I’m A Meatatarian And Proud Of It!

I am a meatatarian.

I dislike vegetables, and fruit is just okay.

I do not eat vegetables on pizza, I do not eat vegetables in Thai dishes, and I will not eat them just because you say they’re good. I will not get scurvy, because I am not a pirate. Meatatarian doesn’t come up in spellcheck because it’s a real thing, so there.

I am a meatatarian. And I am fine with that.

Okay, so I’m not quite that bad. But, I do not like a lot of veg, especially not when cooked, and I’m getting tired of dealing with it.

The other night for dinner, He and I headed out to dinner with His dad. We went to a Thai place, which I actually love. Thing is, as with most Thai dishes, it came with a buttload of vegetables on it. As frustrating as it is for me to have to pick through my food and push them to the side before I eat it, it only adds salt to the wound when people bring it up. What kills me is that it’s usually people who I’ve eaten with 50 times before that have a habit of doing this, as if it’s something new (not that I would expect His dad, with four kids of his own, to remember something I don’t like. My own Dad still asks me and he only has one kid to worry about!).

No, I don’t like broccoli. What is it I don’t like about it? Everything. I’ve been not liking it for 24 years – can I please continue not liking it in peace and dealing with it instead of having it brought up time and time again? No? Really…? Crapstick.

The OTHER other at my work we had a beautiful catered meal of pizza and salad – something I was super excited for. But, unfortunately, the pizza (all three of them) came with – you guessed it – a buttload of veg.

Now – don’t get my wrong. I’m not complaining that I happen to work for a place awesome enough that it supplies me lunch every once in awhile. I’m totally aware of how bitchin’ it is.

But, what I do find surprising, is the different food concerns that are both taken and not taken into account. Not just at work of course, where I get that catering to my picky tastes are not as important as say, a massive crisis, but whenever people are ordering food for a large group. Not that I expect them to cater to my every whim – otherwise we’d be eating 2 year old aged cheddar and proscuitto at literally every meal. But, if someone is a vegetarian, that’s taken into account, so what about the opposite? What about us meatatarians?

Yes, it would be difficult to have something for everyone – I totally get it. But, if you’re going to remove meat for one person, why not veg for another? Is a cheese pizza so outrageous? Yes. Outrageously delicious.

Anyway, I’m probably just ranting because I’m super hungry. I know, I know, it’s all my own fault.

But next time… just kill a couple animals or two? Okay? A pig, a cow, a chicken… whatev. In the meantime, it’s a good thing I keep a box of granola bars at my desk. And soup. And peanut butter. And candy. I’ll be juuust fine.

Dining in the Dark – SCARY OR NOT SCARY?

Welcome to dining in the dark my friends. Also – I can’t take credit for this kind-of-joke – it was the image used in an article about the restaurant O. Noir – I just think it’s too good to pass up.

Okay – where to start?

If you’re an avid follower, you’ll know that we’ve been following Toronto Star reporter Katie Daubs articles on picky eating – there’s three so far I think – here, here and here. Interesting stuff. As a picky eater myself, it’s always extremely reassuring to find out that there are other people out there who have the same hang-ups I do. I won’t go too much into it, because I think Katie does a better job than me, but seriously, if you’ve ever wondered why people are picky eaters, or if you hate us even, I think they’re worth a read.

Anyway, I pointed out these articles to my co-worker Michelle and her first thought was that we should go for dinner with Katie. Michelle is not a picky eater in any way, and she’s always harping on me to try new foods.

So, we did.

We went to O. Noir with the idea that maybe if we can’t see our food, it won’t taste so disgusting and we’ll be able to eat it. The conversation all night surrounded food – we hardly even discussed that we were eating in the dark. He and I had been to the restaurant once before, so it wasn’t as new to us, but still, it’s always a cool experience. The waiters are blind, so your experience is supposed to be similar to that sensation.

I don’t want to write too  much here since Katie will be dissecting our evening and even though I think the Toronto Star has more readers than our blog (maybe?), she should have the first coverage for sure. I can’t wait to see what she writes actually – really looking forward to the article coming out!

I apologize, this post was a bit all over the place – I think I’m having flashbacks to eating disgusting salad dressing and becoming nauseous. I’d better lay down.

My Quest To Eat Ketchup

Rarely has an article spoken to me so profoundly, so truthfully, as the recent article in the Toronto Star by reporter Katie Daubs: “Picky Eating Is Something I’ve Never Outgrown”

Oh baby does this speak volumes to me.

I am a picky eater extraordinaire. I’ve become much better in the past few years, but there are still some key food elements that I refuse to even try; namely mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, mustard – mostly condiments.

There are other foods I will try, but just know I won’t like; many vegetables, hot sauce, sunny side up eggs, mushrooms.

The article by Daub hits the nail right on the head though. It sucks to be a picky eater. It’s stressful, it’s not fun, and sometimes it means going without dinner.

I remember when I was little, a friend invited me over for dinner, telling me we were having pasta. Well, pasta is a yellow-white coloured food, so as the article shows, I absolutely love it. I was pumped. But we weren’t eating the nice wholesome plain coloured pasta – we were having that weird pasta where some are white, some are green, and some are red. With tomatoe juice to drink. I wanted to barf and it was super embarrassing. Even now, when a friend invites me somewhere new, or worse, when I’m lunching at work with co-workers or clients, I get incredibly stressed out.

Most people think it’s just being picky, finicky, or snobby, but it’s way more than that. Trust me, I would love to be able to eat anything put in front of me, but I just can’t. He likes to say it’s not that I “can’t,” but that I “won’t” – but trust me, some foods, I will do anything to get out of eating them.

It was really nice reading this article actually – Daub even says that she eats out of four “food groups” – chicken, bread, cheese and potatoes. Man, if you opened up chicken to other meat, and threw in pasta, that is pretty much my daily diet!

However, I am trying to improve, and I think I’m doing pretty good. In the past few years, with some help from my Aunt Al and Him, I’ve opened myself up to the following:

• Salads (no dressing, no tomatoes)
• Shrimp
• Salmon
• Sausages
• Bread dipper

Big steps, I know!