Food choice defensive

[Owlie]

I made the Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs last night and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So good. I also have Paleo Comfort Foods which is great, especially their side dishes.

That sounds fantastic. Drools.

[indysteel]

That sounds fantastic. Drools.

+1. Would you mind sharing the recipe, Westtexas.

I don't have much to add. It just seems like a lot of people are intolerant and insensitive. And everybody's an expert. I imagine that, in time, the novelty dill wear off and they'll stop bugging you. The important thing is that you 're feeling better.

[Crankin]

I've had people question my eating choices pretty much my whole adult life. It's not that I eat any special diet, it's just that I eat healthily! No junk food, no fast food, no donuts. In New England, if you don't eat donuts, it's like a sin. Really, I eat a balanced, healthy diet, including meat and wine. The only thing I've cut down on is carbs, as I get older.
I even had people question my friends to see if I was anorexic when I was in my 30s and very thin just from exercising. One friend in AZ just about laughed the questioner off by saying I went out to Swensens to eat ice cream with her, at least once a week, which was true.
People also question me about my exercise habits, too. They think I'm crazy and they keep complaining about their bodies.

[Melalvai]

This is a topic I've grown curious about recently. Other people's food choices seem to generate so much defensiveness and antagonism in us. What we eat is about so much more than fuel and nutrition. It defines us as a group. Like the clothes we wear, the words we say, the language we speak, our entertainment. So when someone tries to break away from that it's like you're wearing your jeans around your knees and you just got a bunch of tattoos and piercings. You thought you were just selecting different food, but everyone acts like you're making a statement, like you're trying to break away.

[westtexas]

This is a topic I've grown curious about recently. Other people's food choices seem to generate so much defensiveness and antagonism in us. What we eat is about so much more than fuel and nutrition. It defines us as a group. Like the clothes we wear, the words we say, the language we speak, our entertainment. So when someone tries to break away from that it's like you're wearing your jeans around your knees and you just got a bunch of tattoos and piercings. You thought you were just selecting different food, but everyone acts like you're making a statement, like you're trying to break away.

It's true. I'm just doing something better for me, for my health, and you guys are right - it's none of their business unless I want to tell them about it. And yet they treat me like I've got some kind of weird "problem". Apparently you're not a normal human being if you don't eat flour or dairy. Nutrition has always fascinated me - first in my patients, now in my own body - and it's surprising to see the social aspects of it, both good and bad, first hand. It's tough too when there are only 11 people in your entire workplace.

And, for those of you who want to try it:

Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs (modified for how I made it):

Ingredients:
8 bone-in, skin on, organic chicken thighs
2 tsp smoked paprika (McCormick's makes a nice one)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp red palm oil (virgin, unrefined, from Africa. I got mine at http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/red_palm_oil.htm and it came in about a week)
Salt and pepper to taste

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 425˚F
2. Rinse chicken thighs, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a large ziploc bag.
3. in a small mixing bowl, combine spices & red palm oil (the oil is solid at room temp, so I found that if you stuck the mix in the microwave for about 30 seconds, it melted enough to make a liquid spice mix)
4. Pour seasoning over chicken, seal bag, and toss until chicken is fully coated.
5. Place chicken thighs on a broiling pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper (skin side up). For this, I used my cast iron skillet on the middle oven rack and it worked perfectly.
6. Bake at 425˚F for 40-45 minutes.

I paired the thighs with this recipe:

Oven roasted Okra:

Ingredients:
1 pound okra (whole), washed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F (I used the 425 oven from the chicken thighs just fine)
2. Toss okra in olive oil to coat and place on to a sheet pan in a single layer
3. Combine all dry spices and sprinkle over okra, mixing well (after making this, I think the oil + okra + spices in a ziploc would work better)
4. Bake for 5-7 minutes then turn over onto the other side, cooking for another 3-5 minutes (took 5 minutes on each side in my 425 oven)

[shootingstar]

What we eat is about so much more than fuel and nutrition. It defines us as a group. Like the clothes we wear, the words we say, the language we speak, our entertainment. So when someone tries to break away from that it's like you're wearing your jeans around your knees

It should be just treated as fuel and nutrition which it is if one is cycling more than 100 km. and just needs nutrition and drink/water!

Well, you get the picture. While eating Chinese food, is just another type of cuisine for some folks...to me, some of the dishes I prepare is like comfort, cultural / family memories that isn't pure Chinese food all the time, but an intersection of Chinese food and Canadian experience: how my mother adapted local ingredients with her spin when in the 1960's, Asian ingredients in small Ontario cities were very rare.

Most likely when she dies, some of her dishes which I prepare casually without any recipe (it's all passed down by me watching her) will have some greater meaning.

For people who criticize Chinese food which has become salty, oily in some restaurants (some places have smartened up and gotten back to basics.), I will tell them: the foundation of my good health, my weight... I credit to my mother's style of cooking where she skimmed off the fat, reduced use of salt and oil, etc.

Of course, there's the other stuff, lovely desserts acquired from knowing dearie's German cooking background/childhood....

If a person has medical condition that they tell me, of a strong allergic reaction to a food, then I will pay attention. Today I was talking to a Indonesian co-bakery owner here in town and told him that several nieces and nephews were allergic to nuts...enough that they end up in the hospital. It came up because it is something all bakers must consider now. Of course Indonesian cuisine use peanut...

They're looking into making a gluten-free cream puff...but it's tough. They might abandon this effort and offer a totally different product for customers wanting gluten-free desserts at catered functions.

