573600 Wed Nov 19 12:04:17 -0800 2008 202 29 Not About Food 0 4186540 They do exist. Whenever I meet one I am stunned. It is like matter meeting anti-matter. I try to be tolerant and kind and hide my shock. This is just my experience but the people who aren't into food tend to be not tolerant of my obsession. Well I can be annoying. I have a habit of asking every friend what they ate for dinner. I can't help it, I'm genuinely interested. My one very thin friend Brenda snapped at me over the phone when I asked her, and called me a food freak. Recently John's mom called the rest of us foodies because we had brought food (candy and nuts) with us on a long car trip. It was kind of jarring. Was wondering how other chowhounds handle these encounters with their opposites? Wed Nov 19 12:04:17 -0800 2008 184593 givemecarbs 1 4186807 The husband of one of my friends once said to me that he looked on food as fuel. But he is very tolerant of the rest of us who love to eat. And we have even turned him to the food side on some things. Wed Nov 19 13:33:50 -0800 2008 4186540 139219 Sooeygun 1 4187174 I have a SIL who says she is not interested in eating anything specific, just eating to fill up. She also says that she does not need to buy any new music, she just listens to the same 4 CD's that she has. Some people are like that. What can you do? Wed Nov 19 15:20:43 -0800 2008 4186540 12082 PeterL 2 4215971 How many years has she been listening to these 4 cds? I'm so curious... Sorry, I know it's OT. Tue Dec 02 17:48:08 -0800 2008 4187174 24126 amyzan 2 4260743 Son-In-Law or Sister-in-Law? Or something else? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/555190 Mr Taster Fri Dec 19 16:10:24 -0800 2008 4187174 17579 Mr Taster 3 4263805 PeterL used the word "she" - so go with Sister-in-Law in this case. Sun Dec 21 09:45:29 -0800 2008 4260743 10532 LindaWhit 1 4187201 I don't get it, but I'm sure they feel the same way about me. I have two friends like this. One is a personal trainer and, like you said, she sees food as fuel. She has no passion for it and hates to cook. Her husband does all the cooking. My other friend is a creative person in every other aspect of her life - but not with food. She can appreciate my passion, but doesn't share it. She thinks of me when she hears about a food experience I might be interested in and she has a garden and she gives me lots of fresh veggies - yea! Aside from these two friends, I would find it difficult to enjoy a person's company if they were the sort that found food uninteresting. I suppose I'm a bit of bigot in that regard. I would definitely look at someone suspiciously if I had advanced warning that they disliked food. That sounds so awful! Wed Nov 19 15:29:33 -0800 2008 4186540 71241 lynnlato 2 4187401 lynnlato thanks for the great post! It put me in mind of the words of the immortal W.C. Fields: I never trust a man who doesn't drink." In fact thanks to all who have responded. Thought I was gonna get "yelled at" by now. :) Wed Nov 19 16:51:34 -0800 2008 4187201 184593 givemecarbs 3 4187590 Hey, if anyone can understand your frustration, it's us. You're with family here. I feel the same way as Mr. Fields - about food and drink! :) Wed Nov 19 18:18:10 -0800 2008 4187401 71241 lynnlato 1 4187285 We have a few friends who truly do not care...we do other activities with them. Their passion is sports. I truly love food, but quantity or frequency is not important to me. I thought I was with OP until he/she referred to the necessity of candy and nuts in the car on a long trip. I can do without frequent fill ups and would prefer to delay gratification until I am not in the car. The point is NOT to jump on the OP, only to observe that even within the ranks of those of us who like food, there are some real differences as to what "liking food" really means. Wed Nov 19 16:02:07 -0800 2008 4186540 68319 Sinicle 2 4187661 No offense taken Sinicle! In fact that was my point. I was shocked to be referred to as a foodie because I had umm food. The woman riding shotgun had little paks of m and ms left over from halloween and was the best friend of the lady John's mom) calling us all foodies. I had two small kit kat bars also leftover from halloween and a vat of mixed nuts from Costco. I usually don't bring that much food but I wasn't sure that we were going to stop for food at any point on our day long trip. He he. You see John's mom was the driver. Eep. Wed Nov 19 18:54:47 -0800 2008 4187285 184593 givemecarbs 1 4187286 It doesn't bother me because I'm on the other end most of the time because I am one of those people who is totally happy with being single and has no interest in marriage/children. If there is one thing that annoys me, it is people who insist on inquiring repeatedly about my choice and then try to convince me I am wrong. I feel like it's the same way with food. Some people aren't interested in that, so I will just look to find other interests we can both enjoy! Wed Nov 19 16:02:39 -0800 2008 4186540 107671 queencru 2 4190662 For me, kids and food are the two greatest things in my life. I'd have a very hard time relating to someone who just didn't get it. Thu Nov 20 19:13:49 -0800 2008 4187286 11995 pikawicca 2 4194314 Oh, can I relate to that! I'm a widow - it's been 4 years, and I really, really hate being told that it's time for me to, if not marry again, at least start dating. I know my friends and family care, but really, some things are just not up for a debate! But I do really, really love food and would have a hard time being with someone who wasn't interested. DH was not a real CH, being not very adventurous, but dearly loved to enjoy what was familiar and tasty. Sorry, I forgot where I was going with this post! Sat Nov 22 11:56:44 -0800 2008 4187286 143696 Catskillgirl 1 4187322 One of my former co-workers told me that he only ate food to survive, and if he had the choice he would like to just have a tube to feed the nutrition into the body so that he didn't have to "waste time eating". I was in D.E.E.P SHOCK!!! I only talked about work with him. I don't think this is the word "food" in his dictionary. Wed Nov 19 16:17:11 -0800 2008 4186540 54254 kobetobiko 2 4187886 Perhaps a stage in his life? I was very much like that, a meal was 20 minutes max, there were more important things in life like work and partying that needed my time and attention. There was a foodie deep inside though - when the cook made her crab curry for Saturday lunch, it was always double helpings of rice and a 2 hour lunch. Just thinking of that makes me hungry. But back then, if you told me that someday I'd have my own food website and spend hours every day reading, researching, cooking, writing, I'd have said you were nuts. Guess what? Wed Nov 19 20:44:21 -0800 2008 4187322 230780 CPla 2 4189366 We also have a friend who admitted he could hardly wait for food to come in pill form so he wouldn't have to waste time eating....he only eats meat, potatoes and chocolate. Thu Nov 20 10:48:33 -0800 2008 4187322 95793 jeni1002 3 4209331 My mother is like that. I find it bizarre. I am so unlike my family in so many ways my OH thinks I'm a changeling..... Sun Nov 30 00:57:43 -0800 2008 4189366 110146 greedygirl 4 4219517 I know someone like that: meat, starches, cheese, wine, coffee, dessert. He's French but lived in the US for a while, where he learned to approach food as medicine. So now he augments that diet with a smoothie made from random pureed vegetables for breakfast. Dis-gus-ting. Thu Dec 04 03:49:19 -0800 2008 4209331 177724 tmso 5 4261438 Wow tmso, did he move back to France? That reminds me of the trip my dad took with a longtime family friend to France. The friend, Alex was very cheap and each and every single night he would sit in their hotel room eating his simple dinner of bread, wine and cheese (which I'm guessing was still pretty yummy even on the cheap) and laughing about how much money he was saving. My dad was like, I didn't come to France to eat in a hotel room all the time, so he just went out alone to eat and had a good time. But he spoke of Alex in this disbelieving tone when he told us about it after the trip, as if he still couldn't wrap his mind around Alex's dining habits. And trust me, Alex had plenty of money. Sat Dec 20 01:02:12 -0800 2008 4219517 184593 givemecarbs 6 4261662 I had a similar experience. I was going out with friend (A) to celebrate my birthday at one of our favorite Greek places in Philly called D'Mitri's. Anyway, another friend (B) calls to see what I was up (it was a weekend night) and I told him of our plans. He asked to go and I said sure. So I pick friend (B) up and we start to drive to the restaurant when friend (B) says "I know a place better than D'Mitri's, and cheaper". Me and friend (A) say "where" eager to know. So we instead go the other "better"place on friend (B)'s recommendation. We show up at around 8 on a Saturday night and there is one guy in there eating alone. I should have known better right then and there. But we go inside anyway and are seated and order. We order 3 different things and when the food arrived you couldn't tell one from another. And I tried to eat it but you could tell that whatever it was had been cooked, cooled, reheated, cooled, reheated, cooled, reheated . . . until the bits of meat and rice were like pebbles; nearly rock hard, inedible. So we got the bills and it was like $11 for all of us. Friend (B) says "and look how cheap it is can you believe that?" Friend (A) and me looked at him very disapprovingly and he finally said "yeah . . . this place is terrible, and I want to apologize to you guys for this". But it was too late, friend (A) and I were through with friend (B). Sat Dec 20 07:22:39 -0800 2008 4261438 26180 Chinon00 7 4261779 Ouch! I'm from the Philly area but I sure hope the place you ate at is out of business! Sat Dec 20 08:29:09 -0800 2008 4261662 184593 givemecarbs 6 4631586 Yeah, the guy I'm referring to, I only know from France. It's quite easy to have such a diet here, although he gets funny looks and comments sometimes. Just for clarification, I think his diet is just profoundly boring. The "Dis-gus-ting" comment was about the vegetable smoothies for breakfast. Mon Apr 27 04:05:05 -0700 2009 4261438 177724 tmso 1 4187371 My father is like that. Well, it's not that he doesn't like food but more of a thing with longevity. He eats to live as opposed to live to eat. He never understood me and I never understood him. He eats the same three meals everyday -- daen jang jigae (Korean fermented soybean casserole with vegetables) for breakfast, fish, rice and vegetables for lunch and spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner. When I tell him that eating the same three meals is not the healthiest thing as you don't get a variety of foods, he says he doesn't want to be bothered cooking other stuff. Wed Nov 19 16:40:22 -0800 2008 4186540 10763 Miss Needle 1 4187413 I once had to spend a long business trip with a really picky eater--he hated any seasonings except salt, pepper, and sugar, wouldn't eat any vegetables, refused to try anything he hadn't had before--basically, he ate just for fuel. I come from a family passionate about food--when I told Mom about this guy, she immediately said, "Oh, he must not have any JOY in his life!" Wed Nov 19 16:58:10 -0800 2008 4186540 19120 Piglet 1 4187645 All of these people have one thing in common - they don't really enjoy eating. Maybe they don't have much taste sensitivity. I recently used a "cut your cold short" product which has been associated with the rare side effect of rendering the user unable to smell or taste - FOREVER. I didn't know about this before I used it and spent about 24 hours in terror wondering if I was going to be cut off from one of my life's greatest pleasures. But think about it. If everything pretty much tasted the same to you, would you care much about food? It must be like being color blind. Wed Nov 19 18:47:14 -0800 2008 4186540 14974 BeaN 2 4187668 Bea - What product is that? I have never heard of such a thing. I think of food as fuel but I still enjoy it. I try not to eat unless I am hungry, but I love to eat... just don't want to get fat. I think people who don't like food are like asexuals - I just dont get it. Wed Nov 19 18:57:01 -0800 2008 4187645 240339 Chefsquire 2 4187848 Wow that is scary BeaN. And then there are the people like Roger Ebert. His medical problems have left him unable to taste or eat, yet he still cooks and writes about it in his journal. On november 1st of this year he wrote "The pot and how to use it" all about using a rice cooker. Wed Nov 19 20:24:54 -0800 2008 4187645 184593 givemecarbs 2 4187863 Was that zinc? I suck on zinc tablets when I have a cold and it does mess up my taste buds for a of couple hours. But FOREVER? Forget it. Wed Nov 19 20:33:42 -0800 2008 4187645 11231 Glencora 3 4196374 There have been reports of zinc nasal sprays and lozenges (negatively) impacting people's senses of smell and tastes, but apparently the cause and effect is unproven and the loss may be temporary. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA350157 http://www.consumer-health.com/services/cons_take48.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?Cold-Eeze-Side-Effects-Lawyer:-Zinc-Destroys-Sense-of-Smell!