Mushroom and White Wine Penne Recipe

Hi, I’m April and I’m a picky eater. This may really surprise a lot of people given that I’m a ‘foodie’ and food blogger. I have issues with things that look strange, things with odd textures and things that smell weird.  So basically I will eat macaroni and cheese and that’s about it. Okay, not really, but I’m working on having more of an open mind when it comes to my palate.

I’d like to think that a lot of people are like me when it comes to not liking certain foods in that they just won’t allow themselves to try them. I wouldn’t even go near an egg until recently. They looked strange, they had a weird texture and no matter how you prepared it for me I wasn’t going to eat it. And then I met quiche. All of the different flavors and textures that go into a quiche really turned me back on to eggs. I still won’t eat them scrambled or sunny side up but I am more open to trying them in alternative settings.

I think the best way to get on board with things that you think you don’t like is to slowly ease into them. Nobody said I had to eat a dozen eggs one day, I decided to take a small bite of quiche and fell in love. So here are my tips.

• If the issue is texture, take smaller bites. For instance, I’m really weird about mushrooms. They have a strange texture but I find that if I eat them in bite-sized pieces then I really think they can add a delicious element to certain dishes.
• If the issue is smell, try to avoid taking a large whiff before putting the food in your mouth. I’m from Wisconsin and I love cheese but especially stinky cheeses can quickly turn me off despite having a wonderful flavor.  I get over this by avoiding a large whiff before I place the cheese in my mouth and then just savor the flavor for what it is.
• If the issue is appearance, try the food in another setting. This was another issue that I had with eggs. I know that it sounds strange but I just had an issue with how a runny egg yolk looked on my plate.  When the eggs are mixed up with other flavors, I can easily get over how the egg actually looks. Another example is meat on the bone. I’m really turned off by this as well because it makes me visualize the animal. In this situation I just always go with boneless meat.

I’m slowly learning to be less picky and have more of an open mind about trying new foods that I didn’t think I would like. Taking small steps to ease yourself into new flavors or textures is your best option. And obviously you can’t force yourself to like something so maybe you might really not like a certain food. This is okay to admit! There are plenty of other foods in the sea.