9 Nasty Truths About Your Favorite Foods
Famous Death Row Last Meals
The Seattle Times brought up a good point with an article about dealing with dietary restrictions in social situations. In restaurants, it is a relatively simple matter to let your waiter or the chef know that you have food allergies or would prefer to have your dish without, say, cilantro. But food issues can be more problematic when dining at the home of friends or acquaintances.
It is always acceptable to let people know when you have allergies - preferably in advance - but what about food preferences? Should you tell the host that you follow the Atkins diet and your significant other doesn't eat any dairy products and hates onions?
Unfortunately, there is no one real answer, but since most hosts and hostesses want people to enjoy the party and the food they prepare, it can be easier to mention some things up front, than to refuse all food at the dinner. As a general rule, it is a good idea to politely mention "big" things, such as whether you are a vegetarian or vegan, but if you really have a laundry list of foods you just don't like, be willing to compromise and pick some out. To play it safe, offer to bring a dish (or two), which will not only take pressure off the host/hostess, but will make sure there is something you can eat.
VIDEO: Cop Kills Naked Man Allegedly Eating Another Man's Face
The Richest Woman in the World: How Gina Rinehart Earns her Billions
The Craziest Hidden Messages On $1, $20 Dollar Bills (PHOTOS)
First Woman To Command A Warship In Royal Navy History
'American Idol' Changes Record Contract Policy: Runner-Up No Longer Guaranteed Major Bucks
Missing Canada Children Found In Mexico Four Years Later
America's 10 Highest-Paid CEOs of 2011 (and How They Earned It)
What Happened When Alex Kenjeev Paid His Student Loan in Cash
PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart Almost Bares Sideboob
Samsung Galaxy S III review
Country Star Yearbook Pics
SEEING IS BELIEVING: This Boston Terrier Has The World's Largest Dog Eyes
Hawkeye and the Blue Ear Help a Mother and Her Hearing Impaired Son
Safeway Worker Stops Man From Beating Pregnant Woman, Gets Suspended
Celebs Who Are Secretly Geniuses
Leap Motion gesture control technology hands-on
SLIDESHOW: And You Thought Your Navel Piercing Hurt
Etan Patz Murder Suspect Knew 'Intimate Details,' Sources Say
WATCH: Stunning Quebec Protest Video Going Viral
Bristol Palin: I Made A Mistake
Pope's Butler Arrested In Embarrassing Scandal
A Night To Remember: HuffPost Gay Voices Salutes Same-Sex Prom Couples
50 Years On, Fire Still Burns Underneath PA Town
The Best And Worst Picnic Foods
Conservative Pundit Slams Donald Trump
PHOTOS: 75 Years Of The 'Most Beautiful Manmade Structure On Earth'
Ancient Trove Unearthed Near Armageddon Site
Dario Franchitti Wins Indy 500
Beryl Threatens Southeast Coastline
After Suspicious Behavior, Judge Gives Order To Edwards Jurors
Rodger Streitmatter: PHOTOS: 8 Legendary Same-Sex Couples
These Are The Richest Women In The World
9-02-2006 @5:07PM cheryl frassetto said... I am not a picky eater. I am a vegetarian. I will eat anything that the host cooks, except, if it has a face, I will not eat it!! If you want to invite a guest to your home for dinner or for a party, I don't see anything wrong in telling your host thngs that you will not eat. Actually, if the host is preparing a meal, she should have a little common sense or courtesy and ASK what her guests like or dislike. Otherwise, why invite them???!!!
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:07PM Shannon said...
I think if someone attending a dinner party has a special diet they are on, then they should themselves bring a dish that they can eat from. That way, they won't inconvenience the host or hostess, and the person giving the dinner party will more than likely appreciate a different dish.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:08PM Bob said... To Courtney, nicely said!
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:11PM karen said... Allergies are something I will try to work around. My son had a friend when he was little who was allergic to EVERYTHING. When he came over for a party or sleepover, his mom brought his food over and we just made sure he had paper plates, plastic utensils and paper/plastic cups. But as adults.. a former family member had a SEVERE nut allergy, so everyone was very very careful. My son HATES mushrooms, but has learned to just eat around them, I love them, so do others. If you know you have a strong allergy, let me know, I'll work around it. If you have a religious reason.. OK, I'll work around it. but you just don't like it? there's the fridge bread's on the shelf, peanut butter, and jelly too.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:11PM Mike said... I tend to be very carefull with who I ask into my home and who I cook for as a start. I also DO make efforts to accomadate what people like and dislike. I however am NOT a short order cook at any dinner party IN my home. At home I won't serve things to guests as an adventure type situation. NOT gonna give anyone anything that even I have no clue if i like. If the group is widley mixed and i am unsure it is worth taking people out to dinner and simply letting them order what they like. If they do not like my choice of venue for dinner, they are welcome to decline the invitation! Those that are cantankerous and pickey about the plating or presentation when eating out simply are not invited back.
