Confessions of a Reluctant Foodie: Navigating Food Conversations in My In-Law’s Family

I used to think that eating was just a way to sustain life. Food was just fuel, and nothing more. But that was before I married into a foodie family. Now, I find myself constantly surrounded by people who are obsessed with food — they talk about it all the time and plan their lives around it. As someone who has always had a simple palate and minimal interest in cooking, this has been a real challenge for me.

Photo by Dex Ezekiel on Unsplash

My father never voiced any preferences when it came to food. He used to eat whatever my mother offered, and would rarely provide feedback. It was a source of frustration for my mother, who would often learn that the food was lacking salt only after we had eaten. I was raised on this mentality — that one must eat to live and not live to eat. My hostel life further helped me to lower my standards for food and I could survive on dishes that just contained salt and no other spices.

But then I married into a family where food was the topic of discussion from the outset to the end of any gathering. Almost 90% of talks ended up revolving around food. At first, I found it hard to believe. Who talks about eating so much? But over time, I started to develop my own food preferences. Whenever these conversations took place, my taste receptors practically began to dance in my mouth. I never knew that I could be impacted by such discussions !!

However, I still struggle with certain aspects of foodie culture. Cooking, for example, requires a lot of work — especially if it’s not your interest. So, I always try to thank anyone who puts in the effort to cook. But, to be honest, I find it hard to avoid feeling swindled when I spend two hours preparing a meal that will only take 15 minutes to eat.

I also want to teach my son healthy eating habits, but I’m finding it hard to rein in my own eating habits where I am surrounded by people who will not tolerate a small change in the taste. I used to be flexible with some preferences in food but this habit has helped me to survive in any situation and some how I want my son to build this habit.

Five things that all foodie needs to consider:

1. Providing feedback is important, but providing constructive criticism is crucial. People put in a lot of effort when it comes to food, so it’s important to be appreciative.
2. Cooking requires a lot of work, especially if it’s not your interest, so you should thank anyone who puts in the effort. In particular, this needs to apply to fathers and sons.
3. Inescapable events will happen which may put you in a situation where getting the tasty food may seem difficult. Hence, if you have cultivated a habit of eating tasteless things as well, you may suffer little less.
4. If you are a foodie, learn to cook. Cooking is a life skill and it is a mandate for both the gender to learn cooking.
5. Eating healthy is not a choice now a days. The kind of life style we are living these days, is a source of all the health issues.