Confessions of a Picky Eater

Growing up in a small town in Ohio our idea of ethnic cuisine was Taco Bell (where I refuse to eat), two Chinese restaurants and Italian (not that we had an Italian restaurant, but I did occasionally make it out of town). My diet was pretty much meat, potatoes and a vegetable. Nothing was ever really spicy or too outside the box.
** If my mother is reading this – The food was great, we always ate as a family and my mother ALWAYS made me try something at least once.

When I went to college, I started to broaden my horizons. I retried several foods that I previously disliked and things like spinach and yogurt are now part of my ever-expanding diet. Although, watermelon still makes me want to vomit. I also tried Indian and Thai food for the first time (Thanks, Sarah).

After moving to DC, I have continued to be open-minded by checking tapas and sushi off my list. My weekends spent with friends in New York are always good for an out of the ordinary dinning experience. Jenny and Gil took me to this great Spanish-Cuban fusion restaurant (Gil was right the bread was amazing).

For all this being said, I am still a picky eater. Despite my effort to try new things, ordering dinner still slightly resembles that scene in When Harry Met Sally – I have to have my salads without cucumbers, onions, definitely without peppers, I don’t like blue cheese and could I have fat-free dressing on the side? All of this is the bane of my boyfriend’s life.

Last night, my boyfriend made potstickers for dinner. I had never had them before so I tried them and didn’t really care for them. Before I could say anything he said, “Let me guess they’re not your favorite.” He had me - that was exactly what I was going to say. “You don’t like anything. I wish that you liked more foods,” he continued. Frankly, I wish I did too.

The trouble with being a picky eater is that, as much as I try new things, I continuously add to the list of things that don’t like. It’s not like I can just decide that I like the way something tastes when I really don’t. It would be so nice to go out with my friends and not have to get my own pizza. As much as I love food, it would be amazing to really enjoy the new foods that I try. Here’s wishing…