Oh, I can feel the flames already....

[disneygirlinnj]

i agree... the whole 'my kids are picky' doesn't fly with me either. i was NOT allowed to eat something different at family dinners at home. whatever is made I had to eat, or go hungry. I learned pretty quickly that I needed to eat. chicken fingers, fries, burgers, hot dogs, pizza was a rare occasion in my house. if i asked for it or demanded it im pretty sure i went hungry

THANK YOU for actually saying what was on a lot of our minds hahahahaha

somehow though my mother is VERY picky but she refused to let me turn into her. don't ask how that all happened

 

[shellybaxter]

I won't flame you - but I will tell you that I consider myself a somewhat picky eater. It's not that I won't try things - its that i've tried them and I don't like them. My husband is always trying to get me to eat something. One day he wanted me to try a fish dish. I don't care for fish. I politely declined. He got a bit upset - wanted me to "try it." I told him I have tried that fish and lots of other fish and I don't like it. I then pointed out that I do WISH I liked fish because I would have so much more to order at restaurants. Picky people don't necessarily want to be picky - some of us just are

 

[kaytieeldr]

I admit that there are multiple reservations we made solely because of reviews declaring the food "too weird." I just ... you're a grown adult and you think *lamb* is too exotic and strange to try?

Well, there are foods I simply can't bear the thought of eating. Lamb IS one of them. Pork is another one. I won't not eat them if served (example: my brother invited me to dinner and made a pork roast. Now, understand, we lived in the same house at the same time and had mostly the same meals for something like fifteen years. It'd have been rude to not eat it - and ruder still to ask for something else) but I wouldn't choose them, either.

 

[matthewsmom1]

No flames here!! I'm normally a picky eater, but I've tried SO MANY new things at Disney - & I haven't been disappointed once!!! I've eaten Moroccan food, dishes at Chefs de France, etc. I LOVE trying something new at Disney....YUM!

 

[pta-mom]

Ah! Picky? I don't care!!

I made the mistake with my strong willed second boy....pick & choose your battles....didn't want to make food a battle. My now almost 12 year old is "picky" about his food....he's getting better but still picky.

However, doesn't effect us in the least! We go where we want at DW & he orders what he wants & if he doesn't like it, he doesn't eat it. We don't care! His choice!! I'm not going to forego eating at great places because my picky eater can't get a burger there!! Too bad for him!

 

[bluejasmine]

Now I am going to be flamed but I believe kids are made to be picky or should I say allowed?? Growing up I ate what was in front of me or I went without, its that way in my house, now granted everyone has a few things they absolutely dont like and I believe in making allowances for that.. Now my SS when he comes for the summer we make allowances for tomatos and corn, and stir fry but other than that he eats what we eat end of story.. Hearing stories of kids not liking certain chicken nuggets or whatever I just dont understand..

 

[snykymom]

No flames, but just a question - why do you care about other people's eating habits?

As for my family, we love interesting, well-prepared foods. As far as I'm concerned, let the others be "picky" - more room at the good places for us!

 

[MouseMomx2]

We took our kids to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the first time when they were 3 & 6. We spent two afternoons/evenings nibbling our way around the lagoon and, over those two days, tried one of everything offered. The rule was that we all had to take a bite of everything but we didn't have to take a second bite of anything. There was only one thing that they didn't care for and it was something that DH and I didn't like either (it was a veggie pastry from Japan that was very mushy...perhaps it had been sitting out too long). Since that vacation our kids have been willing to try anything. They may not like it, but they try it. They have very varied tastes, enjoying everything from the regular pizza/chicken strips/burgers to escargots/frog leg chowder.

I truly believe that, in most cases, a parent's attitude toward food will trickle down to the kids. If the parent is open minded about new foods the child is more likely to be open minded about new foods. I think it is also important to not let the child have control at a young age. If you want him/her to eat a variety of foods you need to put your foot down when they only want to eat their favorites. If they don't want to eat what you've prepared let them not eat. Don't prepare something just for them or limit you meal to only the things they like. They'll eat when they get hungry enough.

Okay...flame away!

 

[bluejasmine]

Its not so much that I care, except when it comes to my SS b/c it was a HUGE deal in our house when he was here, every single dinner as soon as his plate was set down it was complains and crying, my DH and I both were at our wits end but after putting our foot down and SS sees we arent backing down he doesnt even try any more. One thing that seemed to help was the promise of dessert after he ate everything. So basically its just the fact that I have experienced how hard it can be with a very picky child your whole meal ends up being centered around there likes and dislikes which is unfair to everyone else in the family..Again allowances should be made, no one likes everything..My own teenage son hates chili, chicken curry and he makes his own supper that night but he is expected and does eat everything else we eat.

 

[bluejasmine]

Well said mousemom!

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

No flames from me! But I will say I consider myself a picky eater, or mostly a PLAIN eater. DH on the other hard will eat just about anything, But I would never not go to a resturant because I didn't think I wouldn't like something. You can always ask for it plain! However I am also willing to try anything atleast once! Last trip we tried Teppan Edo and I was so worried I wouldn't like anything, I decided to just go for it and order the chicken and steak combo and I LOVED IT! Its now our favorite resturant at Disney.

 

[DisCopper]

However, doesn't effect us in the least! We go where we want at DW & he orders what he wants & if he doesn't like it, he doesn't eat it. We don't care! His choice!! I'm not going to forego eating at great places because my picky eater can't get a burger there!! Too bad for him!

Hear, hear!