As for deitary restrictions that are either religious or alergy related, like i said I know my guests and ask up front!
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:17PM Jane said... Honestly, I don't understand the oftentimes vehement response of people attempting to play host when a person or persons don't particularly care to partake of what is served up.
There isn't a single person on the planet who will eat EVERYTHING thrown at them. I'm sure most of you "hosts" posting here that you despise picky eaters and would go so far as to never invite them again (thus fracturing a friendship over such a silly thing as food preferences) would turn up your noses at something like, say, fried squirrel brains or, perhaps, rocky mountain oysters (sheep's testicles). Yet both of those dishes are considered delicacies in certain areas WITHIN the United States.
I haven't even gotten into cuisines found around the world, from soup boiled from the spit of birds to jellied fish eyes to baked pigeon to roasted locusts.
So, the high horsemanship isn't much appreciated. Yes, it is your party, and yes, people should always appreciate the effort (I'm not saying the picky eater should be rude whatsoever here), but if someone states they don't care for something, then instead of expecting them to force it down their gullet (and thus make the evening a less than positive affair), how about you respect their tastes?
Or, better yet, how about letting people know in advance what you intend to cook, besides just asking for likes/dislikes, if you're going to be so offended when someone says "oh my, I don't much care for xyz."
After all, you never know when you'll be in their shoes.
Reply
9-03-2006 @3:56AM Louise said... I can not have anything with wheat or dairy products, and am extremely allergic to walnuts and chocolate, so when I am invited I usually say, "I would love to come! I do have some rather unusual dietary restrictions. Would you mind telling me what you are serving?" When the hostess says, for example, "Barbeque chicken, baked potatoes, green beans sauted in butter with bacon and almonds, a green salad with walnuts and blue cheese dressing and chocolate cake for dessert." I reply, "It sounds wonderful! Would you mind making my chicken breast plain? I can eat the potato without toppings and could you set aside some green beans without the butter? I can eat the greens in the salad, just leave off the walnuts and blue cheese dressing." I avoid mention of the dessert because I can always claim to be "Too full of this wonderful food to eat another bite." Most hostesses, myself included, want to know ahead of time if a guest cannot or will not eat something. I would not change my basic menu, but all foods start out plain. It is easy to alter how they are cooked. I know the people I invite and hope they feel free to express their needs if I am not already aware of them. I want my guests to feel comfortable and I invite them because I like their companionship. Showing off my culnary skills is just an added bonus, and if I can do so and still accommodate my guests - so much te better! The dinner party should be about the conversation, friendship and fun.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:37PM Judy said... If I am at someones house and they serve me something I will not eat, I usually will just politely say I am not hungry or take some of the other things. I refuse to eat things which I don't want to eat. For instance, I was at someone's house recently and they served lamb. They never asked me ahead of time and I will not eat lamb on philosphical reasons. Why should I be forced to put that in my body? I politley told my host I do not like lamb and I ate the side dishes they had and it was fine.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:25PM Carol Sue Swann said... My sister-in-law, whom I have never met, can't eat gluten or shell fish. My best recipes are shrimp creole, and chicken spaghetti! I'm going to broil some tilapia, steam some vegetables, mash some potatoes, but for the piece de resistance, since we are from the South, I'm gonna cook turnip greens also with a ham hock; and dried lima beans with bacon grease! And I'm going to bake a large pone of corn bread!
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:20PM Martha said... When I'm the hostess, I usually am upfront about the menu on the invite. I always have at least one alternative to the main course I'm serving. I've never had a problem (and I always have plaently of "heat up quick" kid-friendly things on hand). Adults can eat from what I'm offered, but it's harder to explain to kids under 6.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:22PM Liz said... I remember years ago...I had friends over for dinner one time. And made the most lovely pot roast, slow cooked for hours in the crock pot. (I chose a great roast, very little fat--tiny marbling.)
