Are you a picky eater? If not, do picky eaters bother you?

[smirkymonkey]

Everyone has foods they don't like and that is normal. And by picky eater, I don't mean people who are vegan, vegetarian, lactose-intolerant or gluten free.

I am talking about people who have a very limited palate. Who will only eat pasta w/ butter, sandwiches w/ only white bread, some meat, no toppings or condiments, plain rice, no veggies except potatoes, chicken fingers, plain pizza - basically the types of things that would be served on a children's menu in a restaurant. People who will not even try anything new.

I was just reading an article on picky adult eaters and was curious as to what people here thought.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Yes, as if one meal would make such a difference (unless they have a severe allergy or ...

condition, that's okay). I won't ever go out w/ a picky adult eaters ... they irritate the hell out of me and I frankly don't want to deal w/ them. Life is too short to have someone like this ruin or just plain make uncomfortable your evening.

[CatMor]

2. I am not a picky eater I like most all food .....

picky eaters don't bother me as long as I don't have to dine with them.

[TDale313]

3. Shrug. As long as I can eat what I want...

I really don’t get too fussed about what other people are eating.

[mr_lebowski]

4. Yeah, it does sometimes bug me, but then, I'm a bit of a picky eater myself ...

I mean, I like a lotta things, but I do like CERTAIN things ... a certain way.

Here's some 'for examples' ...

You ever had a Culver's Deluxe Burger? They put the the patties and cheese on TOP of all the condiments like lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc. This is f***ing WRONG. And I ask them to please put the patties on the bottom ('as the dick would do' ... to quote a favorite expression from my youth) when I go through the drive-thru.

You ever have a hot pastrami sandwich? A proper hot pastrami sandwich involves STEAMED pastrami (though a QUICK grilling after pulling it out of the steamer, maybe to melt on some cheese, for like a reuben, isn't terrible) ... it does NOT involve pastrami that's been heated entirely on a grill, and for DOGS SAKE it's not freaking MICROWAVED. I always ask how the Pastrami is heated before ordering. I'm a PITA like that.

And Shredded Beef Tacos? You put the cooked/shredded beef into a corn tortilla shell, you 'seal' it with toothpicks, and you deep-fry the shell and the beef. That's the making of a 'shredded beef taco'. Any other way ... is WRONG in my book. So I always ask first, and if they're not made that way, I pick something else.

So, yeah, I guess you could say I'm a 'picky eater', but only in a certain sense, with certain items.

But don't even get me started on how NOBODY COUNTS OUT FREAKING CHANGE PROPERLY ANYMORE

[smirkymonkey]

5. I would say you are particular, but not really picky.

You still eat a variety of food. We all have our little food quirks. I have a number of them too.

I was thinking about it because we have a few people at work who are notoriously picky and it's very hard when we have to have a lunch catered or we have a group dinner. They don't eat ANYTHING except iceberg lettuce, potatoes, chicken, steak, american cheese, plain pasta, plain white rice, bottled Italian dressing. There are a few more things they will try, but that's about it. They will eat donuts and pastries and some sweet things, but once a person on the team made this great chocolate quick bread (w/ zucchini) but you couldn't even tell there was any zucchini in it and one of the picky eaters wouldn't try it because it had a vegetable in it, even though you couldn't tell. I just thought that was ridiculous.

[MiniMe]

17. The "change" thing bothers me

What drives me crazy is when they give you the bills back and then put the coins on top of it. They haven't bothered counting it back to you, but the coins on top makes it almost impossible to put your money away without dumping something on the ground. I have gotten to the point of where if they hand me the bills first, I turn my hand over so they can't dump loose coins on top of everything. Then I put my hand out for the coins.

[northoftheborder]

20. agree with that completely #17

[jberryhill]

28. Eventually, I got so fed up I just amputated my hands

They don’t do that anymore.

[mr_lebowski]

42. No, the thing I hate is that they look at the amount the register says the change is ...

And if they even bother to even say what they're giving you, they just blurt out the amount the register tells them ... is your change.

So if you you give them $20.00 for a $8.53 purchase they just go 'so 11.47 is your change' and they plop it into your hand in a wad.

The proper method is to go 'here is 47, that makes 9, and 1 is 10, and 10 is 20'.

Nobody ever counts change properly anymore, and it irritates me.

[Fla Dem]

6. Doesn't bother me in the least.

I have my own likes and dislikes. What other people like or don't like has no effect on me. It's their choice. I don't judge.

[Iggo]

7. I choose what I eat.

I don't let other people choose what I eat.

