twosmallmonsters

Confessions of a Picky Eater Part 2
Banana Mush for a tactile defensive mouth

Anyone who knows me would be shocked to enter my kitchen tonight and find ... a bunch of bananas. But it's true- I have been force feeding myself potassium in the yellow every night this week. Spinach salads and carrots with that homemade lasagna? You bet. Vruit in the morning? Of course!

This is huge for me. Eating fruit and salads has always been creepy to me. I don't like things aging on my countertops, I don't like the pressure to eat something in a timely manner, and I hate the texture of most fruit materials. Thus I had to come up with a plan of action to integrate the benefits of fruit into my diet. First, I eat these things in a nice, controlled environment (aka my computer desk). Because bananas make me gag if I am not careful, I make sure I am not around anything that could potentially gross me out and cause a reaction as I am choking down a nasty textured banana. Second, if I begin to feel discouraged about the banana, I read about the benefits of eating fruits to either stimulate motivation or distract myself from the mush. Eventually I hope to generalize my banana eating into public domains once I desensitize myself from it's gooey gross texture. My goal: chowing down a banana before running. Okay, I realize the thinking of a picky eater can be rather neuortic to those on the outside world. You might have a point.

Let's face it- my nutrition for the last 25 years has been less than optimal. Luckily I have had continuous probes in my life that have encouraged me to try many different foods. This year has been a special due to two catalysts: thanks to Wendy's wise words of cooking tips (so no more frozen meals or boring sandwhiches for me!) and learning how to prepare salads and vegetable dishes/ the importance of a good heart from Judith. Then there is the ever persuading Ben. Conversations go like this:

"Have you ever had a prune?"
"Yeah. I hated it."
"But when did you hate it? Have you tried one in the last five years?"
"No."
"Well then your hate for prunes has expired. Try one."

To motivate and monitor, I began tracking my eating at the USDA My Pyramid. I recommend this to anyone else who is attempting their best shot at health. Bon Appetite!