[marni]

of course the classic (Merci ma mere) response whenever anyone asks or says anything like that is to look at them, deeply and sincerely and sweetly ask "whatever would make you ask (say) that?" Makes them responsible for their question, comment. One of my mothers
other ittle ditties was" the wise old owl was a funny bird, the less he spoke the more he heard, the more he heard, the more he knew, now I think that's a wise old owl, don't you?"

just sayin

marni

[VeganBikeChick]

I'm also vegan, Atlas. Funnily enough, my family gives me the hardest time - not coworkers or friends. They call all my food "weird sh**", "weird" being things like quinoa and soymilk. However, my dad is currently in end stage renal disease due to his poor diet choices. Every single one of his siblings (9!) has diabetes, and 3 of his brothers, plus him, have all had open heart surgery. I'll pass, thanks.

Don't let the naysayers get to you, wt. I'd have loved one of your cupcakes .

[shootingstar]

Just yesterday, one work colleague voluntarily told me that for him drinking milk causes eczema.

But chocolate milk doesn't. It must be the placebo effect.

[Susan Otcenas]

I was just wondering from you guys - have you ever had others questions your food choices and you felt kind of defensive about it? Certainly ever is entitled to eat whatever they want to eat, no matter how good/bad it may be for you/them, but when people say things about your personal diet does it upset you?

You thought you were just selecting different food, but everyone acts like you're making a statement, like you're trying to break away.

OK, so I'm just going to put this out there as something for folks to think about.... (Keep in mind that I follow a pretty restrictive diet too, so I understand how hard it is when someone questions your/my choices)... but hasn't anyone but me noticed that the word "garbage" has come up several times already in this thread?

"What I find is that people try to force me to eat garbage...."
"I'm very frustrated about people trying to force garbage down my throat..."

So, it seems to me that on one hand people are complaining that they don't like that people are being judgmental about their restrictive food choices, but at the same time are being quite judgmental about the food choice of other people.

You may not be *using* words like "garbage" when talking to other people about your/their food choices, but we speak with more than words.

Incidentally, this isn't directed at anyone in particular, so my apologies to those of you I've quoted here. Again, like I said, I have my own set of food restrictions that lots of people don't "get", so I'm sympathetic to the notion that people might be judging me for my choices as well.

[bmccasland]

I try to eat healthy, honest, but am a closet junk food junkie.

I think some people "got religion of diet." They've been SAVED, and therefore thinks everyone else needs to hear the good word, often.

[jessmarimba]

I try to eat healthy, honest, but am a closet junk food junkie.

I think some people "got religion of diet." They've been SAVED, and therefore thinks everyone else needs to hear the good word, often.

Ya know, that's a very apt description. Probably why it irks me at the same level.

And I'm a junk-food junkie myself. Not regularly, but it's the novelty that gets me. If I'm in a town with a Hardees (so rare in my radius of work) you can bet I'm going to have a cinnamon raisin biscuit for breakfast! Same for Dunkin Donuts, etc.

[GLC1968]

I think some people "got religion of diet." They've been SAVED, and therefore thinks everyone else needs to hear the good word, often.

I think this is true. And it sucks for those of us who might be following the same type of diet but without the same evangelical bent. I swear that it's gotten much easier for me if I don't even mention the word 'paleo'. That seems to set people immediately on the defensive. If I just say that I'm avoiding grains (the most bizarre part of the diet), I do have explain/defend my choice, but at least it doesn't get testy.

But I can't help but wonder what gives people the right to always ask 'why'? I mean, if I say I'm not eating nuts or not eating dairy or not eating red meat, no one questions it. Say you aren't eating grains and it's a guarantee that every single time, you'll get a 'but WHY?!'. I find it very interesting and it's making me rethink how I interact with people, too. I'm sure that 6 months ago, I would have been asking 'why' just like the next person! Now I'm trying to be more aware of my conversations on all fronts (not just about my diet, but about others' as well).

[Selkie]

I think some people "got religion of diet." They've been SAVED, and therefore thinks everyone else needs to hear the good word, often.

At work, there is this group of paleo adherents/crossfit fanatics who preach to everyone else about proper diet (of course, all of them are self-taught nutrition "experts" who will lecture on glycemic levels, etc).

I don't believe in diets. Was raised in a bland meals, no-junk-food-allowed household, after school treat was an orange in our house. My mom was truly before her time in terms of insisting on good eating habits, albeit on a budget. On special occasions and holidays, she could really do it up well (she was an extremely talented cook and baker---her pie crust was the best---never used a recipe). We really looked forward to and appreciated the holidays and celebrations. Since she died, I haven't been able to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Nothing could ever compare to her turkey, stuffing, homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and yes, even the jello salad (lime with a canned pear preserved in it, sitting on a bed of iceberg lettuce).

This is probably why I can happily live on yogurt and cereal. Don't eat meat except fish.

[Melalvai]

but hasn't anyone but me noticed that the word "garbage" has come up several times already in this thread?

"What I find is that people try to force me to eat garbage...."
"I'm very frustrated about people trying to force garbage down my throat..."

So, it seems to me that on one hand people are complaining that they don't like that people are being judgmental about their restrictive food choices, but at the same time are being quite judgmental about the food choice of other people.

That's a very good point. Maybe we are rebelling against our culture, secretly eating healthy food instead of tattoos & piercings. I'm sure a few decades ago it was pretty radical to quit smoking.