Even at 20 years of age, I am, with shame, still a very picky eater. All of my family and friends make fun of me for it and I totally agree with how ridiculous it can be too. These next ten things that are listed are some of the things that I deal with and go through on the daily as a chronic picky eater.
1. Ordering the same “safe” food at every restaurant
Everyone, not just picky eaters, has this!! It’s the safest option to go for at restaurants you’ve never been to before. My safe food includes chicken fingers or a cheeseburger with fries. It’s hard to mess up those two items so those are usually my delicious go-to’s.
2. Peanut butter/Tomato sauce/Jelly
Now, these items are seemingly normal…unless you ask a picky eater. All the different types of these foods freak me out! I will ONLY eat smooth peanut butter, tomato sauce that has NO tomato chunks in it, and strawberry jelly with NO strawberry pieces. BLEH! I cannot mix textures in these foods, it grosses me out to no end.
3. Being younger and getting away with having a special dinner made
It’s easier to be young when you’re picky because my parents always accommodated my taste buds. “Hey, mom, what’s for dinner?” to which she responds with something I am not fond of and to which I would normally respond with, “Okay, and what am I having?”. Usually ending up eating some kind of mac and cheese, chicken, or another kid-friendly food.
4. Going to sleep for dinner
Being older and picky? It doesn’t work out so much. If Mom makes something I don’t like, I better eat it or I’m going to sleep hungry. And that’s mostly what I’d do because I can’t stomach the things I don’t like!! (Or I go out and order Chinese…)
5. Getting bullied at holiday gatherings
Being comfortable with your family is nice until all they do is bully you about your habits. Every single Thanksgiving Day, my whole extended family will mock me for needing ketchup with my turkey. (I KNOW IT’S WEIRD OKAY)
6. Being a pain when going out to eat with friends
It can get embarrassing when all your friends want to go out to a place, but you have to make sure that you like something on the menu. Countless times I’ve experienced, “Let’s get sushi!” followed by “Make sure there’s teriyaki chicken for Melanie!”
7. Being embarrassed when ordering specific things at restaurants
Ordering that one thing on the menu then taking basically the entire burger off just to make it plain. “Can I have the Awesome Burger but with no pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, special sauce or coleslaw? Yes, just the bacon and cheese.”
8. Being a regular at places
When you’re picky, it’s a miracle that you find a place that you want to come back to more than once! So when you find those places, you basically get on a first name basis when visiting the food place and getting the same exact thing every time.
9. “What’s this green thing?”
I must’ve asked this question a million times to my mother. Seeing things that I cannot identify is a no-go for me. Just throw the whole thing away.
10. Saying “I don’t like it” to something I’ve never tried
“Eat this!”, “I don’t like that.”, “Have you ever even tried it?”, “No…” At this point, it’s just a habit because the outcome is usually the same! “Just try it!” Well okay, if you say so, just make sure you got an open napkin and garbage can ready for me to spit it out!