&id=45267 Sun Nov 23 15:10:02 -0800 2008 4187863 24468 chicgail 4 4198117 I'm very surprised by these reports. A number of years ago I had anosmia (loss of sense of smell) caused by a bad sinus infection. I went to the Monell Taste and Smell Center in Philadelphia to be tested and to see if there was a remedy. They recommended that I take zinc supplements. They told me that some people had positive results taking the zinc, although they didn't understand the science behind it. I took zinc supplements for nearly a year, and eventually my sense of smell returned. Of course, it may have returned without the supplements. I'll never know. By the way, during that year I put on nearly thirty pounds. I would judge food by it's texture, not by it's flavor. Since all food tasted alike to me, I got satisfaction mainly by stuffing myself. Let me tell you, that was one miserable year! Mon Nov 24 10:13:24 -0800 2008 4196374 11407 JoanN 2 4187892 Well, I am colour blind and it isn't really that bad. Some things you have to adjust to though. :) Like when I'm in a store looking at a pair of slippers, thinking to myself "Hmm, nice blue but perhaps a little bright", it helps to have my wife rush up and say "Those are bright purple". LOL Wed Nov 19 20:47:48 -0800 2008 4187645 230780 CPla 3 4188412 No I just meant that if food didn't have much flavor to you there's not much potential for it to be a source of great pleasure, so why would you spend a lot of time and energy on it? If I'd never had much sense of taste, I wouldn't miss it and might consider Chowhounds a bit nuts. Thu Nov 20 06:13:05 -0800 2008 4187892 14974 BeaN 4 4246574 I had a virus in the middle of the year that totally messed with my tastebuds for MONTHS. I couldn't taste anything sweet - it tasted really unpleasant for a couple of weeks and then I just couldn't taste it at all. I lost five pounds in the first month because I just didn't want to eat anything unless it was salty - that was the only thing I could clearly taste. Fortunately my tastebuds gradually returned to normal... and believe me I celebrated the day I could enjoy a piece of chocolate again! It gave me a whole new sympathy for people who have impaired tastebuds. While I couldn't taste I didn't really do much cooking - I couldn't tell if anything was seasoned right! And the things I really wanted to eat I knew I wouldn't be able to taste... so I didn't bother. Sun Dec 14 16:57:06 -0800 2008 4188412 67657 Kajikit 2 4187976 When I read your post I panicked for a minute because I took a 'shorten your cold' product a short time ago but luckily it's not the one in question (for anyone wondering what this is about, you can do a Google search for 'cold product loss of taste' and there are lots of hits). A few years ago I had a very severe head cold and temporarily lost all sense of taste and smell. It was the only time in my life I really didn't care about food. I was terrified and thought about how awful it must be for people who can't enjoy flavours and smells vividly. It would certainly explain why some people don't care at all about food and eating. Wed Nov 19 21:44:41 -0800 2008 4187645 101907 ms. clicquot 2 4188261 My father lost his sense of taste after having radiation to treat throat cancer. Although, they managed to kill his cancer, the he lost his joie de vivre in the process. He had a feeding tube and continued to use it even after he was given the okay to eat whole foods b/c when he tried food it had no flavor. He was so saddened by his loss of taste he died several months later of complications relating to malnutrition at age 62. Sorry, didn't mean to be such a Debbie Downer, I just wanted to show that for some the taste of food is essentially important. Dad was a HUGE fan of the basic peanut butter sandwich on white bread - cut into squares with a glass of milk. :) Thu Nov 20 04:21:04 -0800 2008 4187645 71241 lynnlato 3 4203314 I'm really sorry about your dad. That's so sad :( Wed Nov 26 07:58:37 -0800 2008 4188261 48563 mainsqueeze 1 4187916 I am very folerant of those not inerested in my obsessions. It's just good manners, after all. Wed Nov 19 20:58:52 -0800 2008 4186540 55316 mpalmer6c 2 4193920 I don't know that anyone who posted here was talking about intolerance. I think people are mostly talking about the potential complications of having significant relationships with other people who totally don't get a large part of what makes us who we are. Sat Nov 22 07:57:32 -0800 2008 4187916 63569 flourgirl 1 4188075 One of my best friends has no real interest in food. She is definitely one of those "food is fuel" people. I think in her case the reason is because her mother is one of the worst cooks I have ever met. As a teenager, I used to avoid dinner invitations to their house because I knew the food would be close to inedible. She used to cook pork chops until they were the consistency of leather (both of her daughters are now vegetarians). Wed Nov 19 22:44:05 -0800 2008 4186540 86221 lulubelle 2 4203322 For years I thought I didn't like pork very much because my mother always over-cooked it. Now that I know it can actually be tasty and juicy I like it a little too much! Wed Nov 26 08:01:07 -0800 2008 4188075 48563 mainsqueeze 2 4654636 I had a friend like that and my parents used to laugh uproariously when I'd come home from their house for dinner. Apparently every.single.time. I went I'd come back saying "Now I know why those Jones-Smiths are so skinny!". The nicest people, they were super kind and fun but sheesh, the food! I was somewhere between fascinated and horrified... "garlic bread" made with hot dogs rolls, tuna surprise, everything made from things out of cans and boxes... and it wasn't lack of money. Just not food people. To say the least. Mon May 04 20:20:24 -0700 2009 4188075 42513 Mawrter 1 4188117 Okay, so I'm thinking you don't mean these people don't like food. It's just that they aren't as focused as we on it. I am the cook in our family. My wife, who thinks she has a weight problem and goes to Weight Watchers, where they teach her to view food as "fuel," is understandably torn. I think she looks great, but she vacillates between the things I cook for her and "smart ones" frozen dinners. I'm thinking we just encourage such people to get more exercise and eat more of our food! Wed Nov 19 23:22:57 -0800 2008 4186540 207176 grantham 2 4188144 grantham, I thought that was the purpose of exercise, so we can eat more! He he! Thu Nov 20 00:12:07 -0800 2008 4188117 184593 givemecarbs 3 4190899 amen to that. when i spent a semester studying abroad in beijing last year, i made friends with three other fanatic food lovers like myself. we were eating so much we all took up running every day just so we could eat two to three times what normal people eat and still wear our clothes. it also helped that we were 21. Thu Nov 20 21:57:36 -0800 2008 4188144 207471 plateofwander 2 4204564 Her Weight Watchers group is wrong. People in France and Italy tend to be less overweight on average than people in North America or the UK. The "food is fuel" stuff is NOT good for the diet. If you are middle-aged (as I am) perhaps you might be a bit out of shape. She probably needs a bicycle, good walking shoes or whatever, not a diet. Wed Nov 26 17:23:37 -0800 2008 4188117 84119 lagatta 2 4975563 Weird attitude for a WW group to take. Must be that particular group leader's own philosophy, but certainly doesn't meet with the general viewpoint I've always found with Weight Watchers and what makes it work for me. WW isn't supposed to be about taking the joy and pleasure out of eating but learning portion control and HOW to indulge in the things we enjoy in moderation instead of to excess. Tue Aug 25 07:50:09 -0700 2009 4188117 267087 sockii 1 4188221 honestly, I couldn't have a *true* friendship with one of those people who could just eat anything, forgets to eat meals (I know people say that, but it just does not at all register with my identity or life experience...how can you forget to eat???), can only eat their own national cuisine, or won't venture beyond beef and broccoli and its international equivalents from other places, can't eat even a little bit of spice or chile, regularly eat in a mall food court and don't mind, etc. I mean, food is just too important to me and the way I socialize. I might like a person like that and think of them as a nice acquaintence, but I really couldn't include them in my category of true friends who really *get me* because I love to eat too much. Plus these types don't understand foodies and can possibly think of us as gluttonous or hedonistic. The street of judgement goes both ways. Thu Nov 20 03:09:28 -0800 2008 4186540 118120 luckyfatima 2 4188264 Oooooh, well said, luckyfatima. Like you, I could have "aquaintances" but not a deeper friendship w/ a non-food-lovin' person. And I don't expect all my friends to have the level of passion that I do - I know I'm a bit over-the-top when it comes to food - but at least appreciate basic home-cooking. Do some folks really not appreciate a really good piece of fresh baked bread??? I find it hard to believe. The point you made about how "they" see "us" is an interesting one. I think you're absolutely right, we are looked at as gluttonous food freaks. Over-indulgers. It's quite allright though, I got no shame in my game! :) Thu Nov 20 04:26:58 -0800 2008 4188221 71241 lynnlato 3 4190357 Great points lucky and lynn! I can remember telling my next door neighbor about finding a local place that made good falafel sandwhiches. She asked what that was and when I told her she drew herself up proudly and said "I don't eat outlandish food." Was kind of a conversation killer for me. :) Thu Nov 20 16:56:11 -0800 2008 4188264 184593 givemecarbs 4 4190509 Food can often be a strong indicator of a person's openess to life in general. Often if someone is open to trying new foods, they will likewise be open to new life experiences in general, such as traveling to new countries. However, like most things, there are always exceptions and it is unfair to judge someone based simply on what they eat or do not eat. I doubt anyone of us would like to be judged based on a single criteria. Thu Nov 20 17:59:15 -0800 2008 4190357 16149 NicoleFriedman 5 4190606 >>Often if someone is open to trying new foods, they will likewise be open to new life experiences in general<< Good point, Nicole. I know plenty of people who *like* food, but any food and in large quantity. I know people who *like* food, but as fuel for their bodies and not in the larger sense that is discused so often here. Then I know people who really have an intellectual curiosity about food: where it comes from, how it's grown, how to prepare it, how to share it, and what they can learn in the process. These are the gems in my particular food circle, but I don't judge the rest, most of whom are dear friends - different strokes, and all. Still the openness and intellectual curiosity is really a plus for me in a friend relationship...and that usually extends to attitudes about food. Cay Thu Nov 20 18:50:23 -0800 2008 4190509 49525 cayjohan 6 4192389 On the same note - connecting food with its larger context, and being curious about this connection, I once met a nutritionist who didn't know what a gyro was....I found it very discouraging, and quite honestly, questioned her professionalism. I know that this is probably not fair, and she most likely did her job well, but still... Fri Nov 21 12:38:15 -0800 2008 4190606 95793 jeni1002 7 4194431 How's that the same note? That someone doesn't know one particular point of data doesn't seem to me very informative about what they do know or whether they're qualified. Is a nutritionist supposed to know every example of food from every culture? Its got absolutely nothing to do with professionalism whatsoever. It has only to do with life experience. The question of her professionalism would be whether when told what is in a gyro she could then offer reasonable assistance to her clients/patients about whether and how to incorporate that into their diets in a healthy way. Sat Nov 22 13:05:27 -0800 2008 4192389 80141 ccbweb 8 4195476 Fair enough. And I certainly recognize my own bias and the blatant assumptions that I am making....I only met this person a few times, in an informal context, not a professional one, but I was surprised by her limited culinary knowledge. My point was (recognizing its large degree of unfairness and judgment): if you are in a food-related business, you live in a big city that offers quite a few restaurants, how come you have never heard of a 'gyro'? And yes, part of it is 'life experience', but part of it is also having a genuine interest in food, going beyond the traditional menus that you are used to, exploring, etc. The other thing is - I do not think 'gyros' fall under the exotic category. Had I mentioned some kind of obscure dish, then I probably wouldn't have been so harsh. Thanks for understanding :) Sun Nov 23 06:27:07 -0800 2008 4194431 95793 jeni1002 9 4195489 It's possible she knows it when written but not when said? Sometimes I don't know how to pronounce something correctly and while I will recognize it written, I might not recognize it when someone says that word. Sun Nov 23 06:37:46 -0800 2008 4195476 107671 queencru 10 4195876 Good point - I have heard the word "gyro" pronounced in at least 3 distinct ways - at restaurants serving them. Yee-Ro, Guy-Row, and Jyrow come to mind. Perhaps she was just unfamiliar with the way Jeni pronounced it. I'm also quite sure that there are many dishes which to you may be commonplace but others have not yet experienced. She should have tried her out on spanokopita or moussaka as well! Sun Nov 23 10:29:45 -0800 2008 4195489 143696 Catskillgirl 11 4196257 Catskill, my one friend Major yells at me if I don't pronounce it "Hero" because I usually say "Guy-Row". I would love to know how people who work as nutritionists view food jeni. I think you brought up a fascinating topic. Any hound nutritionists care to chime in? I have some theories but I have not conducted any scientific research so I don't want to post them here and get scolded. :) Sun Nov 23 14:13:02 -0800 2008 4195876 184593 givemecarbs 12 4196295 givemecarbs, I'll happily take the scolding for you and gve my anecdotal (remember: *anecdotal*!) experience. In my adult life I have socially known three professional nutritionists or dieticians. While very nice and smart people, they were all possessed of a combative attitude toward food ("don't eat!"), or were woefully uninformed about ethnic cuisines and the cultural surrounding those cuisines. In the multicultural era we are living in, I would hope that nutrition professionals would at least have some passing knowledge of ethnic food (um, Greek food...not a real newcomer). My metropolitan area has huge numbers of immigrants and ethnic citizens, and should be served by well-informed professionals, especially in this era of obesity-battling. Cay Sun Nov 23 14:28:37 -0800 2008 4196257 49525 cayjohan 13 4197174 Thanks Cay! That is what I thought. I once had to keep a food diary for my doctor and when he got to baba ghanoush he was like what is That? When I told him he chuckled. I stopped keeping the food diary. :) Maybe I should start another post: People Who Are Afraid of Food. Sun Nov 23 22:20:22 -0800 2008 4196295 184593 givemecarbs 14 4201546 This fray of the thread is funny because I go to a nutritionist who is not a foodie and it is a little disheartening. She recommends things like Perdue precooked, pre-spiced and pre-sliced chicken - ugh. One time she said to me “did you know restaurants salt their salads!” – no kidding, that’s why it is delicious lady. She was trying to prove her point about why eating out is treacherous. I literally cried at my first appointment. We’ve come a long way since then and we understand each other better now. So long story short you just need to develop an understanding and take each other with a grain of salt. Tue Nov 25 13:20:20 -0800 2008 4197174 