top 10 tuesday: overcoming my food pickiness

I'm not very happy with this fact about myself, but I won't lie to you. I am a picky eater.  There are certain foods I've always hated, some I've found my stomach can't handle, and other foods that I've learned over time I just plain don't like.  I know many people "live to eat" but most days I just "eat to live."  I did hear once that your taste buds change every seven years, so I know that I need to be giving some second chances to my many much-hated foods. 

I have actually been conquering some of this, and I'm pretty proud of my progress.  Some of it was overcome just by trying new recipes, especially those submitted by family and friends for my bridal shower cookbook.  B challenged me to try all of the entree dishes submitted, so I also have him (who eats almost anything, usually with hot sauce on top) to thank for pushing me.  I will say, however, that even though I eat these things now, I don't necessarily LOVE them.  But most of them are nutritious, so they are now allowed to take up a worthy spot on my plate.


Here are my 10 Foods I Wouldn't Eat A Year Ago That I Now Eat:

10.  Peas.  I still can't eat them straight, but I can throw them into a casserole or alfredo pasta and I'm good to go.

9.  Pepperoni on pizza.  I still pick off some of it because I'm a margherita gal at heart, but it's not terrible!

8.  Bell peppers.  Something about the texture always got me with these before.  I've also loathed spicy foods in general, which these usually complement so I've had reason stay away.  But I do have a bell pepper plant growing on my patio this year, which should force me to figure out ways to use them.

7.  Stir Fry.  It's pretty obvious I've had a huge vegetable aversion for a while now, so this was a long time coming.  I have no idea what I ate all those other Lenten Fridays from years past, back when I only had myself to worry about (probably PB&J, knowing me).

6.  Tofu.  I think I have Lent to blame for this.  I was trying to find more vegetarian recipes, which led to trying tofu.  I didn't even know where it was in the grocery store.  The other times I've had tofu, it was just bland and nasty.  But if you do it up right, it's not too bad for a stir fry dish.  I'm also planning on making this dessert, which uses silken tofu.

5.  Zucchini.  My family didn't serve this to me growing up.  Mom grew yellow squash in the garden, so that's what made it on the table.  Hated the yellow stuff and still do.  But green squash?  Goes nice in my veggie lasagna.

4.  Salsa (sort of).  This is thanks to my Mexican Pasta Skillet, so I'll now use it in a recipe.  I still can't stand it as a condiment and eat my tortilla chips straight or dunked in cheese dip (only cheese, no extra heat).

Peaches and whipped cream have always been on my okay list.

3.  Chili.  Fact: I was dragged to a chili cook-off one night in college and didn't eat any of it.  My group put me in the pie-eating contest instead, at which I failed miserably but had fun doing.  This past year, I made my friend's chili recipe (complete with secret ingredient) from the bridal shower cookbook back during football season.  It tasted amazing, but it also had me running to the bathroom that first time (ugh).  I've made it a few times since, and it's still amazing.  Thankfully, my stomach has started to agree with my palate.

2.  Red Beans.  Obviously, an extension from the chili.  I did make a Mexican Lasagna that used black beans, but I hated it.  I'm sticking with red kidney beans for now and we'll see where it takes me.  I need to learn how to make killer red beans and rice before we leave the Gulf Coast.

1.  Bacon.  This is probably B's fault, but it also came out of my love of "Breakfast for Dinner."  My first foray into cooking bacon was pretty much a disaster.  But I've found that I like turkey bacon better than the pork crap (healthier, too).  This is my #1 because it's my favorite on the list!

There's still a much much longer list of foods I don't like and still won't eat, but at least I've started making a dent or two.