THIS GUY ATE PIZZA EVERY DAY FOR 25 YEARS, AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE

[Celeste Chalfonte]

I do actually have texture issues. One of my problems with eggs.

But scrapple, if done right, I love.

I've never seen or eaten haggis. I'm not a big fan of organ meat, but i probably would try it. I've eaten brains, kidneys, and heart. I didn't like any of them. But what the hell, I'd give the Scottish dish a whirl.

If you have any degree of texture issue, do NOT try the meat pasties at Renaissance Faire. I thought they'd be like Jamaican meat pies, ground beef, chopped onion and spices in a pastry shell. Oh no! Heavy, doughy pastry enclosing something gray that looked like my dog upchucked it. Greasy AND gristly. Nasty. Don't do it. And be very cautious about any dish that a Brit or German calls "pudding."

[phillygirl]

If you have any degree of texture issue, do NOT try the meat pasties at Renaissance Faire. I thought they'd be like Jamaican meat pies, ground beef, chopped onion and spices in a pastry shell. Oh no! Heavy, doughy pastry enclosing something gray that looked like my dog upchucked it. Greasy AND gristly. Nasty. Don't do it. And be very cautious about any dish that a Brit or German calls "pudding."

Ahhh. For all my food issues, I am actually very adventurous with food. I even ate street food in Alongopo, Philippines. Of course, i was starving to death, and it wasn't like there was a McDonald's in the area. I was the only person on the trip that didn't have montezuma's revenge. I've now convinced myself that if I didn't die from that meal, food can not kill me.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Ahhh. For all my food issues, I am actually very adventurous with food. I even ate street food in Alongopo, Philippines. Of course, i was starving to death, and it wasn't like there was a McDonald's in the area. I was the only person on the trip that didn't have montezuma's revenge. I've now convinced myself that if I didn't die from that meal, food can not kill me.

Saying things like that is very bad mojo.

In 1974, my sister the picky eater and I thumbed around Western Europe for a month. We ate local food and, except on trains, where the taps were specifically marked that the water wasn't potable, drank the water (and the wine, and the beer....but I digress). We both felt great and even lost weight, in spite of eating well and not worrying about calories. We got on the plane for home (an American airline, can't recall which), ate the in-flight meal, and Honoria was deathly ill the rest of the way home.

[Adam]

Saying things like that is very bad mojo.

In 1974, my sister the picky eater and I thumbed around Western Europe for a month. We ate local food and, except on trains, where the taps were specifically marked that the water wasn't potable, drank the water (and the wine, and the beer....but I digress). We both felt great and even lost weight, in spite of eating well and not worrying about calories. We got on the plane for home (an American airline, can't recall which), ate the in-flight meal, and Honoria was deathly ill the rest of the way home.

The head at the back of an American Airlines 777 from Frankfurt to Miami was the most welcome site on the entire planet after thirty-six hours of Lithuanian giardia (which somehow seems much, MUCH worse than American giardia, though they are nominally the same bug) with only an outhouse to use with 4-color magazine slick to use as toilet paper, followed by another twelve hours at a dumpy, ludicrously over-priced hotel next to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof with toilet paper that closely resembles those towels that they used to put in dispensers at gas stations for checking your oil. Having something that at least vaguely resembled soft toilet paper, and that rush of cool air during a flush, just about felt better than sex when I was feeling that miserable after shitting a combination of molten lava and 93-octane for the last 48 hours.

[scott]

Oh, the gatherings, sure. When she was younger, we always had Thanksgiving at the beach. She'd come to the table for "the thankfuls" (when everyone says what they're thankful for), nibble, then play in the immediate area. She was part of the gathering; I just didn't see the point to forcing her to sit at the table while other people made a 2-hour production of dinner.

Now, we're the only family for several hundred miles, and my sister and her husband don't really do Thanksgiving in any traditional way these days (see above re: food drama vegetarianism). I visit friends, and HRH either comes or we have a private Thanksgiving dinner of only the things she likes later in the evening or on Friday. Since she doesn't care for turkey, last year we had Thanksgiving meatloaf from Boston Market the day after Thanksgiving.

I did this with my kids.

You must be there for the pre-dinner thankfuls and prayers, you must have some of the main course, you must try something new, and you must ask to be excused unless I release you first. 30 minutes tops, and any fighting gets you sent to the kids table (AKA the time-out table after 30 minutes) and no dessert.

It worked like a charm. We've incorporated some of the then "new" foods into the meal and have done away with lots of the stuff nobody really liked anyway. I think one of the important aspects is that we don't use holidays as a reason to gather with people who would be offended that one or two of their guests aren't fully participating in each and every part of the bountiful feast. There's always LOTS of food and if someone doesn't want any of the chutney, more for me!