So therefore I'm a picky eater.

[Solly Mack]

8. My eejit says I'm a picky eater.

But it's really more of a case of I want what I want.

[smirkymonkey]

37. There are people who are particular, but I don't really think of them as picky.

I think picky is when you have a repertoire of about 10 staple foods they can eat and that is it. And they refuse to try anything new. We have a few people at work who are like this so we can never order lunches from ethnic food places or anything interesting because they refuse to eat it. It's white bread, white rice, plain potatoes or french fries, no spices, no condiments except ketchup, no flavor. It's kind of a pain in the ass to work around.

As I said in the OP, we all have our food issues, but that doesn't mean we are picky. I am talking about extremes where people refuse to eat anything outside of a child's menu.

[Runningdawg]

9. It's not always about being a picky eater

some people like the added attention. I used to go out with a group of co-workers but stopped because of one of them. EVERY time we went out, she would send her food back, sometimes multiple times in one visit. She said she was a picky eater. No - she was a drama queen who rarely touched her food. Probably a good thing too, after the way she treated food service personel I wouldn't have touched it either.

[Iggo]

15. There's a person I won't go out to eat with, or even go thru a drive-thru with...

...because she has to order everything special.

I order straight off the menu.

Now, according to my reading of the OP, that makes ME the picky eater.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

10. I've never eaten a picky, but I'll try anything once!

[SKKY]

11. The only food-related "phobia" I have is someone who chews with their mouth open....

...it will literally ruin my day, and as Morrissey said, make me "...reflect and plan a mass murder."

[mr_lebowski]

43. Oh my god I friggin HATE THAT TOO ... especially if its something crunchy like chips ...

ZOMG ... so disgusting.


"Who said I lie because I never, I never ... who said I lie because I never ... and so I drank 1 it became 4 and when I fell on the floor I drank more ... "

[Thyla]

12. I'm a picky eater but...

...not in the way you describe as being bland.
However there is a lot of things I just wont eat or they have to be prepared in a way I like for it to be acceptable.
Still I had peas for the first time in over 20 years not long ago, cooked the way they were they are lovely but that does not mean I will settle for any old spoonful of peas now.

As for other people it is none of my business how people eat, I can't really see why that should bother anyone to be honest.

[Cousin Dupree]

13. I have a friend that likes to tell the servers how the kitchen should change her food.

“Tell them to take the sauce from this dish and add it to this other dish. Add extra garlic and take out the broccoli out”. Then complains because she doesn’t like her food. It’s so annoying we try to avoid dining with her at all costs. And she’s rude to the servers and yells across the restaurant to them when she wants something. I’m getting irritated just writing this!

[MiniMe]

18. I wonder how much spit is in the food she eventually gets?

[Cousin Dupree]

22. Lots, I hope!

[Hoyt]

14. I am, but I can almost always find something to eat and don't let others know what they

are eating makes me gag. If I happen to end up at a restaurant with nothing appetizing, I'll just say I'm on a diet, just ate, or having stomach issues.

I do like some things that others hate -- liver for example, although don't eat it much.

I can't even stand mayonnaise. I'm envious of people who can eat anything. Back in my dating days, I had a bunch of excuses/dodges for avoiding having someone cook for me.

[smirkymonkey]

38. Those things are reasonable.

At least you aren't trying to make things difficult for those you are eating out with. I don't like everything either, but I manage to work around it when eating with others.

[CTyankee]

16. I find that I don't enjoy food the way I used to, due to age and diminished taste and

smell senses. I used to love to eat. Now I pick at my food and have to take a multivitamin each day so that I get enough basic nutirents in my diet.

I miss having a healthy appetite...

[Generic Brad]

19. Some of them baffle me

I have recently met people who refuse to eat fruit or vegetables. I've encountered vegeterians who only eat french fries and cheese pizza. I could never do that.

I get that we are all wired differently, but some of it seems like conscious choice to me.

[wasupaloopa]

30. Not seems like it is conscious choice.

[northoftheborder]

21. It matters if you are trying to fix dinner for a bunch of people who all like different things...

....if they are polite enough, they will not comment on the food, but just eat the things they like, and at least try the rest. I try to have a variety, but...I''ve almost stopped cooking for this bunch. I'm old, and my generation ate what was put on our plates, whether we "liked" it or not. I have just two foods I will not eat: oatmeal and okra! I think the microwave ruined it all. It made it "optional" to just fix what he or she wanted.

