Picky eaters of the board, unite!

[Nicest of the Damned]

Inspired by my discussion with IslandLover in another thread, this thread is for picky eaters. It's to let all the picky eaters on this board know, you're NOT alone, you're NOT a bad person because you're a picky eater, and your being a picky eater does NOT mean your diet is doomed to fail.

(Comments about how picky eaters are childish or spoiled are not welcome here. We've heard them all a thousand times already, thank you very much, and we're rather sick of them.)

I'm a picky eater. I don't like raw fruit or most raw vegetables. The only raw vegetables I like are a few salad greens, not including iceberg lettuce. There are other foods I will not eat because the texture of them revolts me. Soggy bread is one example. I won't eat soups thickened with bread. Unmelted butter also has an unacceptable, greasy texture to me.

I think No S is a good diet for picky eaters and people with pre-existing dietary restrictions (from religion, allergies, food aversions, or what have you), because it doesn't require us to eat anything we normally wouldn't. Imagine if you wanted to go on a diet, and most diet plans required you to eat insects. You'd have trouble starting a diet, wouldn't you? We picky eaters have an experience a little like that with a lot of diets. It's great to find a diet that doesn't require me to eat anything I don't like.

[reinhard]

Picky eaters of the board, unite!

I knew what I was doing here couldn't be *entirely* unrelated to the work of my great-great-granduncle Friedrich!

I think No S is a good diet for picky eaters and people with pre-existing dietary restrictions (from religion, allergies, food aversions, or what have you), because it doesn't require us to eat anything we normally wouldn't.

Although I think I'm the least picky eater I have ever met (as long as it's fresh and well prepared, I have no categorical dislikes -- the only thing I can think of is I'm not crazy about aspic, but even so I'll eat it), I think this is very true, and potentially very important. Many people, perhaps even most, have some kind of dietary restrictions, whether from preference, religious observance, health, etc., that can mesh poorly with typical forbidden/miracle foods weight loss diet plans. With no-s, the "what" of eating is completely up to you; it's just the "when" that's regulated. Its only impact on the "what" is that, by focusing your eating with limited input opportunities (aka meals), it gently nudges you to eat better "what" than you did before, because you want to make each opportunity really count ("better" by your own lights, whatever those may be).

Reinhard

[~reneew]

I wish I was a picky eater!

[mrsj]

I'm very picky, not about what I eat, but about how I eat. For example, I don't like my veggies touching my meat. I don't like sauce or gravy anywhere near my veggies. My meat has to be on the left of the plate. Then a mountain of veggies. To the right on my plate a small amount of starch. And no, it doesn't help to just turn the plate. If I have a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich, the jelly has to be on top. And no, it doesn't work to just turn the sandwich. Any other sandwich, the mustard must be on the bottom. Then meat, salad, onion and tomato IN THAT ORDER! Mayonaise has to be on the top slice of bread. I could go on...

[DaveMc]

One thing I'd just note, not at all as a criticism: I seem to enjoy vegetables and fruit a lot more now (after 16 months of NoS) than I remember doing before. So it might be worth sort of "checking in" every year or so, to see if your preferences might have changed when you weren't looking. It's like the habit of eating less sugar has done something to my taste buds. (I still *love* sweets, don't get me wrong, but five days a week without them may have made me appreciate non-sweets better, too.)

However, there's no reason that NoS shouldn't work perfectly well for you, no matter how picky you are!

[Nicest of the Damned]

It's also good to try new ways of preparing foods you don't like (especially if someone else in the house likes them, they will love you for this). You might find that what you really don't like is that food prepared in a particular way. I had that experience with Brussels sprouts. I went to an Indian restaurant with Nicest Boyfriend (now Nicest Husband), and they had a Brussels sprout curry on the menu. I hated Brussels sprouts. He ordered it, and convinced me to try a bite. I did, and it didn't have the taste or texture that I find objectionable in Brussels sprouts. It turns out that what I don't like is overcooked Brussels sprouts, the way everybody used to cook them. Like all cabbage-family vegetables, if you boil them for too long, they turn to mush and get that awful sulfurous reek. I still won't eat overcooked Brussels sprouts, but I seek out fresh Brussels sprouts on the stalk when our market has them, and eat them cooked in other ways.

