Are you a fussy eater?

[Bimgy85]

I can't comprehend adults being fussy eaters. Fussy is for children surely, and at that, children aged up to 14/15

I truly don't understand fussy adults eating habits, I work with a woman who's 26 and she won't eat anything out of the ordinary. Ham sandwich for lunch and crisps, she cringed when I mentioned I was going for sushi for dinner, or even a basic Chinese buffet with vegetables noodles etc.

Are you a fussy eater, and why?

I understood everybody grew out of that

I don't get annoyed by fussy eaters, I get annoyed by entitled people who will control what everyone eats according to their food preferences.

My mum was an extremely fussy eater and there was a list of banned foods as long as my arm growing up, that were not to be consumed in the house, because she didn't like the smell of them. I didn't try garlic until I was 13. She made faces at anything we were eating in front of her, like real disgusted faces and spoke loudly about how disgusting what we were eating was. THAT'S annoying.

People who get on with it with minimal fuss and expectations of others to adapt their behaviour for their fussiness are fine by me.

I'm an absolute pain in the arse to feed. I'm vegetarian and I'm allergic to wheat. Outside of those parameters I eat everything. It's limiting though, and often socially awkward.

I'm a vegetarian and have been most of my life. I remember as a young adult realising that bring a fussy vegetarian would drive people nuts and be a pain in the arse so I set to work learning to like all the things I wasn't keen on.

I now eat anything as long as it has never breathed.

Incidentally, I discovered a great way to learn to like something is to cook it in butter and garlic and dip it in cheese. Makes most things palatable!

*being

I am not a fussy eater, never have been. My tongue tie (and my DM & Dbro's) was never snipped and it doesn't seem to have caused us any issues, like a PP on page 1 suggested.

I think it's easy for us non fussies to not understand someone who is fussy. I get that there are people around with genuine food phobias / aversions to texture etc, but sometimes we've got to think people just like and don't like different things. The world would be boring if we were all the same, after all!

Like daisy the only foods I can't abide are onions, mushrooms and peppers. It's not the flavor (I actually really like the flavor of the first two) it's the texture. Although I think I had some undiagnosed sensory issues as a child. As an adult I have tried really hard to get these foods to grow on me as they are in bloody everything! No matter how many times I try I just can't get used to them, I don't want to be "fussy" but I literally can't help it - my gag reflex kicks straight in as soon as I try to swallow them. Tears will be streaming down my eyes and I if I don't vomit I will come very close. I think YABU to assume people are being drama llamas by not eating food they don't like, some of us really can't help it! I eat everything else and am really adventurous with food, yet because these foods I don't eat are such staples I'm labeled "fussy". I never make a scene about it and am very discreet and if at someone's house for dinner etc. I'll be able to force onions down if they're tiny or I'll eat around them. Nevertheless I'm making a big effort to encourage my own children to eat these foods as it's a pain in the bum for me!

I know this thread isn’t about food intolerances but you would be suprised how many people confuse the two.

I am gluten intolerant because of a medical condition. If I eat food containing Gluten I will be doubled up in pain an hour later, which will last for about 6 hours. Then I will have other unpleasant symptoms for about the next 5 days.

Yet you would be suprised at how many people try to insist that I “ just try “ a bit of cake or have “ just one” sandwich . And then roll their eyes at my polite refusal.

I ended up dropping one group of friends completely because we always went out for a meal together and one woman was so aggressively rude about my having to eat gluten free. Comments like “ FFS just order, I’m sure it will be fine “ when I would check with the waitress etc .

Or “ my SIL is gluten free and she’s Ok as long as she only eats a few slices of bread a day “ or “ going gluten free is fashionable now isn’t it ? “.

Followed by a PA head tilt .

In fact she’s a Mner so I hope she’s reading this now and recognises herself .

So no, food intolerances are NOT the same as “ fussiness “. But for many people, there is no element of choice in either of them.

I LOVE cakes, biscuits and pasta just as much as the next person . But they make me ill.

Lost of people on this thread would LOVE to eat more “ normally “. But they can’t because of psychological or sensory issues .