72614 adido 15 4201763 addido, I don't know if you intended your last phrase to be kinda funny and ironic, but it sure was. Maybe that grain of salt is just a good start to people appreciating good food. Tue Nov 25 14:52:00 -0800 2008 4201546 24468 chicgail 15 4204592 yeah i've kinda gotta agree with the few here who have posted dismay at nutritionists and such, and perhaps a lack of knowledge of certain foods. I'm not sure what the qualifications of a nutritionist are as opposed to a dietitian, which requires a degree....but on a similar vent, a few years back I went to a "weight loss centre" and while I admit I eat a wide variety of foods from different cultures etc, I got REALLY tired of having to explain what that was in my food log almost every day....couscous being an example. I'm sorry, but anyone in the business of food, as fuel or otherwise, should know a bit about food. (on a side note, myself not being familiar with Perdue stuff, wouldn't that have preservatives in it? I would have thought a nutritionist would be advocating you purchase and cook the chicken yourself at home where you'd have control over what went into it. ) Wed Nov 26 17:37:57 -0800 2008 4201546 153184 im_nomad 16 4205388 Anyone with a theory ccan call themselves a nutritionist. There is no degree confered for that title. Registered Dieticians are something else, they are educated and know about food and nutrition. They are also licensed. Thu Nov 27 07:24:19 -0800 2008 4204592 10285 Candy 17 4205441 Many schools offer master's degrees in clinical nutrition. My GP has an MS in clinical nutrition and I have a friend enrolled in a program right now. Thu Nov 27 07:57:52 -0800 2008 4205388 107671 queencru 18 4205598 That is different than calling oneself a nutritonist Thu Nov 27 09:51:46 -0800 2008 4205441 10285 Candy 16 4214690 many nutritionists go into their field, which actually doesn't have much to do with food; for the same reasons many people go into psychology. cuz they have a little tic there, themselves ;-) ime, nutritionists do not know much about food and they are afraid of most of it. they want pre-portioned packages of fuel with listed nutrients, not real food. they want controlled food, preferring caged bland purebred boneless breasts of genetically engineered chickens fed the same diet each day and slaughtered at exactly the same age. get talking about traditional food preparation methods or the difference between heritage vegetables from one farm and another, and you get a lot of blank looks from nutritionists. nutritionists are also against having more than a few different types of cheese, or apples, for example. grown or handmade foods that vary in size/content throw off their calculations, that is why they prefer machine-processed foods. i like to have nutritionists watch me cook, & not measure or weigh anything-- they get super ocd. "how much sugar are you adding to that sauce?" "it depends on how sweet the carrots are" eek, right? "how do you know that's 2 oz of olive oil?" "i was a bartender for 10 years, i could pour a precise 2 oz shot of any liquid you'd care to give me"-- oh i have fun. another food-related career for people who are unfamiliar with food and a little afraid of it, certainly unwilling to *try* anything for goodness sake-- seems to be city and state health inspectors. i had to explain what the term "vegan" meant to the dude, last time. i was like, shouldn't you know this? it would save you (& me, for eff's sake) a lot of time asking about milk allergens in every single item in that true double-door, if you'd just listen to me when i keep repeating "the whole fridge is vegan." LOL Tue Dec 02 10:33:41 -0800 2008 4204592 46030 soupkitten 17 4214906 "many nutritionists go into their field, which actually doesn't have much to do with food; for the same reasons many people go into psychology. cuz they have a little tic there, themselves ;-)" Wonderful observation! Nutritionists are the ultimate fuellists. Tue Dec 02 11:46:06 -0800 2008 4214690 14386 BobB 17 4215467 Not to generalize, though. Tue Dec 02 14:39:01 -0800 2008 4214690 80141 ccbweb 18 4215884 As I keep saying any twit with a theory can call themselves a nutritionist. That is very different from one trained in clinical nutrition or is a degreed Registered Dietician. See the title "Nutritionist" and be afraid, very afraid. As a Home Ed. major I was in class with and competition for grades with people in the RD program. RD's are state licensed and know what they are about. That is why MD's and hospitals hire them. They have the "knowledge". Tue Dec 02 17:14:18 -0800 2008 4215467 10285 Candy 19 4215937 With all due respect, Candy - the RD's don't always know beyond a one size fits all model. I have a number of people in my extended family who have been given misinformation in that manner. I myself have struggled to get the most basic "can I eat this" information from the RD in my home clinic when dealing with interactions between various foods and a medication. I was told to avoid "all of it," which turned out to be absolutely untrue, and one thing that was OK'd turned out to be a big mistake. Um, I educated myself. The problem is fundamentally an inability of the system to deal with indivduals, versus one-size RDA listings on the sides of boxes in the grocery store and charts of how many calories you can have. RDs do the best they can, and are dedicated scientists insofar as they can be. But whatever programs they're in need to evolve to look at the larger picture, as well as the individual, as far as personal nutrition, ethnicity, and quality of life is concerned. And quality of life often revolves around food traditions. Best, Cay Tue Dec 02 17:36:41 -0800 2008 4215884 49525 cayjohan 20 4216021 If your food tradition dictates that you consume unhealthy foods, I don't think you should expect to find a dietitian who is going to affirm your food choices. Tue Dec 02 18:06:47 -0800 2008 4215937 11995 pikawicca 20 4554059 Speaking of the 'one size fits all' model'. A friend of mine is in public health and was doing a local radio show about nutrition with her agency's dietician. They were discussing the importance of breakfast and what foods were good for breakfast. When talking about what to do if a person didn't like typical 'breakfast foods' the dietician refused to recommend 'non-breakfast' items. It was oatmeal (etc) or it wasn't a good breakfast. My friend had to step in to speak about healthy leftovers that could be used for breakfast if you were so inclined. Tue Mar 31 08:39:14 -0700 2009 4215937 139219 Sooeygun 19 4217051 Don't conflate degree with knowledge. My point was that sweeping generalizations aren't helpful. Wed Dec 03 07:44:54 -0800 2008 4215884 80141 ccbweb 20 4217742 huh? my so-called-sweeping generalization i presume? i suppose that instead of trying to leave it open-ended and friendly, with my saying "many nutritionists"-- not most, not all, by any means-- after all, there are lots of nutritionists i've never met-- i could have instead been more of a fascist about it, and made a stronger statement something like: "every single 'nutritionist' i've ever encountered has been at some stage of recovery (more or less successful) from a serious eating disorder which has seriously affected their personal health. they've been very happy to tell me all about their hospital stays, bone loss, when they realized their life was in danger and they needed to make a major change, etc. all of them have spoken to me about their backgrounds, and how they feel that obsessive/compulsive habits wrt foods, characteristic to folks suffering from eating disorders, were such a crushing burden to them, until they figured out how to apply these tendencies to the field of nutrition. one nutritionist, whom i have a good deal of respect for, incidentally-- openly claims to still be a practicing (runner) anorexic, and that her disorder helps her to do a better job professionally." i didn't say any of this in the first place because, well, it's a little mean. i figured it might be rude to presume that every single nutritionist out there also has an eating disorder-- even though that's been the case with every single nutritionist i've ever met, my experience might not be broadly true across the board. i guess i feel that if i had said "every single" and "all" i would have been making sweeping generalizations; but that by my saying "many" and "in my own experience," much less so. a little lighter feel to the conversation. or am i offending on some other level? trying to tell me that every single person who chooses to go into psychology is perfect joe and jane normal? uh, okay. . .no offense is intended, i just don't think it's totally off-base for me to believe that people who have choices will pick career fields that they have some affinity for, and that their affinities and insights can help them in their careers. do you know any prosthetic technicians? don't "many," "several," or "some" of them also have prostheses themselves? --& their non-prostheses-havin' classmates, they went into other fields, "mostly", right? know any chefs that like food? vets that like animals? can we say that "many" chefs like food, and "many" veterinarians like animals, and their affinities may likely have led in part to their career choices? i'd love to hear from anyone who's the exception, btw. i'm still waiting for a nutritionist, any nutritionist, with any type of background, to chime into this thread, tell us we've got it all wrong, and then i'll happily eat my words with bacon ketchup. i think i'll be waiting a long time, because "many" nutritionists are not chowhounds. unfortunately, "many" of them don't like food at all, they've just adapted to living with food. i know "many" people who have pretty fully recovered from eating disorders, who are in a broad spectrum of careers, but *not* nutrition. they wouldn't be able to draw a line, you see. as others have said, dietitians are a different subject, and there are all sorts of reasons to study nutrition: for kicks, as a specialization, or part of another discipline. i studied juvenile nutrition for some time myself, when it looked like i was going to be cooking for kids. or, am i offending the legions of health inspectors who also obsessively follow threads on the "not about food" board of chowhound, and you're defending their honor and erudition? *sigh* okay, i'm not going to guess anymore-- what is so offensive about my december 2nd post above, which was based entirely & clearly on my own perspective & experience? where exactly do we disagree on the subject, or do you want to nitpick, or are perspectives/opinions/observations no longer valid, or i need an editor (LOL i think i do), or, what? Wed Dec 03 11:21:51 -0800 2008 4217051 46030 soupkitten 21 4218656 I have a friend getting a master's in clinical nutrition who went to culinary school for her undergraduate degree. She just decided working in a restaurant wasn't for her, but obviously she's very enthusiastic about food! I've known her since she was a teen, and it does not seem to me that she ever had any real issues with food. Wed Dec 03 16:32:18 -0800 2008 4217742 107671 queencru 22 4218689 fantastic to hear that! i hope she can have some kind of positive impact on the field-- presuming she does intend to be a nutritionist, post graduation? or, is she studying nutrition in preparation for other coursework? Wed Dec 03 16:40:11 -0800 2008 4218656 46030 soupkitten 23 4219098 She had another career before pursuing a food-based career, so I imagine that she just wants to be finished at this point. From what I gather, her degree is public health based and so far she's been working with hospitals. I am not sure whether she ultimately hopes to work in a hospital environment or if she'd rather work with government or other types of institutions. Wed Dec 03 19:51:21 -0800 2008 4218689 107671 queencru 21 4223267 soupkitten thanks so much for your posts, I really appreciate them. I've been thinking about my own experience with a nutritonalist when I was in the hospital years ago. We had a nice conversation, she was pert, pretty and enthusiastic but I felt this disconcerting chillness when she talked about food. I had an operation and she came back to talk to me when I was still pretty full of painkillers. She approached my bed and started to talk. I must have been really out of it because I gave her such a vicious glare that she backed away from me, babbled something like I see now is not a good time and fled the room. She never came back. I have always felt guilty about that and your words have given me some healing and understanding. I thank you for that. Fri Dec 05 11:02:54 -0800 2008 4217742 184593 givemecarbs 21 4223827 After reading a bunch of these posts related to nutritionists/dietitians, it seems to me that there is a real niche out there for people trained in these fields who actually enjoy food and can help people meet their health goals and still be able to eat tasty, satisfying food. Fri Dec 05 13:46:17 -0800 2008 4217742 63569 flourgirl 17 4223340 That's awesome soupkitten! I have also heard from insiders in the profession about people going into psychology because they have a tic themselves. For some reason it's rarely talked about in public. :) The honesty and humor in your posts leave me in awe. The last time I felt just this way was when I heard one of my professors, she was the head of the psychology department for her school district, tell the class that many teachers go into the profession for reasons of control. She just took my breath away. I don't feel that way often. Another antecdote, my friend took lots of intro classes at college to try to decide on a career. The class where the students were over the top disrespectul to the teacher (this is in college mind you) and basically acting out and breaking rules? Criminal justice majors. LOL. I have learned so much from this thread and all the people who have posted here, it seems to be taking on a life of it's own. Thank you. Fri Dec 05 11:23:39 -0800 2008 4214690 184593 givemecarbs 15 4253604 I have a friend - not a nutritionist - who treats all food as if it is either medicine or poison. It's not so easy sharing a meal with her. We were once ordering sushi together, and choosing between tuna or salmon. She agonized over the choice and decided on tuna because it was "healthier." Hey! This is not about the difference between deep-fried and poached! This is not about the difference between fish and a Snickers bar! We're talking about maybe an ounce of fish!! How much of an impact could this choice have on your actual health?. Is it so crazy to just eat the one you