Being Picky With Food

[beatitude]

I'm a notoriously picky eater. Always have been, although I'm getting better now. I'm wondering how best to discipline myself over this. With the vow of poverty it's really necessary - you can't be fussy and faddy all the time.

I had an opportunity to try the night before last, when I visited my parents and my mum served these potato cakes she'd found. They were awful. I don't know what was in them, but they tasted like washing-up liquid more than anything. She gave me three. I managed to swallow the first one without any incidents, but she could tell by my face that I didn't like them. I'm telling myself that at least I managed one. Next time I get something I dislike, maybe I'll manage two, and so on. But it's pretty tough.

Any tips? I'm especially interested to hear from people who are or have been in religious life, as I know this is really emphasized in some communities.

[InPersonaChriste]

It always seems easy to eat something you don't like when you are actually hungry. If you really are struggling about it, I would also offer it up for a soul. That will make it easier to choke it down

[beatitude]

Ah, that faithful old standby, offering it up. I'll give it a go.

Unfortunately hunger doesn't make it any easier for me to eat food I dislike. As a child at school I would sometimes go all day without food if the canteen had nothing I felt I could stomach. No matter how ravenous I was, there were certain foods I wouldn't touch. Now I force myself to eat something even if I find it repulsive, but the hunger isn't a help.

[andibc]

Funny, but I was just talking to a postulant who is a picky eater and asked her how the food situation was working out. She told me that it's not so much a problem for her anymore because (and these are only "sort of" quotes, so I won't use quote marks"....Meal time is short and we have to eat fast so I don't think about it.....Everything seems humorours in the convent, so seeing something that I don't like on my plate seems funny (ironic) too. She seemed happy and not distressed about meals, so it must be ok.

[TheresaThoma]

Some foods take getting used to. There were certain foods I would not touch at all but I slowly grew to like them.
I think your perspective of realizing this time you managed only one but next time two and so on is a good approach.

[PhuturePriest]

I am extremely picky. And I mean to the very extreme. I even hate [i]c[/i]heese, which is the sign of an extremely picky person. I like plain foods, such as plain sandwiches that consist of only bread and meat, and bread without butter or anything on it is my favorite food on the entire planet (I hate butter). But one trait I have is that no matter how much I hate something I will eat it if I absolutely must, except of course buttery bread or mayonnaise on my perfectly fine plain sandwich. I will hopefully be visiting the Friary soon and I know I will have to eat whatever they put in front of me, and it might be difficult if this happens to be buttery bread, but one thing that helps is giving up your sacrifice. A spiritual life without sacrifice is like a marriage without love. It won't go very far at all. So what I recommend is instead of thinking "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this..." think "Lord, I give this sacrifice up for you..."

[emmaberry]

I'm in Roswell for the 2nd time, and so far love the food. However, the 1st time they gave me a fish loaf which, suffice it to say, was not to my liking. It helped to think of the Sisters' poverty and their generosity in giving me food, and the hunger they experience from their perpetual abstinence and fasting. I hear the nuns are so hungry they hardly taste the food! I also think it was a sort of test.

This may not have much application to your situation. That's too bad that your hunger doesn't force you to eat certain things. I'll make a mental note to bring you if I ever have to be stranded on an island with another person. Everyone else might eventually eat me in their hunger! :vomit:

[BrGabriel-Marie]

I used to be EXRTEMELY picky, but I also decided before coming to religious life that I must become less so if I were to survive in the convent. I started by just praying about it, and offering it up when I had to eat somethng I didn't like. The thing that helped the most though was when I would try and focus on anything that was good about the food; like what other flavors complimented it. Soon I was able to eat a lot more. I will pray for you and hope that you are able to overcome this!

[OnlySunshine]

I'm a somewhat picky eater. Growing up, I hated anything that had a weird consistency like cooked mushrooms, steamed/cooked yellow squash or zucchini, and okra. I have wondered several times how I'm going to cope with things I don't like especially since my Sisters come from Europe and may have some things I'm not used to. Fortunately, I like trying new things, especially European food.

