I’ve always been a picky eater before meeting my husband, who has vastly opened me up to new foods.

I grew up in a household that could not cook. Pepper was too spicy, boiled frozen chicken breasts, potatoes, and carrots in water with no seasonings was a staple “soup”. And of course my mom never taught me to cook, so if it didn’t come in a package I didn’t know how to make it. I was also poor, which limited my ability to be adventurous in my food. If I got something and I didn’t like it, I’d be out of food for a period of time.

So I played it safe, and it became the norm. But being poor I also couldn’t resist free food, so my husband lured me out of my comfort zone by giving me food he made for himself. He also sneaked a lot of things into my food, like pepper, because he knew I wasn’t allergic, just picky. Over time I got better about it.

But there are some foods I still cannot stand. Fruit for one. I literally don’t even bother trying fruit, because every single fruit I eat makes me gag, it feels like rotten sweet goop and makes me want to throw up. People called me picky and dramatic, it wasn’t until I was 33 that I was diagnosed with OCD and food texture issues specifically around feeling of rot are a common manifestation of that.

I’m better than I used to be, and I try to eat a bite of something at least twice before deciding I don’t like it. But there is still a lot I don’t like so I’m still pretty picky I guess.