like better? None of this did I say to her. At the restaurant, I waited and went along with her choice of tuna, reached after long deliberation, because I like it as much as I like salmon. Wed Dec 17 08:22:58 -0800 2008 4201546 14171 Pumpkinseed 16 4256087 Sounds like you showed some real patience pumpkinseed. My friend John practically rolls his eyes when his mom orders tuna salad for lunch whenever she actually eats lunch. I know some people who adore tuna salad but she does it for "health" reasons too. Thu Dec 18 05:17:49 -0800 2008 4253604 184593 givemecarbs 15 4262918 You don't need to come to an understanding with this person, you need to find a nutritionist who appreciates food. Sat Dec 20 19:01:11 -0800 2008 4201546 14974 BeaN 3 4654655 Great thread, Lynne - and sorry about your dad. I just wanted to comment that not only do non-food people see being food-obsessed as gluttonous, they often see us as pointlessly wasteful - of time and money, or even showing off, as if "wasted" money/time on food, cooking interesting things, going out to eat, etc. is a fancy-pants affectation, conspicuous consumption. Why would you do all that when you could just get XYZ at BJ's, they reason. Why be tied to the stove. Why drop cash on organic, or microbrew instead of Coors Light, or make the broth when you could buy it, etc. It just doesn't seem efficient or worthwhile to them. I also know a handful of non-food people who are very determinedly uncurious eaters. They eat the same limited diet all the time, and find many foods disgusting. They're repulsed by very everything off their own very short list of acceptable foods. From where I sit, it looks like they are somewhere between what I consider normal/healthy and eating disorder territory... perhaps they have undiagnosed sensory issues, or childhood traumas. Mon May 04 20:29:56 -0700 2009 4188264 42513 Mawrter 4 4684416 My mother-in-law fit into your first category! She liked the things I made well enough, and was never nasty about my cooking and baking, just baffled. She could never figure out why I wasted time baking when the world has bakeries in it, and why I bothered cooking when there is take-out. Every now and then she would embark on a cooking project, and since it was so long since she had cooked, she would buy all of the ingredients and equipment mentioned in the recipe. So she owned about a dozen colanders and an enormous archive of musty spices going back decades. Thu May 14 14:19:06 -0700 2009 4654655 14171 Pumpkinseed 2 4191716 for the record, let me just submit that people who LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat (i.e. me) sometimes forget to have meals when we are very busy or very stressed out. i love food too much to try to eat it when my mind is too focused on other things to enjoy! (and what someone said about delayed gratification is also true: if you're truly hungry, that amplifies tastes and flavors enormously, which can be very pleasant. a foodie friend of mine in college would eat only once a day on purpose to achieve this effect. i get too grouchy when i'm hungry to do this, but i do see reason behind his madness.) Fri Nov 21 09:07:32 -0800 2008 4188221 64215 cimui 2 4192184 Reminds me of a business trip a few years ago to Madrid. I was with a colleague who, while not exactly a fuellist, was one of those you describe who has to stay inside their own limited comfort zone. He discovered a Tony Roma's rib joint a few blocks from our hotel and ate there every night all week long. I joined him once and after that had dinner on my own, exploring a new place every night. De gustibus non disputandum est. Fri Nov 21 11:30:45 -0800 2008 4188221 14386 BobB 3 4193636 what a shame...in Madrid? Basically a wasted trip...all of the lost good meals he could have had, epxeriences of new foods, tastes to relish and remember...I just don't get people like that. Sat Nov 22 01:25:46 -0800 2008 4192184 118120 luckyfatima 2 4515108 i love food and please don't hate me but i do sometimes forget to eat meals, usually when i am studying or doing something that takes focus becasue i never eat unless i can sit down and take my time, and i'm one of those people who wouldprefer not to eat if there isn't anything decent around :-) Tue Mar 17 20:31:43 -0700 2009 4188221 235412 umbushi plum 3 4515438 I forget to eat too sometimes umbushi plum. It is mostly because I lose track of time. At least when I finally notice I'm hungry I know that whatever I eat next will taste extra good. Hunger is the best sauce and all. If all is going well with my life I also would prefer not to eat if there isn't anything decent around. When things get rough I do tend to suck it up and eat something mediocre for sanity's sake. For example I had a so-so cheeseburger in the hospital snack shop recently. It was a food as fuel meal if ever there was one. Just lately I've been feeling grateful that my mom loved to cook and so do I. It is so very comforting to be able to whip up something delicious at any odd hour, It feels like giving yourself a big hug!. Wed Mar 18 01:16:37 -0700 2009 4515108 184593 givemecarbs 4 4516983 oh thats lovley it does feel nice to be able too whip yourself up something deliocous and sustaining at any hour go you great attitude! Wed Mar 18 12:31:50 -0700 2009 4515438 235412 umbushi plum 5 4517591 Thanks umbushi plum! If I'm not careful thanks to you and other wonderful chowhounds I'm going to get downright smug! He he! Wed Mar 18 15:36:28 -0700 2009 4516983 184593 givemecarbs 6 4517900 smug it up ;-) i like your name too! Wed Mar 18 17:47:47 -0700 2009 4517591 235412 umbushi plum 1 4190697 My Grandmother, she's an enigma. Never, ever, EVER cooked a day in her life except bisquick pancakes for me, ONCE. She eats all processed crap, no veggies, no butter, no onions and more. She thinks hospital food is of the same caliber as Olive Garden, which in her book is AMAZING (don't get me started.) She freezes everything: bread, milk, Entenman"s, cheese, muffins. She also never worked a day in her life but regardless of that she just has no palate. She's onle ever ordered lasagna or chicken parm and will eat Olive Garden's and mine or my mom's and taste no difference. I could be a terrible cook, but I'm not! Needless to say, we were never allowed to ask "why doesn't grandma j ever cook?" Maybe it was a blessing in disguise! Thu Nov 20 19:28:31 -0800 2008 4186540 210063 jacquelines 2 4553962 Jacquelines, it WAS a blessing in disguise. I have one of those grandmothers who's a terrible cook. While my grandfather was alive and well, he did most of the cooking in that house and it was fantastic. So the family got into the habit of coming over to their place for special occasion meals. When he passed away, the family tradition continued but the food just did not keep up. Her cooking technique was: what's in the refrigerator? Let's mix it up even if doesn't go. She never bothered to purchase additional ingredients. Her favorite "dessert" was fllo dough cut into triangles dotted with raisins. Then she baked the living hell out of them. These cookies were so hard we were afraid of cracking a tooth. The only person in our family who enjoyed them was her cat, Twinkie, and he got quite chubby from all the cookies that "fell" under the table. Finally, we found a restaurant quite close to her house that she and we like so we go there. But we still reminisce about those "raisin cookies" Tue Mar 31 08:12:19 -0700 2009 4190697 71070 StrawbrryF 3 4555674 Awesome post StrawbrryF! Your grandfather got the family together and showed that cooking is for guys too. My friend John's parents grew up when chores were assigned more along traditional gender roles so John's mom still does most of the cooking. But their household has a little secret. John's mom loves to go on trips of two weeks or a month with the girls. Instead of eating out all the time, as they could certainly well afford, John's dad sees it as finally a chance to play in "her kitchen" and cook up a storm. He is a much better cook than she is. He always makes a point of having roast chicken at least once so that he and John can eat chicken that is moist and succulent instead of dried out and falling apart. John's mom is very territorial about "her kitchen" and John is severely discouraged from cooking at home. But with a dad like that as a role model, I bet he turns into a fantastic cook once he has his own place. I sure hope John's mom doesn't read this. I would hate to rat those two out. :) Tue Mar 31 16:32:52 -0700 2009 4553962 184593 givemecarbs 1 4191350 This is my mom. She can bake, but cooking just isn't her strong suit. Salt and pepper are the only two spices ever used, everything is well done, and there is usually butter involved in everything. Until college I thought pork was the most awful meat ever because it had always been served to me the texture of shoe leather. Equally bland is her passion for food. My friends and I will eat almost anything and like to try new restaurants. I stopped wasting my time describing what I had to her because she just isn't interested. I've taken her to some really great restaurants and when asked how she liked it the answer is always "it was good, it's food." That's it?! Fri Nov 21 06:50:46 -0800 2008 4186540 194076 Stillwater Girl 1 4191372 My foodie friends and I refer to these people as "fuellists." It doesn't affect my appreciation (or not) for their company, but I definitely don't make dinner plans with them. Fri Nov 21 07:02:50 -0800 2008 4186540 14386 BobB 2 4191858 I know "fuellists" well. They are the kind of people that, when you're all out walking to a great new wine bar that you've heard about will say "but I don't understand, we've passed 3 or 4 bars already". Fri Nov 21 09:47:09 -0800 2008 4191372 26180 Chinon00 3 4192153 Exactly. They'll choose an Applebee's over a great ethnic restaurant because it's closer and/or cheaper. Fri Nov 21 11:21:44 -0800 2008 4191858 14386 BobB 1 4191498 This topic has become near and dear to me lately because I recently started dating a man who is "uneducated" about food. I don't think he dislikes, he just hasn't been exposed to someone like me who is already planning her next meal before she is done with the one she is eating. He seems open-minded about trying new things but certainly has some things that he does not like (blue cheese **gasp** is one of them). However, he claims to not like Parmesan cheese (**double gasp** considering he's Italian) but I made authentic carbonara recently and it had Parmesan and Romano and he had 3 helpings...go figure....maybe I can open him up a bit... Fri Nov 21 07:50:59 -0800 2008 4186540 67742 HungryRubia 2 4191822 Try the blue cheese with a drizzle of honey and a glass of sweet stout and see what he says. Fri Nov 21 09:37:25 -0800 2008 4191498 26180 Chinon00 2 4191927 Don't worry HR - with your guidance he'll likely come around. When I met my husband 18 years ago his interest in food was non-existent aside from filling his stomach when hungry. Now he spends many Saturdays with me going to farmer's markets, seeking out great cheese shops and visiting wine country. He loves trying new restaurants and is actually more adventurous than I am when it comes to sampling different cuisines. He still doesn't cook but I can live with that. Good luck! Fri Nov 21 10:11:29 -0800 2008 4191498 101907 ms. clicquot 3 4201656 Well I must report that I fed my new SO some beef stew (he claimed to hate it because his late mother's wasn't very good) anyway, he had three helpings and I had to take the bowl away from him because he was about to start licking it. The indoctrination..I mean education has begun! Tue Nov 25 14:10:01 -0800 2008 4191927 67742 HungryRubia 4 4202054 That's great to hear! I think that was a large part of my husband's problem - his mom is a terrible cook. Best of luck and I'm sure he'll be enjoying many more of your great meals! Tue Nov 25 16:52:25 -0800 2008 4201656 101907 ms. clicquot 4 4203043 that's terrific news! My DH HATED pork, meatloaf, etc... when we met, until he tasted mine. Turns out his mother is allergic to pork, so she just cooks it into leather. First time I made my oven-bbq pork chops for him, I had to make it a second time that weekend! Now he's a much more adventurous eater and has introduced me to a number of new things. Keep working at him, he'll get there! :) Wed Nov 26 06:17:50 -0800 2008 4201656 65780 jujuthomas 5 4253966 Similar experience here - my ex had always hated green beans. One night I forgot and made them as part of a special dinner for him. He took a few to be polite, and ended up loving them. Turns out what he hated was green beans cooked to a mush and doused in butter (mine were cooked with tomatoes and some Indian-ish spices). Still, some dislikes are for keeps - no matter how well they're cooked (and my mother is an excellent cook), I just can't abide bell peppers or asparagus. My loss, I guess. Wed Dec 17 10:21:40 -0800 2008 4203043 131105 Emmmily 6 4254480 Yes, I think there is a difference between someone who thought they didn't like a certain food but had just never tasted it cooked properly and someone who just doesn't like the essential flavor/texture of a particular food. I personally can't eat brussels sprouts - no matter how they are done they just taste awful to me. The same goes for scallops. I just seriously dislike the taste and the texture of them and won't eat them. (I've even retried these foods periodically over the years to see if I had changed my mind about them, which has happened with some other foods that I didn't like as a child but love now. But nope, my reaction was always stil the same with these two particular foods and now I just don't bother with them anymore.) Wed Dec 17 12:52:19 -0800 2008 4253966 63569 flourgirl 4 4205432 Now *there* is a great new thread idea - how bad a cook is/was your MIL or FIL? LOL! I think my MIL was in the Top 10 of dreadful cooks of the ages. What she did to barley soup, or spaghetti sauce, or even COFFEE should have been punishable by law. :-) My husband was convinced he disliked many foods until he tasted them prepared by someone other than his mother. It was a joy to see him learn to experience foods that had previously been slaughtered by that woman. Thu Nov 27 07:51:10 -0800 2008 4201656 143696 Catskillgirl 4 4208651 My boyfriend is from Wyoming, and there were alot of things that he thought he did not like when we met. Now when I ask him if he likes any kind of food, he will say, "Are you going to make it? I'll like if if you make it ." Sat Nov 29 15:00:22 -0800 2008 4201656 233374 jezebeljones 5 4208657 Cool dude. Keep 'em. Sat Nov 29 15:04:08 -0800 