I hate all of my food aversions. It’s embarrassing to be an adult and to be a picky eater. I also would really like to be a vegan for ethical reasons, but when I tried I realized that I don’t eat vegetables regularly enough for that be healthy.
It’s something I’ve worked really hard on and made some gains. Raw greens are okay, some cooked ones. But still, most cooked veggies are impossible for me. I really offended an ex boyfriend once because I gagged when I tried his soup. Sometimes when I’m stressed I regress. Sometimes even my complete last ditch safe foods (shit like Lunchables) don’t work either and I’ll go to sleep hungry.
Recently Facebook decided to feed me a bunch of content on ARFID, where it’s fucking boomers in the comments with the “they’ll eat it if they get hungry enough.” The classic “it’s your breakfast tomorrow.” I can’t really eat leftovers because of that shit - getting the same bowl of canned spinach three days in a row, that combination of being really fucking hungry while smelling the foulest thing imaginable.
It makes me want to punch someone in the face. There’s no fucking reason to do that to kids. So much of boomer parenting is wrapped up in this fucked up need for dictatorial control.
I’m a grown adult who will sometimes not eat for two days because my stomach decides everything is unsafe. I have lots of coping strategies from a lifetime of dealing with this, and I still couldn’t eat a tomato. Ketchup upsets and disturbs me more than human shit does - I’ve had a panic attack from a packet squirting on me.
I actively don’t want this to be the case. I would love to be able to get really into things like heirloom tomatoes, or try all kinds of fun soups. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a good kid and eat my dinner, but I just fucking couldn’t.
It’s a thing that is wrapped up endlessly in shame and embarrassment, and then on top of it all, people tell you it’s a choice to be this way. People are so shitty about something that has absolutely no impact on them.
Not trying to rain on your parade, but I have yet to find anything positive about tomatoes at all 😅 they taste bad, have this really gross skin that weirds me out texture-wise, and inside is full of glibber.
That being said, in general your advice is sound - I can't eat shrimp because of the texture, but I love the flavor. Ground small enough so I don't have to feel it against my teethe when chewing and I'm a happy camper!
I'm lucky enough that I can get myself to try almost everything at least once - but if I don't like it after that I will refuse to eat it without remorse. I think the second part for me made trying more stuff easier, because the trying was my way to give myself permission not to like it?
Only thing I really couldn't bring myself to try is chicken feet. I was a bit disappointed since lots of people were raving about it, but still - I genuinely tried. That's enough for me!
Have you had really high quality tomatoes? My mom had an amazing garden when I was growing up. The tomatoes were fantastic! We'd sometimes cook with them or put them in things, but most of the time, we'd just slice them and add a little salt. I have yet to find tomatoes at a grocery store that hold a candle to what we grew.
Yes. They still suck because I hate tomato flavor and texture. The only way I tolerate it is in things like Bolognese, but there's enough other flavor to override the core tomato flavor.
On another note, I would really appreciate if my saying "I dislike A" was just once not met with the attitude of "surely you just haven't done A right".
Like, I'm not even saying don't say what you were going to. Just... Don't insist it's my fault? You could've just said, "that sucks, but I found that with tomatoes quality makes a huge difference - maybe if you can get your hands on high-quality ones it's worth trying again" and it would just feel so much different.
Sorry for going off on you a little, I'm sure there was no I'll intent on your side, but it's reactions like yours that always make me very hesitant to even talk about food with new people. Which is kinda sad, because food can be a very awesome topic of conversation.
But have you tried them sundried and in oil? Honest to God. They are so good that way. The flavor is better, the texture is better. Pretty sure, if your internal glibber is the same as mine, it isn't an issue in the dry ones.
What about pizza? Or soups?
I can't do chicken feet, either. My husband will use them in broth sometimes, and I have to pretend really, really hard I am unaware of this, or I can't even drink the broth. But I guess that means even they have their place
Same rule about trying things. It does help to know it's ok to quit, after trying something.