Dealing with Difficult/Finicky/Fussy/Picky eaters

[lindag]

I think there are people who have made up their minds and  they don't want to like 'different' foods.

And then I think there are people who want to like everything.  Therein lies the difference.

[Norm Matthews]

My son was raised, during the day time, by his Korean relatives at our restaurant,  and had access to any Korean food he wanted.  When they all moved to California, it was just the two of us and he ate my cooking without problems. I never made him eat anything he didn't like if he at least tasted it and I never made him 'clean' his plate.  He could stop eating as soon as he decided he was finished.  But then he started going to public school and I told him he had to get used to eating 'regular' American food like everyone else in his class.  He complained but I insisted he eat the food at the school cafeteria.   I feel kind of bad about that now. I later learned he threw up after lunch nearly every day.  

 

One summer when I was finishing my masters degree, he was about eight and spent the summer in Los Angeles with his grandparents and they fed him McDonalds everyday for two months.  He got chubby and stayed that way for a long time. I don't think he is a picky eater and I hope he is well adjusted now after all that. 

[dcarch]

There is a need to make a distinction for a different class of people. People who are selective. A wine lover, a coffee connoisseur, for instance are not picky, they are very selective.

 

dcarch

[radtek]

There is a need to make a distinction for a different class of people. People who are selective. A wine lover, a coffee connoisseur, for instance are not picky, they are very selective.

 

dcarch

 

Discerning people are selective. This is different from cognitive bias- as these folks demonstrate no appreciation for "quality and refinement" but prefer bland food. 

[Katie Meadow]

The truth is that I have never seen myself as a picky eater, since I eat a wide variety of most foods, but I believe that many of my friends think of me that way. When I look at all the restrictions on my diet due to health issues (work in progress) I wouldn't really see it as "picky," since I associate these dietary variables with something other than "pickiness," which connotes capricious behavior.

But when I add up all the dietary restrictions plus things I just don't like, combinations I don't favor and food that is poorly cooked and unappetizing or simply tastes lousy (most fast foods, with some exceptions) I would have a hard time not calling my habits picky.

Health modifications include (and I am NOT allergic to anything as far as I know): reduced dairy consumption, modest amounts of wheat products but no other carb restrictions, food generally associated with cholesterol build-up (egg yolk, animal fat, cheese, etc), and excessive amounts of acidic foods. Most of these things I absolutely love, but have chosen to limit greatly. I gave my dog ice cream for her last meal, and that will work for me too, but only coffee ice cream.

I eat most vegetables, but I really detest broccoli and brussels sprouts and raw kale. I eat almost all fruits, except I am quirky about bananas. I will eat banana plain sometimes, but I hate them used as "filler" for smoothies--they make everything taste like banana. Banana and peanut butter is one of the most awful combinations I can think of, along with celery and peanut butter. But PB and raspberry jam in a sandwich is perfect. I can't stand commercial peanut butter that has sugar in it such as Jif, but I do like a simple peanut butter cookie made with sugar. I don't like meat and cheese together and I don't like meat on my pizza (yep, pizza is a huge treat for me.) but I will make an exception for clam pizza. I am not fond of organ meats, but like liver pate if it is well-made. I like most all seafood and shellfish, but not scallops. When I look at restaurant menus I eliminate most of the items pretty quickly, and I admit that often the descriptions sound unappealing. No need to go on, right? I'm picky.

By the way, I do not consider a distaste for ketchup on a hot dog to be picky. No reasonable person puts ketchup on a hot dog. My daughter did that when she was little, so my solution was to not give her hot dogs so I didn't have to watch her do it. Not only picky, but a bad mom!

Edited May 30, 2015 by Katie Meadow (log)

[Alex]

I could not live with someone like that.  Could you?

 

No. Too horrible to even contemplate.

 

That is all.

[GlorifiedRice]

By the way, I do not consider a distaste for ketchup on a hot dog to be picky. No reasonable person puts ketchup on a hot dog. My daughter did that when she was little, so my solution was to not give her hot dogs so I didn't have to watch her do it. Not only picky, but a bad mom!

 

I dont get how ketchup is bad on hot dogs, yet a popular appetizer is mini hot dogs/sausages in a tiny crock pot with BBQ sauce with grape jelly...

 

These are the only things I dislike and even after repeated tries i cannot get myself to like

Arugula,, Huitlacoche, Real Truffles, Sea Urchin, & Grand Marnier....oh and Belacan...

 

I wanted to love Natto so bad that I had to eat several times and I love it now, but ugh, Arugula can ruin a salad...