I spent my first 18 or so years thinking cream cheese was a repulsive substance I would only choke down if I were forced.
Would. Were. I use subjunctive verbs because … well, it never happened.
That’s right. I didn’t eat more than scant traces of cream cheese until I was an adult, probably shamed into trying it on something because, ohmygodhowdoyounotlovecreamcheese?
How? I never tried it. Not really, at least. Why? It just wasn’t around. Cream cheese was a foreign substance in my home kitchen, and I honestly thought putting a creamed cheese (Like cheddar? gross!), in desserts (Cheddar cheesecake? With chocolate and berries? What is wrong with you people?!) or on top of a perfectly good blueberry bagel (Cheese on a garlic bagel is no biggie, but blueberry? SICK.) – I thought the cream-cheese-loving world was straight up b-a-n-a-n-a-s.
To quote my least favorite Yo Gabba Gabba creature (Brobee – why is he such a whiny little bitchboy?), I tried it, and I liked it!
I had a mile-long list of foods I hated (aka had never tried, probably had never even smelled and/or seen), and this hate was perpetuated by my (awesome, loving, albeit) narrow-foodminded parents. My mom isn’t really a fan of cooking, and my dad really isn’t a fan of a lot far beyond beef, potatoes and green beans.
As you can imagine, my options were limited.
I didn’t care, though. It was what I knew. I was healthy, I grew, I had favorite foods. There was nothing wrong with how we ate. And then I discovered all I had missed out on.
Sweet potato fries. Steamed mussels. Eggplant parmesan. Heck, did you know parmesan cheese doesn’t only come from those green-labeled cans? I HAD NO CLUE.
And don’t forget cheesecake. There’s nothing cheddary about it.
Tonight for dinner, my 14-month-old triplets ate orzo cooked in chicken stock then mixed with sautéed garlic, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes and asiago cheese with a side of roasted broccoli. Nothing fancy, but it isn’t boring, either.
It’s a normal adult thing to expand one’s pallet and learn to like foods you never would have dreamed of eating as a kid. It’s a normal kid thing to have food preferences as diverse as a four-pack of restaurant crayons.
As a parent, I want to offer my kids as much of the world as I can. I’ve started in my kitchen, with the simplest of adventures. They may not try or love everything I offer, but at least I’m giving us all (including my parents!) opportunities to fall in love with an array of good food.
I hated cream cheese until I was 18 too. Now? I can’t live without it. But I can still live without mushrooms.
That dinner sounds amazing! Can they eat the orzo with their hands? I’m a fan of things my kid can self-feed
She’s getting better with a spoon though!
I don’t understand a hate of cream cheese. Cream cheese makes everything magical haha. I also intro tons of different things to Isla. No boring crap here. I get so frustrated with people (inlaws) who won’t even try something. Good lord, you dont know if it is horrible unless you try it! And dont go in thinking you hate it because then you will find something wrongwith it.
Sounds like we had similar food habits and home kitchens as kids – heck my dad doesn’t even like green beans! I never liked cream cheese either – I thought it looked gross and the name icked me out – same with sour cream. I’ve been working on my eating habits so when we have kids they’ll eat like your trio
I took me 2 years to convince my BFF, who refused to eat green peppers because they were “too spicy,” that they are sweet, not hot. She absolutely REFUSED to try one.
I still only take cream cheese in very small amounts. But your dinner, that sounds amazing. I’m coming over for leftovers!
I was anti-cream cheese as a child, but finally really tried it in my teens. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it, either. I use plain cream cheese in cooking or on a bagel (very lightly coating it). I PREFER the yummy flavored cream cheese – that stuff I could eat straight out of the container LOL.
Also, your dinner for E, T & C? Sounds awesome! I wish I could get my toddler to eat pasta (of any kind). He just mushes it with his fingers – it doesn’t matter if it’s plain, buttered, cheesed, sauced, etc…
Try dipping pretzel sticks in cream cheese
That dinner sounds amazing! And I, too, didn’t know that parm came from anyting other than a green can until well into my 20’s.