It’s not anyone’s “fault” and it’s not that we haven’t “tried”.

I am a very fussy eater. I don’t really care what others think of me. I just buy foods that I like. I was forced to eat foods that made me sick when I was a child so why would I do that now just because someone finds it rude?
By your definition though, my very unfussy DP would be classed as fussy as there are only 2 foods which he will not eat and these are 2 different vegetables 🤷‍♀️

Due to medical reasons, DS2 was tube fed until he was 5.

He missed out on that crucial development stage where babies put everything into their mouths and start to try different foods.

Now he is 10 and eats literally about 3 things, and it has been a constant struggle to get even that far.

So yeah, he's likely to be an extremely fussy eater as an adult, and anyone judging him for it can fuck right off.

I don’t think I’m fussy at all but there are a few things I just can’t eat.

Tomato ketchup. The taste and the smell make me gag. Horrible stuff.
Brussel sprouts, and I have tried to like them.
Gherkins
Capers
Pink wafers (after a vomiting incident as a child)

Also I was raised on a diet of overcooked tough meat and mashed vegetables that had had every last bit of flavour boiled out of them. I can’t eat mashed carrots/swede. Just can’t do it. It’s baby food at best.

I'm a very fussy eater. I tend not to go out to eat with other people because of how judgmental some can be - I never comment negatively on other people's food, but I'll often get comments about ordering just rice, or asking for items without any sauce or dressing, or without certain ingredients.

I eat many more foods than I used to, but of course that's not something other people would know. The concept of eating something 'to be polite' doesn't work for me - to my mind, it's much better to refuse politely than to accept a portion of something and end up making faces/spitting out/having to throw up. That would be unacceptably rude. I always mention that it's my sensory issues around food that are the problem and not the person's cooking.

I actually lived in a developing country for a while, in a situation where a limited range of foods was available and whatever was cooked was for the whole group. I chose the country knowing I ate the staple foods there, but sometimes there would be something with ingredients I couldn't eat, and I'd just go without a meal on those occasions. So it wasn't a case of only being picky because there's so much choice here.

I am how I am and if people want to judge me for it that's their problem really. I try to inconvenience others as little as possible but I've stopped feeling bad about my limited diet. Some tastes and textures are just awful to me. Other people enjoy them. That's fine. No need for anyone to comment on anyone else's choices, surely.

I don't like some stuff. To suggest it was a result of parental bullying is idiotic.

Medical reasons aside, I agree that it can be irritating.
My brother lived with us for a while and wouldn’t eat basic things like mashed potato. He would claim that he didn’t like it, but then admitted that it was more that he would just rather not, as he found it bland and boring.
Same when adults say they ‘don’t like’ water.
Some adults just don’t ever bother eating the food they’d rather not, and call it foods they don’t like. I think this is different from foods that taste completely repulsive to you.

I don’t like licorice, celery and grapefruit. They taste 100% like ear wax to me. My taste buds literally can’t the difference and they’re rank. However, if I was eating out or at someone’s house, I’d just swallow them as quickly as I could and get on with life.

I'm quite fussy. Certain foods make me feel sick, specific textures etc. However there are a lot of foods in the world so I just cook family meals and the bits I don't like I don't include in my own portion. Never shown outwardly that I don't like something to my DS however it seems to have been passed on because he is even worse than me. I have a friend whose DH won't eat anything other than burgers, breaded chicken, sausages or general kids freezer crap and she says going out for a meal with him is the worst.

I'm pretty picky. Some very common foods are those I struggle with. My friend always thought it was deliberate on my part, to not like a food and I should just eat it regardless. Once she got pregnant and experienced what it was like to simply not be able to eat something she didn't like she said she understood a bit!

I cannot eat something I don't like, I'll gag for one but also it is just very uncomfortable for me. For those who can it must be less uncomfortable. There will be other sensory-type things they could do but would refuse to do (needles/loud noises/bright lights/offensive smells).

