I am notorious for being the picky eater in my family. I grew up thinking I was a vegetable-hater, having spent many an evening stuck at the table long after everyone else was finished, staring at a plate of carrots. Once I was out on my own, doing my own cooking, I found ways to incorporate veggies into my diet. I am so used to it now that I tend to think to myself: "I'm not picky, those people are crazy"....until I am in a situation where I am not in control of the meal. I remember the first time we were going to my in-laws place for a turkey dinner, listening to Husband on the phone before hand saying "No, she doesn't like that...Not that either...No, she won't eat that..." It was kind of funny.
So I found it fascinating last week, reading the pre-American Thanksgiving posts, seeing people talking about what would and would not be on their plates.
We went to a turkey dinner on Saturday night, as we have an American friend in our little circle who wanted to have her Thanksgiving dinner. I found myself noticing what other people put on their plate - for most people, I must admit, it was a little bit of everything: mashed potatoes, squash, carrots, broccoli & cauliflower, dressing (that Husband & I made), macaroni and cheese casserole (first time I've ever seen that served as part of a turkey dinner), cranberry sauce, turkey and gravy. I think that's everything.
My plate? Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, broccoli & cauliflower, a wee bit of the mac & cheese, gravy on the turkey & dressing. Squash & carrots? Ugh! Mashed potatoes? I used to eat them because I felt like I was supposed to...but mashed potatoes are seriously boring food (yes, even if they are garlic mashed, which these were). I would rather have the dressing (which was made with apples, smoked apple sausage, yukon gold potatoes - skins left on, multigrain bread, onion and poultry seasoning), so now I just skip them in favor of dressing. To be quite honest, I'd be happy with a plate full of dressing and gravy. As a matter of fact, there was a little dressing left over which we took home and had for breakfast the next day, with scrambled eggs.
Okay, so maybe the others ate more different types of vegetables...But I had a nice large serving of the veggies I like. That's generally how I manage my veggies - stick to the ones I like. But I do eat lots of veggies! See how I have changed?
A couple of weeks ago, Husband came home from a solo foray into the grocery store with a bag of frozen mixed stir-fry veggies. I will state up front that I am not a fan of frozen veggies in stir-fry dishes. I have found some frozen cauliflower and broccoli that is quite good when steamed, but if I'm going to stir-fry, I prefer fresh. Husband prefers least amount of effort possible (but I still love him).
So last night I planned on using the frozen veggies because they are sitting there in the freezer - best to use them up, right? Husband pulled them out and commented that the mix contained carrots. I put on my sad face and said "what are you trying to do to me?"
But I threw on lots of my favorite Black Bean & Chili sauce and figured since the carrots would be mixed with everything else, I wouldn't really notice. I sat down with every intention of eating my dinner, carrots and all. I was watching TV, nice distraction, no? I won't see the carrots, I won't notice the carrots....Until I got a mouthful of carrots. I almost couldn't swallow them. From that point on, I picked out all of the carrots and set them aside. After dinner, they went down the garbage disposal. Sad part is, there is still half a bag of the mix left in the freezer. Seriously want to ask Husband to please not make me eat any more of it.
So I guess things haven't changed much after all. Except that, now, no one is stopping me from disposing of the nasty carrots, rather than eating them. :)
6 comments:
Is it only cooked carrots you don't like? I have to admit carrots are not my favourite, but I will eat them. Of course, they are best right out of the garden with a little dirt still adhering for seasoning...:)
Bag Lady - I will happily eat carrots raw. Cannot stand them once cooked. I will throw them in soups and other things as long as they are grated or diced very small so that I can't actually taste them.
And I remember eating carrots like that when I was a kid - pulling them out of the ground, brushing off the dirt and munching away, right there in the garden. :)
Oh, how well I remember the long sessions seated at the table staring at the horrid limp piece of stewed vegetable I was supposed to eat. And cooked carrots are evil, evil I say!
oh I hear ya! I'm a hugely picky eater myself. Thanksgiving usually consists of everyone filling up one or even two plates, and I just have like 4 things - turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (Love them! even if they are boring, lol) and stuffing. If carrots are there I'll eat those too - but you will never see me eating sweet potatoes, squash, yams or green bean casserole which everyone seems to make. No - definitely not the green bean casserole, lol.
Are we the same person? :)
I like frozen veggies when they're steamed or boiled, but they MUST be fresh for stir fries.
And I'm such a picky eater, always have been. I rarely eat the veggie dishes at holidays; I'll eat the turkey, mashed potatoes, and buns. I don't like gravy or stuffing. Most cooked veggies I won't like nearly as much as raw.
Merry - Nasty, nasty carrots. Glad to know I am not alone. :)
Erin - I only have 1 plate of the things I like and can't imagine eating 4 plates of food; maybe being picky is a good thing!
Sagan - Raw veggies almost always taste better!
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