[wasupaloopa]

29. Give me a valid reason why they should try the rest.

That is what bugs me. We don’t need to conform to other persons ideas on how we should eat.

I eat what is there I like and avoid the rest.

If that bothers you don’t invite me. Next time I probably would decline your invitation.

[MFM008]

23. I dont care if you eat live Tarantulas

As long as you do it QUIETLY.
Very very QUIETLY.

[GoneOffShore]

24. Okay, this is interesting topic for me because I'm not a picky eater & really don't people who are

I have just gotten over my avoidance of tripe and andouillete sausage.
The only things I avoid in the western menu are raw mussels.
Haven't traveled in Southeast Asia or Africa, so have only had westernized versions of those dishes.

Picky eaters, vegans, halal, and kosher make very little sense to me. And let's not took about 'gluten free' or 'lactose intolerant'. Unless you have celiac or are really, truly, medically allergic, you're just picky.

[wasupaloopa]

27. Yes I am picky and it is none of your business

[GoneOffShore]

44. Eat what you like. But I won't invite you to dinner.

[wasupaloopa]

46. Fine by me Dinner is not the only way to meet socially. Maybe I would invite you to a play.

[red dog 1]

25. Why should picky eaters bother me?

Who cares if someone is a picky eater?

[wasupaloopa]

26. What I a picky eater eats is no body's business.

[yonder]

31. I used to work with a guy who was selective that way. He wasn't vegetarian, just very picky.

We worked well together on a two-man field crew and it was not usually a problem because we generally packed a lunch. I remember one nasty day: howling wind, 30-35 degrees, close to traffic and we had to take a late lunch off-site. I was looking for something savory, soup or a burger. Nope, he insisted on this nearby bagel shop he knew of and assured me they had a decent menu. The best they had was a cold bagel, cream cheese and some sprouts. Yum.

He was satisfied, me, not so much. Until then, I never gave his weird food choices much thought. After that, I paid more attention. I can't say I've ever known someone as fussy about food quite like that.

[Ninga]

32. It's fine to be a picky eater. I don't care,or want to hear about it, and you Mr picky eater

are not invited to my house for dinner.

[smirkymonkey]

33. Just as well.

Just asking a question.

[Ninga]

34. Homemade Gnocchi with homemade pesto and a side of lots of vegetables. Just sayin. Nt

[smirkymonkey]

35. If you eat gnocchi and pesto and vegetables then you are NOT a picky eater.

I don't think you really read the OP. I'm talking about people who eat like 5 year olds and will never try anything new.

[GoCubsGo]

36. No, I don't. It's their loss.

I do get annoyed by the militant types, though. If you want to be vegan, gluten-free, or follow whatever latest fad you want to follow, suit yourself. Just keep it to yourself. I'm not interested in your lectures about how much better your way of eating is.

[Phentex]

39. They only bother me when they will go to certain restaurants...

and no others. They will never go for seafood, Asian, Mexican, small plates, certain pizza places, BBQ, vegan/vegetarian, frozen yogurt, a noodle house, or sandwich shop. They WILL go to Olive Garden or a burger chain. Possibly pizza if it's the kind they like. I have traveled with picky eaters and I don't find it fun. I don't care what they eat but I don't think I should have to defer to their restaurant choices based on what they won't eat.

[Leith]

40. I'm Not Picky

but I'm married into a family that is. Hubby has about 8 items that he could live the rest of his life on and he doesn't want to try anything else. His sister has to eat gluten-free and her daughter won't touch dairy. <shrug> They're the ones who have to deal with it, not me.

[trackfan]

41. I was picky as a kid, then started to lose some of that as a teen,

and ate pretty much everything by my mid twenties. I was picky in pretty much the way you describe. I didn't like cheese (except for hard Italian cheeses); I could not eat mayonnaise; I had hamburgers with ketchup only; anything that could be bumpy or smooth, I wanted completely smooth, etc. I started eating pizza in my teens. I finally was eating hamburgers with all the fixings by about age 22. My wife's eating history almost exactly parallels mine. Her dad, however, at 83, still only likes the things he liked as a boy.

[Rhiannon12866]

45. I will not eat anything that contains or has been anywhere near peas

[Iggo]

48. I won't eat anything that has shredded lettuce.

[The Polack MSgt]

47. I hated it when my children went through this phase

But they got over it quickly.

I really get bothered by adults who act like 3 year olds in this or any other way.

It really isn't the pickiness that bugs me (more blood sausage and cous cous for me loser!) it's that in my experience they can't just be picky, they have to TELL ME ABOUT IT