Foods I Used To Detest

As a child I remember being called a "picky eater." I have memories of being the last child at lunch in the school cafeteria to be dismissed for recess, all because I could not finish some bit of detested food on the lunch tray.  Let's be honest here, I missed a lot of recesses, holding out and staring at hated foods.  I much preferred those lunches that were packed in my purple ballerina lunch box with the matching thermos.

My teenage years weren't much better.  No one would have called me a connoisseur of fine foods.  About the only things that I ate with much gusto were potato chips, pretzels, and soda.  I knew what foods I liked and most fruits and vegetables were not on that list.

Now as an adult I know better.  I am willing to try a wider variety of foods, basically because I am more mature about what is good for me, and also more willing to risk trying new foods.  I am still hesitant to order exotic new foods in a restaurant, as I am not anxious to be let down at a dining out experience.

Here then are some of the foods I used to detest:

1.  Asparagus
     As a child I would not even taste it.  It just looked too weird.  It is only in the last year that I have had it twice - once grilled at daughter Sarah's home (I loved it) and the other night IN MY OWN KITCHEN.  I learned in the last venture eating it that you must snap an inch off the bottom of each stalk or that part is tough.

2.  Kidney beans

     Although I would suffer through my mother's chili as a child and teenager, it was mostly because I'd fill up on the crackers and cheese served with it.  I truly detested those beans in there, and tried, usually unsuccessfully, to act like they weren't there.  It didn't work.  Now I enjoy a good chili, especially on a snowy winter day.  Still don't love the beans though.  I think it's just the texture I don't care for.

3.  Lima beans

     It's that bean thing again, but worse!  I hate these.  As a child I would stealthily pass my limas one by one under the table to my brother Bruce, who would eat anything then and still does.  He was my partner in crime.  The texture of these beans literally makes me gag, and even ruins a batch of mixed vegetables for me.  I'm not fooled - they are in there.

4.  Spinach

     I didn't really have a problem with fresh spinach as a young person.  Mom could mix a few pieces into a salad and I'd be OK with it.  Oh, I knew they were in there all right, but I'd eat it.  It was the cooked slimy green spinach that I couldn't even get near.  I remember one standoff at the family dinner table that just got ugly.  I.  Could.  Not.  Believe.  They.  Were.  Making.  Me.  Eat.  That.  In the recent past, though, I have enjoyed several recipes that included cooked spinach.  There are some fine dip recipes that use cooked spinach and I have even made some of them my very own self.  So there.

5.  Brussel sprouts

     When cooked, they smell.  That's all I have to say about them.  Cannot eat them.

6.  Guacamole

     Oh now I know that this food is just full of all the good stuff your body needs, like Omega 3 and antioxidants and all those other "wonder ingredients,"  but I still hate it and its texture.  And color.  I'd rather eat blueberries and get the same benefits.  How about I just eat the chips that are usually served with it?

7.  Steak

     I am not kidding but you will never see me order a steak in any restaurant.  That would be my last choice on a menu.  What I don't like about steak is fighting my way around a bone, and surely at some point I will find myself gnawing on something grisly and chewy.  If I buy steaks for the cavemen steak lovers at home, I will be sure to cook something else for myself.

8.  Beer

     Maybe it's a good thing, but every time I have tried beer (first time was at a frat party in college) I hated it.  I actually tried to like it, because everyone around me seemed to be having a love affair with it.  I just don't.  Instead, just give me a glass or wine or a mixed drink and I'm happy.

9.  Tomatoes

     Believe me, I have tried to like fresh tomatoes throughout my whole life, but I just cannot.  I have tried tricking myself into eating them by hiding them in a hoagie.  One bite, and I am finding them all and removing them.  I have no problem with eating any recipe, though, that uses cooked tomatoes.  Pizza is probably my favorite food.  Weird.

10.  Hard candies

     I probably still detest this type of candy because I clearly remember choking on a round purple hard candy and being held upside down by my mother and shaken to dislodge it from my throat.  I do not recall eating any hard candies since then.  All other candy, especially chocolates, are fair game and are consumed more than regularly.  Also twizzlers.  Lots of twizzlers.

11.  Ham, potatoes, and green beans

     My mother used a pressure cooker to make some of her family meals, and for some reason whatever came out of that pot I decided wasn't to my liking.  So if I came home from school and saw that pot in use, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy dinner that night.  So dumb.  Now I make ham, potatoes and green beans and of course I like it.

12.  Macaroni, potato or egg salad

     Or just about any salad concoction for that matter.  When I was younger, these kinds of salads just seemed to be too mysterious.  Who knows what's in there anyway?  Why take the risk?  Now I know better - they're all good, and now I wish I didn't like them so much.

13.  Sweet pickles
     Just nasty.  A pickle should not try to taste like candy.  Give me the kosher dills any day, and give me more than just one, please.

Foods I Still Detest
     Even age, wisdom, maturity, knowledge of good dietary components and all that other stuff has not helped me to enjoy some of those listed foods.  I still cannot eat limas, brussel sprouts, steak, beer, tomatoes, and sweet pickles.  Maybe I'm just too picky, but I like what I like and I'm content with that.

How about you?  Were/are you a picky eater?  Do you have foods you detest?