Do you think it's easier, as an adult, to get over an aversion to a food you were forced to eat as a child, vs never having been introduced to them in the first place?

Personally, I have been more open to trying new foods I have never had, than eating some of my nightmare childhood foods.

I have not had calves liver or lima beans since I moved away from my mother’s kitchen. And, God willing, I will never be that desperate for food.

All the food I ate, I was forced to eat.
That I hate some of the food now just like I hated it back then, is incidental.
I hate certain foods, because I hate them. Because they taste like crap, or have a repulsive texture.
Like bacon, or stomach, or liver.

Certain things I did not like as a child I have now loved since my late teens/early 20’s. Like Avocados, Cantaloupe, brussels sprouts. The only childhood thing I am averse too and would not eat that was forced on me was my aunts hideous tomato aspic jello salad horror. It was this disgusting, wobbley, bobbley, tomato jello mold thing with bits of green onions and olives in it. Served on a bed of butter lettuce.

OMG! I can feel myself getting that pre-vomit salivation trigger just thinking about it. WTF WAS up with jello molds in the 60“s anyway? I still hate Jello in all it’s forms. lol

OK…but were you forced to eat avocados, cantaloupe, etc, as a kid?

I like Jello! But not jello with things in it, and certainly not with veggies in it. At home we used to make a jello thing, with alternating Jello and whip cream layers. They made it for our school lunch sometimes, so we kids brought the idea home.

@Dutchess_III I said that the only thing I am averse to that was forced on me was the tomato aspic nightmare.

Did you eat avocados, cantaloupe and brussel sprouts as a child?

^ No, I said I didn’t like them, but they were not forced on me. @Dutchess_III Your reading comprehension is in slo-mo today my friend. lol

I was wondering if they were actually served to you as a child, or if you just knew of them and didn’t like them. I knew of spinach and knew I didn’t like it, but it was never served to me as a child. Mom never served brussle sprouts or turnips either, but I knew of them and knew I wouldn’t like them (as an adult though, I don’t know that for sure. But I’ve never had any.)

So your answer to my question is “I think it’s easier to get over an aversion to a food if you weren’t forced to eat it as a kid.”

No, both experiences might influence your choices as grown ups equally.

I’ve never been forced to eat anything, but I know people who were. Their relationship to food is messed up in lots of ways. One is unlikely to try anything they don’t know. One is dangerously obese.

Creating emotional issues around food is always, always a bad idea, and I don’t know why some parents do that. Fortunately, my parents didn’t. I didn’t hassle my kids, either. They always had the option of going hungry.

The only food I balked at eating was chipped corn beef in cheese sauce. It was SOOOO nasty, but it was dad’s favorite. I hated it. And it didn’t help when Dad told us it was called SOS and also what SOS stood for! That helped a lot, Dad! Thanks. They pushed me a little to eat it, but that’s really the only food I can remember them doing that with. And they didn’t push very hard, or get mad or anything.

Food is Good.
Notice the similar sleeping.

Growing up as a kid I didn’t like canned veggies especially peas. I still would rather have frozen or the best is fresh peas.

My husband told our kids, when they were little, that peas are rabbit poop that they painted green.
Lucky for him I have a good sense of humor and saw no reason to disabuse them of this! I just never served peas. But I, personally, love peas with pearl onions in them. Yum.

I don’t feel like I was ever forced to eat things as a kid. I was definitely encouraged to by my father and grandmothers. I remember disliking spinach, and Brussels sprouts, and mayonnaise.

Today I love spinach and Brussels sprouts. Still hate mayo.

“Try everything twice”, my dad would say, because tastes change.

Going by my own personal experience, I’ll say that it’s easier to get over an aversion, or rather develop a taste for, food if you were not forced, or maybe never tasted or even heard of it in the first place.