2008 4208651 36661 Sam Fujisaka 3 4555164 Ms. Clicquot, I could've written that. You described my husband perfectly. Tue Mar 31 13:39:26 -0700 2009 4191927 158403 jcattles 2 4196245 LOL here - when I first introduced DH to carbonara when we were newly married, I had to tell him it was just Italian bacon & eggs. (He was half Sicilian, but his mother was the *worst* cook ever). He scarfed it right down like a good boy. Sun Nov 23 14:09:05 -0800 2008 4191498 143696 Catskillgirl 3 4208674 When I made carbonara, he [bf] said, "Wow. That's amazing." He had seconds and thirds. I think alot of people have just never had the really good stuff--epecially at home. It can really be the best kind of cooking because you can make it to your personal tastes. Sat Nov 29 15:13:44 -0800 2008 4196245 233374 jezebeljones 1 4191599 Great post- I dont get it either but they probably have some things that they love just as much that we find odd. I look forward to savoring every meal and my old boss used to always say he would hate eating and wished he could just IV it into him. Just hard to understand. Fri Nov 21 08:23:51 -0800 2008 4186540 101707 yankeefan 2 4191794 Well, I'd hate to marry someone who didn't love food but I certainly wouldn't choose my friends based on that criteria. I like learning about new things so I think my life would be much poorer if I only had friends with the same passions. Plus, there are plenty of people who may not share my interest in food but share my interest in other things. On one of the travel boards I visit there are plenty of people who'd make fascinating travel companions but when I hit the nearest street food vendor they'd probably wander elsewhere. Fri Nov 21 09:31:08 -0800 2008 4191599 12327 PegS 3 4192170 Agreed, I have non-foodie friends and we do things together that don't involve food. My wife, on the other hand, is at least as adventurous an eater as I am. We have a little ritual when we first visit a new restaurant, if the menu looks good we look at each other and say, "Three of everything!" Which is even funnier because we both have such limited capacity that we often just get a couple of apps apiece, or split an entree. We LOVE places with a good selection of small plates. Fri Nov 21 11:26:43 -0800 2008 4191794 14386 BobB 4 4194437 My wife and I have a similar response: "I'm going to need one of everything on page two" or something similar. Sat Nov 22 13:08:40 -0800 2008 4192170 80141 ccbweb 1 4191895 And I'd like to draw a distinction. Being a "foodie" and liking to eat a lot are not the same thing. I lot of people think that I simply enjoy eating a lot (which isn't always true)because of my interest in food. For them that's the only way that they can comprehend why a person would have such interest in food. The one's that irritate me the most are the ones who aren't into food yet must be seen out at the new chic restaurant and because they don't understand or are scared of the apps and mains end up ordering only a simpler dessert. Fri Nov 21 09:58:06 -0800 2008 4186540 26180 Chinon00 1 4192521 My DH has come a long way since we started dating - I think he was much more in the "food as fuel" category when we met... his mother does some terrible things to food. But with some gentle coaxing he started trying things he previously disliked, and now is interested in all sorts of interesting cuisines. there are still a few things he WILL NOT eat - but I can handle that. :) One of his best friends however is so uninterested in food - has such limited taste - that I don't care to eat out with them. Fri Nov 21 13:32:36 -0800 2008 4186540 65780 jujuthomas 2 4266439 Same exact story with my fiancee. He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy (most likely thanks to his parents) when I first met him - in fact, I posted a thread on chowhound, asking if it's possible to date someone who isn't into food - Now, I am happy to say, he loves oysters, sweetbreads and many other adventurous foods. The only things he refuses to try are tripe and jellyfish...but I'm not giving up on those :) Mon Dec 22 11:31:29 -0800 2008 4192521 14093 Melanie 3 4266921 Hey, if you've taken him from meat & potatoes to oysters & sweetbreads - girl, your work is done! Pat yourself on the back and shuck another dozen. ;-) Mon Dec 22 14:03:46 -0800 2008 4266439 14386 BobB 4 4269681 SWEET. Thanks, Bob! Tue Dec 23 13:59:55 -0800 2008 4266921 14093 Melanie 1 4195563 I have a friend who is so picky, I would put her in the "dont like food category." Nothing with bones, nothing with fat, nothing spicy, no tomato except on pizza, no seafood or fish etc etc. after many failed attempts of picking a restaurant that she likes, we now only meet for a drink. Sun Nov 23 07:25:51 -0800 2008 4186540 158016 cassoulady 1 4196342 I used to work with a guy who "loved" food, but in reality, he only loved the act of eating to over-full. His idea of a great lunch was an all-you-can-eat buffet, even though all the food tasted the same & was lukewarm. Ick. My MIL is a fuelist... she says that she only wants 2 or 3 bites of a food, then she's done. She forgets to eat and couldn't cook to save her life. My DH thought Hamburger Helper was home cooking. I'm trying to lose weight, so I eat a lot of Lean Cuisines at work for lunch... either that or the school cafeteria. Or I could become a better planner and make lunches, but I'm lazy. Lunch is fuel. So I think I understand some of the fuelists. Dinner is not. I make tasty dinners every night, or I go out & get something wonderful. I never eat things I don't like (broccoli stalks!) because life is too short, and there are plenty of foods I do enjoy. Sun Nov 23 14:57:43 -0800 2008 4186540 204286 lisafaz 2 4204620 give me your broccoli stalks ! I will peel them and make soup !! ....and then freeze some to give you for lunch , lol. At times when i'm on track with my eating (and not necessarily talking dieting here), is when i make lots of stuff in the evenings that I can freeze portions of, to take to work for lunches. It also staves off the urge to reach for some less than healthier alternatives at home, on lazy nights. I do soups, chilis, "warm" grain and lentil salads and such. Filling, and typically lower calorie fare. Wed Nov 26 17:45:18 -0800 2008 4196342 153184 im_nomad 1 4197321 I think you need to not bother such people about their eating habits or menus. If you weren't interested in cars, but someone asked you details of your vehicle every time you met them (gas mileage, when you last had it serviced, etc.), you'd probably get irate with them as well. I've never known anyone who was totally indifferent to food, but I had a friend whose sister just didn't care about food. I rather envy them. It think that'd be a much easier way to live (cheaper, easier to eat healthily and ignore bad food) than being interested in food. Mon Nov 24 02:34:43 -0800 2008 4186540 98208 Orchid64 2 4197449 "I rather envy them. It think that'd be a much easier way to live (cheaper, easier to eat healthily and ignore bad food) than being interested in food." Well, following that logic even further, it would be cheaper and easier to have no interest in lots of other exciting things in life either, (like books, art, sports, traveling, for example) but life would than be reduced to an exceedingly dull and bland experience that wouldn't even be worth living. I personally don't envy people who are indifferent to food one little bit. I just feel sad for them. They are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. Mon Nov 24 05:10:34 -0800 2008 4197321 63569 flourgirl 3 4198346 Well said flourgirl. Mon Nov 24 11:30:59 -0800 2008 4197449 184593 givemecarbs 1 4198024 I had just posted a similar topic (on a different list, by mistake) when somebody kindly pointed me in the direction of this thread. This is a subject truly close to my heart or shall I say, heart-wrenching for me. As many of you (thank goodness I found so many fellow food-crazy people on this site!) I live for food which means I think about it 24/7, research new, exciting, different, exotic foods that I can try, never ever consume any processed rubbish and attach a huge deal of importance to eating delicious and nutritious meals every day. I live in the UK (although I am originally from Argentina) where the local cuisine is rather awful (with all due respect to any Brits out there!) The choice is incredibly as there are many nationalities (as in America) with fantastic foods and a wide range of ingredients from all over the world which drives me mental in the best possible way) as there is so much to try and such little time! However, my partner could eat packet bread, tinned soup, baked beans, processed cheese and pate everyday of his life and he would be happy with the occasional piece of meat covered in butter and fat. He has adapted a lot in the sense that he eats most things I cook (always healthy and varied) with the exception of some things. His mother is an appalling cook, heating up frozen ready-meals covered in packet sauces, never using spices, garlic, onions or herbs (I couldn't believe this at first!) and generally with no interest in food whatsoever. This weekend we had some friends staying over and they nearly had an orgasm with the food I served them which filled me with great joy but although my partner does his best to compliment me and praise my food, I know he really doesn't care much. I guess if you really love somebody, you have to strive to find a middle ground whereby you can both respect and encourage each other's passions, sharing them as much as possible in the way you can and know how but I do agree with the fact that I find it very difficult to relate to people who see food as 'fuel'. Mon Nov 24 09:36:04 -0800 2008 4186540 240789 Paula76 2 4198362 I'm glad your friends really enjoyed your food Paula. What did you serve them? See i just can't help myself!!!! :) Mon Nov 24 11:35:56 -0800 2008 4198024 184593 givemecarbs 1 4198749 I dined out yesterday with a fuelist who'd lost all his hair as a teenager from an eating disorder. I know plenty of people with eating disorders who regard food as fuel because it reminds them that they have to eat to live, and eating for fuel enables them to bypass their other issues with feeding themselves, the issues that would cause them to starve themselves and die. It's a survival tactic, not an anti-pleasure tactic, in their cases. Re: the whole processed food thing, I come from a family that's not only rife with eating disorders, but also eats processed crap and hates everything I've ever tried cooking for them. However, I also realize that their dislike of my cooking also has a lot to do with class issues: I've been the most upwardly socially mobile person in the family, and their reactions are defensive. To them my food represents not only aesthetics, but different values, and a different social milieu that they would feel very uncomfortable in. So when my mom tells me that I can't bring the pumpkin pie this year to TG, because my relatives are supposedly "rubes" who don't understand the kind of "fancy" pies that I make (and the pie in question that I made two years ago was only the classic pumpkin from Cooks Illustrated), all that stuff comes into play. I know this sounds really condescending, but there it is. But there are moments when we can strike some kind of compromise: my mother and I catered my wedding together. There were several points at which one of us nearly murdered the other.... but we made it work, and it was fantastic. Now, with that said, I love talking food with other people who cook, if they cook the same kinds of foods I cook, or who have similar approaches to cooking. BUT, somebody else here mentioned that there are different kinds of foodies, even, and that's a fantastic point, because I'll admit readily to my food prejudices. I've got NO interest in talking food with somebody who'd buy monkfish, or raspberries in January--or even, for that matter, asparagus in Easter, if they live in the American Northeast. I'm not interested in the dining opinions of people who dine out, except insofar as they can reconstruct recipes for me from what they ate. And I'm not interested in hearing about eating organic for personal health purposes, since I eat organic as a matter of farmers' and environmental health. :) So, if your own personal food obsessions don't actually line up with mine, and you insist on forcing them on me every time I see you, it's like listening to you tell me your dreams--good god, BORING! I think the upshot is, a little tolerance is a nice thing. Everybody should make an effort to learn what other people are passionate about, just for the sake of expanding the world, and making conversation a little more varied. But nobody wants to listen to any kind of obsessive. Mon Nov 24 13:47:49 -0800 2008 4186540 104546 Giblets 2 4199449 Giblets, thanks for a lovely piece of writing. You didn't, by the way, sound at all condescending. When one is actively trying to step outside of one's own point of view and see where other people are coming from, its really hard to be condescending. I really appreciate what you had to say on this. Mon Nov 24 18:08:29 -0800 2008 4198749 80141 ccbweb 2 4205506 What a wonderful post. You touched on so many points I've been mulling over - especially the "class" issues. You really touched a nerve - thank you for a very thought-provoking post! (I know that phrase is overused, but I really meant it, lol). Thu Nov 27 08:39:41 -0800 2008 4198749 143696 Catskillgirl 1 4199481 For a year in grad school I shared an apartment with a girl who just had no interest in food. In Italy! I spent the year talking to market vendors in halting Italian and experimenting with things like pomegranates and porcini and zucchini blossoms. She spent the year eating, every single night without fail, white rice seasoned with salt and pepper mixed with bagged frozen veggie mix and canned chickpeas. I practically begged her to eat my cooking but she never would. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt my feelings but honestly I don't think I can ever forgive her for this. We got along okay, but we never became friends. Mon Nov 24 18:21:55 -0800 2008 4186540 102571 mordacity 2 4201621 Now THAT sounds like an eating disorder. Yuk. Tue Nov 25 13:53:11 -0800 2008 4199481 87837 RGC1982 2 4205521 Been there, done that. I spent two months with a lovely American family in Pisa. They had been living in Italy for over a year already, and were finally starting to learn the language. The food - they didn't bother with. They craved all things American, and crappy American at that. When my friend and I (their niece) were packing to go stay with them they wrote us begging, BEGGING, to bring them bottles of Lawrys seasoned salt and lime jello, among other things. They always went to the same bakery (oh, that bakery - I've even got a picture of myself with the counter guy, I loved it so much!) and ordered plain white pullman loaves. The bakery special made them just for this family, and you could tell how it pained them. (Not really, they charged them well for the privilege of buying the closest thing to Wonder Bread they could find). We did go to some wonderful trattorias and ristorantes with them, only to listen to them all order spaghetti bolognese. Over & over & over. Me - I was so excited the first time we went grocery shopping! Oh, the amazing products I'd never heard of! They just worried because the milk wasn't refrigerated. Of course not, it wasn't pasteurized. And we all lived after drinking it. The butcher looked down on them because they ordered turkey cutlets. Nothing wrong with them, but to these Italians it was like eating garbage - they always tried to sell them something, anything else besides turkey! Oh, the frustration. But they were really nice people, and had no objection to my using their kitchen to play with new-to-me ingredients. Unless I offered to cook a family meal - then they looked afraid. Thu Nov 27 08:50:33 -0800 2008 4199481 143696 Catskillgirl 3 4205865 What a pity - and central Italian cooking is certainly not very "exotic". Just good, made with authentic ingredients. Usually the milk is UHT. Italians don't drink so much milk. They get their dairy from cheese. Turkey cutlets and roasts aren't rare in Italy; it is true that I often had them at the university cafeteria, which isn't a recommendation (though the uni cafeteria in Perugia was infinitely better than any I'd endured in any other country, or at the much bigger university in Rome). But it is a meat Italians concerned with their weight will eat. Think the butcher was peeved simply because they didn't even try anything else. This makes me think that although social class is an obvious factor in food culture, it isn't the only one. There is far less difference in food culture between working-class people and upper-middle-class or upper-class people in France or Italy than is the case in the UK or the US. The difference is mostly what they can afford. I've eaten excellent food (by large-group standards) at trade union events in those countries - those aren't the "poor", of course, but culturally working-class. There is a certain "Protestant" culture of refusal of such carnal pleasures; my friends in the Netherlands certainly decry it (it affects local Catholics and Jews as well). I don't expect people to bee foodies, but people who don't take pleasure in food, even if it is plain meat and potatoes, scare me very much. The "lean and hungry look"? The look, mind you. People who hate food are no slimmer than people who take pleasure in it - you can hate food and shovel in far too much of it for your body type. Thu Nov 27 14:55:57 -0800 2008 4205521 84119 lagatta 4 4206301 That is so interesting about the refusal of carnal pleasures and also the food culture of other countries laqatta. One thing I've noticed in my own neck of the woods here in the suburbs of Philly, and mind you this is anecdotal, is that the working class people tend to show much greater hospitality than their more prosperous neighbors. Fri Nov 28 01:17:43 -0800 2008 4205865 184593 givemecarbs 3 4207818 You know, I'm definitely a food person, but living in a foreign country, I sometimes really really want "American" food, even though I have access to really good, fresh local food. I can see where a family who had been living in Italy for a year might want food that tasted like home to them, particularly if they had kids. I eat local food at work and most of the time that's what my cook makes for me, (although her Western food is not bad) but when I am cooking for myself I frequently cook things like bratwursts and frozen French fries from the Commissary. Sat Nov 29 03:45:08 -0800 2008 4205521 86221 lulubelle 4 4207827 Plus, just because a person lives in a country does not mean they are a huge fan of that food. I have to admit that when I lived in Japan, I was not a fan of a lot of the more traditional food. I did not move there because I loved the food. While I liked some of the food, it was definitely not of the home-cooked variety. When I last vacationed in Italy, I found myself getting sick of the food pretty quickly, so I can see where that family might be coming from. Sat Nov 29 04:25:20 -0800 2008 4207818 107671 queencru 4 4208679 I've lived outside of the US for 35 years. Over the past few years, Ive worked in the US (DC or Waterbury, Vermont) for short stays. I try to stay in suites with kitchens and eat a lot of stuff only available in the US and appreciated by those of us born there. I also prepare and eat stuff I probably wouldn't ever touch if I weren't out of the US for so long (as you all know, CBrD ravioli). Sat Nov 29 15:16:22 -0800 2008 4207818 36661 Sam Fujisaka 5 4209069 Sam, If you're eating CBrD ravioli, you need an intervention! Even after 3 years in Saudi Arabia, I wouldn't have touched this stuff. Have to say, though, that I didn't care for it as a kid. (Didn't like Kraft mac and cheese, either.) My American junk food weakness is Spam. Eat it rarely, but love the stuff. Sat Nov 29 19:34:05 -0800 2008 4208679 11995 pikawicca 5 4213577 I have a can of that sitting in my pantry as we speak. (or type) I haven't craved it yet, but I am sure that there will come a night where nothing else will do. Mon Dec 01 21:36:49 -0800 2008 4208679 86221 lulubelle 1 4200143 Hey givemecarbs; =I love being asked about what I cooked, will cook, want to cook, dream of cooking so please...bring it on! I tried to devise a menu based on what I know they like but making it all homemade and adding my own personal twist so here goes: Lunch was turkey fajitas (the turkey had been marinaded for over 24 hours) with home-made guacamole and home-made slow-cooked spicy refried beans plus a fresh salad and grilled corn on the cob. Dinner was a mushroom and leek risotto with a chilli kick, loads of onion, garlic, basil and spices and fresh grated mozarella on top, served with home-made garlic bread with goats cheese and for dessert, my healthy wholemeal cream cheese cake with dates and walnuts served with warm dulce de leche on top. I'd never heard so many 'yums' and 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' together after dinner! Bliss... Tue Nov 25 01:53:44 -0800 2008 4186540 240789 Paula76 2 4201115 Wow Paula! Drool! You and your friends really bonded over food. Sounds more like an orgy than a feast he he! I know it brings my friends and family closer to me emotionally when we can all enjoy good food together. Breaking bread together is so much a part of rituals. Even for really sad occasions like funeral luncheons. Eating is one of the most life affirming things we do. When the mourners share a meal together it is an acknowledgement that they are all still alive and that life must go on and that is okay to still be alive Ideally a bit of healing takes place. Sharing food together can make a little magic on this tired old Earth. Tue Nov 25 11:01:39 -0800 2008 4200143 184593 givemecarbs 1 4201435 d'you think some of these folks are just in a rut? I ask this because we go to St. Lucia pretty frequently, and have in our minds the things we like to eat. This year we took friends with us, and their enthusiasm for trying new things kicked me, at least, out of that rut. We bought local pumkin and breadfruit and experimented with cooking them. We also tried new restaurants and new dishes at our old favorites. What a treat to have that fresh perspective! I have to say that we have several friends we would never dream of taking there, because they'd practically starve. Even the familiar breakfasts are served with a caribbean flair. :) Tue Nov 25 12:38:03 -0800 2008 4186540 65780 jujuthomas 2 4201602 I have a friend who was a fuelist when I met her and has since become a vegetarian fuelist. As she is one of my dearest friends, I now try to just meet for drinks, because every time we'd go out to dinner she could never find anything she liked on the menu and usually just ordered a dinner salad. I'm a bit concerned about her at this point since she seems to only be eating processed soy nuggets, stuff with a lot of sugar in it and is starting to look anorectic. Tue Nov 25 13:45:52 -0800 2008 4201435 26994 houndgirl 3 4201678 The Today Show just did a segment on this disorder some time in the last couple of weeks, I believe. I wasn't paying real close attention, because I had to get my son to school, but in a nutshell, it was about people who keep eliminating different foods from their diets because of out-of-control obsessions about what is healthy, until they are reduced to allowing themselves to only ingest one or two kinds of food. I tried to find the article on MSNBC and couldn't, but here is a link to similar information. There is apparently even a working name for this disorder: "Orthorexia Nervosa" and it's very serious because it is impossible to get proper nutrition on such a severely restricted diet. It sounds like your friend needs help - fast. http://www.beyondveg.com/bratman-s/hfj/hf-junkie-1a.shtml Tue Nov 25 14:18:39 -0800 2008 4201602 63569 flourgirl 4 4201774 I'm wondering if I have a friend like that. He's vegan and has an irrational soy phobia. Needless to say that cuts out a lot of his diet because he won't touch anything with soy, period. I'm not really impressed that his diet is all that great otherwise, nor are his friends who are in the medical field. I'm just wondering if this soy phobia is going to grow into another sort of food phobia? Tue Nov 25 14:56:37 -0800 2008 4201678 107671 queencru 1 4201822 One of my oldest friends from high school fits that description fairly well. Not only has she no interest in food whatsoever but she is also obsessed with being thin approaching in from the angle that as long as she eats two or three things only that she believes are 'diet foods' (i.e. soy burgers, diet yogurts and rice cakes) she does not feel the need to EVER have anything different as this, in her eyes, would be losing control and gaining weight. The worst thing is that whenever she is invited out for a meal or for a celebration, she brings a plastic container with her 'special food' which is downright rude as she has no medical condition or food allergy to justify this. I have also resorted to meeting up with her for tea (she doesn't drink coffee or alcohol) as everytime I see her contempt for food in action, it makes me want to weep! Tue Nov 25 15:19:51 -0800 2008 4186540 240789 Paula76 2 4216496 As someone who had a severe eating disorder as a teenager, I can tell you this person is a classic textbook example of a ED individual. The control, the "special" foods, the awkward social dinner demands... I can't begin to describe the excrutiating hell I went through in regards to food. It consumes you to the point you begin to do totally irrational things (obvious to outsiders but not to you). Tue Dec 02 22:20:40 -0800 2008 4201822 44450 asiansensation007 3 4219449 Sorry to hear about your experience and I am positive that she has had an ED for as long as I have known her. Before our graduation trip, she spent two weeks eating 2 apples a day and boasted about it! Other times, she would binge and take laxatives and the saddest part is that because she has it 'under control', everyone's fooled whereas her sister hit rock bottom and had to be hospitalised for anorexia and bulimia (still in recovery). One thing that struck me when I used to go to her house as teenagers was that the women would eat separately from the men and that there was a sign on the fridge that her mum had stuck on it saying (to the girls, obviously): 'You fatso, loook at how huge you are and stop eating'...That says it all, really. Thu Dec 04 01:15:58 -0800 2008 4216496 240789 Paula76 4 4219586 "the women would eat separately from the men" Yikes, that's just spooky! And that sign on the fridge amounts to child abuse, in my opinion. Thu Dec 04 05:19:12 -0800 2008 4219449 14386 BobB 5 4220038 I agree. Thu Dec 04 08:58:01 -0800 2008 4219586 63569 flourgirl 1 4202128 Okay, surprise, a big confession. I love cooking, I write a newsletter for the cooking and gourmet shop where I am floor manager. I forget to eat. Food is my life and I am at the stove and oven almost non-stop when I am not at work. Lunch and dinner time come around and I have to make myself eat. This is most days, but not always. I guess I spend so much time around food and cooking that it is not a big deal. A few bites of something and I am pretty satisfied. I want to know how it tastes and enjoy that but I rarely chow down or pig out on anything. There are occasions but it is not the norm for me. Tue Nov 25 17:32:39 -0800 2008 4186540 10285 Candy 2 4202666 Spunds like you enjoy the act of creating Candy. Do you ever get really hungry? And how do you experience other people's cooking? Sorry for so many questions. I forget to eat sometimes when I am really involved in things, it usually happens when I'm happily busy. Also sometimes for me too the cooking is more fun than the eating. I often really enjoy other people's cooking. I get sick of looking at the stuff if it is a long recipe. Tue Nov 25 22:01:32 -0800 2008 4202128 184593 givemecarbs 3 4204370 I love it when other people cook for me, dining out, and planning travel around where and what we want to eat. Do I ever get really hungry? Not very often. I just get too busy and while surrounded with food and cooking I never eat until I am stuffed. Not even tomorrow. Wed Nov 26 15:32:29 -0800 2008 4202666 10285 Candy 4 4204376 you sound a little bit like me in that you only want a few bites of anything at a time. i think that's how i like to eat as well. i guess i have a short attention span. even if something is really delicious, i start to lose interest in the taste after a few bites. so i never end up pigging out on any ONE thing. i do, however, love pigging out on many different things. ;) thali meals are a favorite. Wed Nov 26 15:36:18 -0800 2008 4204370 64215 cimui 5 4204521 I was discussing this with my husband. He did point out that when I get hungry I do get cranky and sleepy. At this time of year I have no time for either and when I get home I want scotch and to get horizontal. Think of me on Friday. We are a small indpendent shop and don't car about the hard sell the major retailers and their hours. We do get bombed as we did today. Maybe I