As a chronically picky eater and college freshman who is going through a million new experiences in all aspects of my life, I recently decided to try one new food every day for a week. For your enjoyment, I documented my trials and tribulations.
I recorded the most important aspects for all picky eaters: the smell of the food, the texture, if I would eat it again, and my overall opinion. Each food I chose is something I have never tried before, for varying reasons.
Day 1: Cooked Broccoli
Smell: Awful, my least favorite smell in the world.
Texture: Not the worst thing in the world; kind of felt like plastic or a weird plant.
Expectations: I had very low expectations going into this endeavor, because of the overwhelming smell. (Come on, broccoli is every picky eaters nightmare.)
Overall Rating: 0/10 I thought the taste would be a lot more bland than it was. In a moment of weakness I could not swallow the vegetable, and resulted in spitting it into a napkin.
Would I Eat Again: Definitely am going to leave broccoli for the rest of the world to enjoy.
Day 2: Hummus
Smell: Although it has a strong smell, it is not nearly as bad as the appearance and color.
Texture: Texture is thick and chalky, unlike any other food I've had.
Expectations: Hummus looks like baby food/ throw up, but it's all the rage right now so my expectations were pretty high.
Overall Rating: 5/10 It left a really weird taste and feel in my mouth, and I feel like it's overhyped. But, that being said, it was not as bad as expected and I would try it again.
Would I Eat Again: Surprisingly, I would, but maybe a different kind or flavor.
Day 3: Sushi
Smell: For such a strange food item, surprising lack of smell.
Texture: Sushi is the most complexly textured food I've encountered—it was all over the place. It is covered in sticky rice, and has a crunchy and squishy inside.
Expectations: Scared for my life.
Overall Rating: 2/10 Probably the most intimidating thing I've ever eaten. Also, you have to eat the whole thing in one bite, which is kind of unreasonable.
Would I Eat Again: I might consider eating a different type of sushi... maybe.
Day 4: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
Smell: Smells good!
Texture: Kind of strange actually; the jelly is really cold, wet and chunky, and it doesn't really mix with the peanut butter.
Expectations: My expectations were pretty high with this one; it's an American classic after all.
Overall Rating: 6/10 I'm really not sure what all the hype is. Honestly, jelly isn't that spectacular.
Would I Eat Again: I think I'm just going to stick with my plain peanut butter and bread sandwiches.
Day 5: Beets
Smell: Smells very natural and earthy.
Texture: Out of this world, it is a mystery to me how this is made by the earth. A vegetable that feels like jello?
Expectations: Pretty low
Overall Rating: 0/10 This literally tasted like I took a bite straight out of the earth, and I'm really not sure why people enjoy it.
Would I Eat Again: Eh, no thanks.
Day 6: Roasted Potatoes
Smell: Smelled pretty good and plain.
Texture: The texture of potatoes is the whole reason I can't eat them—way too starchy (yeah, I know potatoes are starches) and dry.
Expectations: My expectations were decently high for these, because everyone is personally offended that I don't eat potatoes.
Overall Rating: 2/10 Sorry to all those who worship potatoes, but I can't join the club.
Would I Eat Again: Roasted? No. French fries? Yes.
Day 7: Chunky Bar
(This one goes out to that episode of "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." where Carol stops for a "Chunky" bar on the way to the hospital to give birth to Ben.)
Smell: Great, all chocolate smells like art.
Texture: Kind of strange to be honest.
Expectations: Pretty high since they got a shoutout on "F.R.I.E.N.D.S."
Overall Rating: 5/10 Basically a chocolate bar filled with trail mix. Staying faithful to my picky eater roots, I don't mess with raisins, so I can only half way respect this candy bar.
Would I Eat Again: I would never intentionally choose to buy this candy bar, however, chocolate is chocolate so I'd eat it if someone gave it to me
End of the Week Conclusions
Overall, the past week was a spiritual experience for me, and I learned two things: number one, confidence is key, and number two, when you, know you know.
It was really hard for me to stay confident in myself, which is something I really wasn't expecting. Almost every time I tried something new, I thought I couldn't do it.
However, as a general rule, when you know, you know. None of the foods that I tried throughout the week surprised me in being something that I loved or would make an appearance into my normal diet.
If I had any advice for my fellow picky eaters, I'd suggest going out on a limb every now and then to try a new food. You don't have to necessarily go all out and try something crazy, but change is good and you never know what could happen.