To Eat or Not to Eat

Fiorella is an embarrasingly picky eater--nothing green but jello, nothing red but apples and jello, no dressings, no mixtures. It's partially due to her own wierdness, although another part can be traced to the WWII food rationing that was in effect when she was a child. A third part can be laid at the feet of her mother making a contest out of Fiorella's preferences. "Try it, you'll like it," she'd say. But Fio knew that if she did, Mother would triumphantly proclaim "I told you so."

Strangely, despite Mother's warning that Fiorella have problems socializing because of her limited palate, no one has ever given her a hard time. And, wonder of wonders, along the way, she's even added a some new things to her diet that Mother herself would never have eaten--like fish. Years ago, when Husband brought a sea trout home from a fishing trip, Fio watched him cook it, got curious, tasted it, and liked it--no contest involved.

When it came to her own kids, Fiorella didn't push, and after they got through some quirky teen-age food fads, all three of them settled down to much better food choices than Fiorella has ever made. And now Fio hears her granddaughter likes tofu.

More power to her!