Food and eating what's put in front of you

When I was a child you ate what was put in front of you, if you were lucky there wouldn't be to much that you didn't like or you found ways to get around it, like, I'd eat my brussels sprouts first so as I'd have the rest of the dinner to take the taste away. This was a common experience for my age group growing up, there wasn't much in the way of convienience food, fish finger and sausages, but pretty much everything else had to be cooked from scratch.

Jump forward 20 years and there was loads more convienence foods and people not only didn't cook much, but allowed children to choose what food they'd eat and the parents would get in a terrible flap when the children wouldn't eat. I tried this for a bit with my kids and then got fed up and allowed them to each choose 5 things they really didn't like and I wouldn't serve them, but everything else they had to eat and new things were up for disucssion.

Jump forward another 20 years and I was often told that I was cruel for not allowing my children to eat what they wanted when they wanted and for making them sit at the table. But they really enjoyed sitting at the table, they enjoued real vegetables and real food. After my son came home of rxmas after his first uni term, he was disgusted that there were people older than him who would only eat pizza and breakfast cereal and drink coke.

I know htat for many ND food is difficult, things taste and feel different to us and many of us want a beige diet. But do you feel that you would of been better off if youd' been made to eat what was in front of you or be hungry until you were served something you did like. Hwo do your childhood experiences of food and eating effect you now? DO you eat a wide range of foods or are youn very selective?

Parents
  • I'd eat my brussels sprouts first so as I'd have the rest of the dinner to take the taste away

    Up there for thinkin' and down there for dancin', as they say!

    I had, for the times, quite a variety of flavours and textures in my diet and do even more so these days. I love strong flavours and distinctive textures and couldn't live without chillies. Being the insatiably curious and novelty-seeking ADHD type, I could cook a curry for the family when I was about 7 or 8. It wouldn't have won any Michelin stars, but it got eaten.

    My wife's family were much more meat-and-two-veg and I introduced her to lots of foods for the first time. I did have quite a lot of meat-and-two-veg dinners myself. I'd refuse to eat if there was yet another bland meal served in a row, but that didn't happen too often. I wasn't offered any alternatives; I'd make myself some toast, or something, instead. At least toast had a texture.

    I could never eat cheese, though. I still can't. It smells and tastes like someone vomited on a tramp's socks and no amount of explaining its origins to me will convince me to put it in my mouth. If I walk into a cafe or restaurant and smell grilled cheese, I walk back out again.

Reply
  • I'd eat my brussels sprouts first so as I'd have the rest of the dinner to take the taste away

    Up there for thinkin' and down there for dancin', as they say!

    I had, for the times, quite a variety of flavours and textures in my diet and do even more so these days. I love strong flavours and distinctive textures and couldn't live without chillies. Being the insatiably curious and novelty-seeking ADHD type, I could cook a curry for the family when I was about 7 or 8. It wouldn't have won any Michelin stars, but it got eaten.

    My wife's family were much more meat-and-two-veg and I introduced her to lots of foods for the first time. I did have quite a lot of meat-and-two-veg dinners myself. I'd refuse to eat if there was yet another bland meal served in a row, but that didn't happen too often. I wasn't offered any alternatives; I'd make myself some toast, or something, instead. At least toast had a texture.

    I could never eat cheese, though. I still can't. It smells and tastes like someone vomited on a tramp's socks and no amount of explaining its origins to me will convince me to put it in my mouth. If I walk into a cafe or restaurant and smell grilled cheese, I walk back out again.

Children
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