Do you often cook or eat foods you really-really don't like? (971 views)

We just watched a GUT show on Public TV last night. It mentioned that there are foods YOU might not like, but your stomach DOES and NEEDS. Stomach is a world unto itself, doing all kinds of things for us and it needs some foods we (our mouths) may not necessarily enjoy. (I think it meant green or leafy things, because it was accompanied by a photo of a lady chewing something green with stems that stuck out of her mouth. Fiber.)

Pre-breast cancer, I would be willing to eat cardboard if they told me I could be healthy, extend longevity with good, quality years, blah, blah. After cancer, I tried low-carbing (I have metabolic syndrome). I know some people drop a LOT of weight doing that, but I am not overweight (I just weigh more than I did when I was younger) so was never able to lose huge amounts. At some point, I said Med. diet has consistently shown to be the healthiest, and that's what we strive for.
I have lapses.
I try new foods a few times and if I don't like them, I move on. There's enough yummy stuff not to foist things on yourself that you don't enjoy. Life is short!

Hi Emma,

What an interesting question! I only cook with ingredients we already like or expect to like, most of which are healthy and a few of which are decidedly not. Like traildoggie, I may pick a dud recipe now and then, and we do what we can with those. I made some sort of vegetarian walnut chili that was entirely resistant to any amount of spicing. I called it the Vantablack of stews, it absorbed all flavor like Vantablack absorbs all light.

I think life is too short for bad books or for making yourself cook and eat something you don't even like

Not that risotto is considered healthy but I remember when it was kinda trendy and everyone was raving about it so of course I just had to try it. I cooked it several times with disastrous results - one time it was like glue and was immediately tossed. I ordered it at restaurants where it was their signature dish only to be disappointed time and time again until I finally said to my husband, “I guess I just don’t like risotto.” I haven’t had it in probably 20 years now and can’t imagine ever trying to make it again. To me it was just glop!

Better words than I used... yes, "dud " recipe.  Im fussy about food textures too.  I can handle oatmeal but just barely. things that smell  bad .. I remember being told that they smell bad but taste  good and it never made sense to me.  if it smells like stinky cheese=smelly feet, why should it get even close to my mouth?  so  hard boiled eggs  do not make the cut,  nor  stinky cheese, sauerkraut etc. 

Lentil sloppy joes are good and have enough spice to make non-loving-lentil people not mind them as much. Still, there are enough beans out there ...why force it?
I am an oatmeal liker. If I used old fashioned rolled, I add yogurt and fruit and a nut butter and I do NOT cook the oats. That may help some with the slime/texture factor. Steel cut oats are like a creamy soup to me...what's not to love. You can even add cheese!

I'm middle of the road on lentils---like Ina's lentil soup recipe (which uses the Puy green lentils) and generally love Indian dahl recipes, but am often pretty indifferent to other preparations.  Oatmeal I like fine, although I totally understand the texture ick, which I have with other things (like liver, unless it's been made into pate, in which case, I'm off in the corner, hoarding it like Gollum   )

I think the only thing I don't much like but try to eat periodically because it's good for me is cooked salmon.  Love it raw, but cooked.....deeply meh.  We have two recipes that we like well enough (miso-glazed and hoisin-glazed) and we recently tried it sous vide which I thought was interesting (as cooked salmon goes) but DH gave a firm No.  If we could afford to buy the sashimi grade stuff and eat that regularly raw, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but until then, I do try to "force" us to have it cooked once or twice a month.

I'm mystified at the  dislike of lentils.  I always thought they were  benign.

I love lentil soup.    simple   with  onion, celery, carrot sauted,  about 2 cups of lentils. 6 cups water and a bay leaf. I usually dice up a couple potatoes. cook until lentils and potatoes are  starting to break down.   salt and pepper to taste.     I like lentil tacos too.    texture seems to me just like well cooked beans.    but then Im someone who finds    oatmeal difficult to get  down   due to texture so what do I know.   

So....my son and DIL are living with us while they are going to school, so I have to cook things everyone likes.
She is super picky~no fish or pork.
It's been a struggle as DH and I eat most things. ~craving some BBQ pork chops~so I will put that on the menu and my son will grill her a chicken breast. ~That works. ~!