As a kid, I was a little bit picky. By my parents were basically foodies (well, no one called it that in the 70's, but that's what they were). Especially when we were on vacation, we went out to eat where they wanted. There were no chicken nuggets or peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I had to deal with what was on the menu. If I didn't eat something, that was my problem. We weren't stopping at McDonald's afterward. I learned to expand what I would eat pretty fast.

 

[maznorm]

Oh, I completely agree with you. i was just the other telling Dh about some thread on here where people were complaining that Boma wasn't American enough. I can't say much about it because I have never been, but I'm pretty sure it is African themed and thereby, should be African flavoured.

My kids eat a very varied diet. They eat at grandma's and my MIL's. They eat all kind so food ranging from gnocchi to alpabet spaghetti to shepherds pie to curry.

Did I mention DS is almost 3 and DD has just turned 2? I try to follow the "try one bite before you say no" rule but they are still a little young for that. When they are older that will definitely be the rule. I never ate from a child's menu in my life. I don't know if they weren't invented when I was young but I always had food to suit the style of restaurant we ate at.

I am sure these parents that think their kids won't eat anything other than chicken and chips (my MIL is one of them) are the reason for such awful options on children's menus in places like Disney.

When I was a kid my grandma used to play a ga,me with me. She used to blindfold me and get me try different foods and I had to guess what it was. It was so much fun and it helped to figure what food I really liked or didn't like (still can't stand olives or tomatoes). I am looking forward to playing that same game with my children.

I love the idea about the food & wine festival with the kids. We do that with ourselves whenever we have been and now that we have kids then we will do the same with them. Trying new foods and flavours is the point of these festivals.

 

[Mulan82]

there is a girl that I work with that I always see eating Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup. so, the other day her and her friend are heating up their food and i say, " its so hot today! how can you eat soup??!" and she says to me, "oh, i don't eat the broth and the chicken, i don't like it. i only eat the noodles." um, ok... so then why don't you just eat noodles? " the broth and chicken just give it flavor."

 

[Pixiedust34]

It drives me absolutely crazy when people say, "I am very picky"...
geez....LIVE DANGEROUSLY!!!! Stop wearing "picky" like a badge and try something outside the box.

Bring on the flames.

No flames from me! I agree. Plus, how do you know for sure if you don't like a cuisine unless you try it? WDW is the perfect place to try some new foods.

Along similar lines, I see threads asking about where to get McDonalds food in the parks and asking about McDonalds (DTD and near the All Stars) in general. It's beyond my comprehension why people frequent McDonalds at WDW when you can have that any day at home and there are so many other (better!) food options to explore. Guess I shouldn't complain, though. Because people flock to the DTD McDonalds, perhaps that keeps the lines a little shorter at WPE and Earl of Sandwich for us.

 

[Chelley00]

Now, it's eat what I'm making or fend for yourself.!

This is how it is at our house too. My mother never made my brother try anything and would cater to him. Now he doesn't eat anything green or brown or yellow or blue......



Here, if you don't at least try 3 bites, you get nothing else, and your plate is reserved to you when you come back and say you are hungry again. If you try 3 bites and don't like it, then you are welcome to make yourself a sandwich. They do get a "pass" if it's something I know they won't like (salmon for one) and I'll make the dish for DH and I and something else for the kids...but it doesn't happen often.


Of course, everyone thinks I'm a mean mom too!

 

[pianoronni37]

Ugh, don't even get me started on picky eaters! Having lived with one my entire life (DAD!) it was hard to bridge out when the time came to eat something besides hamburgers (plain, only burger and bun - NO CHEESE!), french fries, kielbasa, hot dogs (again, plain), steak (burnt to a crisp, no sauce) and mashed potatoes. The only "vegetable" that my dad would eat was corn. He wouldn't eat spaghetti, noodles, pizza (!), any type of fish, rice, anything with sauce on it, anything that isn't completely plain, and taking him to a restaurant is like taking a very small child to a restaurant. He doesn't even eat chicken unless it's in a "patty" form on a bun. My poor mother had to always cook very plain dinners because my father refused to eat anything else. Grow up!!

Getting out of that house was the best thing to happen to my diet, let me tell you!!!

I guess I just don't understand why someone can't even bring themselves to try something new.

 

[MarkinNM]

Let the Picky or erh……Plain eaters be……………………




















This way the lines at the “different” places are shorter for me…………………….



Great thread and I agree, eating at McDonalds while on vacation is just silly...

 

[1971DBday]

Every year we play games for different WDW trip prizes. Last year my husband won "TS Restaurant of Choice" - we usually do a lot of CS. Anyway he picked Teppan Edo! I needed to hide the "yuck" face and tell the kids to stop whining about a 100 times.

Well now they are BEGGING to go back. We were so happy we "flamed" up our palets and tried something new! Jiko's is our big adventure this year, plus getting spoiled with the FD - hopefully I can get my husband hooked!

 

[disnut8]

One thing that I think people have a hard time with Disney World and food is the menus. Most people think you have to have the exact meal as printed on the menu. They don't think about substitutions for sides, or ordering something plain without sauce, or ordering an appetizer for dinner (or two appetizers). So it's difficult for them to realize that you can find SOMETHING on any Disney menu that their "picky" person can eat.

I have a brother-in-law who doesn't eat anything you need a knife and fork for (he's 48 years old). Just a fork is fine. And he's a semi-vegetarian. So going out to eat with him is an adventure. But he always find something on the menu, even if it's just soup and an appetizer.

I think people need to be a little more adventurous on the menu reading.