I wouldn't take this too far- seeking out, say, deep-fried versions of foods you don't like is probably counterproductive, from a health standpoint. But, even though cooked carrots might be less nutritious than raw, cooked carrots are still more nutritious than no carrots, even if you add a little butter, olive oil, salt, or maple syrup to them. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but don't be an idiot, either.

[Aleria]

I'm a picky eater! But for me it is mostly texture, not taste. I can't stand anything slimy or jelly-like. This means I only eat certain meats - such as chicken breasts, thin cut steak (think stir fry), pork tenderloin. I can't stand cartilege! So it actually makes me healthier, haha. It also means I don't like mushy fruit, like pie fillings.
I'm also not fond of sweet fruits such as apples and melons, I only really like the sour ones. I'd say my aversion to many fruits is more of a problem than the meat one.

[marygrace]

I USED to be a super picky eater, wouldn't touch a fruit or vegetable until I was 17, when I decided to become a vegetarian and realized I'd need to start eating fruits and veggies to stay healthy. It was really unpleasant at first, because I was so used to only ever eating my mom's water-logged squash or overcooked broccoli. But soon I learned how to prepare vegetables in a way that I liked--roasted, sauteed, pureed, etc. Now I love all vegetables--they're pretty much my favorite foods--and will eat almost any of them in almost any preparation (except maybe raw broccoli, it's just gross).

Now I'll tolerate fruit, but given a choice between fresh fruit and something else, I'll usually choose the something else (the exception being perfectly ripe peaches, but they are pretty hard to come by). It must be a texture thing, because I love dried fruit, frozen berries or banana slices, and of course fruit cooked in a dessert. I just don't like the watery-ness of fresh fruit. Oh well, I eat more than enough vegetables to make up for it =)

[Nicest of the Damned]

I'm a picky eater! But for me it is mostly texture, not taste. I can't stand anything slimy or jelly-like.

I'm like this, too. There are some gelatinous things that the sight of makes me feel sick (I'll refrain from citing examples here, so as to not gross anybody out). Meat must be free of cartilage and visible fat for me to eat it. I'll cut off any cartilage or visible fat I can see before I put it in my mouth.

[ShannahR]

I'd like to join the picky eater club!

I've got a few "rules" in that I'm "casually kosher" as well as lactose intolerant. However, my biggest problem is that I'm a super taster. In other words, for me, anything bitter tasting is almost intolerable. No, I'm not exaggerating, this includes things many people wouldn't do without: coffee, beer, wine, dark chocolate, etc. Unfortunately, it also includes a lot of vegetables which I would like to eat more of. I haven't found a fix for this yet. I know a component of it is genetic but it seems like I should be able to work on it...but realistically I've been trying to learn how to drink wine for 5 years and I have yet to finish a whole glass . On the bright side I haven't had a failure in glass ceiling since I was legally able to drink in 2001 .

Anyways, No S is perfect for me. I can eat whatever I want in moderate amounts with no need to force myself to eat "miracle foods" I can't tolerate aka the grapefruit diet (yeah i don't like grapefruit either).

I totally agree with nicest--there is no way I'd have stuck to this diet this long if I had to routinely eat things I don't like. A BIG plus for No S I'd say!

[Sienna]

I'm definitely in the picky eaters club! Vegetables are the biggest issue for me. I've gotten better at being able to tolerate them (read: suppress the gag reflex when I eat them), but they are far from enjoyable.

Cooked vegetables are better than raw, and I'm better off if they are in things.

It's embarrassing at times. No one bats an eye if you say you are low carb, vegetarian, keep kosher or don't like sweets, but the second you don't like veggies you are immature and picky.

