There’s a picky eater in our house… and it’s me…

If someone were to ask me what the worst part of being a mom was, I’d have to say: Bananas. Peeling bananas. Slicing bananas. Having banana peels in the trash; the smell punching me in the face every time I have to throw something away.

That’s it. That’s the worst part.

I never really thought of myself as a picky eater. I like sushi and oysters. I like the turkey liver at Thanksgiving. My Mom-In-Law will cook it just for me. It’s great! I get it all to myself while the rest of my family looks at me and says “ewww.”

It wasn’t until I had to discuss my eating habits with an acupuncturist/holistic specialist that I realized I might not be as open about food as I thought I was. We were being treated for infertility and he wanted to make sure my food intake was where it should be for my impending treatments. So he asked a few questions:

Acupuncturist: “What about dairy?”
Me: “Yes. I love milk and cheese!”
A: “Yogurt?”
M: “Oh no. No no no. No.”
A: “Haha. Okay. Why not?”
M: “Texture. Makes me gag. Nothing should be that texture. Even thinking about it now…. Ugh. No.” (Chills running down my back.)

We talked about other texture issues. Oatmeal. Weird. Zucchini. Weird. Squash. Weird. It’s all too lumpy, spongey, slimy. And then there’s the dreaded cilantro.

This stuff is the worst stuff in the world! Cilantro should not exist!

I don’t condone hatred. I try to keep hate as far away from myself as I can, but I HATE cilantro and anyone who knows me, knows this. {Any fellow cilantro haters out there? Did you know there’s an entire website dedicated to our mutual hatred?}

What about my kids? I want them to be adventurous eaters. I want them to try everything. I don’t want them to have to avoid certain foods because they are known harborers of foul ingredients. I don’t want them to have to pretend to be allergic to particular foods, so that the wait staff knows how serious they are about avoiding things they don’t like {I’ve done this once with cilantro and felt guilty for lying, but so relieved when my Phở came out without the evil green herb!}.

So what do I do? I make them oatmeal to make sure they’re eating some whole grains. I buy them yogurt to make sure they’re getting their recommended daily intake of dairy. I give them squash and zucchini for vitamins and minerals. I even give them bananas because… well I know they have nutritional value, but I honestly don’t know what it is… mostly they’re just easy… I smile and say, “yummmmmm” and politely decline when they try to feed me whatever terrible food I’m giving them. “That’s for you buddy. Yummy!” I introduce them to foods that they’ve never had and try hard to make it fun and exciting. I’m sure they’ll still end up with some weird food thing. We all have them, but I’m going to let them figure it out on their own, not because they saw me shake out the heebie jeebies when someone hands me a dish with zucchini in it.

Except cilantro. That’s not allowed in my house.

Are you a “picky eater” trying to raise children who are more adventurous? Do you share my tremendous disdain for cilantro? Tell us in the comments below!