I became a vegetarian in my early 20’s, before that I was a very picky eater and had a very limited diet. My parents did not force me to eat anything, although foods were offered and I could partake at any time. There were some “regular” foods that I could not stand until later, after I became a vegetarian. Some of those things include: mayonnaise, horseradish, anything spicy, green beans, black eyed peas, yogurt, mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes, cooked greens, cooked carrots, squash of any kind, and peas.

At around the same time that I decided to become a vegetarian, I was working with a group of slightly older adults that were very interested and knowledgeable about all sorts of different ethnic cuisines and I was introduced to Ethiopian food, Vietnamese food, Indian food, and all sorts of random “weird” vegetarian items like tofu, and tempeh and miso.

What I discovered was that by the time I was in my early 20’s my tastebuds had “matured” if you will, or changed, so that a lot of things that I considered to be bad tasting were no longer so, in fact, some of those former yucky things were now fantastic! But I had to take a leap of faith and actually try these foods. A lot of people are completely unwilling to try new things, because when they were children they didn’t like them, even though most people’s taste buds change as they become adults. Other people look down upon foods that they think are beneath them, especially when it comes to “foreign” foods. I know a lot of people that are simply unwilling to try any other cuisines other than traditional meat and potatoes, or McDonald’s.

I needed to re-try some of the old things like most common American vegetables, and a lot of new things like curries and chili peppers and bok choy and bulgur wheat and kalamata olives and seaweed and miso and tahini and black beans and pepitas if I was going to have a nutritious diet and not become what I refer to as a “Cheetos vegetarian.”

Some of the foods took multiple tries, and different preparations for me to come to not only tolerate them, but to actually love them. Most people are not willing to try something more than once, and that is why most picky eaters remain picky eaters. It’s a shame because there is a whole big world full of nutritious and delicious food out there.

Wow @Dutchess_III I can’t believe you’ve never had Brussels sprouts, turnips, or spinach! I like all of those things. Brussels sprouts and spinach are staples for me. I don’t eat turnips as often, but I like them and have been experimenting with more recipes.

Probably the most common way to prepare turnips is to peel and steam them, and put some butter and a little bit of pepper on them. I like to eat them Pickled. They serve these pink pickled turnips as a side dish at most Lebanese restaurants in Southern California, where I live. They are very addicting.

Most “table service” Mexican restaurants (as opposed to take out style, smaller places) serve some version of spinach enchiladas. I love spinach and mushroom enchiladas that I make myself. Here is a recipe for Spinach, Mushroom, and Black Bean Enchiladas. You can also add chicken to these.

Brussels sprouts are one of those veggies that I used to hate when I was a kid, but fell in love with them as an adult. One of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes is Brussels Sprouts au Gratin. You can also sub turnips for the sprouts in this recipe. Both are super yummy.

I also love raw Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Take a leap of faith : )

When I was a child I was very choosy. But I grew up and started eating everything I had hated previously. I got over an aversion to milk and now it is my favorite food product.

@Dutchess_III Agreed. Spinach is delicious, though!

I love that con queso (?) that Mexican white cheese dip with spinach in it. I also know that at my favorite salad bar spinach is in with the lettuce in the big bowl and I eat it, but I can’t tell the difference between it and the lettuce.
However, my mom, who was a picky eater, had an awful story from when she was a little girl at school and the nuns forced her to eat spinach and she threw up right there at the table. Needless to say, we were never served spinach.
I went to Grandparent’s lunch at two of my grand kids school. They served raw spinach. It was just a pile of leaves. Kinda looked like maple leaves. I leaned over to another grandparent, a grandpa, and whispered, “Do you recall being served leaves for lunch when you were in school?”
He shook his head and whispered back and said, “I never seen ANY shit like this before!”
Lots of kids ate them. Lots didn’t.
I told my grand daughter I’d trade her my leaves for her bread stick. She was scandalized! Trading food IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! Well shit. I guess I’m SOL.

I have noticed within the last few years, that kids, on their own at an all you can eat salad bar, are choosing things like broccoli and cauliflower. Thanks Ms. Obama.