To be honest, if those things don’t come into play, most of us wouldn’t know someone is a picky eater. Too often, we know picky eaters are picky because their problem becomes our problem. I probably know lots of picky eaters who I don’t know are picky.
That’s fair. I’m talking more about
[QUOTE=scootergirl]
Oh I can’t think of anything, but IMHO, overly picky adult eaters seem to lack a sense of openmindedness and receptivity to new things in other areas too.
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Being judged as not open minded is not exactly a compliment.
or
[QUOTE=don’t ask]
There are two young guys at work like this. I think they would happily eat KFC 3 meals a day. A bunch of us go out for lunch as often as we can and eat either Asian or Mexican. The two pickytoddlerarians are desperately keen to join us and have to scan the menu for suitably bland offerings. Some sort of chicken and rice seems to often be the choice. They sit there eating a plate of that while the rest of us share several plates of exotic stuff.
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If they’re so picky that they’d prefer KFC 3 meals a day, why are they so “keen” to join you marvelous, adventurous lot for lunch? And you can eat either Asian *or *Mexican? So you basically stick to one of two types of meals all the time. Yeah, you’re all Renaissance men. And why do you care if they don’t want to share your “exotic” stuff? Doesn’t that mean there’s more for you?
[QUOTE=get lives]
If it significantly harms their health, then yes, other people are harmed, because of the extra cost of their health care, and also because someone has to handle the chores, etc. that the unwell person can no longer handle doing. I could preach a long sermon about this, but I won’t.
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This is so off base I can only limit my comments to the irony of the user name / post content.
[QUOTE=get lives]
Most do not, though, IME. They just have never grown up in their relationship to food.
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:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
I’m off to lunch now - turkey breast, salad with *no *dressing and a piece of whole wheat bread with *no * butter. Any of youse got a problem with that? 
Not shamed, and I’ve never been terribly picky about most things, but I’ve only recently begun trying Chinese (well, Chinese-American) food again, and it’s partly out of a desire to increase options when dining out with a group. The reason I avoided it for years is that I had migraines from early childhood to my early twenties, and Chinese food seemed to be a fast and consistent trigger for really intense migraines–a half-hour to an hour after eating it, I was in pain, violently nauseous, and barely able to see. (I’m not pointing a finger at MSG, since I ate other things that had fair amounts of MSG with no problem, but something was causing it.)
My migraines stopped when I was about 22, but I was in the habit of avoiding Chinese food. I didn’t try it again until just a few years ago, testing the waters very tentatively. I had no bad reaction, but I’ve also had no opportunity to acquire a taste for the cuisine. I’m gradually exploring it, but distinguishing between old habit and the real qualities of a dish can be a challenge. (“Hm. The last time I tasted this flavor profile, it was laced with stomach acid and pain” can be rather offputting.)
In general, it seems to me that a person’s pickiness should only be an issue to others if it unduly restricts everyone’s options, so I’ve always tried to avoid that. If the group specifically wanted to go for Chinese, I’d either bow out or find something safe on the menu–I’ve eaten a lot of plain salads/vegetables at Chinese restaurants. I never insisted on going someplace else, though my friends often took it into account without me saying anything about it.
(I also dislike most seafood, but again, I can always find something I’ll eat, so I don’t rule out seafood places, either.)
Whole wheat?! fends off the radical with a toasting fork
Look, I don’t care how much you nag me about it. I’m not trying your green eggs and ham.
How it should have ended:
(Unnamed character lying on his back gasping from horrible allergic reaction)
“I cannot eat them here or there, I cannot eat them anywhere.
I cannot eat green eggs and ham. I hope you’re…happy…Sam…I…Am…”
Doper, apparently.
How about “picky eater”? Has that been suggested yet?
Thank you!
That’s two words!
We appreciate it 
As a general response to people who’ve said, “Why do you care?” – I’ve only really cared in a few circumstances. One, when I was on a lengthy business trip, and my coworker would veto about 95% of my restaurant selections. I do this trip a lot and have favorite restaurants I like to hit up. Eventually I stopped asking him out to dinner and we ate separately the rest of the trip. Two, when I’ve had coworkers who wouldn’t eat at 80% of the restaurants near the office; eventually we just stopped inviting them out to lunch unless we already knew we were going to one of the few places they would eat at. And three, when having relatives over. You don’t really know if your relatives (immediate family excluded) are picky eaters until they show up for dinner and won’t eat what you’ve made. And then again. And again, until eventually you figure out that you can’t just throw dinner together, you need to plan ahead so that you have something in the house that they’ll eat. It’s extra work and extra stress.
I’ve told my kids that if they should find themselves at a friends’ house for dinner, they’re to eat what’s on their plate, no questions asked. And they do, even though they’ll come home and say, “I ate it but I didn’t really like it.” Fortunately none of them are picky eaters, but that’s how I operate as well. If I go to your house and you serve me cold squid brains on crickets, guess what I’m putting in my mouth.
FWIW, I was a fairly picky eater growing up, but I spent a few years forcing myself to order the strangest thing on any menu.
Anyone for a squid and tripe burrito topped with yak cheese and kimchi?
I want mine with double tripe and double kimchi.
I grew up in a family where fast food was a once a year thing at most. My mother made yogurt from scratch and we only ate homemade granola as a between meal snack. Scratch cooked experimental dinners from around the globe were common dinner table fare in my house. (Yes, we drove a VW Microbus)
My father would eat anything food related and even belonged to a club that twice a year would eat the local cuisine from a foreign land particularly if it involved insects or some creature that could have killed you with a single sting/bite prior to being made into lunch. He once covered a lasagna with chocolate sauce to win a $1 bet. He still eats it that way to this day.
