If you are what you eat, I was chicken

“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”
― H. Jackson Browne

If you told me 10 years ago that I would not only be eating sushi and loving it, but searching out the best places to eat it, I would have called you an insane person and gone on to eat my chicken fingers happily.  Yes, I was that person - the one with the long list of things deemed inedible.  For me there were only a few, carefully selected meal options and outside of those - I was either not eating or worse...reference the meatloaf incident of 1989.  Suffice it to say, after that my mother never tried to force me to eat anything ever again.

My go to main dish most days was chicken: nuggets, tenders, legs, cornish hens, parmigiana (sauce on the side), or Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup.  If you think I am joking, watch my wedding video.  I guarantee someone will make mention of my tendency to order chicken tenders.  My father's favorite phrase, "This from the kid who would only eat chicken..." says it all.

My picky eating was a point of pride and at times I actively railed against trying something new.  I suffered from some deep seeded fear that if I tried something new and I didn't like it, it would kill me.  Well, not really, but who wants to risk dinner on a long shot menu item like... fish.  So, I honed my meal ordering talent: sauce on the side; 5 ingredient sandwiches reduced to 3 (meat, cheese, bread); no thank you to the salad.  I had no idea what I was missing out on.

One may wonder how such food-paranoia gets started. Was I pelted by vegetables one horrid day in elementary school?  Did a fish nip me on the leg during a summer oceanic adventure? Or did I simply fall victim to the worst fate of all, food apathy? Sad as it is, there was a point in time where I was perfectly happy eating my chicken tenders, content to be ignorant of the wonder of tilapia, salmon avocado rolls, and the concept of Japanese hot pot cooking. Where would I be today had I not allowed my mind and palate to be pried open, inch by inch by friends who knew better?

My culinary awakening occurred with my first taste of shrimp scampi, around age 22.  I was, by then, dating someone who was much more of a food adventurer.  Ever eager to show me what I was missing out on, he took me on a date to a seafood restaurant and convinced me to order shrimp scampi.  I know most of you are probably thinking, shrimp scampi is the chicken parmigiana of the seafood world but for me, this was a big step.  From that point on there was no going back.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of things I will not eat: onions, iceberg lettuce, anything to do with animal stomach, intestines, insects, or eyeballs among other things.  But there are tons of things I do now eat and love and I would never have experienced them without that first meal of scampi. 

Here is some advice for those picky eaters out there wondering how to fall off the safe food wagon:

• Trust the people who know you best.  If your significant other or your best friend tells you you will like something, try it.  Unless they are particularly mean or it's April 1st, they are probably not going to steer you wrong.  These are the people who know you best and if they tell you that you will like something, you probably will.  Without trusting my friends I would never have tried seafood, sushi, seitan, or tofu.
  
• There is nothing like a little liquid courage in the form of a nice glass of wine to get you over the hump of trying escargot or frogs legs.  Some foods just seem less scary through the wine addled lenses.  And if you don't like it, well you probably won't even remember you tried it the next morning.
  
• Always take advantage of trying the thing that the other person at your table ordered.  It is like a free pass to trying new things- no danger of sacrificing your own meal happiness  If you don't like it, you can go back to your meal safe in the knowledge that you chose wisely.  If you loved it, well you have just added one more thing to your food repertoire.
  
• Do not let other people's prejudices affect your food consumption choices.  Just because Grandpa Joe hates olives, that does not make them evil.  You might end up loving them and then more olives for you!
  
• Do not let your brain get in the way of a good meal.  I must confess that I am the worst offender in this area.  If I were Superwoman, onions would be my kryptonite.  I can get past pretty much anything but if I see an onion in my meal I am totally paralyzed.  It is not the taste - I use onion powder in my cooking and thoroughly enjoy it.  I like to say it's the texture but I enjoy plenty of other foods that crunch when you eat them - water chestnuts, celery, carrot sticks.  It is purely a mental block that I hope to overcome someday because it will make my life so much easier if I don't have to cower in fear of a diced onion in my burrito.  Mind over matter.  It is only food - just close your eyes and pop it into your mouth and see what happens.    

As a not fully recovered picky eater I know how hard it is to break that habit of ordering your go to food at a restaurant.  But each time I order something I have never had before, whether a new fish or an old favorite prepared a new way there is this wonderful feeling of anticipation - will it be as good as it sounds on the menu?  Have I found a new favorite dish?  That is just awesome.  I will rave about a good meal for weeks, dream about it, and eagerly await the moment when I can order it again.  Each time I try something that I thought I didn't like and end up liking it I feel a sense of accomplishment - one more culinary challenge down, millions to go.  I am climbing my personal food mountain.


Next Week:  It ain't easy being green, except if you are an avocado