I will be the first to admit that my lifelong track record of eating what is set before me isn't very good. Food was a great source of anxiety for me growing up. Doubly so at new restaurants or other people's houses. My parents tried, but forcing me to try new things didn't work well with my refined gag reflex.
So what changed? Several things. As I got older, the idea of offending my host became worse than going hungry. So in the most dire situations I would determine to find as much edible on my plate as possible. I still had a raging mental block about food, though. It didn't matter if it looked or smelled good; new food was icky. So I set easy goals. There was no way I was going to adopt "I'll try anything once." So I settled for "I'll try one new thing per situation." That way my disgust level wouldn't be overwhelmed by the mere thought of all the icky food.
I also built up slow. I discovered early on that foods in the same category tended to be similar, especially in texture which is where most of my trouble came. So, if I could eat one type of bread, surely the others aren't that bad, right? Granted I had my limits—pumpernickel, rye. But tortillas and naan were good to go. Same with meats, although I scraped most of the sauce or gravy off. (Turns out I'm more of an au jus kind of girl.) Finding ways to add dishes to my repertoire of consumption gave me more options and a confidence boost.
It's a sad state of affairs when vegetables are the most disliked foods in our society. And I was no different. This was my biggest obstacle. All my previous progress had served to make me "less picky." I wanted more for myself. Cooking is a big part of my family life and I was tired of limiting the dinner menu. Plus, I've always found food sort of interesting. I mean, it looks good, smells good. Why can't it taste good?
I accidentally happened down a path that is actually the best way to conquer food fears: I took an interest, then became immersed. It started with Food Network. My interest in food TV can be explained by only one thing: consistent programming. I'm not into sports, but growing up my dad would put on golf as something to nap to. Food programs were generally soothing if I wanted something on in the background for a lazy afternoon. Some of the evening shows were even exciting! But I was also interested. These shows taught skills that I had never been interested in learning from my mother or grandmothers and then some. Maybe if I made food like the professionals it would taste good.
That step actually went on straight thru college. I watched food, but I didn't eat it. I kept adding slowly using my assimilate-like-things method and another method where the offending food would be in such small bits that I couldn't eat around it and eventually came to tolerate it. But I wasn't trying hard to add to my list. Dorm living does not a foodie make.
My real break thru came after college.
So what changed? Several things. As I got older, the idea of offending my host became worse than going hungry. So in the most dire situations I would determine to find as much edible on my plate as possible. I still had a raging mental block about food, though. It didn't matter if it looked or smelled good; new food was icky. So I set easy goals. There was no way I was going to adopt "I'll try anything once." So I settled for "I'll try one new thing per situation." That way my disgust level wouldn't be overwhelmed by the mere thought of all the icky food.
I also built up slow. I discovered early on that foods in the same category tended to be similar, especially in texture which is where most of my trouble came. So, if I could eat one type of bread, surely the others aren't that bad, right? Granted I had my limits—pumpernickel, rye. But tortillas and naan were good to go. Same with meats, although I scraped most of the sauce or gravy off. (Turns out I'm more of an au jus kind of girl.) Finding ways to add dishes to my repertoire of consumption gave me more options and a confidence boost.
It's a sad state of affairs when vegetables are the most disliked foods in our society. And I was no different. This was my biggest obstacle. All my previous progress had served to make me "less picky." I wanted more for myself. Cooking is a big part of my family life and I was tired of limiting the dinner menu. Plus, I've always found food sort of interesting. I mean, it looks good, smells good. Why can't it taste good?
I accidentally happened down a path that is actually the best way to conquer food fears: I took an interest, then became immersed. It started with Food Network. My interest in food TV can be explained by only one thing: consistent programming. I'm not into sports, but growing up my dad would put on golf as something to nap to. Food programs were generally soothing if I wanted something on in the background for a lazy afternoon. Some of the evening shows were even exciting! But I was also interested. These shows taught skills that I had never been interested in learning from my mother or grandmothers and then some. Maybe if I made food like the professionals it would taste good.
That step actually went on straight thru college. I watched food, but I didn't eat it. I kept adding slowly using my assimilate-like-things method and another method where the offending food would be in such small bits that I couldn't eat around it and eventually came to tolerate it. But I wasn't trying hard to add to my list. Dorm living does not a foodie make.
My real break thru came after college.
No comments:
Post a Comment