I love that NoS doesn't require me to eat veggies. But I really wouldn't mind having an experience like DaveMC and learning to like vegetables. I do like and eat fruit, so I don't worry about the nutrition much (I still remember when fruits and vegetables were in the same category of the food pyramid...), but it would be nice to feel normal. And I've just decided that for now, the things I don't like aren't worth the calories.

[ThomsonsPier]

I'm not picky. I'm demanding.

[Kimbo]

Thanks for starting this thread! Good to know I'm not alone!

Shannah, I'm a supertaster too. It's probably the first thing I would change about my physical body if I could. It's so restricting and so tiring to try to explain why I'll never, and I mean ever, be able to eat onions and peppers. Put a piece of onion in something and it's over for me. And no, I'll never learn to like coffee by putting lots of cream and sugar in it or eating coffee ice cream!

Ditto beer and wine, cruciferous veggies (well, veggies of all sorts except the starches), grapefruit, etc. etc.

I do hope that maybe my tolerance for some of the less-bitter veggies will go up if I can manage to stay on track with no-S and really reduce my sugar intake. But I've made my peace at this point and decided eating foods I hate isn't how I want to spend my eating times. I want to eat the best of what I like, get healthier and lose weight, but my taste buds are as they are!

Kim

[clarinetgal]

I'm a picky eater, too. I HATE cold cheese, but I'll eat cheese if it's melted, like on pizza (although lately, my stomach has NOT liked melted cheese). I also have never liked the taste of milk (which is just as well, since my body has grown much less tolerant of dairy). I hate olives of any kind. I hate cooked carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. I think that is a texture thing. I like the things I put on them (such as cinnamon and butter), but the overall experience of eating anything in the squash family is gross to me. I don't like things cooked in wine or sherry (I don't like alcohol period). I HATE for my foods to touch eachother. I usually have to put separate smaller plates on my plate, so my foods don't touch. I'm not a huge bread lover. I like buttered bread occasionally, and I'll sometimes have a sandwich for lunch, but for the most part, I could take it or leave it. I don't like beans all that much, unless they're the really bad refried beans or the Bush's Baked Beans that are sweetened with a ton of sugar and other things.I don't like most soy products, which means I could never become a vegetarian. Last but not least, I've become a HUGE snob about sweets -- especially pastries. Lately, the only baked goods I like are my own (and I usually slip in things like flax seed to make them healthier).

[wosnes]

I'd never heard of a supertaster until this post! I did some research and found that there are non-tasters, tasters, and supertasters. I think I'm a taster: some things really bother me, but others do not. I can't do the more bitter greens, dark roasted coffee, dry wines, or dark chocolate. I think sugar in coffee accentuates the bitterness. Some cruciferous vegetables fall into this category. Brussels sprouts, though I have tried them roasted and they're not as unpalatable that way. Though I generally eat broccoli, it can be troublesome. Roasted broccoli and cauliflower are good, too. I used to hate cooked cabbage, but I don't mind it raw or lightly cooked -- stir-fried. It's next to impossible to eat when it's overcooked.

Some years ago I read the book SuperFoods Rx. It mentioned that some people find the greens very bitter and suggested that salting helps cut the bitterness. I've found this to be true in some cases. Also, using smaller amounts in soups or one-dish meals.

I do eat grapefruit -- in fact, while its in season I generally eat one daily -- and drink the juice.

I am slightly lactose intolerant, but it's definitely related to how much I consume. I don't like milk as a beverage and never have, but I can use it in cooking or eat cheese -- as long as I watch how much I eat.

I can drink beer, but I don't like it. I maybe have 1-2 yearly, usually in the summer and it has to be ice-cold (which I think "dulls" the taste).

[clarinetgal]

Wosnes, I've never liked beer or any alcoholic drinks (except for the really sweet mixed drinks). It's just as well, because it makes it easy to stay away from. That's one vice I DON'T need.

