Picky eaters ...

[summerdays]

I never give them an open question of what they would like for tea ... if there are options it might be how a particular food is prepared that day or whether it is served with rice or pasta etc. Apart from anything with 3 children I would get 3 different answers, and I'm limited by what is is the fridge/store cupboard.

 

[PaulSB]

Interesting thread this. My sons are now 19-25, two have left and the youngest virtually has. As children we encouraged them to experiment through offering them a wide range of foods cooked in a variety of styles, like most kids some things were rejected but we never pandered to their tastes though I know both my wife and I would take the easy option on occasions. Kids can be picky no doubt about that but our attitude was always, and still is, "there's your tea or teas's ready."

My middle son, who will be 22 this year, has Downs Syndrome and has survived nearly 20 years on an extremely limited diet of toast, bread rolls, Weetabix and milk. Very occassionally he would try something else but this was rare, I think it must be 20 years since he ate fruit or vegetables. Since leaving home his diet has improved and this I think is largely due to seeing what his peers eat at college and in his shared house. As the doctor pointed out once, half the world live on a worse diet. Tom is a thriving young man.

One of our favourite family dishes grew out of trying to get the kids to eat. Their harrassed mother when asked what was for tea replied "....and potatoes" to a round of groans and potatoes are boring. Next question was what sort of potatoes, to which she roared the reply "Interesting ones!"

The recipe for interesting potatoes is simple chop potatoes into 1" cubes, chop any suitable veg you can find, place in large bowl, add ground salt and pepper, loads of crushed garlic, lashings of olive oil, toss to cover veg with oil. tip out on to a baking tray. Place in gas mark 5 till potatoes are soft inside and crispy out. Quick, easy and interesting.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

The recipe for interesting potatoes is simple chop potatoes into 1" cubes, chop any suitable veg you can find, place in large bowl, add ground salt and pepper, loads of crushed garlic, lashings of olive oil, toss to cover veg with oil. Place in gas mark 5 till potatoes are soft inside and crispy out. Quick, easy and interesting.

 

[tyred]

I was a very picky eater when I was growing up but hunger cured it mostly as my mother simply said, "there's your dinner, eat it or go hungary."

I will eat almost anything now (my waist size says so!) but I just cannot stomach any form of cheese or mayo/salad cream/similar disgusting shoot.

The other oddity is that I don't like tea or coffee. I might take a cup of tea in someone's house out of politeness but I would simply never touch it normally.

 

[Arch]

I remember reading that there's a good reason why children go through a picky stage at toddlers. At the age when they would first be able to forage for themselves in the wild, so to speak, there's more risk of eating stuff that poisonous. So they become less willing to try new stuff, and tend to reject things with any sourness or bitterness, because that suggests unripeness and bellyache or worse - even if it's stuff they would eat before, because before they were more totally under parental protection, diet wise.

At an age when many mothers are concerned to see that their child eats enough, and are possibly juggling the needs of the next one, it's easy to see why some 'give in' and serve up only stuff they know will be eaten, and then the habit is formed.

 

[upsidedown]

Mrs UD used to peel mushrooms before chopping them and when asked how she would like her steak replies "burnt". Her brother until recently would only eat chicken nuggets and lettuce as his evening meal and dry shreddies for breakfast. She looks on in genuine horror at some of the stuff I eat.

 

[Chilternrides]

OP reminds me of a girl that my ex used to share a house with at university.
She was extreme in the extreme about food - every meal (not evening meal, every meal) was exactly the same thing; cheese, milk and sweetcorn melted together in a saucepan, with a blob of tomato ketchup in it.

She would only eat twice a day as she couldn't get her meal unless she made it herself at home (try buying that in Pret!)
To really top it off, it had to be eaten with a spoon directly from the pan it was cooked in.

In addition, her part time job in a pub which served food didn't help - the face on her if she ever had to handle it ..."Ugh, disgusting! How could anyone eat that?" was the usual accompanyment to er, everything!

Back to the OP's predicament - prepare something you know he will object too but tell him beforehand so he can decide to either stay away or feed himself before coming round to join the rest of you for a drink or whatever.

