Well, reading everyone else’s posts has reminded me that I don’t care for raw tomatoes/tomato chunks or green peppers. I do like spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup, tomato soup, etc. Other peppers are okay but green peppers just seem to overwhelm every food they’re in. I think someone mentioned in one of the other picky eater threads that green peppers still ruin the taste of a pizza even when they’re picked off. So true. I can pick off sausage or mushroom and eat the rest of the pizza, but can’t do that with green peppers because the whole pizza will still taste like peppers. Same goes for onions.
-
I’m basically the anti-vegetarian. Out of the fruits and vegetables food groups, I like… the citrus-y stuff (lemons/limes/oranges/etc), potatoes in virtually any form, tomatos in many incarnations… and that’s about it, though I’m sure I’ve forgotten an exception or two. On the other hand, I will eat virtually anything that was alive at some point (though most sushi is still ick… but I have no problem with steaks that are basically raw), mostly anything from the grain and dairy areas, and the spicier the better across the board.
1a. I have certainly been more open to trying things as I’ve aged (I’ll try most things once, and occasionally even re-try something I don’t like). I’ve certainly added a little bit of variety here and there, and moved on to some more complex variations on the basic stuff I had as a kid. I still haven’t really been able to move into the various greens of the world at all, though. -
Not really sure. As for my theories as to what I actually don’t like, it’s the texture for the most part. “Slimy”, “squshy”, and other such things aren’t some of my favorites. Then again, a lot of the time it’s just the taste - I had some banana ice cream last week by accident (long story) and I almost threw up as I reached for the glass of water to force it down. As for where it comes from, I never really liked the stuff - even as a kid, I would throw up when my parents tried to force-feed me peas. Maybe they just didn’t keep trying hard/long enough, especially since I was an only child so they could afford a little dotage. Who knows.
-
It depends on the individual stuff, but I generally range from disgust at the concept of eating some things, to a pretty strong gag reflex if/when I try to.
-
Generally willing, depending on how appetizing it looks. Like I said, I’m very open to trying anything once. I always keep a glass of water nearby, though.
-
shrugs Most people would probably say “No”, but I’m doing alright. I recently added a multivitamin, not so much for my current health as to get me the stuff everyone tells me I’m missing and prevent things later on. My BMI is in the “normal” range, I’ve always been very athletic, I’ve never really gotten sick at all (knock on wood), and it would be hard to describe me as anything other than “excellent health”. So I guess you could say that my diet works for me.
Carnivores forever! 
- What will/won’t you eat (share the shorter list).
Won’t: beef, pork, chicken, squid, octopus, clams, oysters, cooked green peppers, okra (well, at least not cooked any of the ways I’ve had it so far), cilantro.
Can’t: “raw” milk - I seem to do OK with small amounts of cooked milk (as you’d have in cream sauces, for example), butter and aged cheeses, but can’t tolerate much ice cream; and artificial sweeteners.
1a. Has the list changed as you aged?
I eat more seafood than I used to, and I gave up meat a year ago.
-
Do you know why?
I gave up meat as an experiment and it seems to have stuck. Bad flavors in cooked green peppers and cilantro, bad texture in okra (I actually do not mind the flavor, so I’m hoping someday someone will overcome the slime.) The fish and seafood I will not eat comes from a lifetime of living in an ethnic Italian household with a parent who made ME clean it all. Once you’ve seen the inside of a squid, you’re just not all that eager to eat the outside. Raw clams and oysters are just far too ooky-looking for me to contemplate. -
Do you have any sort of reaction to eating your non favored foods, besides not enjoying it?
With milk and artificial sweeteners, yes - I developed an ileus from an overdose of dairy (three days in the hospital will, if nothing else, cure you from every wanting to be hospitalized again); and I get migraines and tunnel vision, as well as what I call “greasy tummy” from artificial sweeteners (feels like my insides are oily.) Cilantro and cooked green pepper are both strong enough and disliked enough to make me have to suppress my gag reflex. -
Are you generally willing to try unfamiliar foods (Things you’ve never had. Not, for example, trying Jill’s tuna casserole, because she assures you that you’ll like it even though you’ve hated everyone else’s tuna casserole).