[wosnes]

Not only did I not know about supertasters, I didn't think I was a picky eater. Turns out pickier than I thought! Part of my dislike of whole grains is that I think they taste bitter and I'm not fond of most herbs, especially fresh. I find the taste, especially if used liberally, offensive. Certainly not something that enhances the taste of food.

[jumbotights]

Im a picky eater but never realized it since im puffy. I do not like fruit or vegetables. When my dh is away on business I live like a bachelorette, fruit bowl empty, no veggies in sight. Bummer.

[Nicest of the Damned]

Not only did I not know about supertasters, I didn't think I was a picky eater.

I knew about supertasters. Given that they're estimated to make up about 25% of the population among people of European descent, I figured we had some here.

I definitely have a higher tolerance for bitter things than Nicest Husband does. I like beer, he doesn't. I've liked dark chocolate better than milk chocolate since childhood. But he can eat meat or poultry with cartilage, the sight of which might make me want to heave. Pickiness is a funny thing.

Part of my dislike of whole grains is that I think they taste bitter

Have you tried them lately? Whole grain stuff has really improved in the past ten years. I used to not be able to stand whole wheat pasta, but now I can find kinds I like.

It's also important, if you want to learn to like foods you don't now, to not insist on dietary perfection (unless your doctor says otherwise). If you're trying to get yourself to like a new vegetable or grain, you may need to cook it with some salt or fat added. Don't try to overcome your aversion to a food and your habit of eating foods flavored with salt and fat at the same time. Once you're eating whatever it is, then you can work on learning to eat it with less salt and fat. Trying to break yourself of all your undesired habits at once doesn't work.

[wosnes]

Part of my dislike of whole grains is that I think they taste bitter

Have you tried them lately? Whole grain stuff has really improved in the past ten years. I used to not be able to stand whole wheat pasta, but now I can find kinds I like.

I've been trying and tasting whole grains for nearly 40 years and I still don't like them. I think my bean and vegetable consumption makes up for the fact that I don't like whole grains.

I don't think refined grains are as bad as we're being told. The French and Italians, Japanese and Chinese have been eating them for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, without ill effect.

Some years ago I decided that health-conscious Americans were the only people saying that we needed to omit refined grains in favor of whole grains. Many other population do a combination along with vegetables, fruits and legumes.

Rice is a thoroughly sustaining food. According to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid in "Seductions of Rice," a beautiful, well researched survey of rice traditions around the world , “Rice has the highest protein digestibility and energy digestibility among all the staple foods.†In most rice-consuming cultures, rice is supplemented with vegetables and legumes, small amounts of meat and fish, and oil.

I don’t share the current national aversion to white rice. True, nutritionists prefer brown rice because the high fiber content slows down the carbohydrate absorption rate. But you can get the same benefit by combining rice with high-fiber vegetables and legumes.

Mr. Alford and Ms. Duguid make another interesting point about the nutritional quality of brown rice:

“It is true that brown rice has more calcium and iron as well as higher protein levels and significantly more of the B vitamins [and] more fiber than white rice. But brown rice is less digestible than white . . . rice. The aleurone layer and embryo, still present in brown rice, contain phytate phosphorus, which seems to interfere with the absorption of calcium, zinc, and iron.â€

Bottom line: if you prefer white rice, just make sure you’re also eating lots of vegetables or beans with it.

[Nicest of the Damned]

I've been trying and tasting whole grains for nearly 40 years and I still don't like them. I think my bean and vegetable consumption makes up for the fact that I don't like whole grains.

I don't think refined grains are as bad as we're being told. The French and Italians, Japanese and Chinese have been eating them for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, without ill effect.

Some years ago I decided that health-conscious Americans were the only people saying that we needed to omit refined grains in favor of whole grains. Many other population do a combination along with vegetables, fruits and legumes.

I don't think there are any "magic" foods, for better or for worse. There are no magic foods that any healthy diet has to include, and there are no evil magic foods that, in any quantity, make any diet unhealthy. Some people want to think that refined grains are evil magic foods, that can't be included in any healthy diet.