Anonymous wrote:I didn’t like any fish as a kid. Now I like it all just fine, and I truly love salmon and eat it once a week.
I grew up in Alaska, and haaated moose. I haven’t tried it in years but I wonder if I’d like it now.

I had moose one year. We lived in Minnesota and in the 80s the moose population grew to the point where for the first time the issued hunting licenses. It was by lottery and 4 people could be on a permit for one animal. My dad had rarely hunted and by then not for years but he and 3 friends of his managed to snag a permit. The meat was really, really good, not gamey at all, and very tender. But this was farm country and we had watched moose grazing in grain fields and sunflower fields all year. The forage definitely affects flavor, so if yours were just browsing willows or something I can see they wouldn't taste as good.

Did you ever eat seal? My impression is that it's like meat that tastes like fish, which sounds so not right.

Anonymous wrote:This gives me hope for my 8 year old who eats plain vegetables just fine, but hates meat, the taste, the feel, the texture. I don't care that he hates meat, he could be a vegetarian except I worry about protein and iron and he doesn't eat beans or lentils except occasional baked beans.

DS disliked the texture of meat when he was kid. He really liked fish, like cod baked in foil with butter, he liked hot dogs, and hamburgers. He did like to suck on bones if we had steak though. So, when he was 14 or so, he tried steak and liked it. Ever since he has told everyone in the world his parents refused to let him have steak his entire childhood, ate it all themselves and just gave him the bones. When he hauls out this story, I try to get my defense in but he doesn't give me a chance!

He also turned out to be a very adventurous eater. He was eating sushi with raw fish way before I dared to, he eats frog legs, he once was at a park and some people (from the Middle East, don't remember where from) were roasting a sheep and they gave am an eyeball to eat--which he did with gusto.

Otherwise. . . .yeah, he was tough to feed as a kid. He also had OCD. If there was something he liked I'd basically feed it to him for weeks until I found something else. He once went 2 weeks eating nothing but spoonfuls of peanut butter and glasses of milk. (PB is a legume at least, and PB+ bread is a complete protein)

Eggs. They made me feel sick to my stomach. I eat them now without feeling that way (but I never crave them and don’t eat them very often).

I hated mushrooms. I was a vegetarian starting as a teen and didn't have the most varied veg diet. Very often the only veg thing on a menu or what someone would cook for me was a portobello. So I had to force myself to get used to it. I did. I still don't love portobellos, but love most other mushrooms.
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I hated Indian food. An Indian friend invited my for dinner and served traditional foods. I didn't hate it but was overwhelmed. Later become friendly with an Indian chef who started me with mild simple dishes. Taught me about the species and individual flavors. Now I love it.

Same with a few other foods - it's just matter of desensitizing - just diving in and getting used to flavors and textures.

Anonymous wrote:Wait...were other people given real fresh vegetables as a kid??

I was certain everyone on here that was a child in the 80s/90s only ever had canned vegetable like I did.

I honestly had no idea about fresh vegetables beyond iceberg lettuce and tomatoes until I was adult.

Born in 79 and ate mix of fresh, canned, and frozen. If there was a deal on anything, I was sent to purchase it with multiple one time use coupons so I'd have to go in and out of the same store to different cashier's, and then to the store on the other side of town with different coupons to do the same thing for some other deal. In summer, we grew fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, romaine, etc.

Wait...were other people given real fresh vegetables as a kid??

I was certain everyone on here that was a child in the 80s/90s only ever had canned vegetable like I did.

I honestly had no idea about fresh vegetables beyond iceberg lettuce and tomatoes until I was adult.

Anonymous wrote:I hated raw tomatoes. They were pink and mushy from the grocery store. Tomatoes improved immensely in the 90s, it seemed.

Yeah, it's definitely the tomatoes that changed.

I get it. I thought I hated spinach because my mom boiled frozen spinach to a fare-the-well and than put a little black, bitter mop of it on my plate. I hated that, so I thought I hated spinach.

Nope, just hate that kind of spinach. Blanch and saute it, and I'll eat it every day forever.

Pretty much most veggies. Hated them as a kid. My parents were terrible at cooking vegetables. That's probably why.

This gives me hope for my 8 year old who eats plain vegetables just fine, but hates meat, the taste, the feel, the texture. I don't care that he hates meat, he could be a vegetarian except I worry about protein and iron and he doesn't eat beans or lentils except occasional baked beans.

Brussels sprouts
Spinach
Love them both now.

Anonymous wrote:Eggplant. Had a texture issue. Now, I can’t stop eating it. So delicious.

Always loved it!

Anyone else hate Brussels sprouts on sight just because of their reputation? I assumed I hated them until I actually tried them in my 20s.

Canned tuna, yogurt

Absolutely can’t do canned tuna still, even though I wish I could for an easy lunch. Yogurt I can eat in a recipe or sauce but not on its own.

I didn’t like any fish as a kid. Now I like it all just fine, and I truly love salmon and eat it once a week.
I grew up in Alaska, and haaated moose. I haven’t tried it in years but I wonder if I’d like it now.

Any sort of lunch meats, salami, bacon, mayo, anything with creamy sauce. No.