What about eating issues?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
What about eating issues?
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Fri, 06-10-2005 - 2:24pm

We have debated sleeping issues to death once again....so what about another one of the issues of childhood....eating and/or not eating?


My kids eat just about anything and have a pretty well rounded diet.

PumpkinAngel

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:07am

I am finding this entire topic fascinating -- mostly because I have to cater to Jews who keep kosher. When I invite the Rabbi and his wife over for dinner or lunch, I can't serve meat. They will only eat at my house if I serve dairy. (We don't keep kosher and therefore will serve meat and dairy on the same table.)

However, I can serve "parvae" items, and that includes fish, eggs, and all fruits and vegetables. Yes, it's some trouble for me to find a meal that all of us will eat, including my husband, who is a meat and potatoes man. But those meals have been some of the best I've ever made -- mostly because I've had to troll through my cookbooks and use my imagination.

I would consider it the utmost in rudeness to serve my guests who keep kosher meat, meat and dairy, or non-kosher items. I may not keep kosher myself, but if I'm going to invite observant Jews to my home, then I'm going to make damned sure I can accommodate them to the best of my ability. To do any less smacks of rudeness and selfishness.

mom_writer




Edited 6/16/2005 10:08 am ET ET by mom_writer
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:15am

What I've never understood is why you find people's choices so perplexing or difficult to understand. I understand exactly where you are from, where you are going, and why. It's not that difficult. If images speak a thousand words, then the picture of you in your dress and shoes said everything.

But just because someone like me wants to take a different path doesn't mean the choice is somehow less than yours. I know where I come from, where I'm going, and why. And I'm happy with my choices. That is all you really need to understand -- not question why or denigrate it.

mom_writer

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:24am

The question of host and guest responsibilities depends on the circumstances. A lot depends on the guest's situation. Do they live nearby, or are they traveling a long way? How long are they staying with you? Are they staying in guest accommodations and visiting you from there? How special are their dietary special needs?

There's a big difference between, say, your neighbor or parent of your kid's teammate who is lactose intolerant, and a foreign exchange student who is with you for a few weeks and doesn't eat pork. That neighbor might be easy to serve by offering a nice piece of fresh fruit instead of ice cream for dessert, maybe cut up into a parfait glass ahead of time and some sherbet on top. That would take no time at all to fix ahead of time. But if the neighbor is allergic to several different broad categories of food, I'm with you, I would maybe tweak my planned menu a bit and let it go. They can bring a dish of whatever they like to eat and make enough to share it if they want to.

But if it's a foreign dignitary, staying at the nearby Sheraton, with no kitchen facilities, I would make an effort to find out if she has any restrictions and what she usually has and attempt to provide something sustaining if not spectacular. That's easy enough if you have a little advance notice. If not, then I'm with you. That guest can be adventurous at your place and taste what you're serving.

I've noticed a huge trend lately in what I consider way out there food faddism. A few weeks ago we finally had our first cookout of the season since May was rainy. A friend of a friend didn't want a grilled hamburger because of the cancer risk, supposedly. He put his hamburger in the microwave himself. Blech. I couldn't even look at it, let alone make such a thing for him. There is a limit.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:27am
My DH lived in England for year. He won't eat Blood Sausage, although he can drink warm soda and beer. LOL He told me he lived on potatoes and eggs from the local farm for a year. He said he is so not into steak and kidney pie.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:30am

Very well said.


Virgo

Virgo
 
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2005
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:40am
Not really a response to your post, I just don't know where else to put it. It's inherent in the relationship of host and guest that the host is offering to put him or herself out to some degree for the guest - the reverse is nice but not required. The word "host" itself is related to "hospitality," which suggests not just that you are receiving them, but that you are at least attempting to receive them in a way they will find welcoming. I don't understand why someone would invite someone to dinner and not expect or want to feed them something palatable to them, whatever that would be, unless, of course it was someone that they actually wanted to insult.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:41am

DH and I went to England 2 years ago and found the food to be fabulous. It was a funny thing about the beer and soda, though. In properly English places, it was hard to get really cold beer or soda. But in the many excellent Asian places, they were icy cold. Great service in those places, too.

When I was a kid in Germany, we had 100 kinds of hot dogs and sausages, but we also had a lot of organ meats: beef heart, tongue, kidneys, calves liver, chicken liver, brains, tripe. Some of those things can be delicious but they have to be cooked in a certain way. Bet you're gagging right now. If so, please accept my apologies lol.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:51am
Exactly. I'm trying to grasp under what circumstances it would be otherwise. I guess some people do a lot of impromptu entertaining along the lines of "Let's all go to our house after the soccer game and have dinner using whatever we happen to have on hand". In which case it's more or less understood that any special food requirements are pretty unlikely to be met. But IME, I'm more of a planner than that, and I make a reasonable effort to accommodate anyone's needs if I can and if I have some advance notice. Otherwise, why invite at all? And it usually isn't that difficult if you cook on a regular basis, especially for those of us who are parents and have busy, well- stocked kitchens to begin with.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:54am

The point is obvious. This portion of the thread is about three posts deep. The point is that vitamins are more necessary today than they were 100 years ago, because vegetables and fruits alone don't do it.

No, you couldn't survive on today's potatoes, even with the peels. That's a sub-point. Read something other than Star Magazine one day, and maybe you'll get the point.

What age did the Irish attain by living on potatoes alone? Well, considering that half the population (around 1.5 million people) were lost in the Famine of the 1840s, not very old. Suddenly there was no food, not even potatoes. I never claimed that people could live on NO food in the 1800s, but rather that they could live on POTATOES.

Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear it. I just heard the good news and popped back over, just in case you were still checking in.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2004
Thu, 06-16-2005 - 10:56am

When I was in my early 20s, I had a "mentor" for lack of a better word. I used to clean house for this elderly lady. She was a "real" lady and took me in under her wing and taught me how to act properly in social situations. She used to take me out for lunch at fancy restaurants in order that I could learn about "refined" manners and conversation and how to order the right kinds of foods. Honest, she really did this. I loved her!

Anyway, I learned how to eat French Onion soup and other things. One day she made me order sweetbreads (is that the correct term for organ meats?). I tried one and just about gagged. Not my cup of tea, thank you!

However, since becoming Jewish, I have learned to eat a number of things, including chopped liver (still not one of my favorite foods but I tolerate it), gifelte fish, and this will make you laugh, horseradish. I now cannot eat gefelte without horseradish -- and consider myself to be a proper Jew. :-)

mom_writer

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