Well, it seemed as though the friend's husband decided to "pick apart" every little teeny-tiny-piece (no matter how miniscule) of fat there was in the pot roast! I couldn't help but watch him pick apart his food---! His wife (former friend of mine now) telling me..."Oh, he doesn't like FAT."
Excuse me!
I had friends (now former) over for dinner....
ONE TIME.
Reply
9-05-2006 @8:49PM Gee said... If you don't like it, don't eat it. If you have an allergy, let me know when you rsvp. If you don't rsvp, bring a sandwich.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:32PM Bee-bo said... BTW, what is it about KIDS...
I see more parents bringing in McDonald's sacks, while the parents have a lovely dinner.
What happened to kids eating what the parents/(family) ate?
Society has made it too lienient for kids these days---they can do what they want! Who cares!
Of course, it all comes from genetics---PARENTS.
If rules are not enforced, kids can (and will) take over!
If they don't eat what is in front of them, send them to their room. Leave the plate out.
Maybe old rules are the best rules.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:37PM Vicki Olson said... Grown adults that are picky eaters aggravate the hell out of me. If I am having a dinner party and someone is deathtly allergic to something, I wouldn't serve it, but if they just dislike onions, they they can pick them out. I wouldn't want to serve bland food because one picky eater didn't like seasoning. I work with a woman that has a list as long as her leg of what she wont eat. It's because she doesn't like the look, taste or even texture. Too bad, grow up and learn to be more diverse. People just eating grilled cheese and pizza are ridiculous.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:41PM sharon said... Whenever I am invited for dinner I try to ask what is being served and offer to bring something. Then I bring something I like. If something I don't like is being served I eat around it or decline the invitaton. Worst thing for me is being invited to someone's home that is a terrible cook and serves on ronchy paper plates, not even the good ones. Why bother.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:42PM lj said... If I invite people to my house for dinner I will ask them what don't they eat. If you want to ivite people to your home to eat you should have the commom courtesy to ask them what they like. I am quite the picky eater and will NOT eat what is put in front of me if I don't like it and resent those of you who feel I should. I am not offended if I prepare something and it is pushed to the side. I feel terrible if I prepared food that is totally uneaten. If you truely like to cook and enjoy having friends over than it should challenge you a bit to have a picky eater over.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:46PM sarabella said... Folks come to eat at my house and gobble up everything that I put on the table, plus I give them all the remains of the ham, potato salad, dessert and whatever else is left in the fridge. My hub, on the other hand, is miserable when people come over because he doesn't eat cheese, mushrooms, sour cream, any kind of fish, won't eat salsa, hard boiled eggs, cucumber, fresh tomatoes or green salad. He won't eat rice unless there is gravy on it, pain in the butt! He always complains that his mother made things differently yet is the only person who has a beef with my menus. He likes his chicken deep fried (I like it done in the oven), likes mashed potatoes that are so thick that he has an excuse to dump enormous, amounts of gravy on them; he butters his broccoli or cauliflower pieces individually and eats this first thus letting the rest of the meal get cold; he doesn't pick up rice or peas with his fork, he stabs them! I quit eating with him at the table a long, long time ago.......
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:48PM Emily said... My family just doesn't go to other people's homes to eat because we only eat organic food. It is a personal preference, and we do not expect anyone to cater to us, so we just stay home or invite people to our house.
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:50PM Kevin said... I love to cook (in part because I love to eat) and have dated a woman with food challenges as well as hosted parties for which I have prepared lots of great food. In the case of hosting parties, I am happy to cater to the allergic or the nothing with a face crowd.
That said, after spending months dealing with a companion who made everyone around her crazy with her incescent demands for special foods and food preparation, I just wanted to cram her whiney mouth full of all the stuff she couldnt eat. It seems that there were more foods on her restricted list than not.
I dumped this chick and have lost 20 pounds since my diet isn't being driven by her nonsense. Let them eat cake!
Reply
9-02-2006 @5:58PM Larry said... I am a vegan. I have not always been one. I am also a physician and have seen what this SAD (standard American diet) has done to the health of our country and now the world. I used to eat nothing but meat and potatoes and now I eat healthy. I enjoy the food now better than before. And if you say, I want to enjoy life, so I'll eat what I like and don't care if it is healthy, you will care when you a laying in my ER having a heart attack or stroke.
Reply