am getting too old for this stuff! Wed Nov 26 16:59:01 -0800 2008 4204376 10285 Candy 6 4204970 Good luck on friday Candy! As for me, I'm sometimes out of touch with my hunger. I blame my coffee sipping habit. Or sometimes I eat something really light and expect it to last me six hours. Then I experience hunger as tiredness and I do get grouchy. I'm trying to train myself to at least consider when I feel tired that I might actually need food rather than sleep. Easier said than done. Now when I actually feel hungry I love it. It means the next thing I eat is going to taste really good, hunger is the best sauce and all. When I read your first post I thought that maybe the sampling kind of throws you off like my caffeine habit gets me out of sync. But what do I know? My one friend loves to eat six small meals a day and a few snacks and he is really fit and upbeat all the time. Wed Nov 26 21:05:21 -0800 2008 4204521 184593 givemecarbs 7 4205399 I am not a real coffee drinker, I might average 1-2 cups a week. I just get too busy to eat. I do eventually remind myself that I do need to stop what I am doing and eat something. It is almost as if i have trained myself. I do this even on my days off. Thu Nov 27 07:31:43 -0800 2008 4204970 10285 Candy 8 4207302 Okay, I finally got hungry today. I don't know what triggrered it. Dang! My favorite sandwich shop was closed. I really wanted a veggie sub, hold the green peppers and lots of olive salad on it. Fri Nov 28 16:40:27 -0800 2008 4205399 10285 Candy 6 4515158 yeah mymother and i both get really irrational and kinda hot tempered when we are hungry,my poor dad has to put up with two hormonal women who snap at him becasue he isn't a chicken, but it depends on the day if i'm being really active that day i get hungry where as if i'm studying or doing something that dosn't require much activity i just start feeling sick and headachey and realize i have to eat Tue Mar 17 20:50:18 -0700 2009 4204521 235412 umbushi plum 1 4203133 I have some dear friends who went to Paris for vacation several years ago. Upon their return and without me asking them they informed me that after several agonizing days they both finally found something that they could enjoy (a chicken sandwich if IIRC). I then asked “did you enjoy the wine?” They hadn’t drank a drop of wine while there. Broke my heart, but that’s them. For me to have a glass of wine and to have it poured from one of those long thin faint green unlabeled bottles snatched from the “well” by a guy who looks remarkably like Jean Reno surrounded by smoke and the sounds of plates, forks and knives being hurriedly removed from tables as I finish my “spécial” (ham hock and lentil stew) is one of many reasons why I can’t wait to get back there. Wed Nov 26 06:52:41 -0800 2008 4186540 26180 Chinon00 1 4203428 I have an interesting story here. One of my very best friends is both a CH and all-together not at the same time. When we roomed together in Florence we cooked together constantly. Both of us being Southern Italian primarily (not nationality wise, but ethnicity) we swapped family recipes. Our grandmothers cooked meatballs the exact same way for example. When going out we tried various places and various Northern Italian dishes. And we both agreed on our favorite trattoria. But he has some quirks that I've had to learn to love. He only eats pizza margherita. He believes that's how pizza was meant to be and he won't budge. While he will be adventurous in how he prepares things, he refuses to go near much food outside of Italian, French or German cuisine. So if I or our other roommates wanted to be adventurous at home or eating out, we had to leave him out of it. At first it bothered me, but I came to realize he was never going to change, so when I am going to venture out of his safety net I let him know out of courtesy, but know he won't join. But he truly does appreciate good food and good cooking when it falls within his realm. And that is when we shine. If it's time for Italian food we simply have a blast. And appreciating those times is how I deal with his non-CHness otherwise. I have met people that "don't like food" or see food as only fuel, but I believe deep down everyone has their weak spot. Sometimes it's near impossible to find, but I've managed to turn more than one non-CH into a food lover by mining that weak spot and giving them a reason to love at least one food. Wed Nov 26 08:41:51 -0800 2008 4186540 241661 gastrotect 2 4203542 German?! Wed Nov 26 09:28:16 -0800 2008 4203428 26180 Chinon00 3 4203606 Oh, Chinon00 must be calling me to chime in '-) As many on this site, I am obsessed with food, truly obsessed. I can talk about past, present and future meals with abandon, which I share with my mom. My dad was more of a gourmand than a gourmet, with a lot more emphasis on the price-value of a meal, i.e. lots of 'good' food for little money -- but he was a war generation child. His idea of a great meal was a meat platter at the local Greek place. I am into GOOD FOOD, regardless of price. A local greasy spoon Chinese place here offers some of the best Szechuanese food I have ever had, and I have thus been telling friends about it, whether they want to hear about it or not. A very good friend of my husband and mine does not care for food at all. She could live on hard-boiled eggs, or bread, or spinach soup (water, spinach, salt - blend.. no cream, or nutmeg, or garlic, or..... *sigh*). Whenever we visit her, I make plans for at least one great meal somewhere, as she lives in a city with more culinary choices than where we live. She doesn't get the whole fuzz we make, or that we plan our trips around meals. That a great restaurant enhances our experience. She HATES chocolate, fercheesessakes. She also *hates* Chinese food, which must be one of the most ignorant things to say ever, given the many, many regional cuisines of China. Ironically enough, when we managed to take her to a Thai place in Berlin once, she ordered the one dish on the menu that was closest to a Cantonese chop suey type of thing -- goopy, which is generally the thing she hates about 'Chinese food'... and bland. She did like the bland part about it. I'm sure she thinks we are crazy, but we continue to hang out together and work around our differences... I have given up on trying to show her new stuff, since she is perfectly fine with burgers. Wed Nov 26 09:56:53 -0800 2008 4203542 116513 linguafood 2 4204739 well said, gastrotect. i've also been able to mine weak spots. an ex bf of mine liked almost nothing but steak when we first met. by the time we broke up, i had him happily eating yam neua. (it has beef -- it's harmless!) Wed Nov 26 18:47:00 -0800 2008 4203428 64215 cimui 1 4204755 Something I find endearing about the OP is that you acknowledge that you can be annoying. No no, that is not meant out of disrespect for you, because i'm sure i've been the same way on lots of occasions. It's just sometimes the view of "I wish people were more open minded or expand themselves" just seems to mean "people need to think more like me" i'm sure that there are people out there, who don't want to listen to me go on and on about food, or that restaurant or little hole in the wall foodstuffs place I found. They WOULDNT want me to ramble on about how certain foods they are cooking or that I just tried elsewhere, could ve vastly improved with the addition of (insert answer here). And on the flipside, I do not want "real" vegetarians lecturing me on that egg i'm about to ea or my occasional treat of seafood.....or diet fanatics lecturing me on the butter I just used or the food-faddists lecturing me on the aspartame in my drink or whatever the bandwagon of the week is, nor do I want to be lectured by food snobs for lowering myself to a fast food meal or choosing that bottle of wine with the kangaroo on it. We're all annoying sometimes, anyone who is passionate about anything in life can be. Our way, however, is not always the highway. Yes, I love talking food and eating with someone who shares the passion, and I also kinda enjoy talking to a captive "audience" who wants to learn more about food. I admit that I do somewhat see a passion for tastes, or at least a willingness to try things, does speak a little to passions for more things in life. I'd have a bit of trouble being around those who "ewwwww'ed" their way through food, because it's rude. But I hope I also know when to shut up too. I have friends whose interest in food is not necessarily like mine, but they don't fault me for it, or berate me for paying so much for that bottle of olive oil or for remembering what we ate that time we went out to dinner three years ago, not that i'm sure i don't annoy them from time to time. I'm also fairly certain most of the music I listen to, is unfamiliar to many of my close friends, and vice versa, I don't follow much top 40 these days (music btw, being another of my passions in life). I'm single with no kids with many friends who do and talk quite a bit about them. Some watch TV shows that I've never laid eyes on. With some, i share a sick sense of humour. And yet, we all seem to get on like gangbusters. I don't want to hang out with clones of me, as i'm pretty sure i'd get on my OWN nerves after a while. Off that rant, I do think there is room for both taste and fuel within day to day eating. But, there are just some people who remain pure fuelists, and could eat meal from capsules quite happily. Lots of reasons for this, medications, medical and psychological conditions. How to handle it? Talk about it here, share your food and food related trips with those who understand or are interested in it, and appreciate all of the other wonderful things that make up your circle of family and friends. Thankfully i'm close enough to my closest friends that if I got called a food freak, i'd be able to launch a shot back at them, jokingly of course. I've joked more than once with a friend who had a fondness for sending me quotes from "the secret" daily, that she was in a cult . She throws jabs at me too. And no we are not passive aggressive. Wed Nov 26 18:53:16 -0800 2008 4186540 153184 im_nomad 2 4205115 I know your Thanksgiving was in October, Nomad, but today I am thankful for your kind post. Long have I lurked on rougher online forums, wanting to add my two cents but being too chicken. I've found my home here on chowhound where I can be honest. The gaming and Live Journal forums I used to frequent sometimes reminded me of chicken houses because I've heard that chickens cooped up together will peck a chicken to death if it has a tiny speck of blood or even just mud on it. Here I can be brave and even throw a bit of mud on myself. Thanks so much and belated Happy Thanksgiving! Wed Nov 26 23:03:13 -0800 2008 4204755 184593 givemecarbs 3 4207195 We are "free-run" chowhounds here, lol. We ( I) still peck, but do so mostly randomly, or, on bad hair days. ;). And thank you for the belated Thanksgiving wishes !! Happy current one to you ! Fri Nov 28 15:25:54 -0800 2008 4205115 153184 im_nomad 1 4205025 Oh yeah. My mom thinks that there's too much fuss about Thanksgiving. Seriously, she's just as soon eat yogurt or Rice Chex. Wed Nov 26 21:52:27 -0800 2008 4186540 171426 jenniegirl 1 4207407 When I travel with my parents were the type that plan our next meal out while eating the current one - we eat from one end of a vacation to the other. OTOH, there's my sister, who perpetually dieted and would pick apart a strip of bacon so as not to eat the fat. Then....I got married to a guy 20 years my senior. Crippled by insecurities, many about health and "bad" foods. He did not enjoy eating. He made sure his meals were totally balanced and low fat/low carb, etc. (OK, so last I saw him, he was on his way in to surgery to plumb his very clogged carotid arteries). I wasn't allowed to grocery shop with him because it drove the cost up so much. I'm a very picky eater, but what I eat, I enjoy with gusto, although not the capacity I once had. My SO was a frugal bachelor in Maine for the last howevermany years, and moved out here in January. He's constantly amazed by the variety of stuff available in stores out here. He has an enormous appetite and usually eats twice what I do. He loves everything I cook, and everywhere we go out to eat. He's mostly vegetarian, but enjoys meat now and then. He won't have anything to do with processed food. This thread hit me as I've been thinking lately how much I enjoy watching him relish every bite of the food he eats, and not worrying about how every gram of fat or whatever is going to shorten his life. It's truly refreshing! Fri Nov 28 17:47:36 -0800 2008 4186540 237929 tracylee 2 4208688 My first wife and I went to grad school in Eugene. We cooked, ate, and entertained well, and had a cockapoo that looked quite like your dog/avitar/you. Sat Nov 29 15:26:26 -0800 2008 4207407 36661 Sam Fujisaka 3 4209183 I loved living in Eugene after returning from the Peace Corps. Food, markets, diversity, the laid back attitude. Congrats on the Ducks winning the Civil War game today. Sat Nov 29 21:15:13 -0800 2008 4208688 237929 tracylee 1 4212521 I guess we all have limited interests and limited energy and budget. People like us prioritize beer and wine and food much more highly than others. I look at my cousin. When I spend a lot of time with him he’ll pick up on my energy and he’ll cook more and when he purchases beer its Victory or Brooklyn. But when I’m not around him and I visit his house after a few weeks or months and I take a look inside his refrigerator it’ll be Corona and maybe Yuengling. I lot of my friends are like that. They can appreciate where I’m coming from but it just isn’t in their budget or within their realm of what’s important. Mon Dec 01 13:58:36 -0800 2008 4186540 26180 Chinon00 2 4216091 You made me laugh. I’m a wine drinker, not beer. But I have a regular visitor, a Central American native, who drinks only Cororna. So that’s what I stock. And if you come to my apartment unannounmced and you want beer, that’s what you’re going to get. Tue Dec 02 18:28:38 -0800 2008 4212521 11407 JoanN 1 4214968 My Mum, bless her heart, was strictly food-as-fuel to the point where she not only didn't care what she ate, she frequently didn't know. Upon returning from a dinner party, absolutely glowing one night, I asked her what it was like. "It was marvelous..." She sat beside an interesting man, a historian, and they talked about France in WWII, Brenda wore the most incredible shawl made from yaks hair and Marla and Bob had purchased a new oil-painting, Magic Realism, and their son played Chopin on the old piano and so forth... all the details