What picky eaters will always eat

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Oct 10th 2007 10:55AM

Are you a picky eater? I would say no because I'm always willing to try new dishes, but I try to avoid cauliflower, onions and mayonaise whenever I can -- they're the quirky foods that I dislike, and I think everyone has one or two of these. But I know some really picky people -- one of my friends will only order chicken fingers and fries at a restaurant.

Anthropologist Jane Kauer took an extensive look at picky eaters these days, and based on her findings, one third of people are unusually picky, few are extremely, and the rest of the population is only mildly picky. But there are a few things that almost every person likes. Want to know what they are?

Fried chicken
French fries
Chocolate chip cookies
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

So, to sum up, the only really widely accepted foods are junk foods. It's unfortunate that no veggies or fruits made the list. I for one avoid the above items almost all the time -- what about you?

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Comments (102)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)

Bunny 10-10-2007 @ 11:49AM

We are vegetarians so no Fried chicken EVER!!!

We will eat Kraft Mac & Cheese and chocolate chip cookies on occasion.

We will always go for fruit, dried fruit or raw carrots. We also like other raw veggies too......

I guess we are "not the norm".......

reb 10-10-2007 @ 1:48PM

I am a *very* picky eater, and I despise Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Now fries and chocolate chip cookies-- those I could eat all day long, if it wasn't for the associated calories!

Erik Davis 10-10-2007 @ 10:22PM

I'm a picky eater, and I hate chocolate. So no cookies for me. I would add Mozzerella Sticks to that list, as well as burgers, plain cheese pizza and franks.

michele 10-14-2007 @ 6:30AM

The only food on the list that I do eat is the cookies. I despise fried food and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is a disgusting blob of chemicals and preservatives

pat 10-14-2007 @ 7:07AM

I won't eat any of the 4 foods listed above. Prefer fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. Kraft Macaron and Cheese is full of preservatives ... guess most kids don't understand that, nor do their mothers.

mike2246 10-14-2007 @ 7:10AM

i'm southern and fried chicken is in my genes and arteries. couldn't live without it but i do try to make it more healthier by skinning it and oven frying it.down here in Georgia we produce a lot of the chickens that everyone eats.

deb 10-14-2007 @ 7:26AM

I'm a picky eater and except for snitching someone elses french fries, I wouldn't eat anything else on that list.

JoeCatf3 10-14-2007 @ 7:35AM

Im from an Iowa farm so i eat all foods but im dibetic so i eat very little of some and none of others. Example very few fries and no cookies. Eating all foods is good for your health i think the balance of foods help keep cancer away. joecatf

jerry 10-14-2007 @ 7:52AM

I am not very picky at all ... I will eat most anything but I only tolerate fried chicken ... prefer rotisserie ... and i absolutely refuse to eat Kraft Mac & Cheese ... call it yellow death

Judy 10-14-2007 @ 7:54AM

Bunny, Aren't you special.

Va; 10-14-2007 @ 5:53PM

I hate all the above "faves" you mention. Fried chicken? No WAY--if I have to sit and eat that, I peel the crap off it first: Mac&Cheese is slop; FrenchFries are nasty as are all other potatoes. Except baked. I scrape away the white part and eat the skin w/tiny butter & little more pepper--Yum!

Chocolate--but not choc chip cookies. First of all the chips aren't real chocolate (think Communist China where thanks to Bush & his FastTrack, most all of our goods now come from. What's in Choc. Chips now? Only the Chicoms know for sure, and so far they're not telling.

Give me a square of Ghiradelli and I KNOW I'm 1) eating American 1) eating good and 3) eating REAL chocolate. The rest of you can eat everything that the Chicoms send you and wash it down with their LeadPaint Smoothie Flavor-Of-The-Day. Bon Appetit!
. I'm a A LOt fussier than that.

Va; 10-14-2007 @ 8:02AM

Lori 10-14-2007 @ 8:01AM

I think some of the people on here who said they won't eat the 4 foods listed above - would actually eat them and like them, but for the health choices they're making in their lives. I enjoyed this article and this list! Very interesting - and I believe it applies to the majority of the population.

Candy 10-14-2007 @ 8:02AM

LOL, re Bunny and the first vegetarian. I remember when I was a vegan, then added dairy, and as I gained 50 lb. eating so many carbs to fill the hunger pangs, and as I grew sicker with each month (I did it 4 yrs.) I finally re-introduced meat and haven't had so much as a cold in the last 4 yrs. of eating a little bit of fried chicken, lots of cookies, homemade mac and cheese and occasional french fries. But, I really don't eat much chicken, preferring a very rare (mooo anyone?) beef steak. Now, if I could only lose the rest of the 50 lb. but it keeps finding me. Balance in all things. Personally, add lots of vegies to that list

Val 10-14-2007 @ 4:12PM

All the above are gross. I like rare meat and I take plenty of Vitamin C in case of EColi or MadCow. I mostly eat meat, digest it best of all.

Rebecca 10-14-2007 @ 8:07AM

I am not picky. There are very few foods that I dont eat. Avocados, and anything made from it. I can't eat canned pasta of any kind. It taste like the can. YUCK. I am not a big fan of canned veggies. I prefer fresh from the store or fresh from my garden. I love fresh from the garden. When I was a little fart, I would be out there with a salt shaker for hours eating my veggies. A kid who liked veggies, who knew we were still around.

penneymay 10-14-2007 @ 8:10AM

judy that was a slam against bunny..... not nice...
so what if her eating habits differ from yours and mine.

Nancy 10-14-2007 @ 8:15AM

I don't consider myself picky...and open to try anything...but the 4 things listed I could care less about unless I was starving, then I might eat them.

Cathy 10-14-2007 @ 8:29AM

I am a picky eater in a different form. I agree, I will eat every one of these "picky" picks, but never, ever let them touch! No cheese on my fries, no chocolate on my chicken. Each food in its own place and in its own time zone! But left alone, untouched and unfettered, I love them all!

Jazz 10-14-2007 @ 8:35AM

Ok, I think that for the most part, most everyone would enjoy that list of foods-I don't particularly like the mac and cheese, but that's just a personal choice-we have become a nation of people who think it's a status symbol to have the "quirkiest" diets-besides all the emphasis on weight (an industry that bleeds people blind), people jump on the bandwagon of any new fad regarding food-no carbs, no eggs, no butter, no whatever-and then, a few years down the road, it all changes again. I eat what I want to eat, anything in moderation, always have and I am 61yrs old, in excellent health, weigh in at a little over 100pounds and feel great-so, my point is that if it makes you feel better to say "oh, no! I wouldn't eat THAT" then so be it, but leave the rest of us who eat real food, alone. Thank you very much :)