LIKES AND DISLIKES

I thought it would be fitting to post a little more about myself in order for everyone to get a sense of what I like and dislike when it comes to food. First of all, I like my food savoury. If I'm in the mood for a snack, it's not going to be a chocolate bar or a pack of gummy bears; it's going to be something salty like a bag of chips or pretzels if I'm feeling strong enough to withstand the IBS-related symptoms that will occur later.

Ginger, despite being known as a nausea-reducer, makes me want to vomit every time I smell it being cooked in a savory fashion. If it's being used in cookies, cakes, anything involving sugar, I'm a-okay. But the moment it hits a bit of salt and perhaps some garlic, I'm done for. I start gagging and feeling nauseous and if the scent lingers around me any longer, I start dry-heaving. My body cannot stand the smell of it.

Of all the vegetables out there, the only two I will get tense about eating are brussel sprouts and eggplant. The latter caused me to have hives when I was about 8 years old and despite knowing that I'm not technically allergic to them, I'm still a little apprehensive when it comes to consuming my dad's famous beef and eggplant stew. I don't really have a good explanation for brussel sprouts simply because I don't like the taste of them. I don't hate the taste of them because I have been known to consume insane amounts of brussel sprouts in one sitting, but I did that because I knew they were good for me. I now find myself able to withhold my displeasure of some kind of food substance if I know it's good for me.

Fruits are my passion but just like with the vegetables, there are a couple I really dislike. The first fruit I will never again consume is jackfruit. It's a fruit of Asian decent and smells something awful! It also has the texture of brains--and I'm only guessing because I wasn't a Science major nor have I been known to mush brains around in my hands--but those who know me well know that I am all about texture and if it's mushy, it's off my list of consumables. And of course, my parents have tried numerous times to get me eat jackfruit and acquire a taste for it, but I just can't do it; once was enough for me. I guess I'm just not cut out to be a zombie, afterall. Another fruit I'm not a huge fan of is rambutan. Again, a fruit of Asian-decent, it's like a poor man's lychee.

Now onto my favourites. My favourite veggie is broccoli. Steamed or baked, broccoli is the stuff of legends! I love that green, crunchy goodness. The only problem is that it's not on the IBS-friendly list so if I'm in the mood for broccoli and really, when am I not, I prepare myself for some IBS-related symptoms. Not fun but worth it for some broccli.

My favourite fruit is the lychee but they have to be fresh ones, not the canned crap you get in any Asian market. I have been known to eat the canned stuff on occasion, but that's usually when I'm desperate for a lychee fix and my mom hasn't taken her once-in-four-year trip to Mauritius to come back with fresh lychees. (Let's keep that fact between you and me and not with the airport authorities at Pearson.) I also love strawberries, especially the ones you get from your garden. There's actually nothing in the world better than picking strawberries from your own backyard. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Some of the things I can't eat include anything with aspartame, monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrates or sulphites and other processed crap, but I'll leave those for another post.

So that's me.