When I married Bill seventeen years ago I knew he was “picky”
about food, but my love for him made me think that it would be a non-issue.
Turns out it has been a huge issue, especially with the arrival of our first
child, Hailey, who is also an extremely picky eater. As for myself, I love to
eat just about anything, and I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. Growing up as one of eight kids, I had some
picky siblings, but with so many of us, my mom could actually make two batches
of a dish; one with onions and one without. I don’t have that luxury, so I end
up opting in favor of the pickiest. Here are some things I have discovered
along the way.
1. After so many years of doing without onions, I
really don’t miss them in a lot of food. Of course there are dishes that
absolutely have to have onions (pico de gallo is at the top of that list), and
I refuse to alter those recipes. But if something calls for onions I either
ignore it altogether, or use onion powder. I have also sometimes cut an onion
into huge pieces, and removed them before serving.
2. Cream of mushroom soup is replaceable. If I am
making a chicken or pork based dish I switch to cream of chicken or cream of
celery. For other recipes I use cream of potato. In fact I have a cheesy potato
recipe that is requested more than any other, and all I did was switch out the
cream of mushroom soup to cream of potato.
3. Most salads are best served “salad bar” style.
Instead of mixing them all together, keep everything separate, and let diners
make their own salads. You have to chop everything up anyways, and it is
actually easier to save the food if it isn't mixed together already. Then it
can be used for other purposes (omelets, pizza toppings, etc.)
4. Make individual pizzas instead of one or two
large ones. Kids (and adults) enjoy creating their own pizza pie. I usually use
Rhode’s Texas rolls (found in the frozen food section). After they thaw for a
few hours, each one is the perfect size to roll out into an individual size
pizza. You can rest assured that your son’s olive didn't accidentally jump onto
your husband’s half of the pizza.
5. A mesh strainer is your best friend. Seriously,
I saw this sink strainer (never used it for that) while shopping one day, and a
whole new world was opened up to me. I run so many things through it! Spaghetti
sauce and jarred salsa (to remove the onions, chunk tomatoes, peppers and
mushrooms), which leaves the flavor, and a smooth texture. Whenever I use a
seasoning packet, I mix the entire packet with the required amount of water,
let it sit for a few minutes (to reconstitute the offending onions), and then
pour it through the mesh strainer over the dish.
I hope some of these tips help chefs struggling to cook for
picky eaters. After seventeen years I don’t complain as much (maybe only twice
a week) about not being able to cook “real” food. These cheats have really
helped me though, especially when I don’t have to hear how much somebody
detests something I made. Bill and the kids know that although I am willing to make
these changes at home, if they are dining in someone else’s presence, they just
have to grin and bear it, or swallow it as the case may be.
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