When the kids were younger we would hand out hefty rewards and harsh punishments for foods they don't know if they like, but that was just to keep them from being spoiled brats with fickle tastes. Now that we have a good handle on preferences and know that kale just isn't going to be something Daniel eats but Valerie will probably love it we have adjusted our "just try a little" perspective accordingly. Jordan (10) still tries to assert her independence by claiming she doesn't like ham at dinner, but we see through that when she made her own sandwich from the same pile of meat for lunch.

[scott]

SERE school cured me of my previous texture issues. I ate worms, a snake, and some rice that was spilled in the dirt (the crunch was interesting). Then I made it a point to eat the most disgusting thing I could find anywhere I went as long as it was a mainstream food.

[phillygirl]

I did this with my kids.

You must be there for the pre-dinner thankfuls and prayers, you must have some of the main course, you must try something new, and you must ask to be excused unless I release you first. 30 minutes tops, and any fighting gets you sent to the kids table (AKA the time-out table after 30 minutes) and no dessert.

It worked like a charm. We've incorporated some of the then "new" foods into the meal and have done away with lots of the stuff nobody really liked anyway. I think one of the important aspects is that we don't use holidays as a reason to gather with people who would be offended that one or two of their guests aren't fully participating in each and every part of the bountiful feast. There's always LOTS of food and if someone doesn't want any of the chutney, more for me!

When the kids were younger we would hand out hefty rewards and harsh punishments for foods they don't know if they like, but that was just to keep them from being spoiled brats with fickle tastes. Now that we have a good handle on preferences and know that kale just isn't going to be something Daniel eats but Valerie will probably love it we have adjusted our "just try a little" perspective accordingly. Jordan (10) still tries to assert her independence by claiming she doesn't like ham at dinner, but we see through that when she made her own sandwich from the same pile of meat for lunch.

My niece is a super picky eater. When she lived with me, Friday night was Chinese food night. Her brother would tear into the ribs, always declaring them "delicious" while she would have an equally big smile and lick of the lips for her "absolutely delicious" white rice. That was it. She would only eat the rice. She loved the rice, and no cajoling would get her to eat anything else. I spent a few years cajoling and have since given up, recognizing that she mostly knows what she likes, on a rare occasion she will try something new. But I don't push her. She doesn't get to eat candy all day long, she generally eats healthy things...loves fruit, loves bacon, doesn't like most desserts, and has continued to declare the roasted chicken in San Antonio the most delicious meal she's ever had in her life (it was rather tasty and I enjoyed that she felt the need to tell me that I absolutely must try a bite of it). She still remembers what an "amous buche" (sp?) is, even though she didn't remember the details, she was adventurous enough to try it since the chef had sent it out especially for us.

I've learned not to push food too much on the kids, lest they develop my issues. When the kids lived with me, the rule was no doritos for breakfast, I didn't cook breakfast on a weekday, and dessert only after dinner. When we're on vacation, anytime is time for ice cream and they can ask and they shall receive it. That's what vacations are for after all.

[phillygirl]

SERE school cured me of my previous texture issues. I ate worms, a snake, and some rice that was spilled in the dirt (the crunch was interesting). Then I made it a point to eat the most disgusting thing I could find anywhere I went as long as it was a mainstream food.

What is the most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?

[Adam]

SERE school cured me of my previous texture issues. I ate worms, a snake, and some rice that was spilled in the dirt (the crunch was interesting). Then I made it a point to eat the most disgusting thing I could find anywhere I went as long as it was a mainstream food.

Shit, that's some good eatin' right there. And boots to spare!

[scott]

What is the most disgusting thing you've ever eaten?

Kimchi. It's absolutely revolting. Chocolate-dipped cockroaches is probably the one that would freak people out the most though. Honestly if it were socially acceptable, I'd cook them up here since we have no shortage. That was a good weekend at some distant Saudi Prince's suite in Abu Dhabi (where they went to play back then). He had the chef cook up things he thought I'd never eat and I'd cook bacon into a german chocolate cake.

Always an operator - always.

[scott]

Shit, that's some good eatin' right there. And boots to spare!

I honestly don't remember what kind it was, but it was disgusting. I'm sure it was picked and cooked in a manner to not be pleasing (much like the rice kicked into the dirt and that was breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day). It was gamey, slimey, and tasted like rotten sushi.

The protein rush a few minutes later made it all worth it though.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

The head at the back of an American Airlines 777 from Frankfurt to Miami was the most welcome site on the entire planet after thirty-six hours of Lithuanian giardia (which somehow seems much, MUCH worse than American giardia, though they are nominally the same bug) with only an outhouse to use with 4-color magazine slick to use as toilet paper, followed by another twelve hours at a dumpy, ludicrously over-priced hotel next to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof with toilet paper that closely resembles those towels that they used to put in dispensers at gas stations for checking your oil. Having something that at least vaguely resembled soft toilet paper, and that rush of cool air during a flush, just about felt better than sex when I was feeling that miserable after shitting a combination of molten lava and 93-octane for the last 48 hours.

