Whats your favorite food?

Man I'm a picky eater.  No, its not like I just woke up today and realized that, it has been a fact since I was old enough to say no.  When I was in 6th grade I went to camp and came home with an illustrious award for being the pickiest eater.  No parents could have been prouder of their little daughter than mine that day!

When I was little my dad fixed my plate.  So, I'm blaming him - has to be his fault - my plate was the only one he fixed besides his own, and I'm the only picky eater of the family.  His fault.  He would make my plate exactly like he did his.  Please remember I was in single digits and he was well . . . a grown man.  I was made to sit at the table until my plate was clean no ifs, ands, nor buts about it.  I would put that stuff in my mouth and my taste buds would jump up and shout NOT IN HERE.  You can guess what happened next.

They tried all sorts of things to push me thru that stage.  I tried all sorts of things to get out of that stage.  They set the timer on the oven so that I had to be done before it went off or trouble.  If I put too much ketchup on my plate I had to eat the left over with a spoon.  I used a lot of it to disguise the flavor of the yucky stuff.  I had a sister that liked everything, so if I had something that she liked and I didn't I would scoop it off my plate when they weren't looking and hand it to her under the table.  Mmmmmmmm peas passed from plate to hand to hand. Sometimes I would put the food in my mouth and take a big drink of something wet, and swallow it whole so I didn't have to taste it.  I tried hiding it in my napkin, wiping my mouth after a bite, I tried putting it in my pocket and dumping it after the meal.  I tried everything imaginable.

The result????

I have green rules.  I eat nothing green with a few exceptions; canned green beans, celery, fresh spinach raw, cucumbers, limes, herbs, and any type of lettuce.  The rest?  Never.

I have mushy rules.  Nothing with lumps.  Nothing mixed up.  No oatmeal, cream of wheat, cottage cheese, squash, pumpkin pie, tapioca, creamed anything, and definately NO mashed potatoes.  With the exception of Lemon Meringue Pie, and Banana Cream Pie, and pudding.  Oatmeal is fine topping a pie, or in a cookie.

I have plate issues.  Don't let my food touch.  Ever.  I don't mix food - I eat all of one thing and then move on to another.  I don't like casseroles where everything is mixed.  However, will eat depending on the ingredient.

I eat cows, pigs, chickens, and turkey.  The end.  No other meat.  Ever.

I don't do dairy.  I don't drink milk, eat ice cream, of course earlier said mention of cottage cheese, yogurt, and some cheeses.  I do however eat some cheese, and there is one brand of yogurt I will force down.

I don't like eggs, mushrooms, cauliflower, parsnips, nor turnips.  I don't like rutabagas, pomegrantes, and mango.  I really don't like any breakfast food but do like bacon and potatoes and bread - so how does that work?  I really really really do not like soups.

Picky.  Very very picky.  How have I survived 53 years this way?  I can't wait to tell you that I'm not NEAR as picky as I used to be.  And maybe if I live to be 100 I'll try oatmeal and other mushy stuff because i won't have teeth to chew.

What brought all this about?  Yesterday my friend was here and we were baking.  She asked me what my very favorite food was.  I thought and thought and thought.  My answer?  Chips and dip, or baked potatoes, or french fries.  Thats it. The favorite.  After I told her that, and saw the disdained look in her eye, it really dawned on my just how picky I really am.  Its pretty disgusting!  I eat meat because well - its necessary.  However I like meat taste covered up with other stuff.  Like sauce, or other foods combined - like lasagne or tacos.  Yeah like that.  I can eat meat but not plain.  

Whenever we have company over for a meal, I share my pickiness with them and at first they look at me like have three eyeballs, but then they are comfortable sharing what they don't like.  I'm good with that - and I like knowing that no one is sitting at my table trying to find a way to make their food look like it disappeared.  And no one has taste buds saying NOT IN HERE.  There is something comforting about that. However, they always address my pickiness like I'm some sort of freak at some point during the meal.

When i worked at the elementary school, I was good friends with the cooks.  They used to fix all the crap I don't like on the same day and I would bring my lunch!  They served fish sticks, mashed potatoes and peas.  It smelled terrible in that place.  The combination of the fish stick and the peas - ew - I'm throwing up in my mouth a little bit.

The question is where do I go from here?  No where!  I will stand by my picky guns!  It is obvious I'm not going without, and so far I've been a picture of health (my back twisting had nothing to do with malnutrition).  30 years ago I only ate chips and dip, french fries, and meatless tacos and drank diet pepsi.  I've come along way baby - I now have meat in my tacos, and I've switched to coke.  There is hope for me yet!

Yesterday at the chiro, I was telling the staff that I was anorexic  in my 20's.  I told them that there is now two of me.  Jim should consider himself one lucky man - how many men get the privilege of marrying one woman and ending up with two in the same.  Lucky Lucky man.  Combine that with all my personalities and wow - there's a lot of me to go around!!!!!

Final word?  I'm a work in progress.  God isn't finished with me yet.  Who knows?  There may come a day that I satiate the appetite with something out of the water with mashed potatoes and peas, washing it down with a cold glass of milk.  God is a God of miracles, so I don't say never - but I wouldn't hold my breath!