Eel, squid, whale, shark, sturgeon, swordfish, rays, marlin and pufferfish are NOT kosher.
Seaweed, because it is a plant/vegetable, is considered kosher.
I found myself in very uncomfortable situation roughly two years ago and I didn’t know how to deal with it in the most polite and proer manner.
I’m very close to my dad’s 1st cousin (because I have no 1st cousins of my own) who lives in LA. She is 15 years older than me, but we are much more like siblings than cousins.
Her mother, my great-aunt, is in the late stages of Alzheimers Disease and lives in a nursing home here in Georgia.
Her brother, who she has never been close to, lives her also and is supposed to handle most things pertaining to their mom. But he doesn’t do jack and his wife (who I am certain is a legitimate sociopath or psychopath) haphazardly handles things for him when she feels like it. She also writes herself a little reward check for every tiny thing she does…
Anyway, my cuz was in town from LA because several issues had to be dealt with or their mom was going to be kicked out of her nursing home! She dreaded going over to his house so much that she was physically sick driving there. I met her turning in the driveway and became an unexpected (uninvited) dinner guest that evening.
The psycho wife had went to a BBQ place and got pork sandwiches and Brunswick stew with lots of pork in it…that’s all, no side dishes or anything.
So I found msyelf in a predicament. If I was ever going to be rude and offend soemone, I would probably enjoy her being the object ot it! But int he spirit of keeping the peace and getting things accomplished, I finally got a small bowl of stew and planned on pretend ing to eat it then trash it when no one was looking…
Instead, I took inspiration from Carol Burnett and the other great physical comedians, and tripped falling dramatically into the kitchen floor and sending my brunswick stew spraying onto every surface within 20-feet! And it was the last helping of stew also…how sad…I pretended that the fall ruined my appetite. Then I snuck out for some fresh air a little alter and found a pack of peanut butter crackers in my glovebox to eat
Well, in my family, that wouldn’t have happened in the first place because we take people’s food restrictions, voluntarily or not, seriously but I would have said, “Unfortunately, I can’t eat this food. Is it all right if I fix a sandwich or eat an apple?” or some other foodstuff that they have that I can eat. Taking something and then purposefully spilling it makes an unnecessary mess and perhaps someone else would have appreciated a second helping.
I’m curious, what does this mean?
You can eat what you want to eat. But I do want to point out that “The Maker’s Diet” is drivel of the worst sort. It doesn’t even rise to pseudo –scientific. And it’s “religious” basis is pure balderdash too. Finally, it’s not even close to being Kosher, so don’t say that. There are millions of Americans on some fad diet or other, just say you are on one. “Sorry, I am on (some new weird fad) (special) diet and I can’t eat ….”
Mind you, it is likely a decent diet in the end*. Why? Well as Pollan pointed out, just about the only diet which is actively bad for you is the American fast food diet. Pretty much, if you go on and stay on any other balanced diet, you’ll lose weight and feel better. Paleo, Atkins, Mediterranean, doesn’t matter. Just stay away from the “Double-bacon cheese burger with large fries and a 32 oz coke diet “ and you’ll be OK. So, OP, while your diet is based upon a 100% horseshit book, it probably does work for you. Congrats on sticking with it.
- other than the rather dangerous HSO parts, the part where he tries to sell you expensive and unatural supplements, which are deangerous and worthless. Stay away from that snakeoil. It’s dangerous and the FDA has banned much of it.
I’m a picky eater too with some food sensitivities and have been through that inquisition also. Somewhere in there, I’ll submit a “Well, then there’s more for you to enjoy. None for me, please.” Depending on the company and my mood, my next counter might be a “Which part of NO” don’t you understand?", it could be accepting a portion of the stuff and just not eating any, or accepting the portion of it and managing to spill it on the floor. Or in some situations, I can describe in effusive detail exactly what ill effects eating the food I have a sensitivity to will incur.
Pigs are scavengers and they will eat almost ANYTHING! That includes their dead offspring, a relative that has died or even eat a tumor off another pig!
They eat garbage, sewage, human waste and filth, anything is on the menu! Because of their indiscriminate eating habits, they carry many different parasites. That is the reason it is essential to cook pork thoroughly if you plan on eating it.
Making the mess in the kitchen Satan’s crafty minion-bride was the best part of my day!
Seriously, though, because it was such a tense situation and they had idea that I was coming, saying ‘sorry I don’t eat this’ would have been met with remarks and/or body language that would only further intensify the stress! They knew I was there with Joy (cousin) because her brother talks to her like a dog and usually reduces her to tears within a few minutes! But all that changed a few years ago when cousin Jason decided and let everyone in the extended family know, if you upset or mistreat Joy, you’ll answer to Jason!
Um… what?
Good catch and my apologies for the error. Cousin Joy is very much a lady and always has been.
I know for certain because I’ve gone through a very long journey with her as she battled Inflammatory Breast Cancer starting in Jan 2010!
She finally passed her last major hurdle a few months back when she had reconstructive surgery following a radical double mastectomy the previous year!