I have a funny story, though. When I went to visit the RSMs last November, we had brunch on Sunday and the Sisters had eggs, toast, sausage, and hash browns. Some of the retreatants helped out with the cooking and the eggs were very tough like rubber. I put some salt and pepper on it, but it wasn't enough to mask the weird taste of it. Needless to say, I didn't go back for a second helping of that... Everything else (including the other meals), was terrific! I loved the food they served there especially the beef short ribs that were braised. They were so tender! Everytime I think of them, my mouth starts watering. I wrote about the convent food on my blog:

http://myheartisrestless.blogspot.com/2012/08/part-fourteen-my-retreat-with-rsms.html

http://myheartisrestless.blogspot.com/2012/08/part-fifteen-end-of-retreat.html

[sixpence]

do you like any type of seasoning or dressing..... I throw ranch dressing on food to make it edible

[Totally Franciscan]

When I was in Carmel, food was passed down the table on platters. One night liver appeared. I had tried it once a long time ago and I didn't like the texture of it, not necessarily the taste. So, I just passed the plate down without taking any, which was just fine with me. After the meal, my novice mistress mentioned that I had not taken any of the liver, to which I said I don't care for liver. Her solution - "from now on, Sister will prepare you a ground beef patty instead of the liver". On the surface that sounds like a wonderful solution. Hidden in this solution was that now I was being given something the rest of the sisters were not and the cook had to go out of her way to prepare something different for me. I felt ashamed. I lacked humility and obedience and felt just awful. I asked my mistress if I could please have liver next time. No was the answer. I had to live with that lack of humility on my part, and it was something I will never forget. I would have given anything to eat that liver!

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Totally Franciscan' timestamp='1347485675' post='2481805']
When I was in Carmel, food was passed down the table on platters. One night liver appeared. I had tried it once a long time ago and I didn't like the texture of it, not necessarily the taste. So, I just passed the plate down without taking any, which was just fine with me. After the meal, my novice mistress mentioned that I had not taken any of the liver, to which I said I don't care for liver. Her solution - "from now on, Sister will prepare you a ground beef patty instead of the liver". On the surface that sounds like a wonderful solution. Hidden in this solution was that now I was being given something the rest of the sisters were not and the cook had to go out of her way to prepare something different for me. I felt ashamed. I lacked humility and obedience and felt just awful. I asked my mistress if I could please have liver next time. No was the answer. I had to live with that lack of humility on my part, and it was something I will never forget. I would have given anything to eat that liver!
[/quote]

Wow, I can just imagine how difficult that was to surrender to. I'm sure I'd feel the same way.

[Lil'Monster]

I am not a picky eater......unless it is plain marshmallows..yuck

[MeteorShower]

I have been a very picky eater all my life. I don't like eating meat, or sugar, and I hate tomatoes. I wish that I wasn't such a picky eater, but I am. I'm getting better though. I just try to be thankful for what I have. Simply remembering that there are others who are less fortunate than I am usually helps.

[mantellata]

Hmm... I think I'm generally lucky because my mother forced all of us kids to eat everything (even only a little bit) of everything that was served. We also had to learn to look like we liked it (this didn't mean making a big show of liking it, but eating in such a way as to not give an indication that anything was amiss) and we had to look like we liked it enough that anyone we visited would never suspect we didn't like something that was served. We just [u]had[/u] to do it - period... and we all learned.

Rule 1 - take enough that it doesn't look like you are just trying to be polite but not so much that it becomes impossible to get through.

Rule 2 - Don't "eat around" it but with the other food - not all first, not all last....

Rule 3 - Think and talk about other things, be sure to be in or listening to a conversation about something pleasant - this avoids a poor facial expression when it is difficult.

Rule 4 - Trick yourself - tell yourself "this isn't so bad" and "I've done this before" when you eat the unpleasant food. This psychological trick makes things - slightly more palatable. At least it avoids hesitations in eating - which may tell the other party your are having trouble.


None of these were really "rules" or laid out so neatly -- they were more unspoken than anything else. But by never being allowed to [u]ever[/u] avoid foods I didn't like - I've turned into someone who is relatively "unpicky". Practice makes perfect.