How have your food preferences changed over time?

[Angry Floof]

Onion has never been my thing. I could tolerate them if I had to and preferred them cooked if I didn't have a choice. The thought of putting fresh onion in a salad or on a burger turned me off completely. Nowadays, though, I always have an onion on hand and I put it on and in a variety of foods.

Same with mustard. Never liked it and only tolerated it if I had to. Now I really like it with fish and mushrooms. On the rare occasion that I eat hamburgers, I'll put on mustard and wonder where it's been all my life.

I used to love ham and chicken as well. But these days, I have little appetite for most meats and stick to fish and ground beef. Chicken is one of my least favorites, oddly enough. Seems like it's everyone else's favorite. I did put it on my grocery list this week, though, because I saw a recipe on Facebook that I want to try. A good chicken breast can be tasty, but most chicken parts gross me out completely. I don't understand the appeal of chicken wings at all.

How have your tastes changed over time?

 

[ideologyhunter]

From childhood: Like many a child, I loathed fresh tomatoes. Something about the wobbly seed mass, I guess. Now, a good fresh tomato is so sun-infused, it's like a miracle food to me. I preferred the box mix for macaroni and cheese to the real deal -- I even liked to lick the empty envelope of cheese powder, which is so orange it could be clown makeup. I loved the smell of coffee and wanted to be the one to open a new jar of Maxwell House instant. I couldn't understand how that strong intriguing smell couldn't transfer to a pleasant taste in the drink itself (which I am now a slave to.)
From my chubby twenties, thirties, and forties: I needed pizza a couple of times a week, and easily devoured a medium pie. Now, it's too rich, so I seek out single slice vendors maybe twice in a month. I used to love the Marie Callender line of frozen cream pies, which are superb, but they now seem far too rich. Since I took up aerobics in 2011, I haven't been near one. Exercise has trimmed back my appetite for the most calorie-laden foods.

 

[C_Mucius_Scaevola]

Salt. In my youth, I would look with disdain on those who shook salt onto their chips (French fries, that is). For me, it was vinegar and brown sauce, no salt. "Most foods contain enough salt naturally" was my mantra. Even while cooking, I'd add minimal amounts of salt to my recipes, because who needs lots of salt in their food, right?
Well, it turns out I do, these days. Okay, maybe not "lots" as such, but I do add way more than I used to. And I won't touch a chip (French fry) that hasn't been liberally sprinkled with the stuff.

 

[southernhybrid]

I liked meat when I was younger, but I'm not crazy about meat unless it's extremely high quality and vegetables are my favorite food, well other than sweets of course. I just eat huge portions of veggies and small portions of sweets. One of my favorite foods is broccoli. I like it steamed in the microwave. I don't like cheeses anymore, other than a little parmesan sprinkled on veggies. Otherwise, the rest of you can have all of the cheese. I could eat fish everyday if that was an option. Since my husband is now the cook of the house, I'm not going to give up meat. He's a fantastic chef and makes all sorts of dishes. We eat vegan meals at least two or three times a week, but the man loves his meat and I need that heme iron or I will become anemic. I don't absorb plant sources of iron very well.

I've also lost my taste for Italian food other than very light pasta dishes that have lots of veggies in them. I used to love almost any Italian food, northern or southern. I grew up in a town that was dominated by Italians and there was an abundance of Italian restaurants in town. It just no longer appeals to me. Garlic makes me sick sometimes, so I insist that the amount be extremely limited when my husband, who loves garlic, cooks.

 

[Toni]

I grew up on a very lower midwestern meat and potatoes diet, with seasonings confined to salt and pepper and celery seed. What vegetables were not fresh from afamily member’s garden were canned. Exceptions were carrot sticks and celery. As a consequence, I grew up thinking I hated vegetables except for tomatoes, carrots and celery and fresh green beans and corn on the cob. A couple of relatives had apple orchards and an aunt and uncle had a couple of peach trees and cherry trees. I love fruit with the exception of melons. I like watermelon but have never learned to like other melons, unfortunately.

As a young adult and for about 10 years or so into our marriage we were vegetarians, except when visiting or entertaining family who had zero interest in accommodating or accepting our choices.

Over time we began to add more fish and meat into our diets. Currently more than normal as our elderly dog has become very finicky and I am more inclined to have a meat based meal than I normally would. We really don’t eat pork except on the very rare occasions when I’m doing a big family breakfast and cook bacon.

I love seafood but find sushi to be boring. I love Italian and French and Greek dishes—I love Mediterranean flavors, basically. We generally incorporate a lot of herbs in our cooking. And some wine. And I’m a big chocoholic.

 

[Treedbear]

No interest in sweets such as candies and pastries. I used to love having a donut in the AM with coffee. Still need a tsp of sugar in my coffee though. Seems like most older folks like their sweets but I'd rather have a good crusty bread. But bread's always been my thing. Other than that not much has changed in what I like.

 

[rousseau]

I grew up eating a lot of junk food among what was an overall ok diet. My parents kept pop in the house regularly, took us out for fast food often, and we had a lot of crap in our lunches at school. For the early part of my twenties I was still caught up in these habits.

Then in my mid-twenties I quit smoking, and realized I could change what I craved by changing my habits. Since then I've moved to a pretty healthy diet, probably not too far removed from the Canada food guide. I don't drink pop at all anymore, eat very little candy and sweets, still eat fast-food but keep it minimal and usually only for convenience. I drink my coffee and tea without milk or sugar. I don't even drink much alcohol. Actually, the unhealthiest part of my diet these days is probably cheese, which has been the most recent thing I've started cutting back on (I don't plan to quit, just keep it more moderate).

The core of what I eat now is really veggies/fruit, usually I'll eat at least 1-2 lbs of it a day. I can go a day or two without a lot of protein, but I feel it if I miss my produce.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

LOL. My preferences in food revolve around taste so my preferences have not changed much. Give me the good tasting junk and I'm happy.

My choices otoh have changed enormously. Mostly plants. Fleshy stuff, eggs and cheeses make it in occasionally but not so often. Used to eat a lot of boxed cereal but haven't done that for decades. I've discovered how good a veggie burger actually is when it's made with real stuff. Lentils rock! I really need to up that fruit intake but it isn't bad.

Fleshy things and I have a special social relationship in that they usually only occur alongside social obligations. Such will be the case today as we have a bit of a family gathering. Plant based is not a religion so I enjoy the good tasting animal stuff too. But health concerns make me choose better.

Leftovers and I always got along fine. Today when I prepare food it is typically for the next several days at least. Making food everyday and then doing the cleanup just never made sense to me anyway, so having a fridge full of selections ready-made makes for convenience and economy.

I used to use the slow cooker all the time but now it rarely makes an appearance. Have thought about purchasing one of those low pressure pots that can also be used in canning because lots of my selections come from a can or a jar these days and lots of things from the garden could find their way into a canning jar if I was more ambitious or had the time.