6 Foods I didn’t eat til Adulthood
1. Avocado
I first remember eating avocado on crackers as an appetiser at a dinner that I went to at age 16 – and I was distinctly unimpressed. It was so bland! Why did people rave about it?
I’m not sure how or when my opinion changed. Perhaps I ate a tasty dip one day only to find it was guacamole and made of avocado. By the time I got married at age 23, I loved it – I remember because the hubster’s parents had a huge – and very fruitful! – avocado tree in their yard so we ate it often.
2. Mango
Again, I couldn’t understand the fuss over mango when I was a young ‘un. I have to blame the hubster for giving me the taste for this one – again! He had family in Mackay with mango trees and we got to sample them whenever we visited – and sometimes his uncle would even send a box of home grown goodness to us in Brisbane as a special treat! Now I really look forward to mango season each year.
3. Mushrooms
When we were first married, I used to make steak stroganoff WITHOUT mushrooms as I thought they were horrible (now, it is such an integral part of the dish to me that I can’t understand my reasoning at all!). Then we went to a friend’s house for dinner and ate – you guessed it – stroganoff WITH mushrooms, and I had to admit it really did make a great dish even better. But I still wouldn’t eat them in anything else. Hubster would still enjoy frying them at times to eat with bacon, eggs and tomato, and what can I say but they smelt SO GOOD that I started pinching them from his plate!
4. Zucchini
I don’t remember being served zucchini at all when I was growing up. I don’t remember the how and when of when I started to eat zucchini, but it must have been in some stage of my adult life. Now, I can’t imagine cooking a stirfry without it!
5. Peanut Butter
Although peanut butter was a staple on sandwiches for kids at school, I was of the Vegemite persuasion and turned my nose up at it.
Until the day in 2001 when we were caravanning around Australia. I was absolutely starving for lunch and there was nothing quick and easy except for some fresh bread and a jar of peanut butter. How good it tasted! Nowadays I love peanut butter in pretty much any form, from cookies to satay. One of my favourite snacks is fresh celery sticks dipped in peanut butter … mmmmm.
6. Kiwifruit
Maybe I’ve only ever tasted it when it hasn’t been fully ripe, but I always found it to be too tart for my taste.
Lately, whenever hubster eats a nice kiwifruit, he insists on making me taste some. And guess what – I actually like it. 🙂
I guess the moral of my story is: parents, don’t despair if your children are fussy eaters. Eventually they will come around … even if it does take 40-odd years!
How about you? Which foods did you turn your nose up at when you were a child, only to discover them as a new taste sensation once you hit adulthood?!
Joining up with My Home Truths for another Monday of I Must Confess.