There’s an ongoing joke amongst my family and friends who all think I eat like a “toddler”. I’m the person who only orders cheese pizzas, vanilla ice cream (with sprinkles), chicken noodle soup, apple/orange juice, hamburgers (hold the cheese) – you get the idea. But don’t get me wrong – I want all of the above to be perfect. I won’t settle for just any ole pizza, I am a New Yorker after all.

As I’ve traveled increasingly more, I’ve realized that my picky food habits is a bit of a hindrance, as I get serious anxiety when I travel someplace new, and I’m inevitably asked to try that country’s delicacy – I truly don’t want to ever offend anyone. Usually I pretend to eat whatever I’m offered and hope the host/hostess doesn’t notice as I hand it off to another person willing to take it off my hands. Unfortunately, sometimes, there’s no one to pawn the food off to, so I’ve tossed food scraps over the side of a mountain (yes, I’ve done this before though not proud of it), or I’ve hidden it in my bra (also guilty), or had to politely decline when I didn’t think they’d be offended. Honestly, it is all a bit exhausting. I’d be the first person to climb through a rarely explored jungle, or jump into a tank with a shark, but get me to try blueberry muffins? Never. When I sat and thought about it, I realized that my list of never tried items was admittedly absurd. I’ve never tried a salad, Nutella, coffee, walnuts, strawberries, artichoke, black beans, any funky named donuts or ice cream (its hard for me to understand why bacon has morphed into anything past being a breakfast side item)…I mean the list truly does go on.

So this section is all about stretching my boundaries, and challenging myself so that I can begin to experience culture through food, and stop being the annoying person who orders food and has to hold the tomatoes.

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