I have a ds with a very limited range of foods he can eat. It is bound up with autism and hypersensitivity, he can taste every ingredient in a fish individually and identifies if I have used the 'wrong' kind of lentils in a soup, or if I put oregano instead of basil in pasta sauce. He would make an excellent taster if tastes and textures where not so stressful for him to experience.

Ds needs to be able to rely on the limited range of foods in his repertoire because life is incredibly difficult for him and being able to relax enough to eat a meal with things he knows he can eat is as much as he can manage. Do I get frustrated when Ds chokes on a very nice meal I have cooked because it has the wrong texture/ flavour? Yes! Do I understand his issues? Yes, most of the time. I do not expect he will change materially as an adult, he is 14 now. I do my best to ensure he gets meals with nutritional value.

He is learning to make pizza he likes from scratch, he will be able to cook his basics and will probably adapt and change his preferences as he gets older but as his autism is not going anyway nor are his sensory issues he is going to remain "fussy". So lovely empathetic people will hopefully understand that Ds is not being fussy 'at' them he is just different, everyone else including the op will continue to think ds is strange and awkward and avoid him - kind of like now. So for my part I don't understand adults who struggle to appreciate the infinite variety of people and that every individual has things they struggle with and things they find easy. Ds may be limited in his diet but his extreme hypersensitivity means every interaction with the world is incredibly nuanced and packed with overwhelming detail, sights, sounds, smells and tastes so even a humble chip is a complex experience for Ds.

"Fish" should be dish! We are all vegetarian so no fish.

Wait a second,I love mushrooms and onions(especially raw) ..does that mean I'm not fussy after all?

Fussy does = beige either.

I love fruit and veg. I don’t eat a meal with less than two. Beige is not my idea of a nice meal.

In fact, fussiness means I often don’t eat beige food! Can never be sure of the quality of chicken nuggets/fish fingers/home style chips etc so I don’t flipping have em in my house. My freezer is full of meat and vegetables.

Yes. I actually dislike a lot of the freezer/microwave food because the texture is weird and the taste is just wrong.

I just find spicy food hurts my mouth.

Surely that’s not uncommon?

It rules out a lot of Asian/Mexican food but what’s wrong with ‘just’ eating traditional British/ European food?

I'm a very fussy eater. To the point where I eat the same 4 meals over and over. Mine is an issue with textures and also the taste of basic ingredients like mushrooms, onions and tomatoes that are in a lot of dishes. I can also only eat chicken meat.

I suspect I have undiagnosed asd which I believe makes it so difficult for me to do things I do not like (not just in the area of food).

I wish I wasn't fussy as it causes such issues but I always try to be polite and just leave what I don't like on my plate and eat the rest without complaining or making remarks.

@Sarahandduck18 nothing really except you're "fussy" which apparently mean you're selfish,unadventurous ,boring and have deep unresolved psychological and emotional issues.

@RebelRogue - some posts on here have been a bit weird with notions like that, haven't they?

I would call myself a fussy eater (and others definitely do) but having read some of the posts on here I am pleased that I am not half as fussy as some! I suffer from being a 'super taster ' ( and believe me I do suffer) which means for me that anything that is bitter tastes really really bitter, so things that other people will eat quite happily I really have difficulty with. I can taste the tiniest amount of pepper (the condiment) in a dish and the same for chili, and although I could eat something that had been lightly seasoned with pepper at somebody else's house I would eat as little as possible to be polite, and find it difficult when eating in a restaurant. I will always ask when I am not sure what is in something, and specify that my food comes unseasoned whenever possible. The current fashion for rocket or spinach instead of lettuce and for chili with everything (it seems) makes my choices very limited. There are a lot of things I don't like and choose not to eat unless to be polite (broad beans, spinach, cauliflower, hard boiled eggs and much much more) and there are other things I simply cannot eat (lamb, goats/ewes milk cheese, runny cheese, blue cheese) but I am willing to try new things whenever possible. Who would have thought squid was actually rather nice! I don't choose to be fussy and I find the attitude of those people who say they will eat anything very patronising. Besides, although a lot of them may say they eat everything they actually dont, and a lot of things I actively enjoy they would never touch. Mmmm, liver and onions anyone?