Yes, but I am uneasy about unfamiliar textures, and texture inconsistencies (think eggshell bit in scrambled eggs, or a “lump” of sour in a glass of milk.) Because my reactions to the ingredients I can’t or won’t eat tend to be rather obvious, I will ascertain whether they’re present, and try new things cautiously.
- Is your diet healthy and balanced?
Actually, far more now than it used to be. Cutting meat out of my diet was an experiment in cooking more than anything, but it sort of made me pay attention to what is in the foods I eat, particularly because sodium is a big factor in prepared foods.
- What will/won’t you eat (share the shorter list).
Most vegetables. I won’t eat anything that goes in the common salad. I will eat broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, beans, corn. Oddly I like the taste of onions, but not the actual onion. So I use onion powder when I cook.
Mushrooms are out.
Anything pickled.
No mustard, no mayo, no tartar sauce.
1a. Has the list changed as you aged?
A little. I used to like peas and carrots and can’t stand them anymore. I used to hate scrambled eggs, but I love them now.
-
Do you know why?
Most vegetables are too sour, especially tomatos, cukes, and radish. Yuck. The smell is what gets me on lettuce, green peppers, pickles and mustard. I can smell them a mile away and it will put me off any dish that has them. I will pick off bits of bread with pickle juice on it. And vegetables are cold. I hate cold food. I have to toast sandwiches to eat them. I won’t blame genetics. But interestingly, my dad had a revelation when I was about 12 that his father was the exact same way. Even living in the depression my grandfather was incredibly strict as to what he would eat. -
Do you have any sort of reaction to eating your non favored foods, besides not enjoying it?
Nothing allergic or gagging. Mustard will just ruin a meal for me. So I avoid it at all costs. I haven’t been back to a Chilis for years since they gave me a burger with mustard on it. -
Are you generally willing to try unfamiliar foods
Yes as long as it avoids my big no-nos. I have to travel a lot so I have no choice but to try different things. Worst mistakes were sea urchin in Japan and Okroshka in Russia. -
Is your diet healthy and balanced?
No, more or less a function of my laziness. My wife can’t boil an egg so I have to do the cooking for myself. If I come home late from work, I will probably throw something in the microwave or order a pie. As much as I would like to cook something up, I am usually not up to it until the weekend.
1. What will/won’t you eat (share the shorter list). There are flavors and textures I’m not especially fond of, but the only things I will not eat are bell peppers or hominy.
1a. Has the list changed as you aged? I used to eat green bell peppers.
2. Do you know why? Hominy is disgusting.
**3. Do you have any sort of reaction to eating your non favored foods, besides not enjoying it? ** Bell peppers make my lips & tongue swell, my whole body itch, and I wheeze. Other (hot) peppers are fine, but I’m afraid to try red or yellow bells just in case.
**4. Are you generally willing to try unfamiliar foods. ** Yes. Unless it tries to crawl off the plate, I’ll at least taste it.
5. Is your diet healthy and balanced? Yes
**1. What will/won’t you eat (share the shorter list). **
I can’t eat raw tomatoes or anything vinegar based, which includes most dressings, sauces, pickles and relish. Even the smell of those things makes me gag. I also can’t come at raw shellfish or fish, any meat that is still bloody or undercooked eggs. Most everything else is fine.
For years my husband believed my pickiness was all in my mind and one night when we were out driving around, bought me a hamburger with tomato. He thought if I couldn’t see the tomato, I would eat the burger without a worry. Wrong. He didn’t fuss about my food choices after that.
1a. Has the list changed as you aged?
No. There is nothing I eat now that I disliked as a child.
2. Do you know why?
No idea. The rest of the family didn’t share my pickiness.
3. Do you have any sort of reaction to eating your non favored foods, besides not enjoying it?
I gag every time. I can hold my breath so I can’t taste the food but I’m unable to swallow it.
**4. Are you generally willing to try unfamiliar foods (Things you’ve never had. Not, for example, trying Jill’s tuna casserole, because she assures you that you’ll like it even though you’ve hated everyone else’s tuna casserole). **
Yes
5. Is your diet healthy and balanced?
Yes