Remember when you were growing up and your mom would cook foods you absolutely detested? Not a commentary on her cooking, more of a commentary on my taste buds. No cook, gourmet or otherwise, could find a redeeming quality in these selections. I hated vegetables. It didn’t matter what type - lima beans, green beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas – not allowed to get up until the plate was clean, any type of vegetable literally kept me at the dinner table for hours. I was positive that my mom was putting me through some kind of punishment every time she put one of the offending items on my dinner plate.
As I grew into my teen years, I learned the imagination, in the form of a condiment, could make a flavor combination for almost any taste. Green beans were doused in French dressing. Black-eyed peas were hidden beneath layers of ketchup – anything to mask the flavor and make the food at least digestible.
Vegetables were not the only foods on my “no” list. Various pork parts, veal, any type of meat other than your standard chicken or beef sent my stomach swirling. The problem was deciding what to eat or not to eat was not an option in our household. I vowed right then and there, when I grew up, certain foods would never make it to my dinner table.
It took a while, well into my adult years, before I learned to like a few vegetables. Broccoli, string beans without the dressing, even Brussels sprouts have been known to grace my dinner table. I will confess, however, there are still certain foods that my children have not had the pleasure of experiencing at our dinner table. Vegetables such as lima beans and black-eyed peas have never stepped foot in my house and animal parts are still limited to a select few.
While I should feel guilty, I think the list of forbidden food is a rite of passage as we grow up and determine what foods we are willing to digest in the name of healthy eating. My kids may not taste a lima bean in my house, but I make sure they get all of the spinach, broccoli and corn they can digest. I’m sure as they grow, they too will have the list of forbidden foods.
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