Well, I can understand that, and I'm certainly not saying that one CAN'T get sick in a foreign country. In fact, if a place was still in the outhouse stage of social development, I probably wouldn't want to eat their food. Notions of personal hygiene, food safety and the like tend to evolve in tandem with modern plumbing. But in our case, we had been eating fresh food all the way across WESTERN Europe, and it was the processed airline meal that did my sister in.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

My niece is a super picky eater. When she lived with me, Friday night was Chinese food night. Her brother would tear into the ribs, always declaring them "delicious" while she would have an equally big smile and lick of the lips for her "absolutely delicious" white rice. That was it. She would only eat the rice. She loved the rice, and no cajoling would get her to eat anything else. I spent a few years cajoling and have since given up, recognizing that she mostly knows what she likes, on a rare occasion she will try something new. But I don't push her. She doesn't get to eat candy all day long, she generally eats healthy things...loves fruit, loves bacon, doesn't like most desserts, and has continued to declare the roasted chicken in San Antonio the most delicious meal she's ever had in her life (it was rather tasty and I enjoyed that she felt the need to tell me that I absolutely must try a bite of it). She still remembers what an "amous buche" (sp?) is, even though she didn't remember the details, she was adventurous enough to try it since the chef had sent it out especially for us.

I've learned not to push food too much on the kids, lest they develop my issues. When the kids lived with me, the rule was no doritos for breakfast, I didn't cook breakfast on a weekday, and dessert only after dinner. When we're on vacation, anytime is time for ice cream and they can ask and they shall receive it. That's what vacations are for after all.

Sounds like a good system.

Just in case you ever need it again, it's "amuse-bouche" and it's sort of a cognate. It literally means something which is fun for your mouth. We would probably say "a treat."

[Michele]

My niece is a super picky eater. When she lived with me, Friday night was Chinese food night. Her brother would tear into the ribs, always declaring them "delicious" while she would have an equally big smile and lick of the lips for her "absolutely delicious" white rice. That was it. She would only eat the rice. She loved the rice, and no cajoling would get her to eat anything else. I spent a few years cajoling and have since given up, recognizing that she mostly knows what she likes, on a rare occasion she will try something new. But I don't push her. She doesn't get to eat candy all day long, she generally eats healthy things...loves fruit, loves bacon, doesn't like most desserts, and has continued to declare the roasted chicken in San Antonio the most delicious meal she's ever had in her life (it was rather tasty and I enjoyed that she felt the need to tell me that I absolutely must try a bite of it). She still remembers what an "amous buche" (sp?) is, even though she didn't remember the details, she was adventurous enough to try it since the chef had sent it out especially for us.

I've learned not to push food too much on the kids, lest they develop my issues. When the kids lived with me, the rule was no doritos for breakfast, I didn't cook breakfast on a weekday, and dessert only after dinner. When we're on vacation, anytime is time for ice cream and they can ask and they shall receive it. That's what vacations are for after all.

I love ice cream..real ice cream..and because of that I rarely keep it here. But when I do, it's usually some sort of vanilla. Our oldest granddaughter came over with her sister (Emma) one day and I said, did you eat breakfast? Kali said no and then asked what I was having (which I don't eat early because my stomach just doesn't like food until about 10:30-11:00am) and I said, ice cream because I had made some hot fudge sauce the night before. She said, that's what she'd have. I was pretty much her fav grandma after that.

I am an unconventional eater until dinner time and will eat leftovers for breakfast/lunch. We are down to two meals a day and yes, we've fallen into the old people category of eating less. We split meals when we're out, too..but each of us must have a salad.

[Adam]

Well, I can understand that, and I'm certainly not saying that one CAN'T get sick in a foreign country. In fact, if a place was still in the outhouse stage of social development, I probably wouldn't want to eat their food. Notions of personal hygiene, food safety and the like tend to evolve in tandem with modern plumbing. But in our case, we had been eating fresh food all the way across WESTERN Europe, and it was the processed airline meal that did my sister in.

This was at my brother's then-boss' dacha, and at that time ('95), plumbing and electricity were still pretty rare at dachas (most dachas now have all the comforts of home; my brother's dacha outside of Moscow is basically just like most typical modest suburban American homes: full plumbing, air conditioning, and he has irrigation in his greenhouse). Anatoli had some wonderful fresh-grown vegetables in his garden, and I even helped pick some for the salad that evening for dinner.

What I completely forgot, though, is that we washed those vegetables with well water.