Spinoff, foods you won't eat and why

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay peeps, so you don't eat X,Y, and Z foods for whatever reason. You've made your choices and that's to be respected. But please tell us that you don't sanctimoniously go on ad nauseum about it to other people. 'Cause that would just be annoying.

Of course not. When someone asks (like here) I answer the question, but we are definitely not "those people." In fact, my partner gets really annoyed at others who go on and on with only half the information (for example, boasting about finding "antibiotic-free" chicken when the new FDA rules prohibit antibiotics in all chickens). Our choices are rooted largely in farming and environmental concerns, so there is no need for us to go on about how organic food is soooooo much healthier or better tasting or whatever. Whether it is or not, my choice is not about being healthier for me (although I do care about pesticide residues) it's about being "healthier" throughout the whole food system. The kids of farm workers are getting exposed to a helluva lot more pesticides than my kid ever will and I'm willing to use my dollars to not be a part of that. Certainly anyone who knows us knows about our food choices because they're very tied to our values, but since all our food is organic and has been for so long it's not something we comment upon really at all.

For the person who asked about menus, I recommend the cookbook Simply In Season. It's organized around seasons, heavy on vegetables, and delicious and easy. Plenty of desserts and kid-friendly food, plenty of meat-inclusive recipes. I also recommend joining a CSA (there are a few organic ones in the area, we like Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative): you get a set amount of food each week and just the challenge of using up the vegetables will leave less space in your diet (and therefore budget) for processed food. In our house we use soups and stews from the freezer as the go-to easy dinner instead of things like frozen pizza; it's cheaper and healthier, and sometimes we just have regular toast as the bread side. I have found the My Organic Market chain to be the best value for organic produce; they also tend to have a lot of local stuff (in season). Eating like this (cheaper and organic) requires more time to cook and plan, but it can be done (although to do both does require much less meat than typical). We also make healthy muffins and put them in the freezer for easy snacks (instead of cookies or chips or even crackers and cheese).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I refuse to eat anything but fruit.

Seriously? Your diet is exclusively fruit? That's interesting.

I will not eat red onions (digestive issues short of an allergy). I also HATE lima beans (texture), but like all other beans, which is weird since lima beans aren't so different in texture from kidney beans. Just enough to be gross to me I guess.

Won't eat mushrooms that look like mushrooms. Freaks me out. And I won't order chicken dishes in restaurants (except things like chicken strips). I'm always worried there's going to be a gross bit on there. I probably seem like a vegetarian when I eat out because most meat dishes that aren't prepared by me freak me out a bit.

I'm not the PP you're quoting but I was a very picky eater growing up and ate exclusively fruits for several years. I grew up in Brazil though, most of the stuff was raised in our garden and the rest bought from the faRmer's market. The fruits here in the US are GROSS!

[Anonymous]

I will not eat chinese food chicken- even fried it freaks me out, it is tendony and stringy and chunky. Also not a big fan of anything that I have to gnaw off the bone ribs- chicken wings etc. Watching other people gnaw also completely makes my stomach turn.

[Anonymous]

I am an adventurous eater, but I hate oysters! Gag!

[Anonymous]

Molokheyyah. An Egyptian food. I thought I could eat any vegetable dish, but it's like slimy rotten spinach in snot.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hvw9-KZor-g/Sal7u_QiRwI/AAAAAAAAAkM/NhTbzYc0bQw/s400/Molokhia.jpg

[Anonymous]

Red icing...gag. I will eat around it if it is on a cake. Yuck. The same goes for purple, yellow, green, blue and orange but I specifically can't stand red. Basically just like brown or white icing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pretty much avoid all conventional fruits and veggies, all non-pastured or non-wild meats, and anything artificial (diet ANYTHING, sweeteners, artificially created trans fats, added msg, etc).

I do this by eating in season and local when possible, and mixing in a healthy dose of good frozen produce. I cook everything from scratch. DH and I are not well-off by DCUM standards and we probably only spend about $60-70/week on whole foods from Whole Foods (and skip the middle aisles, except the pasta and jars of tomatoes!).

Y'all will probably hate me for this one, but I'm a super-adventerous eater and DH is foreign, so I have eaten lots of animals in other countries that would make some people sad. I grew up on a rural farm, though (a family one, not an agribusiness) and I have the attitude that some animals just eat other animals (and humans are another animal), and it doesn't have to be a big sad thing, if the animal had a good life and was eaten respectfully. Just my personal philosophy, not trying to be preachy

Can we get a general shopping list and/or some examples of the meals you make? Thanks.

Sure thing. The menu it's:

Barley and mushroom stew (barley, tomatoes, mushrooms, leeks, kale, stock)
Ma po tofu (tofu, tiny bit of pork, toubanjan, spices, brown rice)
Pasta of some sort (prob. penne) with some veggies
Broccoli casserole with brown rice (broccoli, cheese, eggs, rice)
Dumplings, some to pan fry and some make into soup (cabbage, pork, mushrooms, spices, flour, stock)

Plus milk and some fruit

[Anonymous]

^^ "the menu this week is" argh, don't know what happened there.

[Anonymous]

Tiny little dried fish from Lotte Market stir-fried in a little oil at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can we get a general shopping list and/or some examples of the meals you make? Thanks.

Sure thing. The menu it's:

Barley and mushroom stew (barley, tomatoes, mushrooms, leeks, kale, stock)
Ma po tofu (tofu, tiny bit of pork, toubanjan, spices, brown rice)
Pasta of some sort (prob. penne) with some veggies
Broccoli casserole with brown rice (broccoli, cheese, eggs, rice)
Dumplings, some to pan fry and some make into soup (cabbage, pork, mushrooms, spices, flour, stock)

Plus milk and some fruit

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

We eat humanely raised meat, organic dairy, organic vegetables and fruit, organic whole grains.

Not allergic to anything, and will not refuse anything if we are guests.

What I really do not like are Brussels sprouts!

[Anonymous]

1. Mayo -- the most disgusting smell and taste ever
2. Meat -- for ethical reasons, e.g. factory farming
3. Non-organic dairy/eggs -- concerned about hormones, ethical farming (though I know organic doesn't automatically = humane)
4. Conventional produce from the dirty dozen fruit and veg list -- contamination
5. Farmed fish -- good idea in principle but the execution sucks
6. Bread pudding -- texture
7. Products containing corn syrup -- bad for blood sugar, etc.
8. Food microwaved in plastic -- concerned about chemical leakage
9. Canned food (minimize, not off the list completely) -- concerned aboout BPA (and don't delude yourself if you're thinking it's only bad to eat food heated in BPA)
10. Artichokes -- gross

[Anonymous]

Anything with a custard-like texture. Custard, flan, creme brule . . . ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eggs that aren't cooked all the way. Runny yolks make me want to throw up. I can't even watch other people eating them.

Ha ha! Yes--gag! And I knew a guy in college who'd eat them so runny they ran through the tines of the fork! One date, and that was it for me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We eat humanely raised meat, organic dairy, organic vegetables and fruit, organic whole grains.

Not allergic to anything, and will not refuse anything if we are guests.

What I really do not like are Brussels sprouts!

I felt the same way until I tried the pan-fried brussel sprouts at Zatiniya. They're crispy and delicious!! Apparently, it's all in the preparation.