Dear Dad,
What a fun weekend we just had in Kansas City. On Friday, standing at an order counter for lunch you waited for the clerk to read off the salad dressings. I knew what you were listening for, something comforting and familiar like Thousand Island or Ranch.
What you heard was an irregular list of handmade vinaigrettes. You then second guessed your decision to order a side salad. I assured you that I would eat it if you didn’t like it so you went for it and tried a dish that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Afterwards, you reviewed the decision, “It was good, but I don’t know if I would order it again.”
Food habits are so deeply ingrained that most people are reluctant to change them. Not even change, but trying anything new can be a non-starter. The comfort found in a familiar taste and its predicted satisfaction is nothing to discount but keep in mind there’s a first time for everything. And while you might not remember it there was even a first time that you skeptically tried Thousand Island dressing, caramel popcorn, or pineapple on pizza.
What I’ve noticed with myself and many others, is that a lot of my comforting food habits were formed in childhood. And what I’ve further noticed is that eating like children is not only a generally boring way to eat, but likely not the most nourishing for an adult. For example, as a kid I hated cauliflower. Everything about it. How it smelled. Looked. And tasted. But I loved French fries. Today, while of course I still like the taste of French fries I also love the taste of cauliflower. I eat cauliflower roasted, grilled, or air fried. I will put it on salads, eat as rice, or toss it in buffalo hot sauce. Thankfully, I accessed a little food curiosity as an adult and enhanced my eating profile.
Being curious to try new foods or rediscover old ones is a good quality to nurture. There was a time that eagerly eating new foods could be deadly but it’s not that time anymore and I can assure you that almost anything you purchase at the grocery store or at a restaurant will not kill you upon consumption, excluding known food allergies. So what’s the worst that will happen when you try new foods? You may not like it. You may have a similar response to this past weekend, “It was good, but I don’t know if I would order it again,” or perhaps, you may find a new delicious food to add to your eating repertoire.
Expanding your food line-up is an important exercise because most often the foods that you are most reluctant to try are in the vegetable/whole food/health food category. You don’t see many people decline an offer to try a new homemade cookie or pie. The barrier to try a new dessert or deep fried treat seems to be much lower than an unfamiliar sautéed vegetable or elegant grain. But wouldn’t it be devastating if there was a delicious, healthy, and exciting food option out there that you don’t know about just because you’re not willing to try?
When I was in middle school we took a cruise vacation as a family. Each night we had family dinner in the ships dining room and each night the menu consisted of new tropically inspired entrees. At this time in my food journey I was NOT explorative nor healthy. Over the years it has become a family joke, because after two days our waiter would come to the table and without hesitation, in his native accent he would say, “What will it be for you tonight Sam, Hambuga? Cheesebuga? For seven nights in a row it was a Cheesebuga and fries. I wonder what I missed?
Changing eating habits does not happen overnight. But over many nights, of being food curious and slowly trying new foods you will discover that the list of healthy foods that you enjoy is much longer than you think.
Be food curious and try something new this week. What’s the worst that could happen?
With Love,
JSR