I have tried many of the oddities that were presented. Liked some and hated others. However to this day I refuse to eat Thai food. I won’t even try it. Something about the smell walking into any Thai restaurant that puts me completely off eating. I have been to about a dozen or so with friends over the years and always just order a soda and eat something else later.
Would this make me a picky eater simply because I have excluded a section of the overall world food pie for somewhat arbitrary personal reasons?
Not in my book. The people I can’t help forming opinions about are the ones who I have eaten with several times, and have always gotten the same exact thing, no matter where we go.
I am not saying I intentionally watch what people eat, but I can’t help noticing, and if we go to 31 flavors 10 times and Bob gets vanilla every single time, I also can’t help but wonder what else Bob is missing out on, and why he doesn’t want to try mint chip. At the same time, Tina tries a new flavor every time and appears more adventurous and fun to me. I think it’s human nature to be curious about this.
Picky eaters are unusual within a group of non-picky eaters. In some ways, picky eaters bring variety to the meal. Without them, we’d have people who are all basically the same: they are okay with eating a wide variety of food.
Hey, we’re all judgmental is some ways in some circumstances. What happens sometimes is recursive criticism and intolerance:
What do think about having some pizza?
I can’t have a pizza with tomatoes or mushrooms or cheese.
Are you allergic to them?
No, I just hate them.
All of them?
Yup. I can’t stand the taste and the texture.
A bit strange, don’t you think? Most people like those things in some form, or at least they don’t hate them.
Well, I don’t care what “most people” like. You sure are being critical of my food choices. You should be more tolerant.
Wait! First, you’re the one who can’t tolerate a bunch of foods, even though most people don’t have a problem with them. And you’re being critical of my opinion of your food habits. I’m entitled to my opinion, right?
No, you’re being critical of me. I’m a person, I have feelings. And you started it. If you just shut up and let me eat what I want, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Look, I didn’t even ask you if you like any of those things. You’re the one who brought it up.
You should have asked me.
Ask you about what? All the possible toppings on a pizza?
You’re the one who brought up pizza.
Okay, but y’know there are pizzas with other toppings. Why didn’t you suggest that?
Why didn’t you suggest that?
Because most people don’t have a problem with them, especially not all of them.
But I have a problem and I told you. You just won’t accept it.
Uh, okay.
Or this:
What do think about having some pizza?
I can’t have a pizza with tomatoes or mushrooms or cheese.
Oh, what do you think about a pizza with some other stuff? We can share or we can each have our own.
Or:
What do think about having some pizza?
I’d love to. What you think of trying one of those with potatoes, rosemary and olive oil?
Sounds good but I’m too keen on rosemary. Maybe we can ask them to leave it off on half the pizza, or we can each have our own.
Or:
What do you think about having some pizza?
Y’know, I’d love to have something to eat. Are you open to other suggestions?
In simple terms, is each participant prepared and willing to arrive at quick, simple compromise. This isn’t just about food. It’s about being with other people and enjoying each other’s company. Otherwise, why don’t we just spend all of our time in front of a computer … :eek:
(bolding mine)
The bolded sentence contradicts everything that follows it. You can’t help noticing not only what someone eats one day but each of the nine times after that? You can’t help but wonder what else Bob is missing out on because he doesn’t want to try a different flavor of ice cream? I’m sure you’re concern is very touching but I’m a little concerned that you have a rampant case of Gladyskravitzitis
Seriously, I am so utterly disinterested in food in general and especially what anyone else likes or doesn’t like. It would never occur to me to ponder the implications of anyone else’s eating habits, except maybe to the extent of the mild bemusement I experience when I hear of people who don’t like animals or buying clothes. I don’t relate to that feeling but I don’t really think much more about it and I certainly don’t form unfounded value judgments based on it.
I totally get what tenacious j means. To me, it’s akin to noticing that someone wears the same outfit day after day. As long as their clothes are clean, who cares right? But it is still unusual. There’s nothing wrong with noticing someone’s habits as long as you’re careful in how much you generalize from that.
I eat the same thing for lunch. Whenever I’m eat in the breakroom, someone points this out to me. It is annoying; I totally wish people would leave me alone. But I don’t fault them for noticing something like this, because it IS unusual behavior. I’ve had people assume that I am on a special diet because of it, when really I just don’t care what I eat for lunch. I only care that I get some calories.
I’m also fine with someone judging me as boring or nonadventurous. Because I will be the first to cop to being boring and nonadventurous. In the grand scheme of insults, these are pretty minor. Now, if someone wants to call me stupid or lazy for my eating choices, I probably will take some offense. But I actually don’t blame a foodie for not wanting to be friends with someone like me. They’d probably get on my nerves too.
I’ve eaten all those things, but not at the same meal. But now maybe I will.
As for the medical consequences of picky eating; there rarely are any of significance, in an adult. I’m a physician, and I deal with food refusers of every type here in the max security prison. Adult picky eaters here AND out in the real world are about as likely to have nutrition problems as adults who are not so selective. One can build weird hypothetical cases about vitamin deficiencies or carb overload but they seldom come to pass. Picky eaters don’t add to society’s health care costs any more than non-picky eaters do.
Unless you’re my patient, I don’t give a damn what you do or don’t eat unless it unreasonably impacts my ability to enjoy my meal.
Just don’t be like Jeffrey Dahmer. His food choices negatively impacted on his health.
And the health of others; don’t forget the externalities!
This entire post is a thing of beauty. It’s gets a loud +1 from me.