnocchi at certain restaurants, and OK gnocchi at others. It’s supposed to be like a light fluffy pillow when it’s the best.
Thank you for the suggestions — you are awesome!
sometimes I think we were twins, separated at birth. except for the fact that I’m much older than you. Minor detail. I am sorry that you have such a hard time with food, but thankful for your humorous and optimistic approach to it (and everything else). I have absolutely no good advice for you (I’m sorry) but again just wanted to say thank you. I’m not sure how I came across your blog, but it is by far my favorite (the name alone has become a mantra of sorts), the one I most relate to and I really admire your approach to life. About food tastes, my issues revolve not so much around an illness but around a bizarre as yet undiagnosed oversensity to smell. However,I imagine most of it is in my head, as some of my favorites surprise even myself. I grew up on an island (though not tropical, I’m sad to say) where seafood is a staple, and I could live on steamed shrimp and steamed crabs alone. If I could afford. I cannot eat it when traveling though, as it is a regional thing. I look forward to hearing what new foods you try and maybe find some ideas as well!!
Christine, thank you so much for your kind words. You have no idea how much they mean to me!
I’m impressed that seafood is a staple for you. That is something that I just can’t figure out how to like. Fingers crossed that I find a few new things!
I am not a picky eater at all. I will eat anything, however that doesn’t mean that everything agrees with me. However, I will consider myself lucky since my stomach is not as rogue as yours since I don’t have UC.
Trying new food is fun, most of the time. Even if it’s just a bite off someone else’s plate.
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