Picky Eaters Unite!

[Gingersnap]

FEAR OF FOOD: HOLD THE CONDIMENTS, PLEASE

BURGERS MAKE ME GAG

Some eat only peanut butter, others won't have fish if it's touching their veggies. As childhood fussiness becomes full-blown phobia, adult picky eaters are now public and proud. Wency Leung reports

WENCY LEUNG

Special to The Globe and Mail

September 23, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Montrealer T. J. Haselden is afraid of cheeseburgers.

The 28-year-old computer salesman is so disgusted by the idea of marrying gooey cheese with tangy condiments, meat and bread that he can't sink his teeth into one without retching.

He gets nauseous at the thought of biting into a juicy tomato, and has yet to work up the nerve to find out how a potato chip tastes.

"If I think I'm going to gag off of it, I'm not going to stick it anywhere near my mouth," Mr. Haselden said. "It has mainly to do with textures and smells."

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For as long as he can remember, he has been able to tolerate only a few foods, including dry chicken or well-done steak and plain, sauce-free vegetables. None of the components can touch each other on the plate.

On evenings when his wife makes herself pasta, Mr. Haselden eats his own chicken dinner at the far end of the table to distance himself from the aroma of her dish.

Mr. Haselden is among a multitude of adult picky eaters who have failed to outgrow their childhood distaste for certain foods. Since their fussiness is often met with ridicule and disbelief, many dread social functions that revolve around food for fear of having to explain or make excuses for what they won't eat.

"Weddings are the worst," Mr. Haselden said, noting that at a recent wedding he was the only adult eating a children's meal of chicken fingers and fries, while everyone else dined on fish. "That was embarrassing."

Through online forums, blogs and social networking groups, however, thousands of adult picky eaters are finding support, and mobilizing to seek tolerance and understanding for their dietary quirks.

Bob Krause, founder of the U.S.-based website PickyEatingAdults.com, said about 200 people have joined a picky eaters' online forum he started earlier this year, , and at least 1,000 are part of his separate picky eaters' Yahoo group.

I have belonged to the Picky Eaters Yahoo Group for years. :o

This article is pretty interesting so read the whole thing. I'm pretty sure that a wildly varied diet is not only overrated nutritionally but partly responsible for all the porkers out there. You can have a rich and deeply meaningful life without ever eating a zucchini or Hot Pocket.

Picky

[LibraryLady]

I've found my soul mate.

The 28-year-old computer salesman is so disgusted by the idea of marrying gooey cheese with tangy condiments, meat and bread that he can't sink his teeth into one without retching.

He gets nauseous at the thought of biting into a juicy tomato

[Gingersnap]

I can eat tomatoes if they are neatly cut up and not drippy. I wouldn't eat one like an apple, though. :eek:

[LibraryLady]

I like tomato soup, tomato juice, tomato sauces, ketchup, I even like V-8. Just don't make me look at those squishy, drippy tomatoes. And THE SEEDS!!!!!:eek:

[IanMartins]

Girl is scared to death of pickles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjxOt2u2BGM

[Phillygirl]

I have mixed feelings on this.

As a kid, I was incredibly picky. I can remember vividly throwing up the macaroni and cheese that my mother put on my plate despite my protestations that the mere smell of it was making me nauseous. I can still picture that giant green/blue bowl with the dutch people decorating it and that awful smell.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me were "peanut butter and jelly, without the jelly, no roof"...which amounted to a slice of bread with peanut butter on it.

I have outgrown a lot of my pickiness in terms of refusal to eat things...in fact I'm fairly adventurous, just don't let things touch on the plate, no gravy oozing out over the corn...and I have to eat all of one thing at a time before I move on to the next thing. Meat first, vegetable second, starch last. I hate when someone insists that I try something in between before I've finished eating choice number 1.

And don't expect me to drink the last of the milk in the carton. I don't care if it was just bought today...if it's sitting at the bottom of the container, that's just gross. And don't pour me a glass of milk, put it at my place, and then call me to dinner. I don't care if you show me the time stamped video that it was just poured right before I got there...I won't believe you and again...milk that has been sitting out is just gross. And don't drink from my glass of milk. My glass of soda or water, or beer...help yourself. But not the milk. That's gross.

And a fried egg must be flipped over, served medium. It has to have enough liquidity to run, but cooked enough to stop running. And it is to be eaten from the outside in. First all the white must be eaten...going round and round so that it is always a circle. Once that is all eaten, then the fried yolk should be placed on the toast and eaten. It should not run off onto my plate...if some does, that must be quickly mopped up before it infects the scrapple or the homefries.

Okay, I think that's it.

Yeah, I've definitely conquered my food issues. :D

[JB]

I have mixed feelings on this. <snipped>

I'm going to leave this one alone.

It just doesn't feel right snarking at it.

[Shannon]

Freaks.

[megimoo]

I have mixed feelings on this.

As a kid, I was incredibly picky. I can remember vividly throwing up the macaroni and cheese that my mother put on my plate despite my protestations that the mere smell of it was making me nauseous. I can still picture that giant green/blue bowl with the dutch people decorating it and that awful smell.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me were "peanut butter and jelly, without the jelly, no roof"...which amounted to a slice of bread with peanut butter on it.

I have outgrown a lot of my pickiness in terms of refusal to eat things...in fact I'm fairly adventurous, just don't let things touch on the plate, no gravy oozing out over the corn...and I have to eat all of one thing at a time before I move on to the next thing. Meat first, vegetable second, starch last. I hate when someone insists that I try something in between before I've finished eating choice number 1.

And don't expect me to drink the last of the milk in the carton. I don't care if it was just bought today...if it's sitting at the bottom of the container, that's just gross. And don't pour me a glass of milk, put it at my place, and then call me to dinner. I don't care if you show me the time stamped video that it was just poured right before I got there...I won't believe you and again...milk that has been sitting out is just gross. And don't drink from my glass of milk. My glass of soda or water, or beer...help yourself. But not the milk. That's gross.

And a fried egg must be flipped over, served medium. It has to have enough liquidity to run, but cooked enough to stop running. And it is to be eaten from the outside in. First all the white must be eaten...going round and round so that it is always a circle. Once that is all eaten, then the fried yolk should be placed on the toast and eaten. It should not run off onto my plate...if some does, that must be quickly mopped up before it infects the scrapple or the homefries.

Okay, I think that's it.

Yeah, I've definitely conquered my food issues. :D

Man do you have problems, food is food .
If the fries touch the beans on your plate so what .Gravy on the meat and spuds is the natural order of things.

How do you feel about biscuits and gravy over chicken fried steak ?What about thanksgiving dinner with spuds and stuffing, turkey and cranberry sauce all on your plate touching each other and covered in gravy ?

[OwlMBA]

I love all kinds of food, but I am as picky as they come.

I confess - I am a food snob.