I even bought a t-shirt that says, “YES, they’re fake! The real ones tried to kill me!”
So she had/has lady parts and, therefore, is a lady.
I’m astonished that so many people have friends, relatives, or co-workers constantly pushing food that they don’t want on them. I have never encountered such people - not friends, not relatives, and not co-workers. I have never encountered it in any of the places I’ve lived - Ohio, Florida, Texas, Maryland, and England. I have never encountered it in any of the groups belonging to various social classes I’ve lived with - the farm I grew up on, the various colleges I attended, the place I work at, the various temporary jobs I had in college, and the sort of leisure-time activities I frequent. In all those places, pushing food on somebody that they didn’t want would be considered obnoxious behavior.
Hmmm. curious debate as always,
I live in Brent, maybe the most diverse borough in London.
As an Agnostic, I respect, if not understand the believes of others.Best veggie food:
a Sikh Gurdwara, superb, really, food offered to all,and made by the community…
Friends of mine who have been in UK prisons have always advised that choosing a diet/religion, in that order, had been productive, personally I thought not having not having bloody great tatoos was a better option.
In the middle of this post I called a friend, his reply was ‘why the bloody bother?’, if I buy him a meal I respect his ethos/axioms. If he buys me food etc.
We’ve known each other that Kosher/Halal/veg and non veg is the norm.
One bit of advice, don’t be the only omnivore, you end up paying for everything…
Peter
I’ve encountered it a few times, recently friends had snails and mussels at a party and gave me a hard time about not eating it.
OP: Can’t you just say you are allergic?
I don’t imagine I have a radically different cultural experience than you, but I assure you it happens to me all the goddamn time. My co-workers more or less finally got the message after several months, but my mother and aunts will never believe I don’t want to consume every leftover they have in their fridge every time I come to visit. I also remember at least one very annoying experience with an old girlfriend’s relatives trying to force food on me.
They’re trying to be nice, but their insistence certainly can be obnoxious, and I don’t get why they don’t see that.
Just say your diet is similar to kosher, except you don’t mind mixing meat and dairy.
Also, you’ve used up a year’s supply of exclamation marks for the entire board in this one thread. Please put them away, they are so very tired.
In some cultures, food is love. Giving food is expressing love or at least affection. Refusing food is regarded as refusing that love or affection. Providing food or drink is also a way of showing success, that one has enough food/drink to spare. Admittedly, in the US, we have lots of cheap and relatively tasty food so being a generous host isn’t such a social status indicator.
It also depends on the amount of money or time invested in the food or drink. If Great Aunt Betty Joe has made her classic pecan pie, from pecans that she shelled herself from that old pecan tree in her back yard, this pie has much more value than Cousin Robin’s pecan pie that she bought at the last minute from WalMart. And Betty Joe’s contribution to the Thanksgiving feast is almost certainly tastier than Robin’s, though since Betty Joe has a dozen inside cats, it might be safer to eat Robin’s offering. Or you might want to simply go with what Mom brought, which is canned pie filling poured into a frozen pie shell. Whichever one you choose, though, you will probably offend the other two, because you accepted the love from one person and snubbed the love from the other two. Robin will likely feel less hurt than the other two, because she spent less time and effort in bringing the pie. However, I won’t guarantee this.
This is complicated because in some cultures, it’s considered polite to refuse the first offer or two, only to accept the third offer. There’s another factor, especially with desserts or other high calorie foods…if someone is dieting, or is pretending to be dieting in front of others, then the dieter will half-heartedly refuse the goody, but will want to be talked into it.
Yeah, there’s lots of passive-aggressive issues to be sorted out on this subject.
Oh, and kids are notorious for being picky eaters, so children are often told and sometimes forced to try a dish, even if they know that they don’t like raw onions, for instance. Or they might be forced to eat something so that they won’t offend a friend or relative.
I quite agree with everything you just said there. I’m just sometimes bewildered by the level they take it to. It’s like they’re the bad kids in an after school special and they’re trying to get me to try drugs.
[Pulp Fiction]But personality goes a long way.[/PF]
Wendell said exactly what I came to say: I have not encountered pushy food offerers nearly as often as the OP (and several other posters) have. But maybe I don’t notice it, because I’m not a picky eater and therefore not a potential victim (although I have some feel for it from the two three-month periods I was dieting.) Perhaps I’ve even pushed food rudely on someone myself without being aware of it, but I doubt it. I do see myself and others saying something like “Are you sure you don’t want to try it?” once, but not pushing it after that. If even that one follow-up offer attempt is enough to push some people’s buttons, I think maybe they’re being a bit too sensitive. It’s hard to suppress the friendly, sociable urge to suggest/offer something twice.
I don’t have a problem with it. I think its annoying when people give undue allowance for people’s religious behavior while at the same stubbornly refusing to be flexible with other choices that have no actual consequence. I wish there was some religion that forced members to wear hats so I could claim to be a member when people bring up the ridiculous antiquated notion of taking off your hat indoors. If you can use people’s own prejudices and cognitive errors against them to your own advantage, go for it!