of the dress, the conversation, the decor...well you get the picture. So finally I asked her what food was served. Mum looked at me, and I could see the wheels turning as she struggled to recall this minor detail. "Well, I believe it was chicken, dear, or possibly that was fish...I'm not really sure, but it did look lovely on the table". Chacun son gout... Tue Dec 02 12:06:30 -0800 2008 4186540 24738 LJS 2 4215483 "Chacun son gout..." - precisely. Sounds like a lovely night! Tue Dec 02 14:44:36 -0800 2008 4214968 80141 ccbweb 2 4225155 Oh I have a similar story! A friend of mine works in the restaurant industry and managed to snag a reservation for Alain Ducasse's restaurant when it first opened here in the NY....the super fancy one where they brought you like 8 different pens to sign the bil, etc. So he was dating another friend of ours whom he was dating to the restaurant with him. I made her promise me to tell me about her meal...they were doing the full on 13 course tasting menu. So I run into her a few weeks later and here is the conversation: HR: Oh my god how was your dinner? It must have been amazing" NonFoodFriend: Oh it was good (said in a disinterested, flat, tone) HR: Well tell me about it! What id you have??? NFF: Oh some chicken, some fish, some vegetables.... You could've knocked me over with a feather!!!! That's ALL she had to say after consuming a 13 course 5 hours dinner at Alain Ducasse!!!!!!!! And she was with someone who knew the captain at the restaurant and so they got extra stuff that other people don't get! Why do people like that get those opportunities? Sat Dec 06 08:57:37 -0800 2008 4214968 67742 HungryRubia 3 4225622 I always think that way when I see the big celebrity dinner layouts for post-Oscar parties and such.....alot of those dresses don't allow for much eating....and I imagine all the wonderful food that is likely sitting around at the end of the evening. Hopefully someone gets to take it home ! Then again, what do I know....i've never been invited to any celebrity laden events. Sat Dec 06 13:06:53 -0800 2008 4225155 153184 im_nomad 1 4225554 Back in the 90s, I was training a new guy at work - big body bulider-type with a slight Southern drawl and a chronic lisp (imagine the love child of Dinah Shore & Mike Tyson) and who to this day is probably the most self-absorbed cat I ever met. "Me," and "I," were by far his two favorite words. He was always admiring himself, looking at his arms as he flexed, catching his reflections as he walked by glass panels and literally posing and acknowledging that he loved what he saw with a big smile and a nod. I'd swear that he was a planted actor and that I was the unlucky sucker for the show, "Candid Camera." But after this went on all day, and all week, and then some, I knew that my 15 minutes of fame would not be by way of being an accidental straight man on some "gotcha!" TV show. Although he was one of the biggest boasters that ever walked this earth - "Oh yeah, I can do _____ betta dan anyone elsthe..." - he always fell far short of his expectations. Maybe his bodybuilding obsession was a form of compensating for his obvious shortcomings. Most (including me) avoided this guy for obvious reasons. One day, I was headed out and he asked me if I could give him a ride home. HIs all-white pimped-out ragtop Corvette was in the shop for repairs. Since he lived in the same general part of town as me, I (reluctantly) obliged. As we drove, the conversation was all about him, and I just would nod or throw in an occasional "Wow," or "Oh really..." to acknowledge that I heard him. As we pulled up to his apartment building, he invited me up to his place. I figured, why not. Who knows - maybe he'd be a little more real at home. His apartment was quite spartan, but he had posted lots of photos (some poster size) of himself as well as with (I'm assuming) past girlfriends and acquaintances. Some bodybuilding trophies and other related items acknowledging his self-proclaimed glory in this obsession also adorned his otherwise "functional" bachelor pad. He went into the kitchen and asked in that lispy drawl, "What ya'll want ta dwink?" "Anything without alcohol - I have to drive. What do you have?" "Water or a pwotein dwink" "Water's fine - thanks." He comes out of the kitchen with water and a protein bar for me. Not that I should be so rude as to expect something to accompany my water, but since he was offering, a protein bar would have been pretty near the bottom of my list. "Wow - you really like protein don't you?" "Yeah, I gotta thstay cut for my (bodybuilding) competithins. I'm also an exotic dancer so I have to wook good for the wadies! " "You mean like a stripper?" "Yeah, it's easy money - gotta pay for that 'vette (corvette) thumhow." "So it seems that just about everything you do is focused on keeping really cut and fit - that's hardcore, dude. I'd bet your 'fridge is filled with protein drinks and protein bars." "Yeah, lots of thuppwements and pwotein. I used to work out with weights in my bedwoom but the manager compwained about all the noise." "Don't you ever just want to treat yourself at least once in a while to a nice dinner, or at least something really bad like a big slice of cake? "Nah, I willy don't like food. I onwee eat because I have to." "Huh? YOU DON'T LIKE FOOD?!?!?" "Yeah, I don't eat becwuz I wike food - I eat for wesults!" I nodded with another, "Wow." "Time to go - thanks for the water. I'll see you at work tomorrow. Hope your 'vette gets out of the shop soon..." I left, and walking down the hallway, I felt torn about this guy. While I could admire him for his focus and dedication to something that he obviously loved, it was all for the wrong reasons, at least to me. Moreover, I pitied him for his total disregard of one of life's great joys - good food. Needless to say, this guy didn't stick around work for too long. He just didn't fit - obviously. He filed for disability - I think it had something to do with his obsession to stay "cut" at the expense of his "performance"diet. Before he left, I asked him if he was okay. "I gotta weave, man." "I heard you weren't doing so well. What happened?" "Too much fwatuwance (flatulence) - my doc sez I gotta mix up what I eat." Can't work because of excessive flatulence. I guess he wasn't as self-centered as I once thought. At least he did all of us at work a huge favor... Sat Dec 06 12:21:51 -0800 2008 4186540 64003 bulavinaka 2 4225705 OMG, this has GOT to be one of the best re-telling of an actual conversation I have *ever* read, bulavinaka! Thank you SO much for the big laugh this afternoon! Best part = "big body builder-type with a slight Southern drawl and a chronic lisp (imagine the love child of Dinah Shore & Mike Tyson) description"...I had the *perfect* mind's eye picture the second I read it! LOL Sat Dec 06 13:55:06 -0800 2008 4225554 10532 LindaWhit 3 4225827 Awesome story bulavinaka! Thanks for posting it! Sat Dec 06 14:55:42 -0800 2008 4225705 184593 givemecarbs 4 4226430 I can laugh at this now, but at the torturous time when we all had to deal with this excessively inflated ego at work, nothing but pain and misery befell us. And now we all know what was "inflating" his ego. Stay away from all of that protein, bro! :) Sat Dec 06 21:32:49 -0800 2008 4225827 64003 bulavinaka 5 4236209 I immediately thought of Adam Sandler's movie 50 First Dates and Lucy's body building obessed brother who also has a hilarious lisp. Wed Dec 10 12:14:19 -0800 2008 4226430 44450 asiansensation007 6 4237140 Throw a slight Southern accent on that lisp and pull his shorts up a tad and that's the voice... Wed Dec 10 17:18:56 -0800 2008 4236209 64003 bulavinaka 1 4631589 I am tolerant as many of my friends couldn't care less, more of them don't care that do care. Two relationships, greats guys ... but they cared less about food. In fact they went out of there way to tell me not to cook or not to care which bothered me. Well no more relationships with NON food types. Food is important and needs to be a part of my life but not totally consuming and I am very tolerant of those who aren't when I am out with other friends. I have to be. Mon Apr 27 04:11:24 -0700 2009 4186540 232829 kchurchill5 2 4632038 Yes, I totally get this...his lacking the food gene would be reason to break up with someone...close to lack of interest in literarture. I could never have married a man that wasn't passionately interested in food and reading, and thought that reading ABOUT food was the best of all possible worlds. Luckily, I didn't have to... Mon Apr 27 08:10:48 -0700 2009 4631589 24738 LJS 2 4684610 I'm happy to read this, as just last year I had to break up with a wonderful girl who I was quite serious with, and her attitude to food was a big factor in my decision. We were together for a couple of years, and sometimes I felt as though I was making progress, but she would never eat anything remotely "ethnic" that I cooked, so I was limited to making a plain chicken breast or pork chop, with some green beans or mashed potatoes. To her, Italian food was the local pizza/pasta joint and Mexican food could only be served to her "without the sauce". I have sometimes wondered if I made the right decision as we did get along well in many other ways, but I was unable to be passionate about someone who lacked any enthusiasm for good food. Glad I'm not the only one. Thu May 14 15:05:42 -0700 2009 4631589 208053 berbadeerface 3 4686086 It is when a person's eating restrictions or tastes are severe that it can become an issue for a foodie. Some of the highlights of my vacations have been meals and sharing the experience with another person. I went to Paris with a girlfriend once and when she had me at KFC and McD twice on the same day, I knew that it wasn't gonna work with her. My wife and I were in Greece and had a fantastic meal one night. Grilled prawns the size of fat sausages, whole fish filleted at the table, tomato and cucumber salad. That meal could have been easily ruined by so many women that I've known over the years. Fri May 15 06:18:25 -0700 2009 4684610 26180 Chinon00 1 4633271 I have to say that all my Polish friends (women) are not interested in food. Honestly, they are always on a diet. When you see them at a party, all they do is drink and smoke. Zero food. I had a couple visiting us here from Poland over Xmas, and talked to the woman about food. Over a course of two weeks they were staying with us and she barely touched anything on the table, I tried to talk to her about her feelings for food, how her friends cook, if they exchanged recipes, how she enjoyed the restaurants we visited together, etc.. She wasn't very comfortable during these discussions and finally snapped at me "we shouldn't talk about food. We should always try to lose weight!" That was when I realized, she looks at me like I am some kind of a freak. Oh, well.... Mon Apr 27 13:28:20 -0700 2009 4186540 147538 polish_girl 2 4656509 I get the "you are a freak" 'tude sometimes too polishgirl. I hope she is passionate about something at least. When I read what she snapped at you it gave me a chill. I can't imagine going to a different country and not wanting to eat much. To me, it is the best way to learn about other cultures. It doesn't sound like she was very appreciative of your hospitality. My well-heeled friend from Alaska once made his christmas shopping easy by giving all the dudes on his list hundred dollar gift certificates to nice restaurants. The girls got gift certificates for a spa. Gah. Tue May 05 12:29:29 -0700 2009 4633271 184593 givemecarbs 2 4671172 Oh, how familiar that story is. I'm Russian and many Russians are absolutely the same way. Unfortunately, it's the expectations that men have of women. My Russian stepfather has repeatedly told me (what he considered to be good-natured familial advice) that I should really lose the weight if I want to "keep my man." I'm size 6. So whereas men are often portly and do not nothing to constrain their food consumption to the point of severe cardiovascular disease, women are constantly on these ridiculous diets: eating nothing but kefir (yogurt drink) FOR DAYS is common. It's not so much a lack of appreciation for food as it is an incredibly skewed and chauvinistic approach to it. These women have taught themselves not to enjoy it. Sun May 10 13:22:37 -0700 2009 4633271 71070 StrawbrryF 1 4636872 My sister, I dearly love her and we do get along well. We have a lot in common, except for food, she is not interested in food eating it or cooking at all. I have got to give her credit though, as much as she hates to cook, she will make her own version of spaghetti and meatballs for the week and put up strawberry freezer jam. She is one of the people that really does't care what she eats, and she thinks I'm nuts for cooking and yaking about it as much as I do. Last weekend I swear, I darn near did cartwheels when she asked me how I get my lettuce so crisp. I'm making headway here! Tue Apr 28 14:34:59 -0700 2009 4186540 50431 chef chicklet 1 4662557 I'll never understand the food-as-fuel types. My Mom was raised, and in turn raised me, with the food-as-love philosophy. And I think it's made me a better (certainly happier) person. Thu May 07 09:10:09 -0700 2009 4186540 200143 agoldman 2 4663529 amen! Thu May 07 13:11:28 -0700 2009 4662557 65780 jujuthomas 3 4664318 I will control the food, as i will lose my weight. Thu May 07 17:33:22 -0700 2009 4663529 190807 ORLYFACTOR 2 4671956 Great post agoldman! Once in awhile when I am home alone for the day I will cook a complete meal just for myself. Words can't explain how good doing this feels. Sun May 10 19:36:43 -0700 2009 4662557 184593 givemecarbs 1 4672305 That doesn't make sense to me just because I personally love food and, as a Nursing major, I had to take Nutrition. You know, all that stuff about food and the human body and how we need it. Loving junk food is another thing. I can see why a large appetite for junk food might puzzle other people. Some people, for psychological reasons, resent food. Others...who knows what their reason may be. Different strokes for different folks. Sun May 10 23:54:26 -0700 2009 4186540 217880 mels88 1 4985124 Is it that they don't like food or they just don't care. There has to be a difference, not liking means they just dislike the taste of everything, but if content and happy with whatever is what you mean then I know a lot of people like that. I prefer them to super pickey eaters. I look at it this way - I'm not a big dessert person, most people around the world crave sweets and chocolate and I prefer savory things. Fri Aug 28 06:04:44 -0700 2009 4186540 224081 BamiaWruz