Comments on: Monday Q&A-Dishwashing, Pets, Grocery Budget, and Picky Eating

By: Monday Q&A | Cooking, Dishwashing, and Piano Teaching

Monday Q&A | Cooking, Dishwashing, and Piano Teaching — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:57:22 +0000

[...] actually answered that question in an older Q&A post, so go check that out! I personally run the dishwasher once a day, and I hand wash large items [...]

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:55:42 +0000

@hiptobeme: I think I’ll just put a few in my salad. Cooking vegetables is a crime in my book.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:46:39 +0000

I prefer washing dishes by hand. I often have to clean dishes from our dishwasher after a load. This is after they have sat for several days before we get a full load. I feel like my hand washed dishes are cleaner and look brighter and shinier after being hand dried as well. It will take the machine about 90 minutes with drying cycle. I can do the whole thing in less than 30 minutes.

When I have seen comparisons, they only show water usage and do not take power usage into consideration.

Having said all that, if we can fill a load after having friends and family to dinner, I am happy to run a load in the dishwasher.

By: hiptobeme

hiptobeme — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:45:38 +0000

If you don’t have a steamer, try cooking broccoli this way: Boil just enough water to cover your florets in the pot. Put lid on (off of the heat). Wait 5 minutes. Eat your deliciously tender crisp green broccoli. No fatty substance required!

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:16:39 +0000

Here’s a tip that I’ve heard to avoid food waste, and it works super for me. Have two containers in your freezer, one labelled “soup-to-be” and the other one “bread-pudding-to-be”. All leftovers (unless gross) go into the soup if savory and into the bread pudding if sweet, unless there is enough of them to make a leftover meal for someone. Whenever the container is full, use it to make surprise soup or surprise bread pudding (mix half and half with “new” material.)

This is great for PBJ crusts, for example, or that vegetable that they won’t eat. I used to just eat those leftovers (and had the weight gain to show for it); turning them into soup/bread pudding is much better.

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:38:42 +0000

I have a allergy to onions (I break out when I eat them) and despite being 27 years old and not under my parents care anymore, my dad still tells me I’m faking and that I should eat whatever is offered to me.

Besides my allergy I am a picky eater but I do at least try new things. I’ve always believed that if you at least try it and don’t like it then you shouldn’t have to eat it.

WilliamB: I’m siding with GHWB on broccoli. It’s nasty when cooked and really only edible either raw or with gobs of high fatty substances such as cheese or cream soup on it. That’s no health food, it’s a bitter mess.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:25:23 +0000

Carla-that must not be my husband’s issue, then! His dislikes are rarely based on flavor, but on texture.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:23:30 +0000

William, I have a handful of dislikes myself. I hate coffee in every single way, shape, or form it presents itself (like even in ice cream or with chocolate and whipped cream). I also don’t like avocados or mushrooms (though I will eat mushrooms and I do like guacamole).

There are some other things I don’t like in some forms…for instance, I HATE canned green beans, but eat fresh ones. That I consider to be more of a cooking preference than anything, though, or maybe a preference for fresh foods.

When it comes to other people’s children, I don’t feel bad about accommodating picky eating….the only kids’ eating habits I worry about are my own kids’. When one of my kids has a picky friend visit, I let them cut off their crusts, I don’t insist that they eat a salad, and so on.

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:17:48 +0000

It’s not difficult to catch the basics: some people have more taste buds on their tongues than others do and sometimes they have more in certain spots. Most of these people will find things bitter that the rest of us don’t. They experience taste at a greater intensity than the rest of us. They often don’t care for vegetables, even relatively mild ones like broccoli. (Remember the first President Bush?) My husband will eat some broccoli, but I can tell he doesn’t like it that much whereas if it is cooked right, I really do. Unlike many of the supertasters, though, he loves sweets and fatty foods. This is why I called him a semi-supertaster since he shares some of their characteristics but not all. Actually, he’s pretty good about eating things he’s not terribly fond of because he knows they are good for him, but it’s not pleasurable to him, which is rather sad, actually. It does make it quite difficult to cook for him because we don’t taste things the same way.

Supertasting is not a texture issue at all. Texture is an entirely different sensation from bitterness.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:14:44 +0000

Julia – kudos to your son, that’s he’s willing to try new things despite the fact most of them turn out to be unpleasant. That’s just awesome!

The true supertaster phenomenon is actually very rare. The rest of us just have likes and dislikes. Which strikes me as OK, too, as long as we aren’t rude to our hosts.

For me the tough one is how to handle kids’ pickiness when I have some myself. I dislike egg yolks, rich creamy goops including mayo and avocado, and loathe coffee with my entire being. Given that, how far do I go to accommodate, say, my nieces’ preferences – even if I think they’re just too darn picky.

PS: Broccoli rules! It’s a magic food, too: makes just about every top ten list of nutritionally awesome foods, along with cottage cheese, cantaloupe, and spinach.