 

[Saddle bum]

Just a few of the examples I've encountered of picky eating or worse............

At a black tie dinner, the chairman was bought a plate of chips. That was all he was prepared to eat.

A guy who will not touch soup of any description.

A trainee who when offered an apple, said it was animal food. He would only eat Micky Dees because it was modern, civilised food.

A friend who would not eat veg of any description, he now suffers from arterial disease.

Racing to catch a plane in the US, we had to eat something and I ate my second only McDonalds. My colleague sat and watched because he only ate Burger Kings.

Smug veggies wind me up, they deserve a slap. If they are extreme, their kids should be taken into care on grounds of neglect.

 

[Saddle bum]

OP reminds me of a girl that my ex used to share a house with at university.
She was extreme in the extreme about food - every meal (not evening meal, every meal) was exactly the same thing; cheese, milk and sweetcorn melted together in a saucepan, with a blob of tomato ketchup in it.

She would only eat twice a day as she couldn't get her meal unless she made it herself at home (try buying that in Pret!)
To really top it off, it had to be eaten with a spoon directly from the pan it was cooked in.

[snip]

That is control freakery. She (and others) have allowed it to get out of hand.

 

[ttcycle]

You know, I do believe that's what it was called. One of the guests certainly came out with that famous quote of Brunel's about the coffee served at Reading (?) station and badly roasted corn.

I still have no idea at all how black coffee might be construed as not vegan, but the groom assured me that it wasn't. He was very strange, though ...

Now I was interested and just looked this up on google:

apparently coffee beans are often coated with shelac which is the excretions of female lac bug to give them a glossy glow. So that's why it wouldn't be vegan as it involves the use of an animal product.

How weird...!

 

[swee'pea99]

Now I was interested and just looked this up on google:

apparently coffee beans are often coated with shelac which is the excretions of female lac bug to give them a glossy glow. So that's why it wouldn't be vegan as it involves the use of an animal product.

How weird...!

I love stories like that. How the hell?...


"You know, I'm sure people would buy more of our coffee beans if they weren't such a dull finish. Perhaps if we rubbed them with, oh, I don't know, lac bug shoot..."

 

[MontyVeda]

regarding Kids and food... deciding what they will and wont eat is their first experience of freedom of choice. I also think it's about getting attention... when fussy kids grow into fussy adults, they still need to grow up IMO.

I know a few annoyingly fussy eaters, my ex being one of the most annoying ones (and fecking rude with it, as mentioned.

I know another lass who can't try anything new without giving it a good sniffing first... very odd behaviour at the table I'll tell.

and another bloke who doesn't like carrots, and therefore wont eat anything orange in colour (apart from the fruit) because it might taste a bit like a carrot... just fecking try it!


Maybe it's just me... I've always eaten pretty much whatever was put in front of me... but I'm the youngest of three and the other two were fussy eaters also... so my childhood attention grabbing was centred around eating what the other two wouldn't.

 

[Andy_R]

I'm going to be annoyingly snug. A list of things my 7 year old son will eat includes: Stilton, black pudding, octopus, scallops, crab, mussels, prawns, in fact most if not all sea food, rabbit, ALL meats (he's a real carnivore), marmite, most veg except cauliflower (he doesn't dislike it, just doesnt see the point as it doesn't taste of anything), spicy curries (we have a Goan neighbour who cooks the most amazing fish curries!), haggis, olives, anchovies; I could continue in a similar vein. But, to my sometimes annoyance, he is an incredilby easily distracted eater. Meal times have to be in silence otherwie he would chat away all day

 

[Flying_Monkey]

That is control freakery. She (and others) have allowed it to get out of hand.

Actually, it sounds very much like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - which is a bona fide mental illness.

 

[ttcycle]

Food is a complex issue- from overeating, anorexia, bullimia or Selective eating disorders- it can be very similar to OCD and can be about control - control of ones own world-the fear that is involved in introducing unfamiliar textures and items into their internal world. It often isn't rational and can be a bit more phobic.

It can be hard to put yourself into the shoes of others but there are very complex issues around food